Magical Summer Continued

One morning we got up really early and headed off to Depoe Bay. 

Early mornings in a fishing community is magical too with the sounds and sights of boats getting ready to leave the safety of the bay for the open sea. It truly was an experience I won't soon forget!

BTW, do you see the little beach in the corner there? 

In all the times I have been to Depoe Bay (and there have been countless times), I had NO idea there was any beach in the city at all:)

Some of the life to be seen in the tidal pools further north...

incredible!

One of the local residents--

I never tire of seeing them. 

Might have already posted this..apologies if I did. 

This is looking northward from the tidal pools. 

Our visitors totally fell in love with them...

I can hardly wait to show them the ones we recently visited--

no slippery rocks there :)

I feel like someone is watching me!

Shudder, shudder. 

Pink flowers! As you may know this girl LOVES pink. 

Did I tell you my sweet kids bought me a iPhone this summer?

And, they made sure it was rose colored (technically rose gold)...

it is SO fun to be able to FaceTime them now and, not only hear them, but SEE them too!

Can hardly wait till my DD joins our bunch of Apple lovers:)

North of Depoe Bay, south of the tide pools, is the historic community of Taft (part of Lincoln City) and lovely Siletz Bay. And these guys are some of their more famous residents--

the Salesian Spit harbor seals. 

They were more active then I had seen them before and we enjoyed watching them move about on land and in the bay.

Such fun we had--posting these photos brings back those days!

Hope you are making sweet memories this summer too!

Blessings, 

Aimee

Sunshine On My Shoulder Makes Me :)

Every so often a miracle occurs here in the Pacific NW.

The gray, drippy and very dreary winter skies give way to blue ones
(or at least partially blue ones)
 and...

Aimee, sick or not,

escapes to one of the many roads which -- sooner or later -- leads her to a wetland area.

You see one of the TWO things Aimee likes LOVES about winter are the numerous wetlands
and their amazing inhabitants
(the other, as you may already know, is snow, snow and more snow)!
 

Today Farmer Boy and I set off to explore a wetland I had just learned about
and another that we had driven by, but not stopped at before.

 

 

A tiny chipmunk we saw.

Perhaps his name is Alvin?

 

 

"My" beloved geese.

 

 

A mourning dove?

 

 

A hawk who likes heights better than yours truly.

 

 

A lovely snow white egret.

 

 

Guess who?

One of the major challenges was actually being able to get there...
we got turned back twice when trying to visit one of the areas I wanted to explore.
 

 

Of course, sometimes one HAS to get out even if the skies aren't blue

and we've done a little of that too. Those photos another time.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Giving Thanks Down By The Riverside

Difficult challenges in life can make you sad, depressed, hopeless, angry and bitter

(been there; done that)

Or they can make you think of all the things in life you are truly and completely grateful for...

kind bloggers,

sunny days,

a pumpkin pie tempting me from our fridge right now,

a sandy beach during HIGH surf,

and...

 

 

 a certain lovely river and some of its feathered inhabitants.

Ah, yes. It is THE season for a bird lover like me:)

 

 

Just like my feathered friends at the beach,

the feathered friends here by the riverside make me smile...

 

 

cause me to admire their beauty and grace as they float with the current

or swim against it.

 

 

And their unique characteristics cause me to be filled with joy and a deep sense of wonder!

 

 

I may not like the rain of autumn

(though I am very grateful for it after months of drought),

I may not like the cold

(though there is no snow without it and I LOVE snow).

And I may hate the decrease in daylight hours...

but I look forward each autumn to seeing some of the feathered ones

who only visit us at this time of the year.

 

 

So, in my little unofficial beauty contest here,

which of the feathered ones is your favorite?

 

 

So many to choose from--

ducks, Canadian geese, pigeons, gulls...

 

 

I can't choose.

I LOVE them all!

 

Wishing you all a very blessed and joy-filled Thanksgiving no matter where you live.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Clackamette Park

(located at the confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette rivers)

Autumn Immersion

When I was young, autumn fun didn't have to cost you as much as a fancy dinner out. No!

And before the end of October we set out--

Small One in tow--

to prove that was STILL true. 

Fortunately, thanks to a wonderful farm family and some other people, we found it is!

 

 

 

 

After a couple of false starts, we headed towards a farm I thought

would fit our idea for autumn fun quite well (link and info below).

