A Year Ago: January 2012

The older I get, the faster time seems to go by.

It hasn't always been that way...

when I was a child time seemed to go much more slowly.

But now that I'm a grandma,

it seems like warm summer days were just yesterday

and that spring bulbs will be here before I know it

(although I am hoping for quite a few more snow events before then).

 

But let's go back in time...

back a year ago to January 2012 and some great memories.

First up-a trip to a historical dam I had been wanting to see for a long time,

a 'hidden' waterfall

and

some very peaceful mountainside and creekside views

(hum, I wonder what this area looks like in snow...)

January 2012 also brought us a visit from our oldest son...

who came bearing gifts--

edible and very, very yummy homemade gifts!

(He is a really good cook--love it when he shares his chef recipes with me)

A year later,

he no longer lives in the Pacific NW...

but he is still cooking --

 albeit under much sunnier, and generally, much warmer southern skies.

~

Along with some snow,

the PNW usually gets a bit of flooding--

some years being much worse than others.

Last January the Willamette Valley really got hit--

as the Willamette River swelled past its banks.

 This was taken in the Salem area--

it was just one of the flooded roads we encountered.

 We also saw a flooded ferry landing, orchards and farm fields.

~

Next up: winter's waterfowl.

Our normally abundant rainfall

and

mostly

(I say mostly because we've had subfreezing conditions for longer than usual this January)

temperate climate, brings a lot of waterfowl to the PNW

and some of the best places to observe them is at the many NWR's

(national wildlife refuges) to be found here.

Last January found a friend and I at Ankeny NWR--near Salem, Oregon.

It was my first visit there but not my last.

Now that I can change camera lenses,

I will be making more visits to our NWR's to get some zoom photos of

dusky Canadian geese, swans and the other waterfowl to be found there.

Visiting our NWR's and other wildlife preserves during the winter

somehow makes the seemingly endless rain and more subdued color palette a little more bearable:)

~

Last,

but definitely NOT least,

January 2012 saw some snowfall...

I am hoping for more in January 2013:)

What are your fav memories from January 2012?

 

Blessings, Aimee

~

House update:

we haven't made a lot of progress the last couple weeks but this coming weekend we start on the family room alcove. I am very, very excited:)

 

In the garden:

blooming camellias,

frozen and somewhat frozen ponds,

some very frozen kiwi that wasn't

snow and ice off and on.