The View from Our Window

Eugene, OR, 9:45 a.m.

It’s not much. I doubt it would land me a spot in a popular online series. And certainly not in the contest portion of said series. But for an apartment complex in a city of about 160,000, it’s nice. Lots of trees and some flowers in the spring and early summer.

Flowering tree at our neighborhood park.

And wildlife. Mostly city wildlife. Birds like scrub jays, Steller’s jays, and crows, along with the ever-present squirrels begging on our balcony.

Marvin the Squirrel

And sometimes on our screen door. But every so often a visitor or two wanders down from the wooded hillside nearby.

A young buck (Photo: Julia Ozab)

Sometimes it’s a lone buck or doe, other times a mom and fawn, and every so often we get a whole family. I’ve seen as many as six at one time, though that’s pretty rare.

It’s no wonder Anna loves animals—and nature. We’ve started taking nature walks around our neighborhood taking note of the plants and animals.

Our neighborhood bamboo tree.

Even in the city, nature is close by.