A Full-time Life

EARTH DAY 2018 - CORKSCREW SANCTUARY

   

All  pictures in this week's post are from our visit to the Audubon Corkscrew Sanctuary earlier this month.   

 

 The dry season is just ending in Florida -- it is a good thing that there is this much water in the swamps. 

 

The words in the two mosaics below this are cropped portions of an informational sign near the start of the boardwalk trail through Corkscrew.  The panel is titled 'History of the Swamp'.     These words are always appropriate, but especially for Earth Day (which should of course be every day).  

 

 

As shown below the next mosaic, things got better after a while, but unfortunately we  have "leaders" at the national level right now that seem  determined to send our country back to somewhere between 1783 and 1953.

    

 Wild iris are one of the very few typical Spring flowers that we see here in Florida.

 

 

FINALLY CAME UNDERSTANDING

 

( I couldn't crop this picture to include the headline  for this panel, but the typed line above is what it says.)

 

We are grateful for the Audubon Society,  for Alt-National-Park,  for the Sierra Club, and for all of the other groups and individuals who are working hard for our natural world -- in the face of opposition.   And we hope these efforts can keep  our planet alive and well.  

      

        

  Immature Little Blue Heron

 

    

 

 

 “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”  

Theodore Roosevelt

 

 

Night Heron, Immature 

 

 

Roseate Spoonbill 

 

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught." 

 Baba Dioum

 

 

 

Grateful we are still able to enjoy these wonders.  Grateful also for nature bloggers who are doing their part to conserve and love our world, to teach others, and to share   ....  you lift my spirits.

 

 

 

 

Linking this week to:  NATURE NOTES;  MOSAIC MONDAY; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; FLORAL BLISS; ALL SEASONS;  THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD;  SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING.

 

Thank you to all of the hosts!  

 

SPRINGTIME IN FLORIDA

     

Spring flowers are different here in the subtropics.  Sometimes I miss daffodils and violets which don't bloom here, but oh the bright and beautiful flowers that do thrive in this climate!  We visited R F Orchids in Homestead last week and what a wonderful flower fix it was.

 

 

 The sign works for me!   

 

 

 

The photos in the  first and last mosaics were all taken in the  outdoor gardens. 

 The close-up shots are of orchids that were blooming in the shade house.

 

 

 

 

It is not necessary in this climate to have a glassed-in greenhouse for these plants.  The shade-house roof was open when we were there, but there were slats for plastic or shade cloth as needed.

 

 

They had very color and type of orchid imaginable. 

 

 

 

The center of this one almost looks as if a butterfly landed there.

 

R F Orchids was  more like a park than a  store. 

Especially for people like us who no longer garden. 

We are lucky  that they didn't charge us for taking pictures. 

 

 

 

   There was even a wedding gazebo and outdoor events center.  

 

It really was a happy place!  

 

 

 Thank you to the hosts of these sharing opportunities.  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  FLORAL BLISS; MACRO MONDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; IMAGE-IN-ING; THROUGH MY LENS; SIGNS SIGNS, THANKFUL THURSDAY; FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS, and SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

 

 

AUTUMN CATCH-ALL

  

 It's a catch-all post today, because last week was just that kind of week. 

 

     

The sign above made us laugh.   This high-rise student apartment sits across a very busy street on the edge of  the University of Oregon campus.  Some of those students have been working hard emptying those window decorations.   (There's an excellent brewpub on the other side of the street, which was why we walked to that neighborhood.  It serves better brew than comes in those cans.  But we are old and can appreciate the difference.)

 

 

 

Another beautiful day, another beautiful walk.  The Fifth Street Public Market always does a nice job of seasonal decorations.

 

 

 

 

Taken from a third-story window while waiting at the  Doctor's office.  Just there for a routine checkup -- and for the view.  

