A Full-time Life

Category: Exploring Oregon

SMILES — REARRANGED

Nothing much new under the sun this week. Or actually under the rain and gray clouds. Rain is definitely needed, so I'm not feeling sad about it at all. And besides there are photo-worthy skies in the archives. Here are a few I re-arranged:

These six pictures are from four of our favorite states. Can you guess which? There's a hint (and an answer) at the end of this post.

No hint at the end about the above plant, but information from any experts is always welcome. It's fascinating that it has green flowers! There's a whole bed of them in a neighborhood garden I walked past last week.

Random soft color from a neighborhood walk before it started to rain.

When I said nothing much new happened last week, I meant in a blog-worthy way — the camera didn't get much of a workout. But things happened. We read, we walked, we ordered groceries, we cooked, "we" worked on getting our tiny trailer ready for some future trips …

And, as usual these days, we got a delivery or two. Now honestly, does every photo-blogger have a mental list of things they wish they'd snapped a picture of? My long list now includes the new mattress FedEx delivered last week. It arrived vacuum packed and rolled in a box light enough for the two of us to carry from the porch. Then we watched it magically inflate to a lovely 14"- thick queen-size as soon as the tight wrapping was removed. I wish I'd taken a picture of that! It's kind of amazing — sure beats the old way when a mattress purchase took two furniture store delivery persons . (Of course this time we had to move the old one ourselves — that was the harder part.)

One of these "wildflowers" is not like the other. Can you find it? Oh wow it's another puzzle. Every open space along the walking path is covered with these little jewels, in about the same proportion seen here. All so spring-like and pretty. I refuse to call them weeds.

This collection may help with the sky photo locations. These animals and birds are from the same four states as in the sky photo — re-arranged in the same order. (* see below link ups)

Thankful this week for the rain (but also kind of glad the sun has peeked through occasionally); for the new mattress that feels almost like it was custom-made for us; and for travel — both memories and future trips now in the early planning stages.

Linking this week to the following: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

Top row L-R: Colorado, Florida, Oregon. Bottom row: Oregon, Colorado, Washington.

April 25, 2021
OFFICIALLY SPRING

We've been enjoying Spring-like weather for at least a couple of weeks. but the season officially started on March 20. Here's what the first week of Spring looked like around here:

In our neighborhood on the paths to the river, trees are beginning to bud out, forsythia and Oregon grape are spots of sunshine, and early rhododendrons are blossoming. We can pretend this is the first robin of spring — even though these birds never leave this area, so they really aren't a reliable sign of the season.

Common Merganser

And on the river on one perfect afternoon last week there was what seemed like a convention of ducks. I've never seen this many different species in one small part of the Willamette.

Lesser Scaup

There was a small rapids area and a river island near where they all were — and honestly it seemed like all the different ducks were floating around in perfect harmony — just enjoying the beautiful day.

There were at least two additional species I didn't get a picture of and the usual Canada geese in there too. Gotta' love it when everybody can just get along!

On another lovely day we went for one of our favorite kind of mini-roadtrips:

Yup, narrow winding roads are the most fun. We've been on lots that were narrower and windier, but whoever it is that decides drivers need constant reminding was vigilant on this one — the same sign kept appearing every two miles for about fifteen of them!

You don't have to go too far to get away from the city in this area and there are lots of country roads to explore. That's something to be grateful for in our opinion.

Daffodils are lasting longer than they do some years since we've had no heavy rains. I remember from a long time ago that they sometimes would be gone before the season really officially began. I'm glad this is a good year and I'm grateful for all the signs of Spring. (Except maybe the pollen. Achoo. Our covid masks do double duty on some days.)

Linking to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to all of the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday; SIGNS SIGNS;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING

March 28, 2021
A LITTLE BIT (of) BLUE

There was at least some blue sky and mid-day temperatures in the 50s all last week, so we remain pretty darn lucky here in Oregon during our Covid Winter.

A little blue sky on a River Walk, early February 2021

There's really no good reason to feel even a little bit blue — but I can't help wishing for some new things to blog about. Not being able to travel is a small price to pay for good health though. I know that many bloggers are doing memory posts these days and below are some of ours from past Februarys.

