Well, it's May once again, can you believe it, and some migrant birds are starting to arrive here in the North-west.
Among them this pretty Black-headed Grosbeak (picture above) and his wife:

                                           

I've even seen what I think was a Tanager!
Unfortunately he only visited for a few minutes and I didn't get a picture, but hopefully I can entice him to stay around by hanging a few orange slices amidst the feeders.

(btw, that's not a Tanager in the pic but a Gold Finch, photo-bombing my picture of the orange slice)


I'm also very happy to announce that I've started my 'walks' in earnest again! Yahoo!
I wish I could also say that my foot was cured but unfortunately that's not true. Yet.
The pain has probably lessened by 60% give or take but I've also found out that if I take an Ibuprofen every 2 or 3 days the pain is as good as gone.
I have no clue how that can be since they're usually only good for about 4 to 6 hours, but I'm not complaining. I take it! The only thing I can come up with is that any swelling that's there might be reduced for a longer period of time which will than come back very gradually.

                     

So, here I am, walking again. I can't quite explain how happy that makes me feel but walking just clears my head, brings the world in perspective, gives me hope and peace and joy .. just makes everything OK.
It also keeps those couple of pesky, extra pounds at bay ..
I'm not going too far yet but I managed to take the little path through the woods, just down the street from us.
Look at all that Spring-green, it's just radiant!

                

As I mentioned in previous posts, this year's spring so far is a very wet and cold one, hence the little creeks, rivers and ponds that have been created everywhere ..

                                            

Oregon is often rather wet of course, which is also the cause of al that moss everywhere!

            

One of the neighbors has this absolutely stunning tree in the front yard, I'm not quite sure what it is, I'm thinking Pink Flowering Dogwood, but it is gorgeous:

Another yard's front border is completely taken over by these  pink flowering strawberries. If I remember correctly they produced an abundance of tiny little strawberries last year.



My own batch of strawberries are flowering as well and have already produced 3 whole berries, how about that?!

   

Also, I couldn't resist the hanging baskets on display at my local Bimart, so I picked this one up filled with pretty red-flowering Petunias and Verbenas.

In Holland, which has a similar climate as Oregon, most people wait putting their flowering pots and baskets up until the Ice Saints* are 'over', (May 15) so I'm pushing it a little, but I think I'm good.
*The Ice Saints are the name days of a number of Catholic saints that fall in the period from 11 to 15 May. The saints themselves are also called ice saints. According to folklore, these are the last days in spring when night frost can still occur.

We're still doing our weekly 'Wednesday dinner-out' which this time brought us to the tiny town of Carlton, about 12 miles from Newberg.
James had to take a few pictures of houses he needed for an appraisal over there and his brother Doug keeps mentioning the great food they have at the local gas-station, of-all-places, so we gave it a try.

It's called Carlton Corners and is a one-stop-shop; a gas station, restaurant and growler fill station with ten rotating Oregon craft beers and cider and non-ethanol gas.
It's known for Best Burger in Yamhill County 2015-2016 and Best of Mac & the Yamhill Valley, 2018 – 2020.

      
It definitely has a lot of character .. and a good sense of humor ..

                      

By the way, a 'growler fill station' allows consumers to purchase draft beer in reusable, to-go containers.
Growlers, shaped like old-fashioned moonshine jugs, hold 64 ounces of fluid and used to have a lid. Supposedly they got their name because as the beer sloshed around, it caused the carbon dioxide to escape and created a growling noise.

Here in Carlton locals can join the "Corner's Mug Club', have their (ceramic, lid-less) mugs numbered and have them hanging on the wall in the 'growler room', ready to grab when they come in for a 10% discount. There's a 100 member limit and there's a waiting list!

                           

We just settled for a local beer from the tap and ordered the Critter Burger to split.

We're no fan of the thick fries they serve here but they were tasty enough and that burger was delicious!
I think we'll be baaaack ..

And there you have it. Another week, neatly wrapped up and disappearing into the sunset ..
Until next time!