A Full-time Life

Category: Oregon homes

  • October at KIRK POND

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  • WILD IN THE CITY

        

    We're starting to get a little Autumn color here in Eugene — even if part of it is reddish algae on the Delta Ponds.

     

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     Delta Ponds is a 150-acre waterway, consisting of  ponds, channels, and wetlands.  The whole area is owned by the City of Eugene and  is just downstream from the area's largest shopping mall.    

     

     

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    Great Blue Heron on the hunt

    All of it used to be part of the Willamette River floodplain, but the present ponds and channels were formed by gravel extraction in the 1950s and 60s.  (The gravel was used to build the Lane County portion of the  I-5 Freeway and other roadways in the area.)  The City bought the area from the gravel company in the late 1970s and has been actively restoring and reclaiming it since 2004.

     

      

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    Maybe this guy was tired from building the beaver lodge we saw across the pond.  He appears to be napping.

     

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    Great Blue stare-down.

     

     

    I'd taken the bus  to meet a friend  at Valley River Center (the mall mentioned above) .    It was way too pretty a day to stay indoors, so after lunch we headed for the path around the ponds.   (It's good to have friends who would rather take a nature walk near the mall than shop inside it!)

     

    In fact, the weather was so lovely, I decided to walk  all the way home.   (We live a little over three miles from the mall.)    Every year I think I'll take this walk oftener and every year I  almost forget.   

      

     

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    Just a slight detour on the way home took me through the City's Rose Garden.  Again,  I should have visited in July when the roses were at their prime.  But there were still lots of beautiful flowers. 

     

     

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    Pretty much every stage in the life of a rose here on this one bush.

     

     

     

    LINKING my urban walk to the following sharing opportunities, with thanks to all of the hosts for providing them:

     

    OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

     

     

  • HAPPY FALL 2017

         

    Because this is the blog's 10th Anniversary year and the picture is so appropriate for the season, here is a re-run photo used in our very first Full-Time Life post around this time of  year in 2007.    

    It was taken  on  our first RV trip to the East Coast (in 2003).  So it was already old when I  used it in that first post.         (We first blogged to keep in touch with family and friends when we spent Spring 2007 in  London.  A while after we came home, I  decided to start another blog about our adventures in this country.)   

         

    Barn fall croped

     

     In most parts of the USA, 'Fall' is the word for the season between Summer and Winter.   I actually prefer to use 'Autumn' …. but 'Fall' is funnier.  

     

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    The next two pictures are also old  because we don't have much Autumn color here yet.  The one above is in the Ozark Mountains, on a different trip.

    Instead of beautiful colors, the last week of summer here in Eugene brought rain and for that we are beyond grateful.  The moisture has cleared the air of wildfire smoke that permeated the Willamette Valley for much of September.  We hope for continued rain and snow in the mountains because it is needed to  put out all of the fires completely.   I will not even think of complaining about rain this year!   

     

     

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    The marigolds and matching butterfly are also from the Vermont trip.    I could pretend it was more recent, because it could be from an Oregon flower bed — or lots of other  places — but we don't believe in fake news or fake pictures around here.

     

    Meanwhile,  some  current pictures from here  in Oregon  –  (more current than the above pictures, but not from last week … because …   did I mention it's been raining?):

      

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    Out in the country while visiting  our daughter and son-in-law, I took some pictures of Parker — their big puppy (half  McNab and half Mastiff).    (When we left for Florida in November a year ago, he was a tiny ball of fur…. now at not quite a year old and still growing it's a different story.)    

     

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    We are  easy to entertain —  the dog and the house birds always provide a show.       (Two different house birds here   — a couple of house wrens and a house sparrow.)

     

    And, in between showers, late summer is great in downtown Eugene:

     

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    The sculpture of Rosa Parks waiting for the bus (and for her place in history) is appropriately situated on the plaza in front  of the Lane Transit District terminal,  just a few blocks from our apartment.  People love to give her flowers — she is almost always holding a fresh bouquet.  The pictures on the right are flowers (and a few things to eat) purchased at the Saturday Farmer's Market.  

     

     

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     We don't have to worry about parking,  because the Market is also within very easy walking distance.

     

    LINKING  this week to:  

     

    OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; ALL SEASONS; THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS;    RATHER B' BIRDING and THE BARN COLLECTIVE.

     

     

    Thank you to all of the hosts!

     

  • SMOKE and MEMORIES

     

    The picture below is an un-edited photo of the sun near our apartment last Tuesday evening  – around 6 p.m.   While it makes a rather pretty sky picture,  the reason  is not at all good because the dramatic tones are due to smoke from wildfires… and it has severely socked in our valley.  