Mardi Gras Parade, Mobile Alabama February 2005

I got a kick out of this picture I found in the archives. It's practically ancient, all the way back to 2005, but it looks like the two guys in the back are wearing their masks correctly for 2020. Here is what I said in a blog post in 2010 about something that was already a memory by then:

Mobile Alabama Mardi Gras celebration in 2005. In the Pacific Northwest, we had Lent but we never got to celebrate for weeks leading up to it! We loved the parades.   It really is a wonderful community-wide party and more family-friendly than the better-known Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. Mobile says that they celebrated it first and New Orleans stole the idea.

Next, a couple from Florida, where, until this year, we've spent February since 2011.

Penta Plant

From the Gardens at the Butterfly Park near our Canal Cottage. Perfect that this plant with all its little hearts blooms during Valentine's Month.

Lakeland is a birder's Paradise of a town. There are dozens of swans in the City's central Lake and this regal one was lovely to see on one of our explore-Florida trips in February 2014.

Below, it's back to Lane County Oregon (where we are again now) for this memory from Fern Ridge Lake. We used to stay at the Lake when we visited Oregon during the years we were living full time and traveling in our RV.

Most of the time, we were there only during parts of the summer and fall, but in 2010 we were at the lake in February. That year, we got to experience living along the almost dry Lake, which had been drained for the season (it is a flood control reservoir).

And now — back to the present day:

River Walks, early February 2021

It isn't just the sky that can't make up its mind around here — early spring plants are popping up, but the remains of Fall are evident at the same time. Some days it feels like Spring, some days like Fall. Not a lot of what most people would call Winter. And for that we are grateful. Cold weather takes a lot of getting used to when you've spent Winters in sub-tropical temperatures for over a decade.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

February 7, 2021
A GLORIOUS WINTER DAY

It is rainy and gray today and supposed to get cold toward the end of the week

but yesterday ….

Yesterday was glorious.

The beautiful weather caused us to reconsider our informal "we stay home on weekends" mantra. This time of year, it would be a shame to waste a blue sky day cooking and cleaning (or to be completely honest, doing nothing useful whatsoever.) And we knew it would rain again soon. So with no particular destination in mind, we drove out into the country northwest of Eugene. Through open farm country bordered in the distance by green hills and then over some woodsy back roads, and we found ourselves heading toward one of our favorite places, Alsea Falls.

Just a little unnamed waterfall.

We didn't stop because there were lots of cars in the parking lot (the reason we don't usually go out on weekends ever and especially nowadays). But we found a little waterfall not too far away – – and no people. A little waterfall and a little tiny bit of a walk.

A little further on, we passed several miles of a not-so-lovely scene:

Pictures taken January 23. 2021

I think they must mean they planted the sign! There was no sign of anything else at all having being planted on this clearcut. Or maybe they're coming back and the sign was put up in advance. It's certainly very early in the year to have had time to plant acres and acres of trees. (Not a fan of clear-cutting.)

We'll find out when the weather gets warmer, because we plan to spend more time in this area then. There were lots of interesting backroads to explore and if we come mid-week, we should even be able to walk into the big Falls.

Below is Alsea Falls taken in August a couple of years ago. It will be interesting to see how much water there is earlier in the season.

Alsea Falls, August 2019

I'm thankful that we were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine and know how lucky we are to be able to do that at the end of January. And I'm grateful that we live where we can enjoy such beautiful scenery on a day trip.

Thankful also to the hosts of the following sharing opportunities where I'm linking this week. And for everyone who visits.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;

January 24, 2021
THE LEAVES ARE LEAVING

Want to buy a post office? Yep, the Lorane post office building, the second smallest we've ever seen, can be yours for only $99,000. We saw the "for sale" sign and looked it up when we got home. The ad said the "iconic building" is leased to the USPO for the next four years — so there's a guaranteed source of income.

The post-office sighting was on one of our recent "covid drives" out in the country, All of the rest of the pictures are from last week, even closer to home.

Saturday, November 7

To be perfectly honest, the picture above is from a week ago yesterday. That's the Black Walnut Tree at our D and SIL's that I've been watching since April. We spent part of that Saturday out at the farm visiting and admiring the Fall colors, a lot of which appeared in last week's post. It was perfectly beautiful blue-sky Autumn weather.

