Escapees From the Refuge??? Maybe...

Actually we let our wonderful winter visitors go anywhere they want to

during their time here...I saw these in Independence, Oregon--

a great little historical town set along the western bank of the Willamette River.

I LOVE this photo...it makes me smile whenever I look at it.

Is he (or she) showing off...

doing a little quick-step; trying to catch that special someone's eye?

Maybe...

Walking (the goose);

watching and waiting (me)...

Could it be love or just two buddies meeting by the river?

Can't tell the boy geese from the girl geese by just looking at them...

More watching and waiting...(me)

Not love it seems..

Lenten Blessings,
Aimee

Early March Garden

Our garden, despite the surprise of morning snow this month,

is beginning to really take on the appearance of spring!

The primroses I brought home in late February are now happily set in planters on the deck and by some daffodils.

As I have said, the pieries is blooming, as is one of our rhododendrons.

And, shock! I found some blooms on one of our evergreen huckleberries this weekend

(could not get a good photo of them though).

The plum trees have buds, although no color yet.

Our smaller (tete-a-tete) daffodils are all in bloom,

with the Mt Hood's (a white, later blooming one) to follow in time.

All the changes in the garden

plus the fact that we are expecting temps in the 60's later this week,

have me thinking it might be good to plant some cold weather crops...

time to pull out those seeds:)

Anything blooming at your home?

Lenten Blessings,

Aimee

It's For the Birds (But Not At All Worthless)

Every winter a magical thing happens in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon...

the valley gets visitors.

To be completely honest, it gets a LOT of visitors;

~

Now, during the winter, you can see these feathered visitors in quite a few places--

by rivers, in wetland areas, by a casino we drove by...

but one of the best places to see them is at a National Wildlife Refuge.

The Valley has three of them: William L Finley (south of Corvallis), Ankeny (south of Salem) and Baskett-Slough (near Dallas).

~

Sunday we went to Baskett-Slough, hoping to see some of the swans I had seen there before.

No such luck this time, but we saw hundreds of geese--maybe even thousands.

This was my DH's first time here--

we stopped at the kiosk along the highway (22),

but then we drove through the refuge like we had done at Finley NWR.

Driving through a refuge is an awesome way to see any wildlife

as your car serves as a 'blind' ...

oh, by the way, during the wintertime access is somewhat limited for us humans to let the Geese get some much needed rest before they head back to their northern homes.

Suggestions? Bring a camera with a zoom lens and a pair of binoculars. Drive slowly and bring my eagle-eyed DH (OK, not that last suggestion...but it does help to have someone who can see things from miles away). Sometimes you will see the waterfowl in the grasses which are near the ponds; sometimes you will see them in the fields.

I LOVE it...

Oh--I should say that geese are not the only visitors in the refuge...

you probably already guessed that--

but they are the star attraction:)

For more information, see the link below.

Thank you God for the PNW's winter visitors!

Lenten Blessings,

Aimee

Links:

http://www.fws.gov/WillametteValley/Complex/dusky.html

(information on Dusky Canadian Geese and links to all 3 of the Willamette Valley NWR's. The Dusky Canadian Geese are there from October/November to early April)

Snow on Vines: A Trip to the "Wine Country" of Oregon

The other day, after I had gotten over the excitement of snow at our place,

I asked myself...

I wonder what a vineyard looks like in snow?

So, a friend and I took off to explore that area of Oregon,

after Japanese food, of course.

I've been to this area before;

I try to make a trip here at least once a season because of the spectacular views.

Depending on where you are,

you can see the Coast Range (and we know I love those mountains)

or the Cascade Mountains (and I love them too).

This photo, unless I got really turned around on the sometimes rough roads, should be of the Coast Range...and I believe that is the Tualatin Valley between the mountains and where my friend and I were.

Despite the cloud cover and my less than perfect photo,

it was really beautiful with all the snow.

Another view of a hilltop vineyard.

As you can see below, the snow was hit and miss,

depending on where you were in this group of hills.

Nevertheless, it was a great trip and come later spring,

I will be back to find more of nature's treasure.

Lots more photos,

but it's time to work as my DH has promised me another trip this weekend if I can get a lot done today around the house

(he knows how to motivate me on dark, gloomy days like the one today.)

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Photos: Early March in the "Wine Country" area of Oregon.

Snow in March--Really?

Right now, you won't see one of these signs on our road

and the view outside our living room window doesn't look like this.

You won't see this beautiful river behind our house

or snow on a roof like this

(actually we don't have a cedar shake roof, which is why you won't see this).

