Saturday Scripture: A Refuge in Troubled Times

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,

 and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,

though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

Selah...

The LORD of Hosts is with us:

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah...

 

Wishing you a blessed Sunday,

Aimee

 

Photo:

Rockaway Beach

 

Scripture:

Psalm 46:1-3, 7 KJV

In the Heart of the Tillamook Burn: Pt 2

From Thursday~
This morning, as I sat in the family room waiting for a load of wash to finish,

I found myself again wishing to be in the heart of the Tillamook Forest ...

walking over this suspension bridge,

eating lunch on the deck near the Wilson river,

hiking through the magical world of light and shadow that is the forest,

and feasting on the beautiful color of the changing leaves!

Yes, at this time of the year,

the forest often calls me

and my heart answers...

soon, my beloved, soon.

 

Have a blessed day,

Aimee

Special thanks!
A very special thank you to Teresa for pointing out the monster in the river--love, love, love it!
So do YOU see it too?
 

Photos:

Near and at the Tillamook Forest Center

(see last post for their website).

In the Heart of the Tillamook Burn: Pt 1

The Coast Range of the Pacific NW is gorgeous;

I have spent much of my life traveling in and through this area

and

I totally love the forests, rugged mountains and rivers one sees there!

One section of the Coast Range I am especially fond of is the Tillamook Forest--

a beautiful area located in NW Oregon between the valley/metro Portland area and the northern coast.

Today you drive through this region

and everything looks so green; so lush

but when I was younger it didn't look that way.

For when I was a child and teen this area was still recovering from the effects of the Tillamook Burn-

a series of devastating forest fires that destroyed many acres of old growth timber in the

years between 1933 and 1951;

both my hubby and I remember all too well what it looked like then.

Some 40 years later

the mountainsides are again green with Douglas fir and deciduous trees

and one can only hope that fire will never again burn this area

so loved by tourists and residents alike.

~

This past Sunday I talked my hubby into a drive on Highway 6--

right in the heart of the Tillamook Forest.

I had a definite goal in mind

(besides a trip to the Twin Rocks area that is).

It was something I had been wanting to do for the longest time

and it was the perfect autumn day to do it...

with weather this great I was also hoping to find the autumn color

 I have been craving for about a month now;

I was not disappointed:)

~

Before long we arrived at the Center and I checked in with the fantastic staff there.

Then my hubby and I got busy touring the exhibits which covered

the early history of the area,  the Tillamook Burn,

the watershed,

pioneer life in the forest 

and more.

They were well done!

As a grandma

(and being a child at heart myself)

I LOVED the fact that there were activities to keep the interest of children...

one activity being a scavenger hunt...

I think children

(as well as grownups)

would also enjoy checking out a sighting scope

(used for surveying),

reading the personal memories of the Tillamook Burn

(some schoolkids helped a bit with the reforestation effort)

watching a very good film about it,

learning more about the eco-sytem there

and

of course--

climbing to the top of the replica of a 40 ft fire tower!

 

FYI--

in addition to the great and FREE exhibits inside the center

and the fire tower outside,

there are many hiking trails in this area

(maps available at the center),

access to the river,

a nice deck area to grab some snacks or perhaps eat your own picnic lunch

(vending machine for snacks and beverages there),

the wonderful Wilson River suspension bridge.

(photos and more in part 2)

 

And now it is off to process our freshly picked heirloom apples

(I am thinking pie perhaps?)

and then I will be making salsa for the first time

(thanks to my chef son for his instructions);

but first--

the dreaded dishes...

(SO miss my dishwasher)

 

Have a great Wednesday!

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Notes:

all photos taken this Sunday at the Tillamook Forest Center.

Thank you to their GREAT staff for permission to take photos and post them here!

Here is the link to the center:

http://www.tillamookforestcenter.org/

(if they are reading this, please feel free to let my know of any errors I've made

or any additional info you would like visitors to know).

 

If you can, take time to check out their upcoming events--

two that look interesting are on local, wild mushrooms

and wreaths.

 

AND remember--

it is Take a Child Outside Week

and this is an AWESOME place to do that!

