38 Comments
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Janisse Ray's avatar

Long live the wild beauties. Including the one named Jeanne.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Aw, thank you, Janisse!

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Betsy's avatar

We need a bumper sticker to warn those tail gaters what we’re doing. 🤣

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Michael G's avatar

That was going to be my exact comment. Somewhere out there I’ve probably seen the bumper sticker “I brake for nature”. I need that bumper sticker.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Yeah, I want that bumper sticker. Seriously!

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Jenny Wright's avatar

What engaging writing regarding what is going on along the road! The turtle is adorable in a turtle-ish way, and looking somewhat surprised. I have stopped, too, on roads to pluck turtles from the road and carry them to safety. Not long ago, driving in dry central Oregon, I saw an antelope fawn with its mother in the sage and native grass pasture alongside the road. Antelope fawns are exquisite; tiny replicas of adult antelopes, about the size of a jackrabbit with legs like twigs, and they can run at astonishing speeds.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

An antelope fawn! How amazing, Jenny. I've never seen one. What a gift for you to spy one. That's one of those great moments .....

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Jenny Wright's avatar

It is one of the great moments! I hope you have the chance to see antelope someday.

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Michael G's avatar

Pronghorn are amazing and beautiful animals. I saw my first one in the sixties on the southwestern Wyoming sage prairie. Decades later I always keep my eyes open for them - Utah, Wyoming, Montana; there’s more out there than one thinks, once you know where and what to look for.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Sooo cool!

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Jenny Wright's avatar

They are amazing animals! Very prehistoric, too, even in their present form. I grew up with them all around and they never cease to be a source of amazement. They are a totem in the lands they inhabit.

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Karen Davis's avatar

I love the ditch Lillies too! And I rescued two turtles this week. One I thought for sure would get hit before I could get to him but luckily he was just enough in the middle to be between the wheels of the trucks that didn't even slow down.

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Mark Hayes 🇺🇸's avatar

I’ve always called those ‘ditch Lillie’s’ too. The only place I’ve ever seen them outside of a ditch was in my grandma’s yard. I had figured she dug some up at one point and transplanted.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

YAY, Karen! It's especially great to save one when it's about to be crushed by an idiot/psychopath.

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Rose Steedley Williams's avatar

If my husband had a dollar for every time I’ve said “Stop! Back up! I HAVE to get a picture of that!” In our 47 years together- Well bless his heart, he’d be a very rich man! 😁😍

I love every word of this! 🧡

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

I love that, Rose! We're kindred spirits.

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Eunice Lehmacher's avatar

My husband just made some elderberry flower juice. Have you ever tried it? Yummy. Great this time of year when they are all abloom. And a common drink in Germany this time of year, even in restaurants.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

I've heard it's very healthful, Eunice ... and I wonder what it tastes like.

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Eunice Lehmacher's avatar

Yummy. But it’s the sugar that makes it yummy. o probably not healthy

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Heidi Campbell's avatar

I had a pet box turtle for just a month or so when I was 5: "Boxie." Dad brought it back to the nearby woods/wilds one day, where it belonged. We lived near Buffalo, NY: Depew, at that time, before moving on to Long Island. Sorry for this irrelevant info. Anyway, Jeanne, thank you for sharing your mountains, hills, nature surroundings (plants, flowers, trees and animals) with us... in your journal writings and photography.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Boxie is the perfect name for a pet turtle, Heidi. Good that your wise dad returned it to the wild. And .. thank you for being here!

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Mary Dansak's avatar

Braking and braking! Thanks for the pics!

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Brake away, Mary!

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Reggie Weber's avatar

Nature does gives us so many eye opening gifts

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

True that, Reggie!

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J. Paul Moore's avatar

I love this! Against all odds, you find beauty in the everyday ❤️

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Thank you, Paul! I think you do the same. 😊

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Katie Weinberger's avatar

Love this essay, Jeanne. I saw a swallowtail kite this morning and felt pretty lucky! I have a running list on the notes section of my phone where I record the “wild spectacle” of the day (thank you Janisse for that term) . There’s always at least one 💚

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Such a great practice, Katie, to record each day's wild spectacle. I love that!

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Shellie Enteen's avatar

They are blooming at the back gate to my development...yellow and orange...and I couldn't stop to take a photo, so I know how you felt...Nature is always giving gifts.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Yes ... the constant gifts of Nature!

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Debbie Fraker's avatar

Lovely moments. My cousin kept remarking how beautiful and peaceful the area was.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Your cousin is observant -- and wise.

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Perry J. Greenbaum 🇨🇦 🦜's avatar

Rx Nature is right; thank you, Jeanne for the photos and the words. I was feeling tired most of today. It is evening now and I hope to wake up refreshed tomorrow.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Thanks for being here, Perry! I wish you sweet rest tonight and a fresh awakening in the morning.

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Perry J. Greenbaum 🇨🇦 🦜's avatar

Thank you so much and I wish the same to you.

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Jim Melvin's avatar

I love those turtles. They have their own little personalities.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Just like you!

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