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

 

Scenes Of The Season

Life has been busy...

 

 

First there was transitioning to the hubby being home,

then there was the getting used to the darker days of gloomy gray all over again,

then there was the rain, wind and more rain

(SO thankful we had a certain tree removed earlier this year),

and

then there was the whole

getting ready for company preparations,

attempting to find all the Christmas decorations I hadn't put up for 5 or so years

and all THOSE other things that come with life:)

 

BUT, then they began to arrive,

one by one...

(yep, those pictures are on my cell phone).

 

 

And, since some of them are still here, life continues to be busy

(in a very good way though)

 

But before the company we had time to make a little road trip to see some feathered friends

and a whole lot of flooding

(I think I read yesterday was Portland's 25th day of recorded precipitation)

 

 

There were my beloved

Canadian geese...

 

 

and ducks in various poses!

 

 

Two bald eagles

(so much better a view through the telescope that was there).

 

 

And then there was the flooding...

 

 

And more flooding--almost up to the road in places,

over roads in other places...

 



 

We were happy to see a certain famous couple survived the flooding though

as a certain Small One was part of our expected company.

 

 

I was pretty good about not adding to my Christmas décor this year,

but couldn't resist these Swedish candleholders at Goodwill--

only 99 cents each:)

 

Couldn't resist some figurines to add to my Christmas village either...

also very inexpensive.

 

 

Speaking of flooding,

we had a foot of water under our house at one point this month.  

Have I ever told you how thankful I am for pumps?

 

Well, one of my kids should be arriving back soon--

I believe spaghetti is on the menu for this evening.

(I LOVE having kids that cook so very well)

 

So far we've had yummy

beef bourguignon,

salmon chipotle and twice baked potatoes,

Christmas ham and all the trimmings,

jalapeno poppers...

a beautiful lattice topped apple pie

(our oldest granddaughter made),

homemade treats my wonderful SIL made...

I am know I am going to have to diet forever,

 after all this feasting,

but NOT yet

:)

 

They're back so I need to sign off.

 

Hope you all had a very joy filled Christmas!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

My apologies for any typos and such,

no time to proof read--

 

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