 

After a bit of exploring Small One and I tried out the corn maze

(first photo). It wasn't hard to figure out, but it was great exercise and had some lovely views of the countryside and autumn color!

 

  

Pumpkins were all over,

as were "cobwebs" and other autumn themed décor.

 

 

Small One, of course, wanted a really big--HUGE--pumpkin.

 

This is the moment she found out Papa had one rule about choosing a pumpkin...just ONE rule...

can you guess what the rule is?

 

 

Does this photo help?

LOL

 

 

Small One finally found one she could pick up...

and it was a very lovely one too.

Will get to that photo in a bit...

but, before the choosing of the pumpkin, came a VERY fun tractor pulled wagon ride which left us shaking at times, giggling at others and very thankful we had some here:)

Perhaps I shouldn't post a pic of that as I don't want to give the surprise(s) away

LOL

 

 

Total cost: Less than $3 for the pumpkin.

We'll definitely be back!

 

 

Later on, we found another farm giving away FREE pumpkins!

We only wish the farmer had been around because we were so very grateful for this lovely gift!

 

 

Soon, we met up with a friend of mine,

my BFF to be exact, who I see all together too rarely since she has moved.

Off we headed to a neighborhood park where our grandkids played for awhile on the playground equipment and then discovered another FUN and free pastime--thanks to a family there who apparently had the same kind of philosophy as I do re: autumn fun.

Yep! Leaf piles on a lovely bed of grass are always a recipe for LOTS of fun:)

 

 

 And, the experience stays with you even after you leave.

 

Total Cost: nothing

 

On the way home we swung by a place to pick up another necessary ingredient for autumn fun---

caramel apples,

specifically gourmet caramel apples.

 

No need to show you this one, but they were the most expensive part of our day and still under $10 for 2 of the most yummy treats known to man (or in our case--girls).

 

Next up: pumpkin carving

 

 

One of our two carved pumpkins--

designed by Small One and carved with lots of love by a REAL Farmer Boy,

which just happens to be a Papa too.

 

Although we had other autumn adventures including a mini birthday celebration for the Small One.

my load of dishes is just about done, so I'll end this post with another autumn tradition from my childhood...

 

 

 

Wishing you all a very blessed November filled with love, simple blessings and priceless memories.

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Notes:

A HUGE thank you to the Jim Dandy Farm Family for the awesome time we had there

(I am still smiling when I think of that GREAT wagon ride--teehee!). Thank you also for your kind permission to post photos taken there!!!

Here's a link to those who would like to know more:

http://www.pumpkinpatch.farm/

 

 

October Update

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted, but truth be told, with all the home repairs/improvements going on, we just haven't had time (or extra money) to take trips to the places that inspire me the most. However, if all goes well, and if nothing else comes up, and if the weather permits, tomorrow maybe next week I will be enjoying a little whole lot of autumn leaf immersion:)
Meanwhile I am enjoying the changing colors on the mountainside, in our garden, at the grocery store
and everywhere else!
:)

Speaking of home repair/improvement, our front deck
is now a covered front deck thanks to my ever busy hubby!
It's not quite done, but we really like it and it makes me wish we had done it years ago.

Also speaking of home, our lovely 5 year old over-the-range microwave seems to be
celebrating the month of October. Twice now, exactly one week apart and at about the same time, it's turned itself on. Pretty spooky! Apparently, self starting microwaves are not unknown, but it could have been something I did too. Anyway, it's now unplugged and, surprisingly, I have managed to function OK without it.

Since my last post, I have been collecting autumn leaves from here and there to preserve. Gracie, from One Saylor's Log (link on the right side of this blog), was my inspiration for all this--but, because I couldn't find my iron, I used a modified version of the old "leaf in the book" method.
As you can tell, some turned out a bit more wrinkled then I would have liked, but I am -- overall -- pretty happy with my little project:)
It's part of my goal to make early autumn last a long, long time!

And, now photos...
since I haven't taken any trips since August
(sigh, sob, scream, BIGTIME cabin fever),
I am posting photos from the lovely Siletz River Valley
(Siletz was the location for the Ilahee Siletz Pow Wow we attended).
I would dearly love to be there right now, enjoying more frybread:)

Love horses!
Did I tell you that I am now "grandma" to my DD's horses?
And an assortment of other critters too.

