A Full-time Life

Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

We have been under a smoke advisory  here in our part of the Valley and by Friday I had reached the point where I just needed to get outside.    The smoky  conditions here are because of the Cedar Creek wildfire which is burning east of us.  Oakridge, a town in our county about 45 miles away has been evacuated and the highway to it is closed.   

Hoping to get out from under the smoke, we headed to the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge around 55 miles   North of us.  

 

     

We are not in  danger here in Eugene and staying indoors because of the smoke drift is a small sacrifice, but it did  really feel  good to see some blue sky.

 

Pintail Marsh

And seeing wildlife is always a bonus.     We stopped to walk around at the  Pintail Marsh Trail and overlook.  

 

There were lots of birds, but they were pretty far away from shore.   It was also hot and quite windy.  It's not good to even think about wind during fire season.   

 

 

In fact, there were windy conditions here at home also and the day after our drive, utility companies in our county shut down power in rural areas as a safety precaution.  

 

 When we left the wildlife refuge, we drove to the village of Buena Vista where we took this small ferry a distance of 720 feet across the Willamette River.    Ferry service has existed here since 1852.  Back then this connection provided  settlers a much easier way to cross the river.    Nowadays, there are other ways to get from Marion to Polk County, with not too much more effort.  But for the $3.00 crossing fee, this electrically-operated modern version was much more fun than driving.  

 

We watched this Osprey nest while we waited for the ferry to cross back to where we were the first (and only) car in line to board.  Actually, I barely had time to get out of the car and snap a couple of pictures.   

 

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts:

THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

September Days

 Country Road - Benton County Oregon

We took a backroad drive one day last week with no particular destination.  We're still having hot summer days and  walks have been limited  so it was good to get outside.   There's some smoke in our valley from fires in the hills up the Willamette River  (not dangerously close to us).  Summer means fire season here in the west -- more than ever nowadays.

 

 Pied-Billed Grebe

Like magic, our unplanned destination turned out to be the Finley Wildlife Refuge.  (But really because the person driving the car knew where he was going all along.)   We arrived in early afternoon, not the optimal time for birding, but we saw a few in the Marsh.  

 

 Great Egret

That's a fish at the Egret's feet.   He must have already eaten his fill.

 

 

 It's good to see green especially at the end of  a summer that's been hot and dry in most of our area.  

September is my month to feel nostalgic.   Probably because our life revolved around the school year for so long, it really seems more like a New Year to me this month than does January.   So with nostalgia in mind, this week's collage is  a look-back at early September days from a few past years:  

 

 

The top two photos are from roadtrips in 2019 -- Fall color in Portland Oregon and the hawk at Arcata Marsh California.   2021 and 22 were the Covid years -- we did some self-isolated camping  during that time, but we were home in Oregon in September of both years.  I photographed the bushtits in our daughter's yard  in 2020; it  was a new bird for me (I had ID help from  wonderful  bloggers  when I first posted about them).  The other two photos in the bottom row are from our grandson's backyard at a family gathering last year. The center photo is California Redwoods in the mist -- another road trip to the state south of us in September 2018.

And back to the present (well, last week anyway):

 

Just a beautiful blue sky with  a few fluffy clouds for interest -- on the way home from our  weekday drive  last week.   September really does start a new year for our older great-grands and their parents (several of the grandchildren teach as well as parenting)  and for our daughter and son-in-law who are helping out with their not-old-enough-for-school grandbabies.   For us, there's really no regular schedule to keep, but it still feels like new.  

September mornings still can make me feel this way!

Links this week with thanks:

 

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;   SATURDAY CRITTERS   and RATHER B' BIRDING 

More from the South (Oregon) Coast

Same ocean, same trip as last week.... but we didn't spend quite all the weekend gazing at the beautiful Pacific.

 

 

 (A lot of it though -- and who could blame us?)

 

Shore Acres State Park is where I took most of the ocean view pictures last week (and the one above).  We also walked through the acres of gardens at this park.  We were kind of between seasons for flowers, but there were still a few perfect ones (either early Fall blooms or late summer ones still hanging on.) 

 

 

This is one of our favorite places to visit on the Coast and I've written about it before.  (You can Click right here for a link to a post I wrote a few years ago that gives more information on the history of this park.  

 

 

Just a couple more from the Gardens.  

