Species Spotlight:
Quaking Aspen

Rick Samco

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Wildflower Poetry Reading

Wildflower Poetry Reading

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Greater Sage Grouse and Sparrows at Hart Mountain

Greater Sage Grouse and Sparrows at Hart Mountain

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Discover Desert Pronghorn

Discover Desert Pronghorn

About the Author

LeeAnn Kriegh is a Bend-based writer and author of The Nature of Bend, a fun, full-color guide to the most common plants and animals in Central Oregon.

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Species Spotlight:
Mountain Mahogany

By LeeAnn Kriegh Trees live their lives on a different timescale than ours, so it helps to slow ourselves down to fully appreciate them. Certainly, a shrubby little tree like […]

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How to Identify Native Plants

By Scott Bowler Hey, what’s that cool flower? After leading wildflower discovery and identification trips for 40-plus years, I can tell you that people’s most common reaction upon encountering a […]

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rows of aspen in all hues

Species Spotlight:
Quaking Aspen

By on September 15, 2020 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

Author: LeeAnn Kriegh  |  Published: September 15, 2020  |  Category: Species Spotlight Why Aspen Quake The day I fell in love with Central Oregon, I woke to the sound of […]

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See the World from
a Butterfly’s Point of View

By on July 1, 2019 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

I wonder if butterflies might get annoyed by all the poetic language they attract. They’re “tiny rainbows,” “flying flowers,” or “ephemeral angels.” We use them as metaphors for transformation and […]

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Species Spotlight: Burrowing Owl

By on March 1, 2019 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

A Funny Little Owl By LeeAnn Kriegh Pronghorn are perhaps the most graceful animal native to the high desert country of Central and Eastern Oregon. Golden Eagles are the most […]

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mountain bluebird

Species Spotlight: Bluebirds

By on September 12, 2018 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

Bluebirds of Happiness By LeeAnn Kriegh Is there any bird that inspires more passion and poetry than bluebirds? Henry David Thoreau, for one, wrote eloquently of the bird that “carries […]

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Species Spotlight: Black Cottonwood

By on April 25, 2018 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

Where There’s Cottonwood, There’s Water. We recommend listening to this Cottonwood Canyon Riparian Soundscape while you read this Species Spotlight. At the new Riley Ranch Nature Reserve in Bend, a […]

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