The staff have set up a table in the foyer with activities for children

and the adults in their lives to do:)

What Week is THIS?

 

My surviving sibling and I grew up camping and traveling with our parents

throughout the western United States and also in western Canada.

 

They were good days...

and we were left with a deep appreciation of the beauty

and the wonder

of the natural world.

 

I am glad that my grandkids are also growing up with special memories too.

 

So are you planning anything special to do with your

 kids, grandkids, nieces,

nephews, younger siblings this week?

Click on the above logo or follow this link to get some ideas

http://www.takeachildoutside.org/activities/gettingstarted.html

 

I celebrated the start of this week by taking my child

(OK, my hubby who--with me--is still a child at heart)

to the Tillamook Forestry Center

http://www.tillamookforestcenter.org/

and we LOVED it!

I will have photos of our time there as soon as blogger decides to cooperate with me:)

It is a great place to spend time learning about the forest

(autumn colors can be seen now-mostly reds)

and the devastation of forest fires

(the horrific Tillamook burn),

the wonder of reforestation

(in which school children played a part),

early and pioneer life in this gorgeous area,

to hike,

to climb a fire tower,

to cross a suspension bridge over the Wilson River

and to savor all the beauty of this amazing area!

(they also have some very nice interactive activities for kids there this week)

 

Hope you get your little ones

(and bigger ones)

out in nature this week!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

Am I Plucking Blackberries?

 

 

 

 

Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

And only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning,

Aurora Leigh (1865),

Book VII

 

So am I plucking blackberries?

Are you?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Note:

quote widely available on Internet and is, to my understanding, in the public domain.

Here is one place to read some quotes from this God-gifted poet:

 

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning#Quotes

(see the above link for terms of use of the quotes)

In the Footsteps of My Farmer Boy

When my wonderful hubby was younger,

he did some crazy things.

One of them was walking across railroad trestles...

something I would NOT ever advise anyone to do!

 

But,

thought I,

what would that be like...
to be so high above the ground?

 

And of course,
being me,

I had to find out--
in a MUCH safer manner though :)

On the Banks-Vernonia State Trail,
Buxton Trestle.
700 glorious feet long,
80 wonderful feet high.

Here is a link to the Oregon State Parks brochure on this great trail:
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/images/pdf/bv.pdf
and another to some Oregon State Park photos and information:
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_145.php?md=pic
(if you scroll down the photos you'll come to a photo of the trestle from below)

Where have you hiked, gone horsebackriding or ridden your bike lately?
If I can, I want to do more outdoor activities this autumn--I find my endurance very low.

Blessings,
Aimee  

On the Cusp of Autumn

This morning we woke up to a beautiful, refreshing drizzle...

another sign that Autumn will be here soon.

I also woke up to the sad fact that I was still unable to upload photos to blogger,

but now -- about 1 1/2 hours later --

I am.

Go figure:)

No matter,

I spent time lost in sweet memories of autumns past--

and came to the conclusion that I am more then ready to let summer go.

So what do you think of when you reflect on the season of autumn?

Is it wrapping yourself in a nice, warm quilt? 

Or perhaps it is something else?

There are so many things that are part of our autumn here in the US

(and perhaps where you are too)

Thanksgiving,

brightly colored leaves,

wisps of fog hanging on the hillsides,

snow falling in the mountains,

a lit fire in the fireplace

and more.

 

Blessings,

Autumn

 

Photos:

the 2012  St. Mary's Quilt + Craft Fair,

Vernonia, OR

(see yesterday's post for contact information)

Wish I was there today:)

Of Quilts, Afghans + Other Handicrafts

This was going to be a post filled with photos of the amazing quilts, afghans and other handicrafts I saw today during my trip to St. Mary's Quilt + Craft Fair in beautiful Vernonia, Oregon...but I cannot get any photos to upload from my computer and I no longer can use the old interface as a backup as I've been forced to do lately...
You will just have to believe me that the church was filled with quilts of every size and color you could imagine, pillows, afghans, dish gardens, table runners and a whole lot more! We truly loved it and, yes, a new quilt found its way home with me as did an adorable baby dress towel (that I would love, love, love to show you because it is the cutest!) ....