But the next day it turned cool and windy.

On Monday, Cyndi texted that it was "snowing leaves" at their house. She included a quick movie from her phone but sadly I can't figure out how to embed a video so it's a screen shot.

Friday, November 13

And this is my picture of the same tree from our latest visit a couple of days ago. What a difference a week makes.

Cyndi also texted this picture. How lucky that they had some help with the raking! That is their grandson (our great), who was visiting them for the day. You can tell from my latest picture above that there are a lot more leaves to come down. Enough to keep this little guy busy the next time he spends the day with his grandparents.

I didn't help with the raking when we visited on Friday. But I did collect some of the last of the Autumn color from the back pasture. I'm grateful to enjoy the beauty and have none of the work. Sometimes growing older is not a bad thing at all!

While we were there, the sky kept changing from gray to blue. So Cyndi and I kept moving our lawn chairs around from sunny spots to dry ones as we visited. Beautiful Autumn color is just about gone, but I hope this rainbow is an omen of a manageable winter and brighter things to come in non-weather related matters. (Rainbow shot through the car window the same day, as we drove home.)

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to all of the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;



November 15, 2020
DAWN OF A NEW DAY

We woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful golden day. And not only because of the perfect Autumn weather.

This isn't a current news blog by any means, but as I have said often, it is my happy place. And because the news on Saturday made me happy, I can't just ignore it here. I will be even happier on January 20 (and hope we survive until then), but it feels like our country has taken the first step back to sanity.

"We are in a battle for the soul of the nation. It’s a battle to uphold and honor the values that we hold dear, values like empathy, and dignity, and respect for truth. These are our values and they are the values we need for a better future." Joe Biden.

Of course we still have problems and they won't magically go away now or in January. But there is hope. And there are beautiful Autumn colors. The pictures above are all from Saturday at our son-in-law and daughters. Our Covid-pod. And we are more than OK with that.

"Introverts were social distancing before social distancing was cool" - Don Kahle, Register-Guard (Eugene) October 30

In addition to visiting the lovely people in our pod on Saturday, we took a couple of day-drives earlier in the week. The weather really has been perfect and Autumn color is wonderful. Getting out there is something we like to do and my favorite form of stress relief. Fortunately Bill enjoys it just as much.

A random drive-by shot of typical scenery in our part of the world. I love the layered look of the hills.

Oakland Oregon is a small and historic town in the next county to ours. (Historic for this part of this country.) It's only about an hour from home on the freeway, but longer for us because we explored backroads on our way there and back. We are fortunate to have our camper van because public "rest stops" are few and far between these days. We wouldn't be nearly as comfortable on a day drive with just a car (or at least I wouldn't).

Oakland was pretty much completely shut down on the week-day when we were there. The downtown is mostly antique and souvenir stores and wineries that had opened in repurposed historic buildings. I wonder if many of these small businesses will survive Covid.

Leisurely heading back home after our walk around Oakland, we stopped for a while in the even tinier town of Drain. The town wants to make sure people know why it has that odd name.

I remember the days when almost every outing, whether for errands or pleasure, included finding a fun restaurant. Many of our old favorites have re-opened at home (in the Eugene area) , but we haven't patronized any this year except for a few takeout meals. We wouldn't have found much at all on this outing, even if we'd been planning to "eat out."

Things change, but life is good — and hopefully getting better.

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS ;  OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;

November 8, 2020
The BEAUTIFUL and the BAD

It was perfect October weather last week — just about as perfect as perfect can be. Not too hot, not too cold. No rain, but it has rained recently so it's no longer too dry!

All the colors of Autumn with blue sky — from a Saturday morning walk around our neighborhood. Earlier in the week, we took a drive up the McKenzie River. The Highway is open again after being closed because of the Holiday Farm fire.

Goodpasture Bridge, McKenzie River — built 1938

Oregon has more covered bridges than any other state west of the Mississippi. Back when bridges were built of wooden timbers, the roofs were protection from the Oregon rain. Quite a few of them have been preserved and some like this one are still in limited use.