     

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    According to an article in our local paper (The Register-Guard, Thursday, August 31), wildfires in Oregon are burning an area equivalent to half the State of Rhode Island, affecting air quality throughout the state.  There are two dozen fires in southern, eastern, and central parts of the state that have scorched a total of 571 square miles.  

    Because of the bad air quality, we have done no playing outside this week —  the rest of today's pictures are 'look-backs' and memories.

    Our  weather/climate problems are of course as nothing compared to last week's devastating hurricane and unending heavy rains on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.    Damages are horrendous and the aftermath continues.     

    During our RV travel years, we spent several winter seasons in that part of Texas.  The collage below shows just a few of our memories of those stays: 

     

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    We stayed twice in Port Aransas and once in Fulton/Rockport, where Hurricane Harvey first made landfall.  (The coastal towns are on opposite shores of  North Padre Island, near Corpus Christie.)    From what we have seen and read, it looks as if both  are completely devastated and will take years to rebuild.

     

     

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    Our traveling home at Water's Edge RV Park, Fulton Texas, Winter 2006-07

     

    As full-time RVers, whenever we stayed in an area for three or four months, we always considered ourselves to be residents.  Of course, it isn't the same as it is for people who have spent their whole lives in an area, but it was long enough that we  would felt at home and get to know the community far better than one would just passing through.   North Padre  was one of our all-time favorite areas and we have wonderful memories of both towns.  

    Travel certainly taught us a lot about our country and brought  much joy  – but it also makes losses such as the one from this horrible storm more vivid as we recognize places  being destroyed and remember them and the people we met.    

    Our thoughts are with all those in the affected area.    

      Roadtrek at FRS Our current road-trip vehicle

     

    The bird below is a more recent memory, but was also on the Gulf Coast — of Alabama .  We saw this bird on our road trip home to Oregon this past June.    I included it then in a collage of pictures from an evening walk we took where we stayed (Gulf Shores State Park).  And I didn't even try to ID it … but Eileen, our Saturday Critters host and my (blogland) resident bird expert  told me in a comment on that post that it was a shrike!    Thank you Eileen.   (Most will know already, but Eileen's blog is VIEWING NATURE and it is HERE.) 

     

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    Loggerhead shrike

     

    Many years ago on a camping trip  Bill showed me  evidence of the way shrikes impale their prey, and I probably saw the bird too — but that was long before I became really interested in birding — so I'm definitely calling this sighting a first.  

     

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    The flowers below came from a walk around  town that we took when my sister and brother-in-law were visiting last week (after Eclipse Day)… they're part of a wall of hanging baskets in front of a Nursery.

     

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    We are hoping for more dramatic flowers and fewer dramatic smoky skies in September.    

     

     

    Thank you for visiting —  and special thanks to the hosts of 

     the following sharing opportunities:

     LINKING THIS WEEK TO:   SATURDAY CRITTERS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;   MOSAIC MONDAY;   NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; FLORAL BLISS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

  • SIGNS OF SUMMER

       

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    Either the priest or the gardener at this  beautifully landscaped church in Salem has a good sense of humor.   We were there to attend the funeral for Bill's Aunt Rosemary.  This lovely lady, who lived to her late 90s,  was the last remaining member of our parents' generation (on both sides).  Not that there was much doubt before, but we're certainly officially members of the senior generation now.

    All of the rest of the pictures in this post are  from walks around the neighborhood here in Eugene.

     

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      I love hydrangeas in all their colors and all their stages.  It's hard not to stop for pictures when I'm out walking. These are some I've "collected" from different yards all through my walking area

     

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    But even these lush blue bushes can't rescue this poor old house.   I first noticed it when I walked past when we were still here last October.  And at first I thought it was decorated for the Halloween season (the bushes of course were brown and withered then, adding to the haunted appearance). There have been no apparent changes to the structure since last Fall.   Abandoned homes always make me wonder about the story behind them.

     

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    The old house is about six blocks away one direction from our  apartment — we are right on the edge of an older Eugene neighborhood (mostly with well-kept homes — the one above is an exception).  

    But when we walk the other way, we are in the middle of downtown.    We strolled around on the  First Friday Art Walk, listening to music and looking at some of the street art.  

     

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    It was hot though, so we spent most of the evening in an air-conditioned theater watching an Instant Ballet (the dancers, members of the Eugene Ballet Company,  take suggestions from the audience to put together a ballet based on a pre-determined theme and music.  

     

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     The City installed this colorful piano in the middle of one downtown block.   It gets a lot of use.   Sometimes you get a concert.  And then there are the other times  ….    

     

     

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     Eugene might be the only place in the world that would have this sign on the front of a City Bus.    We like it!

