A Full-time Life

GOING LOCAL

Now that we live in downtown Eugene, (see here) it is easier to live local:

 

 

 

Within a few blocks of our new home we can eat, drink, shop ...  and then there is READ -- that one other verb that is almost as necessary to our lives as eating.  And we can do that locally too -- without spending a dime.   

 

 

Library entrance

 

We both love to read.   I admit to alternating between Kindle and "real" books; Bill only reads the kind that are made of paper!  

We are both happy that the beautiful  Eugene Public Library is four blocks from our new apartment.  

And, just in case we get hungry or thirsty on the way there or back, there are several places where we could stop to  eat or drink.  

Or shop for that matter.  But I don't care about that ... because I'm   so eager to get home and read my new library book!).  

 

 

 

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Living local but sharing with people all over the world on SIGNS SIGNS (thank you to Lesley for hosting).      

 

 

WE'VE MOVED

 

We've moved.    No -- not all the way across the country this time --  more like across Lane County.      We wanted to be closer in to the city -- so we could avoid all the time we were spending on the road getting there and back.   

 

Evening traffic from Eugene to the Lake

 

And, for a variety of reasons (not least having something to do with turning 3/4 of a century old),  we decided we really needed a more permanent place on this coast to call home  ...  One that required no maintenance and was turn-key ready whenever we decide we want to be here.     And one that we don't have to worry about while we're away.

 

 

We loved the scenery at the Lake where we rented space for our RV -- but we were growing more and more tired of  the 20 mile drive any time we wanted to do something in the city.  

 

Our urban 'front-yard'

 

 We thought it would take longer to find the place we wanted -- but it happened quickly.

 

Street-side gate to the hidden apartments

 

Our new west-coast home is a terrace apartment in a downtown Eugene gated complex.    Though located above urban shops,  it's quiet enough to forget you are in the middle of the city.  

 

 

Our urban 'backyard'

 

 

There are  nicely landscaped areas -- lots of greenery (we've even seen hummingbirds out our window).   We're committed to small-space living and, at this stage of our life, we're happy to have someone else do the heavy maintenance and yard work.       

  

Lane Transit District station

 

But the best part of city living is being able to get to so many places without driving.  We can walk to the Library, parks, theaters, restaurants, music venues,  and some shopping.  If we tire of walking-distance entertainment, we will be able to take the City bus pretty much anywhere.   

The apartment has covered parking and we'll certainly still use our car.   But hopefully  not every single day -- when we do, it will be to explore a bit further afield.  There are so many beautiful places in this area (mountains, coast, lots of nature) that we could never find enough  time to visit  because we were spending too much time on routine driving.

 

Selfie with urban wildlife

I think we're going to enjoy our new adventure!  

 

Glad to be back  to blogging -- and to sharing with OUR WORLD on Tuesday  

 

Thanks to the OW Team (Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy, Gattina,  Arija, and Jenn)    

 

 

 

 

 

THAT KIND OF WEEK

 It's been that kind of week -- busy with shopping, appointments and a lot of mostly non-photo-worthy activities.    And because this week is going to be another one just like it,  I'm combining several themes and memes into one post for the week.

 

No matter what else is going on, we  eat -- and a visit to a Farm Store always provides food for the eyes as well as for the body.    This Farm is on River Road between Eugene and Junction City.  Roses and sunflowers growing along the pretty fence --  summer and fall flowers mixing it up in this between-season month.

 

 

 

Fall fruits are already in season -- crisp apples, pumpkins and the stone fruits (peaches especially) are wonderful.     

 

 

The birds are still hanging around the wetlands.  Here a great egret wades near the Marina boat dock -- the boats have all been pulled because this side of the Lake is already too shallow.

 

 

(Fern Ridge Lake is a Reservoir -- water levels are lowered in the Fall for flood control purposes.) 

 

 

 Well -- we do have to eat no matter what -- but as mentioned above, "It's been that kind of week!"

So much to do, so much busy work -- not  a whole lot of subject matter for a photo blog  -- but then there is always the sun.  It  rises and sets as it is supposed to do and life is good.

 

With thanks to the hosts of all of the following wonderful sharing opportunities -- and thanks to everyone for putting up with this rather disjointed combination -- this post is shared with:

OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;  TREES and BUSHES;  

WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY,WEDNESDAY WATERS;

GOOD FENCES; SIGNS SIGNS;

and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

(Back to our normal programming next week, with any luck at all.)

 

 

 

SCENE ALONG JEANS ROAD

 

 

Heard a little rustle in a thicket next to the road ....  

 

... and caught a glimpse of this sweet little yearling . 