 

 

And next for a complete change of pace, the more industrial side of Coos Bay, the seaside town where we stayed:  

 

 

 The ship is in port to load wood chips that will probably go to Japan.   Coos Bay used to be strictly a lumber and shipping town.  It still has those things,  but tourism is probably catching up as a major source of income for the area.   When we first moved to Oregon, there were really no places in the city to enjoy nature.  It was always interesting to see the action at a busy working port.   But since people go to the Coast to walk along the beach or gaze at the Ocean,  Coos Bay was just a drive-through place.  They've been working on it lately and there are many more places now to do the things most tourists want to do.

Everybody also wants to eat, drink and shop of course and the area has added  several of those places:

 

This is not the fancy birthday dinner.

 We had a lovely dinner in a  "fine restaurant" the first night -- the above pictures are not from that night. 

I don't usually take pictures of what we eat, but couldn't resist this interesting ambience.  And the food was delicious too.  The pictures are from Claussen's, a commercial  Oyster Farm.  It  has a small deli serving the crop they grow, plus a small menu selection.  We shared a plate of oysters on the half-shell,  along with Caesar Salads and Oregon wine.  All while sitting outside, practically on the piles of discarded oyster shells.  Our meal couldn't have tasted better.   

 

A view of one of the Coastal Lakes -- along the  Highway as we drove home.   Beginning to end, it was a beautiful blue-sky weekend.  

 

LINKS this week -- thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and FRIDAY  BLISS

 

It's Been Verified

Yes it is absolutely true -- the Pacific Ocean is still there.  We can personally verify it since we just returned from a lovely weekend getaway  to Oregon's South Coast.  There was sunshine!  

We stayed in Coos Bay -- at a Hotel!  The first hotel stay in how ever many centuries it has been since Covid restrictions began.  Really, we visited the ocean several times during those years, because we could use our camper trailer and not worry about other people.  

 

 

I love camping, but of course it is a treat not to have to pack food or make up our bed.  This was a birthday trip -- we are both August Leos.  But thanks to the Travel Planner the trip happened on my actual B-Day.   I'm lucky.  And grateful.

 

The Oregon Coast is special because of the way trees and greenery grow right down to the sand.   The above pictures are from Shore Acres State Park.

 

 

Weird and wonderful rock formations on the beach at Shore Acres.  They look like a giant's playground.

 

Driving from Shore Acres to Simpson Reef.  The fawn crossed  in front of us -- his mother followed .

 

Simpson Reef is home to about a thousand sea lions -- give or take a few hundred.  That dark line at the edge of the sand is solid sea lions.  Sadly, my good camera ran out of juice before I got pictures.  They were too far away for my little one.  (But I certainly was glad to have it.)  The next picture is from an earlier trip (and the bigger camera).  But it is from the same place.

 

Shore Acres and Simpson Reef are two of our favorite spots on the Oregon Coast.  Although I really can't think of any place along "our" Coast  that does not meet that qualification!  

 

Linking this week to the following.  Thanks to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

River Walk, August

What is as rare as a perfect day ... in August!  

 

 

We had a couple of 75 degree afternoons last week.  Even a walk along a city sidewalk looked good.   But it's even better when that street leads to the River Path . 

 

 

 It's hard to realize walking along the river that I'm actually only a few blocks away from home.    We've been busy with appointments and routine so I feel lucky to be close to this nearby-nature getaway.  Especially on a perfect August day.  

 

 I'm seeing more dragonflies than birds these days.  Guess I need to work on my identification skills.

 

 

 Here are a few more.  They love the River too.

 

Perfection found in a tiny wildflower.

 

Linking to the following with thanks to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

Day trip to Florence

Last week we drove to the Coast,  just for a day trip.  It's only about 60 miles from home to Florence and from there just a few miles either North or South until you (usually) get a good view of the Pacific.   Here's the bridge over the Siuslaw River at Florence.  

 

Our plan was to get a coffee in Old Town Florence and then drive North until we  made sure the Ocean was still there.  

   

 

The coffee shop has a lovely little patio and  a great view of the Bridge. Then just a few steps away, there's a viewpoint where we watched some harbor seals but didn't get a good picture.  We checked out the Purple Martin apartment complex and that population seemed to be thriving.    Can you see two  of them in the picture? 

 

 

Next we drove North and almost as soon as we left the city limits of Florence we hit fairly heavy fog!  We were almost disappointed in our quest to actually see the Pacific for the first time this year.  (The umpteen-millionth in our lifetime but it never gets old).  I've never seen the turnouts along this stretch as empty.  No  cars and no photographers.  We  did get a  glimpse or two of the ocean, but always on a curve where it was impossible to pull over.   The picture below is one from last year -- same stretch of the highway, better viewing day.

