Of Swans and Geese

Not too far from the northern end of the beautiful King's Valley Highway is the incredible Baskett-Slough NWR (National Wildlife Refuge) which none of us had seen before either! We arrived there when the lighting was wonderful (much better then these photos indicate) around dusk (they say early AM and around dusk/sunset are the best times to visit). BTW--this refuge isn't too far from the town of Dallas, a town I first visited in early summer of 2010,

so it isn't far out in the country--but it seems like it is.

Some of the surrounding terrain.

Our first sighting of birds--

hard to see I know

(sorry)

next time at a NWR I will definitely use my zoom lens:(

These are swans;

I have a thing about swans--

maybe it was the Ugly Duckling story of my childhood,

but I LOVE swans so it was quite exciting to see these!

Another view--

we were at the kiosk/visitor area off the highway

but there is a road that goes through the wetlands

and there is at least one trail open in the wintertime

(be forewarned---you cannot just go anywhere in the refuge in winter;

this is to allow the geese and swans a chance to rest

before they migrate northwards in the springtime).

Geese---I am thinking these might be the Dusky Canadian Geese

they were talking about but am not sure. I need to look at the guide again.

Another photo of the geese we saw--there were loads of them!

Hoped you enjoyed our little visit to the NWR:)

Blessings,

Aimee

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time Aimee had a dream

a dream of a perfect valley located near her beloved coast range.

A valley which had trees draped in silvery moss

and green moss too

a place of evergreen trees and a clear blue sky above

a place of beauty in all seasons --

even in the middle of winter

a magical place full of mystery

And she dreamed and dreamed of such a place

until one night,

thanks to the wonder of the Internet,

Aimee found there was such a valley and so soon

she set off with family and a friend to explore it.

It was a perfect winter day for traveling.

.
And when they finally reached this perfect valley,

everything was even better then she had dreamed of--

for besides the beautiful moss-

the wonderful forests-

the incredible view of the coast range-

farms-

animals-

hills-

wetlands-

and many other wonderful things-

there also just happened to be an old covered bridge there.

And Aimee loves covered bridges!

It was a wonderful bridge which had windows

that overlooked the river it was built over.

A bridge which no longer knew the feel of cars across its plank flooring,

but knew the sounds of happy children and families eating and playing there

And then the dream ended,

and Aimee woke up.

But her dream wasn't really over,

it was actually just the beginning

and there was a lot more to see.

(To be continued)

~

Blessings,

Aimee

---

All photos taken January 2011 along the King's Valley Highway,

NW Oregon.