Nope, you won't see anything close to this amount of snow at our house right now...

but had you seen me at around 0600 (6 AM) this morning,

you would have seen some snow on roofs, plants, trees and

you would have seen me taking a lot of photos, dressed in my pj's and with a smile on my face~
They say March snow here is very, very rare...

but I think it is priceless!

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

PS: you wouldn't have seen this either:)

Photos: My Hood National Forest + Byway, winter 2012

So Close; So Far

It is so close...this jar filled with pastel colored, chocolate almonds.
So very, very close.


I can smell the candies within.
I can feel the hardness of the candy shell under my fingers.
I can taste the smoothness of the chocolate under the sweet candy shell.
I can hear the crunch the candy makes as I chew it slowly (or quickly depending on how much I am craving it).
I can feel the satisfaction of having given in, once again, to my carbo addiction...

Hum...(thinking).


It is so close...this jar filled with sweet, calorie laden, pastel colored, chocolate almonds.
So very, very close.
But for today, for this moment in time, it is just too far.


Lenten Blessings, Aimee

The WORD on Wednesday

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Photo: Mt Hood National Forest, winter 2012

Birds of a Feather

You and I have visited here before...do you remember? It wasn't long ago at all, but once I find a place I like, I tend to go back...This place is unique because it is located on two rivers--the Willamette and the Clackamas. It is also special because my DDIL (dear daughter-in-law) was the first one to take me here a long time ago.

Last time we were on the Willamette River side of the park;

this time we'll visit the other side of the park.

But be careful, very careful for I hear there are gangs there...

Yep, you can see that this place is just overrun by them...

seagulls,

ducks,

pigeons.

Scary, huh?

OK, more funny and cute than scary...

I admit:)

Actually, they kind of remind me of the dancing gangs of Westside Story

(oops, there I go dating myself again).

I've always been very partial to waterfowl. When we were younger my sibling owned two ducks--one yellow (Daisy Mae) and one that looked a lot like the duck in the front here (GiGi).

I can hear the music now...can you? Dance ducks, dance...

This one must be sitting (or standing) the dance out.

Oh, oh...this sitting things out seems to be a growing trend.

Can't blame them though--it was more sittin' than dancin' weather.

Until next time...stay warm

(and in the PNW, stay dry).

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Notes: photos taken near Oregon City on a very, very wet day.

Is It Spring Yet?

I know it isn't, because the calendar says we are still in February...

and the forecast is calling for possible snow (yea, right...sarcasm intended).

But everywhere I look...

blooming daffodils, pieries and more!

Perhaps I forgot to turn the calendar page?

Perhaps it really IS spring.

Perhaps, but I think more proof is in order.

Searching for spring...any signs of it where you are?

Lenten Blessings,

Aimee

Photo: one of our beautiful PNW rhododendrons.

You will notice, please, it is in my current favorite color:)

Walking in the Footsteps of my Great-Great Grandfather

Oregon was a lot smaller then--

back when my great-great grandfather and his family were called to come here

and spread the good news of Christ.

It was before the turn of the century when he came--

not by the Oregon Trail, like two of my pioneer families did,
but first by train to California and then by ship.

He was not here for long,

he would die of tuberculosis, quite common in that time,

but he accomplished what he was sent to do...

I hope that I can say the same.

Here is one of the places he preached in.

It is was a one room schoolhouse before they added an addition in 1911.

It is (and this makes me very, very happy) still used to teach...

not reading, writing or arithmetic,

but textile skills.

And BTW---if you want to see some fantastic photos from an artist I hold in awe,

please see Teresa's blog. You will be amazed--I know I am.

I have been here once before, with my parents, during a spring drive.

But I wanted to come back and take photos with a little better camera than I had then.

And besides,

who wouldn't want to come and walk in the footsteps of their ancestor again?

To experience a little of what they would have experienced,

to see the sights they saw.

I never tire of this...

making the past come alive!

Making new memories...

Here in one of my favorite places---

I touched a piece of my past

and remembered the man and his mission.

Have you walked in the footsteps of any of your ancestors?

I highly recommend it:)

Lenten Blessings,

Aimee

Note: all photos taken this weekend except for the one of Mt Hood...you'll see why shortly when I do post the ones I took on the mountain:) Oh yes, my heart called me to the mountain and real snow this weekend and, of course, I heeded the call.

About the school---it is now Damascus Fiber Arts School.

Teresa has posts about it here

and here.

The information about my ancestor comes from a book that his son wrote, genealogical research of my own and some other family.

Soon to come: the rest of the weekend...and later more coastal photos.

But now it is time to take the dogs out.

Note for my followers:

I just wanted to take time and welcome a new follower; also to let all of you and other visitors know how much you bless me by your presence:)