 

 

But after all these years and in spite of  our annual "checking out the Ocean"  tradition, we actually know that it will still be there when we come back -- sooner this time!  

 

 

The fog was really a surprise because  it was a beautiful day in Florence.  Lovely walking weather (cooler than at home in Eugene, which was a good thing.)    When we could turn around we headed back to the blue sky and spent some time walking around Old Town Florence.   There are fun little shops and windows to browse and summer flowers always seem to bloom more brightly in the cooler coastal weather.   

 

 

Great restaurants too, but I didn't get a picture of the delicious early dinner we enjoyed .  We didn't have to look as hard for ours as this pretty Great Egret did.  

 

 

It was a good day.  There's never a bad one on a visit to the Oregon Coast.   

 

Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities:

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

 

 

xx

We're having a heat wave

We have been living under a heat dome lately.  So hot!   But it is supposed to be moderating a bit this week.   I took the screen shot below from Thursday's local paper:

The line under the icons reads:   Thursday Sunny and Hot;  Friday Very Hot; Saturday Very Hot; Sunday Colder; Monday a shower......

Temperatures over 100 are definitely not summer normal here in western Oregon (or at least they haven't been up until the last couple of years. ) But I laughed at the five-day outlook when I noticed that under the icon for Sunday it says "Colder" (with a temperature range of 89/62).   I don't think that's quite the right way to describe a day where the high is expected to be 89!  (I'm writing this on Sunday morning and it is more pleasant outside than it has been, but I'm not wearing winter clothes just yet thank you.)

Because of the heat, we didn't get outside to play much at all last week.   We've spent some quality time with our Oregon family and loved it, but somehow the camera never remembers to come out of hiding on those days. 

 

Geoff's picture from their Colorado backyard

So this week I'm blogging a a few Oregon pictures from earlier this month and interspersing those with some lovely (and cooling) pictures from our Colorado family.  Colorado is our "third State."    

 

Lisa's picture from Colorado

Above is Lisa's picture of Geoff with Max the big white dog on an early summer hike.  Morning or evening, Colorado skies are beautiful.   

The pictures in the next mosaic are mine from a week ago Saturday before it got so hot here:

 

 

Just some random people showing some of the ways to enjoy the beautiful South Willamette River Trail   (and on that river as viewed from the trail).  Walking, kayaking, bicycling, walking with the dogs, tending plots in the two community gardens along the path, fishing, and just chilling in the park and along the water's edge.  The trail offers something for everyone on a perfect summer's day.   I'm pretty sure we'll have more good days before summer's end.     

 

Green Heron

This is also my picture but from three years ago.  A couple of weeks ago  I showed a distant shot of another green heron and then I remembered this old picture.  It's the best one I think I've ever taken of this particular species of heron even though we see them often both here and in Florida.  Like the more recent picture, this one was also seen at the Delta Ponds and also in July.  

 

 

We've been watching this big apartment complex going up along one of the streets on our way to the River paths.   It's interesting to watch the progress.   At this stage, the buildings didn't look like they were ever going to be finished, but now they look more like people will be able to live in them someday soon.   The already finished building is, I think, going to be the office.

And here's one more Colorado picture:

Geoff's picture

And it's another one taken from their deck.  They have magical views from their new home.  

 

 Thank you to the hosts of the following sharing opportunities where I'm linking this week:

   NATURE NOTES;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

 

ROSES, 2022

 

 

We should have visited the Owen Rose Garden last month because June is the height of the season for these beautiful flowers.   But even in mid-July  and with all the hot days we've had, there were still some perfect blossoms on view last week.

 

The gardens are well cared for and beautifully designed -- a peaceful place.  It's not  far from where we live here in Eugene.  Just  a tiny bit out of hot-day walking range to get there.

 

So I drove a couple of miles to park at Valley River Center, our area's primary shopping mall.  From there it's a short  walk across a pedestrian bridge  to the South Bank Trail (on the Willamette River).

 

 Then the walk to the Gardens is less than a mile along the trail.  The pictures in the collage above were taken from the bridge.        

 

Eugene has a great trail system.   Most of my walks along the river are from our house -- no driving.    I love  being able to "go outside to play" with no driving (or very little) even though we live in a metropolitan area.  