 

 

Here's one of his older cousins and some other scenes of what seems like an earlier-than-usual Autumn around here.

 

 

 

The little guy thought he was better hidden -- he stayed and watched me for quite a while.    Just another great reason to interrupt my "power" walk down Jeans Road.

 

 

LINKING to Gemma's SCENIC WEEKENDS; Eileen's SATURDAY CRITTERS; Michelle's NATURE NOTES; and to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY.

 

Thanks to each of you for hosting these great sharing opportunities.

QUIET PLEASE!

Even though it's not a very exciting picture, this just might be my favorite sign ever.  (There are times when I would like to post it on my forehead!) 

 

 

 We saw this a whole year ago at one of the Alaska RV Parks where we stayed.  When you register, most RV Parks hand you a little folder with vital information about the park -- a map for where the bathrooms, laundry, and garbage bins are and such -- and almost all of them have some variation of "Quiet Hours 10 p.m. to 7 a.m."    

I liked "all the time" a LOT better!

 

 

So the sign is from Alaska, but the rest of the pictures in this post are from last week -- on a  quiet afternoon walk down Jeans Road.  

 

 

 Autumn is already in the air around here.   

 

 

We enjoy being here for this change of seasons.  Since we've been living in Florida part of the year, the Autumn Equinox is really the only one we have.    There's not as much difference between seasons there.

 

LINKING to:  Lesley's SIGNS SIGNS;  Theresa's GOOD FENCES;  and to SKYWATCH FRIDAY (hosted by Yogi, Sylvia, and Sandy) .  Thank you all.

 

 

IT RAINED!

 

It cooled down last week and -- best of all -- IT RAINED!  

 

As everyone already knows, we are not fans of gray, drizzly weather.   But Oregon and the Pacific Northwest need rain so badly this year that we've been out doing our rain dance along with everyone else.

So we were delighted to see the storm clouds moving in  and especially delighted when they actually produced some rain.  (Probably not nearly enough -- but a start.) 

Birds always seem to be more active just before it rains and here some of the usual suspects from the week's walks.   

 

 

Scrub Jays are common here, but I never get tired of them.   They are rare in Florida and people there get very excited to spot one.    

 

 

Wild Turkeys are thriving in this area.  I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that it has been so much dryer in the past couple of years.   We've seen a few every summer we've visited here.   Now we see large flocks almost every day and our daughter and son-in-law have three flocks in their neighborhood on the other side of the Lake.

 

 

Here's a little  spotted towhee perched on "our" blackberry bushes.   It has been such an odd summer.   The berries usually are their best in late August-early September.   But this year, they are already dried up.  We started picking them early in July. 

 

 It's too bad that the kind of rain we had this week isn't really enough.  The area really needs some of those long, gray, all-day-long steady rains that we got so tired of back when we lived and worked here.   But the rain this week was so easy to take -- it let up often enough that we could go outside without getting soaked.  And the light was beautiful -- this storm cloud turned the fading sun into pale gold.    

 

SHARING this week with OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  with NATURE NOTES; with WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY;  and with next Saturday's RATHER B' BIRDING   

 

BIRTHDAY BOUQUET

 

A beautiful bouquet from someone special was waiting at the restaurant table...

 

 

 

... where we went to celebrate my 75th!

 

 

Happy colors for a Happy Birthday.

 

 

 

The collage was taken at the restaurant.  The other two pictures were at home a couple of days later.  It was still pretty for several days after that.

 

 

 

Linking to:  Denise's TODAY'S FLOWERS; to Laura's I HEART MACRO;  to  MONDAY MACRO (Gemma and Magical Mystery Teacher) and to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY.

 

Thank you all for hosting these enjoyable sharing opportunities.

WATERCOLOR?

 

Because it reminds me of an oil painting, I'm posting this shot of a waterfall I've showed you before to the NF DIGITAL ART meme.  

 

 

 

I didn't really do any post-download manipulation though (except to add the frame) -- the "painting" is simply a result of forgetting to change the setting when I was trying to get a close-up view of Sweet Creek Falls.  Somehow, the combination of the light and the setting created an unreal photo. 

(So it's mistake I fell in love with.  Thank you for indulging me!)

 

 

 

 

 I  wrote about hiking into the Falls last week, but this is a slightly different view from the one I showed there -- and the closest one I could find to my 'painting' (or mistake).    

I will also link this to the  next SCENIC WEEKENDS because every scenery junkie everywhere loves a waterfall. 

 

 

Thank you to Monica (Nature Footsteps) for Digital Art and to Gemma for Scenic Weekends.