Can't get enough of our PNW's woodlands. Just like our drive along the
Nestucca River earlier this summer, this area reminded me of a cathedral.

 

My kind of bridge. Not too high, not too low and with some nice views of the Siletz River below.

 

 

 

 I love river valleys and I just learned about two more I want to explore --- someday:)

And now it's time to check on those drying autumn leaves
go to sleep
research my latest idea for a road trip!

Have an awesome week!

Blessings,
Aimee  

 

Of Heritage Celebrations, A Very Special Iris Garden + Going Home

Recently, one of my ancestral clans--the Macfie clan--observed a special day, and I, of course,  

decided it was a great excuse to have a bit of a celebration and try out some new recipes too.

As usual, I did tons of planning--

even if there was just going to be the two of us---

and then REAL life interfered and I postponed everything for a day.  

 

 

But the following day, a Thursday, REAL life actually allowed me to make 

a version of traditional Scottish Shepherd's Pie

(albeit a somewhat easier version) AND dinner was only a little late that evening.

Yippee!

 

Of course, I also took the time to dig out my one and only Scottish tartan

 (stored safely away from any and all wool loving moths) to use as a table runner...

 

I guess I should pause right now,

for all you tartan experts out there,

and for any Macfie clan descendants too,

and say that this is NOT the correct tartan for the Macfies...

 

BUT,

in my somewhat weak defense,

I am descended from quite a few clans (probably 6 or 7) AND

I figured my honorable ancestors, of the Macfie clan, would be OK with me using a different tartan as they did intermarry with the Macfarlane clan--as well as other clans--here in the New World.

(Besides I have both Macfie and Macfarland blood in me from those lovely matches AND I was trying to be thrifty and not buy everything at the Scottish shop a few years ago. LOL)

 

Shall we continue?

Yes? OK.

 

Too full from lamb, mashed potatoes, mushrooms and carrots,

I held off on the shortbread part of the dessert till the next day...

and, even if it wasn't homemade, it was pretty tasty stuff!

(I ask you, how can the lovely combination of raspberries, butter,

white chocolate

 and other yummy ingredients be anything but good?)

 

Finally, I hope to finish off my very own Scottish celebration by making some cranachan this week.

(Cranachan is a traditional dessert made of toasted oats, whipped cream, raspberries and honey)

I have been wanting to try some since a couple of years ago when

Jackie at Homestead Wannabes posted about it.

Here's the link to her recipe:

 http://homesteadwannabes.blogspot.com/2013/01/cranachan-with-raspberries-and-whole.html

Who knows? Maybe real life will allow me to make my own shortbread this week too.

 

FYI

Jackie has made her OWN haggis also --

now that is just super amazing:)

 

Well enough of the celebrating and on to flowers!

 

For awhile now, I had been wanting to visit a

particular iris garden, but it never worked out.

Until this year that is.

 

Besides their countless varieties of irises

(so frilly and some nicely fragrant), the gardens were filled with...

 

a HUGE variety of other flowers...

and a very adorable bunny I ALMOST got a picture of:)

 

They had two large display gardens --

and a lovely woodland in between.

 

 

There was also a pond, a garden shop (closed when we were there)

 and fields filled with even more irises!

Clematis, roses, columbines (always a favorite of mine!), peonies,

poppies, tall rhododendrons and so much more--I can't

even list the wide variety of plants we saw there.

LOVED it:) 

 

Lots of green grass in between the landscaped beds,

a "hidden" garden feel,

shady AND sunny areas were all BIG pluses too!

 

It truly was one of the most peaceful places I have been to--

a place, filled with many Adirondack benches and chairs which seemed to say "Stay and sit awhile".

I will definitely try to make it back there next year!

 

Oh, oh.

Definitely well PAST bedtime here...

guess the "going home" part of this post will have to wait for another day

:)

 

Happy June 1st to you!

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos/Info:

A recipe for Shepherd's Pie

http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_shepherd.htm

(I had to substitute and change some things because it was THAT type of day--

note to self: allow more time when trying a recipe for the first time).

 

Garden/flower photos:

All taken this spring at Schreiner's Iris Garden in the Salem area.

Here is a link to them: http://www.schreinersgardens.com/

 

Yes, this is another one of THOSE early morning posts as I totally

expect REAL LIFE to interfere with internet time today so am doing it now...

thanks for AGAIN choosing to forgive any and all mistakes :)

Blessings!