Additionally we had a great lunch of beef barley stew (love this stuff), apple pie (yum), a roll and a delectable marinated salad...oh and my friend and I had a lot of fun being waited on by some of the most respectable, cute, attentive kids that we've ever met! They were AMAZING and truly had servant hearts!

 

The fair is going on for a few more days if you want to enjoy time among some gorgeous quilts and more! It is located at St. Mary's Catholic Church. They are located next to the new Vernonia school (SO happy for little Vernonia who has been plagued by two very bad floods) at 960 Missouri Ave. The phone is: (503) 429-8841. Admission is $1 (yes, one dollar).


FYI:
Cell service can be iffy in this mountain valley; depends somewhat on your carrier and a lot--it seems--on your location.

Found a new, amazing way to get to Vernonia today---sometimes getting lost IS a great thing:)

In trying to keep up with my hubby who (foolishly) walked across railroad trestles in his youth, I walked across my FIRST one today...and I didn't crawl:) Of course, the one I walked across had a LOT of safety features and was meant to be walked across. BTW---the views from up top were very, very nice as were the ones on our NEW, preferred route to Vernonia!

And last but not least, we saw the following today: lots of horses (regular and miniatures too), alpacas (love them), dogs (of course), deer (3 does under some apple trees), bison (yep in an idyllic setting too)...no cougars though (BIG sigh of relief) or bear (ditto) during our hikes>

What are you up to?
Blessings,
Aimee

PS: Will post current photos later--if I can. As per my usual disclaimer I have no association with St. Mary's Church except being a repeat visitor. And now---politics:)



 

A Trip into our Past: Brownsville + Beyond

Recently we had a very busy day--
my Farmer Boy and I.

 We made a trip into town,

driving through this bridge on the way there
(perhaps you movie fans recognize it?)
My husband badly needed a haircut and shave
so we stopped in at the local barber first--
I highly recommend him!

Afterwards my hubby accompanied me to my appointment at Jo's--
my favorite beauty shop...
I needed a lot of work done, so he had a long wait
 but I emerged a different woman!

Then it was on to the dressmaker---

to get fitted for a new dress.

I wanted something really nice for the coming autumn church socials.

Wow! This photo makes me look a LOT thinner than my mirror at home does--

my hands and feet look a little strange though.

Our last stop was at the town grocer

where I picked up some staples for the kitchen

and a few other things.

And then we were off,

"over the rivers

and through the woods"...

to our ancestors sweet, Sweet Home

and elsewhere.

 Where have you been lately?

Blessings,
Aimee

Photos:
Bridge into Brownsville
(have you guessed the movie it was in yet?)
Photos 2-5
Linn County Historical Museum,
Brownsville
(see below for more info)
Photo 6
The Gilkey Covered Bridge

Notes:
A very special thank you to the volunteer staff at the Linn County Historical Museum who gave me permission to take photos inside their AWESOME museum! My hubby, who has visited some very fine museums--including those in Washington, DC said it was one of the best he had seen
(I agreed). We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and want to go back to do some research on our Linn County ancestors). Here is their website where you can see some more photos:  http://www.co.linn.or.us/parks/museums/historymuseum.html

In addition to the museum and the historic (and incredibly beautiful) Moyer house,
Brownsville was the location for quite a few scenes in the film Stand By Me...
which was one of the reasons we wanted to go there.

After Brownsville,
we traveled the scenic byway
"Over the Rivers and Through the Woods"
to Crawfordsville
(covered bridge there)
and into Sweet Home where we had to eat at our fav drive-in.
Then up to see two more covered bridges--Hoffman + Gilkey.
It was a great summer trip:)
Here is a link to Brownsville's Chamber of Commerce
with more visitor info:
http://www.historicbrownsville.com/

Last, but certainly not least, I need to thank Becky of
http://grandmabeckyl.blogspot.com/
for arousing my interest in
 seeing historic Brownsville from a post she did quite awhile back--
she and I both share a love of historic places, besides other things:)

Walking Among the Dahlias

A walk among the flowers can do the soul so much good.

