I knew exactly where I wanted to go on Mother's Day.
It was a place I had been before,
but had not dared to enter the fullness of its treasures because I was alone
(and having visions-LOL-of cougers and bears in the woods).
This time I brought reinforcements protection,
AKA my DH and, of course, our very charming but 'fierce', fearless
and snake fighter Eskie.
I think some of you already 'know' her.
After a brief attempt at freedom by this very onery, sometimes hormonal dog
we headed into this magical world
of mosses, ferns, foliage, wildflowers, trees, boulders, a creek and waterfall...
There is NO way to describe the green you see in the midst of this woodland...
my photo editing program can't even believe it and
keeps trying to adjust each photo away from the shades of
greens that really are there...
that's OK I just keep returning the color to its natural state as I smile because I want you to feel as surrounded by green as I felt...
call it a green immersion if you will:)
And then, before too long, you see it through the trees
the waterfall we had come to see; the falls I had SO longed to see on that day
when I 'saw' cougars and bears instead of the treasure I had wanted to see.
Little confession insert here please...
you actually see the waterfall a bit before this.
But you see, I liked this photo the best
AND
that way you can be truly surprised should you ever enter this perfect paradise.
And then we reached...
the END...
well at least for this post.
FOUR more days to go...
and I found more treasures in the freezer to help me celebrate:)
Blessings,
Aimee
Photo Notes:
Where is that hubby man when I need him?
He is a walking, talking, totally interactive encyclopedia of bird, wildlife, plant,
constuction, repair, etc knowledge. Perhaps I will be able, after a suitably delicious meal tonight, to share his great knowledge with me and then I can put names to the above blossoms and such...
or perhaps YOU can?
:)
9 comments:
I recognize those wildflowers but the names aren't popping into my head. I'll let your hubby name them. :-) Thanks for sharing the lushness of your hike. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
Oh Aimee those photos are gorgeous! I can believe the greens were confusing your camera-they are so varied and deep. What a gorgeous walk. I love waterfalls and always enjoy my drive along the Gorge to Portland. Such beauty.
Blessings,
Betsy
@Teresa~
I think he went to sleep. No worries; I will ask him tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed the lushness of the setting. It reminds me of the western portion of the Columbia River Gorge...
Have a great night:)
Blessings,
Aimee
@Betsy,
Thank you! It was a beautiful place--the green reminds me of the area you just mentioned a bit.
My camera was fine with the green. It was my computer's photo editing program that ke[t trying to change the tones/shades...sorry about not being completely clear about that.
Blessings,
Aimee
Aimee, do we have Bluebells in Oregon and if so do we have patches of them near Portland?
Thanks for the beautiful post...did you read the article about the cougar that they had to relocate from Vancouver recently...and also,not long ago from Gresham, I think, too...reason to be respectful in our wanderings. We regularly have coyotes trek across our yard which is a bit concerning to us.
Blessings,
Gracie
@Gracie~
That's what I thought they were so apparently yes. I know I have them at home but we planted them and now they are naturalizing. I am not sure about the Portland area...this was in the northern coast range.
Glad you enjoyed the post. I have heard off and on about cougars and bears in metro areas. I don't know how widespread they are (like they are in the Rocky Mtns.where they have warning signs)just know I never, ever want to meet one.
I am not as afraid of coyotes. At Sunriver my dad and I saw one just a few feet away from us and all I could think of doing was getting photos (of course). My coworkers thought I was crazy for not getting out of there:)
Coyotes are bad news around small animals and probably my friends were right in thinking I should have gotten out of there.
STAY safe my friend and thanks for your visit.
Blessings,
Aimee
PS: I should say we've probably have had either a coyote or cougar on our land before. One night something scared my dog so bad he hid under our deck. I try to be careful when I am outside at night.
@Betsy,
Here is one of the photos I took of the Sunriver cougar:
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2009/03/close-encounters-of-wildlife-bug-bird.html
It was pretty exciting! I have a photo, somewhere, that looks like the coyote is really close to my dad:)
Yep, I am a crazy photographer.
Blessings, A
Beautiful hike! Where did you go? I hike by myself all the time (well, sometimes accompanied by my dog) and I guess I've never thought about predators. Maybe I should..??
Happy Mother's Day to you!
Hi, Linda
Thanks--I thought so too:) This was that waterfall I told you about sometime ago. The one just past the elk preserve in Jewell.
I don't know if there are cougars, bear, etc in that area, but I would presume that there's always that possibility.
I just feel a bit uneasy hiking by myself...but if there was a problem with predators, I would think they would post a warning sign like they do in Colorado.
BTW, I used to work with a nurse that hiked/snowshoed all the time--in both Washington and Oregon. She, if I remember correctly, did see bear one time but they were a long ways away. Made a good photo op:)
Blessings,
Aimee
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