A New Beginning: Part II

Since it seems like our "good" friend, Punxsutawney Phil hasn't been altogether honest with his forecast of an early spring this year, I might as well continue winter on this blog as well--even though every fiber of my being longs for sun, springtime and warmth! But, with each passing year, I realize just how precious every day is, and that, though some of them are gray and cold, they are still gifts to be cherished and lived to the fullest. 

Since I am so late in posting this week, I'm going to keep this post rather short. Hope you enjoy it though:)

A winter's walk at a favorite wetland :)

A fun first for me (and our youngest granddaughter) on one of our favorite beaches. 

Teepees alongside I-5 during a winter trip to southern Oregon. When I was younger my parents used to take us to Kah-Nee-Ta, a resort in central Oregon where you could stay overnight in one, ride horses and swim in their lovely warm pools. Such good memories. Sadly the resort closed this past September. 

Nation's largest black cottonwood reflected in the waters of Mission Lake, 

Willamette Mission State Park.

Wishing you all a week of joy, peace and love. 

Aimee 

Wetlands Wednesday

Like a hawk I have been watching...

for another rain break

and

for a certain road closed by high water to reopen.

 

This week both happened

and we (hubby and I) set off towards a certain wetland I had been wanting to visit

 since I first heard about it.

 

 

When we arrived I was truly blown away by the tranquil scene before us.

It was better than a massage,

better than dark chocolate,

better than...

well at least it was better FOR ME than a whole lot of things:)

 

 

A lot of the usual feathered friends were there...

geese,

 

 

an egret

(I think he fit in well with the Oriental feel that part of the wetlands has),

 

 

 swans

(A special thank you to Teresa for reigniting my desire to see these beauties this winter!

BTW, for some amazing close ups of Mirror Lake's tundra swans see Teresa's lovely post on "her" feathered friends here:

http://teresakasner.blogspot.com/2016/01/lots-of-swans-swimming.html)

 

 

The trail around the lake was amazing--

all except for one snake who was definitely NOT hibernating

(being that this blog is a no-snake zone,

I am not posting any of the 3 photos I took of the slithery one)

 

 

The trail is mostly flat and only a tiny bit over one mile in length.

 

 

Oh, oh DH is up and foraging through the fridge in search of food.

Better go:)

 

Night all!

 

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

 

Valley Views + A Very Special Blessing

You'll have to excuse me,

 but we haven't taken any interesting drives lately due to coming down with nasty colds Thanksgiving week (sometimes sharing isn't a good thing--LOL).

 

And, I haven't put up decorations for Advent yet

(of course, I should confess that I never took all of them down last year.

I like being surrounded by Christmas trees, wreaths, nisser and reindeer no matter the season).

 

No baking, no garden strolls, no special meals to share with you either.

 

Instead lots of TV, time spent catching up with Bible reading

(in Revelations now--yippee), lots of prayers, lots of changes,

some sadness, some anger, some laughter...

lots and lots of sleep...

life.

 

Anyway, today's post is just a collection of photos --

mostly from the valley I believe --

that I haven't posted yet.

 

 

Another river view from Clackamette Park. I miss these colors already.

Feel the need for some lovely, bright white snow to color my world

(or a sunny day in the mid 60s to warm me up AND color my world).

 

 

Tis the season...

love these guys!

 

 

OK, Bigfoot most likely does not walk around with one of these.

But, according to my hubby, Bigfoot does walk around here in the Pacific NW,

and he should know.

You see he saw one

 on a quiet, forested mountain road some 40 years ago--

and his story

has stayed totally consistent for the whole time I've known him.

 

What about you?

Do you think they exist?

 

 

Perfect location for a "Avoid Distractions..."sign.

Don't you think?

:)

Fortunately Farmer Boy was driving, not his VERY mountain distracted camera toting wife.

 

 

Not quite the contrast of the day before when I was west of this area and the sky was a fabulous blue!

Still a pretty scene though.

(Jonsrud Viewpoint, Sandy)

 

And now for the BIG announcement I kind of hinted at quite awhile ago.

Just so you know, there's been a bit of a change whole lot of changes since this was taken...

 

 

Yep! That's right.

Our family is about to get bigger by ONE lovely little baby girl!!!!

 

AND

 

that means we're about to become GREAT grandparents for the first time:)

(Insert happy smiles here)

 

Told you it was a VERY SPECIAL BLESSING!

 

And with that special announcement I will close for this eve...

 

 

Advent 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)

The Feathered Ones (Part II Of Surf, Sand + Seagulls)

From November 11th...

 

Just because life continues to be challenging here

(though I am feeling MUCH, MUCH better),

just because I'd rather be on the sands right now instead of home

(unless it's pouring down rain or freezing cold when you read this),

just because I can't get enough of the surf, sand and seagulls

(is it possible to get enough of those three?),

just because laughter is great for the soul and gulls make me laugh,

just because it's late and I don't have a lot of words tonight

(probably because I should be in bed at this time),

I bring you more of the feathered ones --

with lots of thanks to the seagull-feeding strangers standing on the seawall above us,

who without knowing it made these photos possible:)

 

 

I wish seagulls could talk.

 

 I mean I know they do, but

 since I don't understand gullish and they don't speak English,

 I just have to imagine what they are saying--

or in this case thinking.

 

In this case, I am imagining that the bird, behind the one in front, is a girl gull

and she is crazy in love with the guy gull.

Yep, she is totally smitten.

Meanwhile guy gull is totally smitten with the idea that there is food nearby.

 

 

The message is out.

Seagull feeding strangers on the seawall.

"Come one, come all".

 

 

Seagulls on the seawall.

