Category Archives: Photography

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Elk weather

herd of dozing elk

We decided to go to the coast for a couple of days, and as fate would have it, the weather changed promptly from sunny and pleasant to rainy and nasty. The beach was so  windy and frigid that we spend only about 15 minutes out in the sand before we finally decided that hypothermia was setting in and left. That being said, there was none of the promised kite flying, shell gathering, or sand castle building, which resulted in bored and disappointed children. *sigh* Better luck next time, I guess… which I think is what I said last time. ;-) That’s the Oregon coast for ya.

On the way home, though, we did catch a break between Reedsport and Elkton. The rain stopped long enough for us to pull off and snap a few photos of a herd of dozing elk!

 

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SNOW DAY!

Well, we woke up this morning to nearly 6 inches of snow! That’s kind of unusual for December in the South Willamette Valley, (BTW, that’s pronounced ” will · AM · uht “ , for those that don’t know. I’m tired of hearing William-ette. WTF? Doesn’t that just sound silly? Dang, I could have named my daughter that! What was I thinking??? ;-P ) Anyhoo, late January through February is when we usually see any significant snow on the valley floor, but for any time of year, 6 inches is kind of an event. This definitely screamed for a SNOW DAY!

I think I’m a fairly capable snow driver. I’m really familiar with what my car’s going to do, even on a slippery patch. But having to drive in the slick with the other crazy effers zooming around like nothing’s amiss really makes my guts tie in knots. So to avoid being plowed (some pun intended) I just don’t drive at all when it’s snowy. I just DON’T. So that means until the snow and ice melts, the 50-mile round-trip commute to work isn’t going to happen. At least not with me at the wheel. ;-)

There’s plenty of work I can do from home, but with school canceled and the white powdery stuff fresh and new, I thought I’d just waste away part of the day having fun. Heh, waste. Nah, fun is really important! Sometimes I’m entirely sure that I don’t get enough of it. ;-)

The flake-spitting clouds moved on around mid-morning and the sun came out! So before the big kid trudged off to the neighbors’ houses for endless snowball fights (or perhaps endless video gaming, knowing these 21st century kids), the bunch of us romped around in the snowfor a bit.

Brynn was a lot happier with the snow this year than she was last year. She really didn’t even mind when it got in her boots and down her front. (Snowball-throwing Dadda the culprit, no doubt.) There were even some icy cold puddles to stomp in (one of Brynn’s favorite activities). And it was also a perfect day for “Inna Sky;” the game where Dadda tosses her, well, inna sky.

The snow must have been blowing around pretty good last night, too, because all of the flowerbeds were buried. My roses have been blooming since June without much pause. This one still putting on buds even in this weather. And the poor fuchsias are pretty right now, but probably not long for this world.

Have a happy SNOW DAY! Or just a happy Day. Or maybe just a Day, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into. ;-)

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Summer Fun

Garden on the grow

Garden on the grow

The summer is rapidly coming to a close! Part of me is excited to be rid of the heat and part of me wishes we had a few more months of nice weather to garden, take photos and just be outside, in general.

I’ve just been too darn busy. However, I did get these fun shots around the property… The one to the left is just a quick snap of our garden this summer. Some zucchinis, squash, beans, onions, cilantro, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas and sunflowers on the grow… and even some surprise gladiolus and potatoes that I’d tossed in the compost last winter..!

Sleeping baby and kitten

Do you spot the Spot snoozing with the baby?

The sleeping babies! This was the first night that I found the kitten (Spot) sleeping with the crib with the baby (Brynn)! It’s a pretty regular occurrence of now, though sometimes Brynn wakes up scared that there’s “a train a-comin’. ” I’m guessing maybe because of the purring? Who knows..!

Dandecar

Something fun to do when you've got a large crop of dandelions

And last, but not least… the result of being outside when one does not wish to be outside, as in when a child wants to play outside but you don’t want her to be out there alone. Anyway, who says that dandelions are a useless crop?

Have a happy rest-of-the-summer and don’t forget to be creative with any boredom that presents itself! ;-)