We stopped at the bridge above and this stretch of the river just after leaving the urban area of Eugene/Springfield. The sun was shining, the river flowed, the trees were green. Over the years, we've had so many happy times along the McKenzie and at first, the drive-by views looked just like old times. Because of last month's fire, we knew to expect damage further along but felt like we needed to see it for ourselves.

We didn't have to drive too much further before seeing blackened trees and crews removing dangerously damaged ones . Along here, we were surprised to see places where one home would be severely burned and the one on the next property still standing apparently unharmed. In our travels, we've been in areas where we've seen the aftermath of hurricanes and tornados, but didn't expect fire damage to be so sporadic. But this fire was exacerbated by a severe windstorm, so it was wind patterns here as well.

We began to see signs thanking the fire crews for the amazing job they did stopping the fire where they did. But soon we reached the towns of Finn Rock and Blue River. Those towns are near where the fire started. They are pretty much completely destroyed.

There used to be a store and cafe where the structure at the top left and center were taken. Small vacation cottages lined the portion of the river where some owners are still sifting through the remains. The three pictures on the bottom are from what was once the town of Blue River. Firefighters saved the district school building, but the town is just gone.

At first as we drove through the remains of the town it somehow felt wrong that the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I suppose it is a sign of hope. It was so very sad, but I was still glad we took the drive. We don't watch the news and nothing I had read had quite prepared me for this. It will be a long time before things are anywhere near back to normal in this part of our county.

Rather than re-trace our route along the McKenzie River, we made it a circle drive by going home over the Santiam Highway.

We were traveling a portion of this aptly named scenic byway. Here is a brief bit of info from "America's Scenic Byways."

This 66-mile route begins in the rich farmland of the Willamette Valley, and then winds along rushing streams, and through dense forests as it climbs into the Cascades to join the West Cascades and McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass National Scenic Byways.

Along the way travelers will pass through some of Oregon's oldest settlements, while experiencing the geographic diversity of five western Oregon ecosystems. With access to rivers, reservoirs, parks and campgrounds, many trails and winter sports access areas, this byway offers a wide range of scenic wonders and recreational activities.

Short Bridge, Santiam River , Built 1945 to replace an earlier one built in 1920

Short Bridge crosses the South fork of the Santiam River. Like the Goodpasture Bridge at the beginning of the post, this one is also named for a pioneer Oregon settler. The name is not meant as a description, but it could be — it really isn't very long. (I think it is shorter than this blogpost is.) If you've read this far, thank you!! Even though I usually try to keep this blog "my happy space", another purpose of it is to keep memories. And I don't want to forget this fire (which I can only hope will be a rare happening).

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS;  OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS;

October 18, 2020
OREGON ON FIRE

We are safe at home, but the State of Oregon is burning up. Government authorities have reported over a million acres have burned. It is hard to believe that a week ago today (Sunday) my weekly blog post talked about how dry and hot it was, but we had spent that last week doing our usual things. Usual in the age of Covid anyway — we took walks, we visited outdoors with family, went to the grocery store and Farm Market…. just the normal.

But that was last Sunday and I was blogging about the previous week. On Monday night (September 7), the Holiday Farm Fire started up the McKenzie River — in an area about 50 miles east of us. It has now burned to about 15 miles from us, as well as further north and south. Conditions were hot and dry and there was a strong 40 mph wind (very unusual for here) — it fanned the fire out of control very suddenly. People who lived up the river got no warning — some of them awoke to flames against their house. Several small communities were destroyed. It is not yet known how many lives have been lost. People have been evacuated to high schools in Springfield, the twin city to Eugene where we live. Fire fighting conditions improved Friday, and the fire has slowed, though still is not controlled.

These two pictures were taken from our front door on Tuesday morning, September 8 — the only time all week I've stepped out of the house. We, and our Oregon family, are not near the flames and in no danger of having to evacuate, but air quality is at a dangerous level.

The Holiday Farm Fire is just one of several climate fires that are burning out of control in our State, all caused by the same conditions. But it is the closest one to us. The Upper McKenzie River has been our mountain playground for years. I made the collage below from the last time we camped there.

