The realtors here boast 300 days of sunshine, but having lived here for 14 years, we know that any day with a minimum of five minutes of sun gets counted. Spring arrives in late June, Summer is two weeks in August, Fall falls in September, and Winter is everything else. Our neighbors in Bend live in another climate altogether, on the other side of Lava Butte. This side of the Butte is a pocket of extremes, mostly cold, sometimes hot.

The winter birdbath keeps the water just above freezing. Not designed to be stable under the leaps of squirrels and raccoons, I routinely found the birdbath on its side in the morning. When attempts to stabilize it failed, David put in three tree stumps leading up to the edge of the birdbath.

If you haven’t seen a raccoon waddle up steps and daintily sip from a birdbath or watched the doves take their evening sauna around the rim-with their tails in the water, then you need to take a vacation in Sunriver!

March 13: Circles of (Wild) Life