Seagull sentinels.

 

 

It's a regular bird convention it is.

 

 

Love these guys (and gals).

 

 

Loved the foamy surf!

 

 

Another fisher gull enjoying his (or her) catch of the day.

He apparently likes sushi as much as I do--

however he prefers his without the rice, the seaweed, etc. etc.

Mmm. Sushi.

Hungry!

 

 

The End:)

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

 

 

Of Surf, Sand + Seagulls

Recently -- in between a horrible bout of gastroenteritis,

some other kind of awful ailment,

severe sciatica/back pain

and numerous challenges, 

we took time to enjoy the high surf at a familiar beach...

 

 

The "regulars" were all there and we even had the bonus of sunshine--for awhile that is!

The beach wasn't cold, the tide was coming in and we got front row parking--

a benefit of the less crowded off-season:)

 

 

And the surf?

Well, the surf was glorious, captivating and beautiful!

 

The skies above were pretty awesome too.

 

 

The "regulars" were very entertaining...

 

Some of them, we discovered, were very skilled at fishing.

LOL

 

 

Others kept busy elsewhere.

 

 

Papa and the Small One seemed to really enjoy the high surf--

she also enjoyed watching the gulls, playing in the river and building a sand castle

(she also got her photograph taken by a REAL photographer--I can hardly blame him as it was pretty fun watching her and the wild waves)

 

 

It was a wonderful time of peace and wonder.

Even now, as I sort through the photos, I am reminded of the beauty we found there.

 

There's nothing like time in God's creation to feed one's soul and

I definitely needed some "food" this day.

 

I came, I ate and I left satisfied.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him,

and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.

O fear the LORD, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him.

Psalms 34:7-9 KJV

 

Between Bay + Ocean: Bayocean Peninsula County Park

Bay view from Bayocean Dike Road past the gate. If you look really hard
you can see the historic smokestack located in Garibaldi. Clicking on the photo makes it larger.

 

 

 

 I've written about Bayocean before and the role that the north jetty at Barview played in its demise. Well this last weekend, on a "nice" sunny,  HOT day we took a trip out there--to this lovely spot located between bay and ocean



 

After getting on the wrong road and ending up in Netarts, we put my phone's navigation software and GPS to work and found the somewhat elusive Bayocean Road. Yippee! (If you are gaining elevation, you are NOT on the right road. We saw no signs pointing us the right direction.)

  

Memaloose Point area

  The bay was beautiful--despite the fact that it was not, as usual, the "golden" hour...

oh well you can't have everything, right? :)

 

 

the natives were also lovely and added to our enjoyment of the approximately 5 mile drive out to the peninsula. One small segment even reminded me of the Hood Canal of Washington state and its small homes along the water!

 

View of the Bayocean Dike Road from the parking area. The lower road runs along Tillamook Bay and carries traffic towards the parking area; the higher road passes by Lake Cape Meares and carries traffic back to Bayocean Road.

  

 

 

 

The dike road (Bayocean Dike Road) was a piece of cake...as usual I fretted over NOTHING imagining a road with steep drop-offs into the lake and bay from a very narrow dike. That's what you get when you have the wrong perspective on something:)

 

 

With furry white one in tow we headed out -- at first -- on road that runs along the bay, but hubby quickly decided we should reroute to the beach. A visit to the townsite's original location would have to wait for now...sigh (bay pic at the top of this post is from this area).

 

Returning to the parking lot, we found the sandy trail and headed westward...

 

 

Looking southward from the trail

The scenery on the way was lovely! Scotchbroom (some which still had a few blooms on it), trees, grasses---loved it! But what wasn't so lovely was the sand on the trail was blazing HOT (and I do mean BLAZING)...sheer agony as I couldn't walk barefoot and the sand kept working its way under the soles of my feet because I had worn, not knowing, flip flops. OUCH, agony, pain.

 

 

But we persevered, extremely thankful for the grass at the sides of the trail and all shady spots. Talking to a couple fellow trekkers we gained hope that the trip was well worth it and then...

 

 one last hill to climb and we would be there.

Yippee!

 

Much cooler sand on the beach. Ahhhh. Lovely on the footsies!

 

 

 Beautiful view towards the Cape Meares area

(the community and headland)

Some buildings from Bayocean were moved to the town there...

 

 

Beautiful views to the north too

(Barview area, jetties and more)

 

 

 

The ocean (west of course)--always lovely

 

 

Eastward view towards the dunes and center of the spit. .

 

Was Aimee happy and was it worth it?

Oh YES...despite getting a friction blister. At least I no longer have the splinter, I had picked up earlier in the week, thanks to DH "doctoring" before we left to Bayocean:)

 

And the hike that seemed to be SO long?

Well, per the measuring tool on the most wonderful Google maps...

yep, it was about 1/3 mile one way.

 

But now I have another problem.

I have to convince my wonderful hubby to make a return visit :)

 

 Blessings,

Aimee

 

Links:

The Bayocean link above will take you to a prior post where I've listed some great websites on Bayocean and its fascinating, though sad, history.

Another excellent website I found recently is here:

http://www.bayocean.net/

(some of his posts have really given me a new perspective on Bayocean and its actual location)

Since this post was so photo heavy, I'll include some pictures of Cape Meares Lake at a different time. Heading south on Bayocean Dike Road it's to your right--

it was formed when they built the dike to reconnect the Bayocean spit which had, temporarily become an island in the 1950s due to winter storms and beach erosion caused by building (and later extension) of just the north jetty.

PDF map of Tillamook County -- will give you a perspective on where

the different locations mentioned are.

Once on the peninsula you can have quite the hike if you are up to it...