Memory of Blue River — from last April.

We stayed at the Blue River RV Park on the last night of our trip home from Florida. It is practically certain that this beautiful little RV park has been destroyed. We have so many memories of staying along the River in years back. This was just the latest time. We used to go camping with our kids up there, we often took carloads of Boy Scouts and supplies to camp, and every summer we have taken at least a day trip up the river to walk or hike. It will be a while before anyone is able to do that again — and it will never be the same.

Sun on Tuesday morning

Climate change has come home. It is heartbreaking to think of the people who have lost everything in these fires. We hope for happier times and better days to come… and soon.

LINKING this week to: MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY .

Thank you to the hosts.

September 13, 2020
HOT WEATHER OREGON

It was HOT last week! Oregonians aren't used to 90 degree temperatures – It's really not even fun to go for a walk when it's that warm. One morning we took a drive up into the hills East of us just to get away. It was a little bit cooler and a whole lot greener. We drove rather aimlessly around the back roads, sometimes on logging roads, stopping now and then to admire the views. And to take pictures or to figure out where we were (depending on which half of us we're talking about.)



Layered hills are my favorite. This view was on Bill's side and he stopped the car before I even saw it. He knew I'd want this picture and I'm actually glad he can read my mind.

Views nearer to the roads.

The green really was refreshing — it really is dry and hot in the valley and sometimes smoky. Several wildfires are burning in Western Oregon — one in our county, on the way to the Coast. We need rain.

Saturday was the coolest day of the week — still in the 80s (F) but more manageable. We went out to the country to say hi to whoever was home. And to work on a project or to take pictures (once again, depending which half ….).

One

I wandered out to the back-of-beyond part of their property. This little guy caught my eye. His perch on a blackberry cane did not look real comfortable. I took the picture mostly so I could try to identify what it was … it didn't look like the small birds I usually see in their yard.

Two

Before I even moved there were suddenly two birds on the same bushes. – I'm not sure if they're even the same kind of bird as the first one I saw — but they were also enjoying whatever was left on those dead branches.

Three

And then there were three. One definitely showing off athletic skill.

Four

Five!

By the time the whole flock flew away all at once, it was feeling as if I were in the middle of a children's counting book. One, two, three….. how many little birds do you see? I'm wondering if these are some kind of recent fledglings. (ID help is always welcome.)

I'm still surprised that those birds chose the bare branches when there was this colorful tangle of ripe berries and rose-hips nearby. I picked a cup or two of blackberries for our cereal the next day. Before we went home we also picked a big basket of those wonderful cherry tomatoes and our daughter gave us a dozen of those green and brown eggs. (see here). Good company, good food, fresh air — can't be beat.

LINKING this week to the following: Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING

September 6, 2020
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

It all depends on which way you're going. Let's pretend we're all coming out of the dark into the sunshine. It could happen that way.

The best walk of the week was at Eugene's Delta Ponds. This bit of nature in the middle of the City is a peaceful — and hopeful — place. It's a City Park reclaimed from gravel pits. Gravel extraction during the 1950s and 60s provided much of the material for construction of local roadways, including Interstate 105.

The City purchased the land from the gravel company in the late 1970s, but it remained wild and unclaimed until 2003.

Work to restore the Delta Pond System and reconnect it to the River has been ongoing since then. It's a wonderful resource for the community and one for which I'm grateful!

More usual suspects — the white duck must be an escapee who decided to join his wild cousins. The female Mallard at the top left has a feather on her beak. I kept expecting her to sneeze. Also seen, but not photographed (even badly) were a few darting songbirds and a Kingfisher.

The next two pictures are from last week's visit to our daughter and son-in-law's.

A few mid-summer flowers are still hanging in there.

The Black Walnut tree is magnificent in all its fully leafed out glory. It is too bad that it couldn't stay at this stage for longer! The leaves will probably start to fall just about the time the rainy season arrives, which (according to our children) makes a big messy job. I've taken so many spring and summer pictures of this beautiful tree this year, the least I can probably do is pick up a rake in the fall. Or not. (Maybe I will just take some more tree-watch pictures instead. )

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to all of the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS;    THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

August 30, 2020