It turns a sad day into a glad one as you find yourself caught up in the beauty of creation.

So many colors,
so many sizes,
so many varieties...

I love how the light of the sun makes each flower come alive--
makes them glow...

Beautiful, amazing, gorgeous...I need more adjectives to describe these blessings of the garden.

And then there is the life within the garden...

the amazing, captivating bees...

I didn't always enjoy bees.

In fact, we had a very bad relationship.

Every summer one of them would sting me...

every summer.

Now we get along---and I don't mind sharing garden space with them at all!

But I still don't like yellow jackets, wasps, hornets...

and right now they are their normal angry selves---

another sign that we are in the last days --

calendar wise--

of summer.

Do you get along with the bees of your summer garden?

Today is a very sad day for me--my trip to see my kids and grandkids has fallen through

(sigh)

and my hubby is resting so there will be no trips today among the dahlias at the farm

or the evergreens and vine maples of the mountains

or along the ocean beaches

to lift my spirits.

 

But I have come up with another way to help lift them...

today and tomorrow

(or on whatever day you find this post),

I give you permission to copy one of these photos as my gift to you

and use them for any personal, NON-commercial use you desire

(it MUST be a NON-COMMERCIAL use).

 

And a friendly reminder, permission is given for just this ONE post please.

 

I hope that you will find one that blesses your spirit today:)

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

The dahlias at Swan Island Dahlia Farm,

Canby, Oregon

Their website is:

http://www.dahlias.com/

 

 

Into the Unknown: Of F.E.A.R. and Detours (pt 2)

Sorry for the delay--life has been a bit busier lately:)

The miles passed, the astoundingly beautiful scenery continued---non stop---as we made our way over the mountains. But despite the fact that there was NOTHING I saw that was scary, my anxiety and fear continued at a high level. I had an idea though; I knew how to stop the nasty emotion I was feeling and how to regain safety and peace. As I had said before, I 'knew' this area...

Soon there would be another choice to make---

one road that would get us off the mountains

and onto the safety of the lowlands (the 'known').

 The other, a continuation of the official 'detour' and more of the dreaded unknown.

Despite my protests, my husband had made up his mind and he turned to the right--
the road that kept us in the mountains. He had no fear of the unknown,

even though this was unfamiliar territory to him too.

 I wish I could have felt that way.

  Again, amazing beauty

(these photos don't do it justice)--believe me!

Tree covered hillsides, woodlands, deep forests

(and even a little roadside 'waterfall')--

I knew there were bigger ones here too, hidden away in the woods.

And then we were there---in the realm of the 'known'.

I once again felt safe and my anxiety disappeared (for a.while) 

But what a price I had paid--all that emotional output for nothing. All those photos of the gorgeous forest and mountains lost forever by my need for control; my desire to feel 'safe'

when all along, we really were safe--

there in the middle of God's mountainside garden.

~

There is a time when fear is good; when it is even helpful.
I know this from an experience when I was a young, pregnant mom on a country road.

But sometimes fear is just this....false evidence appearing real,

and it takes a HUGE toll on us--body, mind and spirit.

I know, I've paid the price too many times.

 

And the funny thing is I am looking forward to repeating this same route ASAP,

this time to truly savor and embrace all that is there in that area.

 But it won't be the same...it never could be because of my CHOICE to live that day in the past

and in the future (instead of in the now).

And quite honestly because of my inability to let go and trust,

truly trust that HE is always with me,

even when detours come along my way.

~
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

As it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

If I surrender to His Will;

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with Him

Forever and ever in the next.

Blessings,

Aimee

Photos: Oregon's northern coast range.

Notes: 

 From what I have read,
the first 4 lines were possibly written by Reinhold Niebuhr and the
remainder
of the prayer added later by an anonymous author. Source + link for more
information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

The acronym F.E.A.R.--false evidence appearing real is not my original work. From what I can find on the Internet, it may be the work of an anonymous author. If anyone knows differently, please leave me a comment so I can properly credit the source.