     

     

     Linking this week  to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MACRO MONDAY; FLORAL BLISS; TUESDAY TREASURES; and SIGNS SIGNS 

     THANK YOU to all of the hosts.

  • OOPS!

     Linking to ALL SEASONS;   MOSAIC MONDAY,  NATURE NOTES, OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY, WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY, SIGNS SIGNS, and a tiny bit of fence in the top right collage picture for Theresa's final GOOD FENCES .   Thank you to all of the hosts.

     

    And thanks to everyone for the thoughtful comments on last week's post.  It helps to talk things over with friends — virtual as well as in real life.   As you'll read below, I'm a little bit slow with my visits and replying, but I will get there.  

     

     

    P1050273-002Happy Thanksgiving!!   This is an urban wild turkey  spotted  a week ago Sunday just a few blocks from our mid-town apartment.  

     

    I know these birds do well in this part of Oregon, but have to admit I was surprised to see one this close to the City center/downtown mall. 

     

    She didn't seem at all worried about ending up on the dinner table — and in fact is probably safer living on downtown streets this time of year than out in the country.  

     

    The turkey was the first thing I took a picture of that afternoon.  I'd gone out for a short photo/exploration walk, with the main  goal being to figure out the sign below.  

     

    We'd spotted it on the side of a building below the Ferry Street Bridge  – one of the main city connectors — earlier in the week.  And wondered what we'd missed.

     Because why would there be a sign with just a picture of a falling girl.  But there was nothing else on the sign.  

    Just the girl falling.    

    Or maybe she's diving.  

    Or floating through the air.  

     

     

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    But I'm going with 'falling' as a symbol.   Because just a few minutes after I'd taken her picture, and obviously while my mind was still on the puzzle,  I tripped over a curb — and splatted flat on the sidewalk  –  could have been worse  I suppose, except for the fact that I caught myself on both hands.  My fall was not nearly so graceful.

    Besides various scrapes and bruises, I broke and dislocated one little finger and twisted and bruised bones on my other wrist.

    I was thankful I had my cell phone to call Bill  (a  driver crossing the street beside me kindly stopped to offer help but as soon as I saw that my cell wasn't crushed, I told him help was only minutes away).  

    We certainly didn't spend the rest of that Sunday evening the way we'd planned!  Without going into all the boring details I'll just tell you that Sunday afternoon is definitely  not a good time to visit Urgent Care or the Emergency Ward here in Eugene and our  hours spent in those places were fruitless.   We didn't really get anything done until we visited an Orthopedic clinic on Monday.   Now, my finger is strapped, making keyboarding difficult and both hands get tired.   (It's a little easier on the IPAD where I can use the stylus, but my pictures are here on the laptop.)  Tomorrow afternoon (Monday) I'll find out if I will need surgery.  

    Bill has been waiting on me literally hand and foot — the two things I still can't manage at all are tying my shoes and fixing the strap around my hand.

     Below are some examples of urban nature taken on my walk 'before the fall.'

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    So besides the things I always give thanks for, this Thanksgiving Week I'm especially grateful that nobody is depending on me to cook the feast — grateful that we will be with our family.  And I'm grateful for a patient and helpful husband.  And that my fall didn't completely ruin my point-and-shoot camera or damage my cell phone … those two necessities of life.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • IN THE CITY

     

     For OUR WORLD*, SIGNS SIGNS, and GOOD FENCES.  Thank you to the hosts.

     

    Last week's post was about a country walk .  In contrast, here are a couple of recent City strolls.   We are fortunate to be able to do both while we're here in Oregon.     

     

     

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    A city fence surrounds this beautiful corner home a few blocks from our apartment.  If we walk in one direction from home we're in the center of downtown — the other directions take us into older residential neighborhoods.    We are lucky to still have some Autumn color, even after days of rain.  These pictures were taken last week.

     

     

     

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     Same one from another angle.   I counted seven different colors of paint!   I remember the days of helping to paint our one-and-a-half story home here in Oregon (in our former life, before we sold out to travel full-time)…. that house had three colors and was hard enough to keep up.  I wouldn't want to help with this one.   It's a lot more fun to take pictures.

     

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    Another house in the neighborhood, not quite as grand, but the happy colors are a standout.     That's not a poster in the doorway window, but a reflection of trees from across the street.  I hoped that the homeowners had been outside at the right time to see the pretty picture at their doorway. 

     

     

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    This is Maude Kerns Art Center near the University of Oregon campus.   I walked there one day to see the Day of the Dead (Dia De Muertes) display before it closed on November 4.

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    This embroidered sign with the good advice  from George Bernard Shaw caught my eye.

          

     

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    A few of the altars on display.   Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration  that remembers and honors loved ones who have died, while at the same time re-affirming life.   