 

The Cherry Tree in the mosaic below has been growing in this spot from  the mid-1800s.  It's on the edge of the rose gardens.   Because it lies within the original land claim of Eugene Skinner, the founder of our fair city,  it is believed that it was planted by Skinner himself. 

 

Whoever dug the hole, the tree is beautiful and I'm thankful for the arborists  and volunteers who work hard  to keep this living bit of history in prime condition.

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:  Thanks to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;  TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS    

Delta Ponds, Goodpasture

 

The (best) walk of the week started at the Goodpasture Island Road entrance to Eugene's Delta Ponds.  Great walk for photos, not for exercise -- I stop a lot!  

 

Great Blue Heron

That's OK  though because I'd rather take pictures.   It was cooler than it has been since we got home and slightly overcast.  I haven't yet been able to motivate myself  to walk early in the morning.  On hotter days, by the time I get  out there the birds are wisely hiding out.   

 

Pied Billed Grebe

So this day was pretty much perfect because the birds were happy with the cooler weather too.   

 

 Green Heron

Guessing on the photo above, but I think it's a green heron.  Too far away for a better ID   (highly cropped obviously).

 

Scrub Jay

The 2022 World Track Championships are currently taking place here in Eugene. an estimated  60,000 to 100,000 visitors are here watching these world-class athletes -- and spending time and money.  It's  a big deal for our small city!   No coverage on this blog because we aren't really track fans and we are still trying to stay away from crowds.  But it's impossible not to be interested and we are following coverage on-line and in our local newspaper (which is also on-line these days of course.)    

 

Real Oregon Ducks

 

We are on the other side of town from the University and Stadium area so haven't noticed much increase in traffic.  The area's largest shopping mall is within walking distance and it is being used as a park and ride shuttle for ticket holders.  Like most malls these days though there's tons of extra parking, so I don't think even shoppers will be inconvenienced.

 

They're everywhere!  Canada Geese.

All said and done, I'd much rather  watch birds than sit in a crowded arena watching people, no matter how talented they are.   But there is something for everyone here in Eugene this week -- and that's a good thing!  

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts:

NATURE NOTES;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;  WILD BIRD Wednesday;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING

 

Home Again

It's been five weeks since my last blog post and it's good to be back.

 

Morning Sky on our last day at the Canal Cottage

 One busy week  to close up the Canal Cottage and prep for our cross-country trip.

The  Mississippi looking not so mighty from our RV Parked on the River

Two weeks of travel with the tiny trailer   -- 3500 miles (a night or two in ten different states). 

 

Oregon summer flowers 

And now it's almost two weeks since we arrived  here in Eugene.   It's just beginning to feel like we're home!  Seems like it takes a little longer to get "Oregon-ized" than it used to.  I might be getting older.  

 

The "street" in an RV Park where we stayed somewhere in Missouri or Kansas.     No storms while we were there thankfully.

What with the price of gasoline these days, we could have flown home  for less money, but we already had the tiny trailer  in Florida.   And of course there are problems with air travel these days too.  So it was the best choice this time.   

Rawlins Wyoming -- a rainy day

I didn't take  many more pictures on this trip than I would have if we had flown.  We did only incidental sight-seeing as we drove or in the RV Parks where we stayed... no  touristy stuff this time.  We wanted to be home by the first week in July.  

Glenn's Ferry Idaho

Fortunately we like road trips -- it's fun to think about what's different and what's the same in the different places we pass through. 

Terrible "through the window" shot,  but I always like to document the first mountains we see as we travel west from the flatlands.  

We always get away later than we plan to, so the first night we stayed in Ocala Florida.  Then somewhere in Georgia (lost the name of the town); Montgomery Alabama; West Memphis Arkansas; Cuba Missouri (in the Meremac Valley); Marshall Missouri; Salina Kansas; Oberlin  Kansas; Kimball Nebraska; Cheyenne Wyoming; Rawlins Wyoming; Brigham City Utah; Burns Oregon; and Blue River Oregon. 

 

The McKenzie River -- just a couple of hours from home

 

For people who drive more than five or six hours a day, both the last two places are within a day's drive of home.  But we have always preferred to take our time.   The last day of the trip we stayed in Blue River, less than two hours from home.   Both because we enjoy being on the beautiful River in this sweet little park AND because we don't like getting home when we're tired from traveling all day. 

 

It's good to be home again.   

 

 

Linking to the following sharing opportunities.  Thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS;  and SATURDAY CRITTERS