    We learned about it when we spent some RV time in  Southwest states and Mexico.  At that time, this holiday hadn't yet made it to public awareness in our part of the Pacific Northwest, so it was all new to us.     In the ensuing years, the culture here in Eugene has become more diverse and enriched.  While these altars weren't as elaborate as some we've seen elsewhere,  it is a good start.   Here's a link to an NPR article explaining the meaning of the altars.  

     

     

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     ** In real time, I'm trying to stay positive in light of the fact that Our World as we know it may end on Election Day tomorrow.

     

    Not my bike, not my unicorn,  not my sign.   But I  kind of wish they were.  

    (Bike and sign seen parked in front of the Eugene Library.)

     

     

      I hope I will still be able to post something positive next week.

     

  • IN THE COUNTRY

    Linking to GOOD FENCES; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; TODAY'S FLOWERS; SCENIC WEEKENDS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; The BIRD DEPOT; and  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; BARN COLLECTIVE and WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.   Thank you to all of the hosts.

     

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    Some of our 'stuff' is stored in the barn at our daughter and son-in-law's and last Friday we had a couple of tasks to do there.  And when I say 'we', I mean Bill.     But of course I went along for the ride picture opportunities.

     

      

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    I thought about good fences as I walked the perimeter of the property.  In the country, fences are not necessarily decorative.   

     

     

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    Barbed wire does just fine, especially out on the 'south forty' where all these pictures were taken.    There is a row of tall evergreen trees between the fence line and the rest of the property so that the wire fencing isn't visible from the house and yard.   The pathway between the trees and fence makes a narrow walkway — our great-grandsons love that secret spot and so do I.

      

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    I'm always glad for a chance to visit  the farm, even when our son-in-law and daughter are busy elsewhere.     And I was especially glad after this visit, because Friday was the only day last week when it didn't rain.  I caught a blue sky and a couple of blue birds when I looked up.    These are the two Jays that we see here in this part of Oregon.  The one on the left is a Stellar's and the other a Scrub  (one of the most common birds around here).  

     

     

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     And when I looked down, everywhere all over the property,  there were fungi!   I'm going to cheat a little just this once and link these to Today's Flowers.  After all, they were growing in the ground — and I found them quite decorative (although I'm not sure the gardeners who live there would agree with me).  

     

     

     

  • HAPPY HALLOWEEN

    LINKING TO: ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on TUESDAY;   WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  and SIGNS SIGNS.  Thank you to all the hosts!

     

     It's Haunted Season in the neighborhood.

      

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     Actually, I'm haunted this (election) season by scarier things than spider webs, old houses, and cars buried in leaves…. but none of that makes good blogging material.   So on walks,  I look for things to smile about — that way, at least I'll have a chance at a good night's sleep.

     

     I went back to the archives for these bird pictures — because Vultures are simply the best Halloween birds ever.    

    Look alive now!

     

    Search results for birds and sky

     

    We don't see vultures often here in Oregon (they're here — we're just not in the right neighborhood)… these guys haunted us in Florida last season.  

     

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    Seasonal color of the non-haunted  kind — all from walks around our Oregon neighborhood last week.    Every year, I wonder what becomes of all the pumpkins you see at the grocery stores and supermarkets — they really don't seem to sell that many.       

     

    We also saw this sign at the Saturday Farmer's Market:

     

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    This vendor sold catnip and other pot herbs  – not that kind of pot (at least not that we recognized).  Although that kind did become legal in Oregon last year.  (As far as I know, catnip has always been legal.)   

  • BETWEEN RAIN SHOWERS

    Linking to: SKYWATCH FRIDAY; TODAY'S FLOWERS; SCENIC WEEKENDS; MONDAY MACRO; and (Laura is back with) I HEART MACRO  Thank you to all of the hosts.

     

     We're still in rainy western Oregon and, although we'd almost given up, last week we did get some more blue sky after all.

     

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    It rained hard all day long last Friday.  Then finally – about 5:30 – the rain seemed like it was letting up a  little so I grabbed raincoat, camera, and umbrella and headed out for a quick neighborhood walk before dinner (and dark).  Not even half an hour into the walk the skies completely cleared. And it was as if the sun was packing all the brightness it could into the last few minutes of the day. 

     

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    It burnished the trees and made even prosaic buildings glow.

     

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    This beautiful yard is  on the corner of a street across from a City Park a few blocks from where we live.  It's been more picture-worthy than the Park all summer long and it still shines in mid-October.  Here are just a few of the flowers — on a different day's walk between showers.  

     

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    Roses are no longer at their peak, but this one was still beautiful in all its faded glory.

     

    You have to look a little harder for natural beauty on rainy days in the city — but it is definitely still out here!