 

  

 

We went for a drive to the Mountains last Monday  and took a short easy hike to Salt Creek Falls.  It's the second highest waterfall in Oregon.  That is snow in the bottom left picture!!  The roads were completely clear, but the rain we had in the valley the previous week was snow up there.  It was a beautiful walk.  And the mountain drive was lovely too ... although we found that there is more color down here than up there.  The native deciduous trees are mostly all yellow in this part of the country, so all the reds we see in the neighborhoods are from decorative trees. 

   

 

On still another day, we have a turkey stare down.   Daughter and I were driving down her road on the way to have lunch and we had to stop the car to let a flock of these birds cross the street.  They pretty much owned the road there for a while.   Apparently they aren't too worried (yet anyway) about becoming someone's Thanksgiving dinner.

 

 

 

 These  are some more shots from our son-in-law and daughter's place.

 

 We are grateful for beautiful Autumn color  and beautiful  blue-sky  days ...

 and for time to enjoy them!

 

LINKING this week to:  ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;  THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; Wednesday AROUND THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL Thursday;  SKYWATCH Friday; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING. 

And I'm grateful for the hosts of each of these great sharing opportunities.  Thank you.

 

 

SIGNS OF SUMMER

   

 

Either the priest or the gardener at this  beautifully landscaped church in Salem has a good sense of humor.   We were there to attend the funeral for Bill's Aunt Rosemary.  This lovely lady, who lived to her late 90s,  was the last remaining member of our parents' generation (on both sides).  Not that there was much doubt before, but we're certainly officially members of the senior generation now.

All of the rest of the pictures in this post are  from walks around the neighborhood here in Eugene.

 

 

  I love hydrangeas in all their colors and all their stages.  It's hard not to stop for pictures when I'm out walking. These are some I've "collected" from different yards all through my walking area

 

 

But even these lush blue bushes can't rescue this poor old house.   I first noticed it when I walked past when we were still here last October.  And at first I thought it was decorated for the Halloween season (the bushes of course were brown and withered then, adding to the haunted appearance). There have been no apparent changes to the structure since last Fall.   Abandoned homes always make me wonder about the story behind them.

 

 

The old house is about six blocks away one direction from our  apartment -- we are right on the edge of an older Eugene neighborhood (mostly with well-kept homes -- the one above is an exception).  

But when we walk the other way, we are in the middle of downtown.    We strolled around on the  First Friday Art Walk, listening to music and looking at some of the street art.  

 

 

It was hot though, so we spent most of the evening in an air-conditioned theater watching an Instant Ballet (the dancers, members of the Eugene Ballet Company,  take suggestions from the audience to put together a ballet based on a pre-determined theme and music.  

 

 

 

 The City installed this colorful piano in the middle of one downtown block.   It gets a lot of use.   Sometimes you get a concert.  And then there are the other times  ....    

 

 

 

 Eugene might be the only place in the world that would have this sign on the front of a City Bus.    We like it!

 

 

 Linking this week  to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;  MACRO MONDAY; FLORAL BLISS; TUESDAY TREASURES; and SIGNS SIGNS 

 THANK YOU to all of the hosts.

THE END OF THE TRIP AND HOME AGAIN

      

Yes, our annual summer migration is over.... in real life we've been home since the very end of June and, with this early August post, the trip will be over even in blog-land.    (It was a long trip, but not quite as long as it's been here on the blog.)

 

 

 

 Since our ultimate destination (our Northwest home) was Eugene Oregon  ....

 

 

.... I'm tempted to say, in the words of local icon and world-famous  author Ken Kesey "What a long, strange trip it's been." 

 

But although our home city might be a little  different -- "left of normal" (and we're all proud of that), our trip itself was actually a great one, with nothing strange about it.   We explored new places and favorite old ones, had not a speck of trouble on the road, and arrived safely.

 The above pictures are from around town, close to our apartment.   The Eugene Parade was held about a week after we got home ...  we were watching on a street corner less than a block away from our upstairs terrace apartment  -- where the street noise doesn't reach,  but the street excitement is  close by. 

  

 

 

Here is the road-map for the last part of our trip -- from Longmont Colorado  (where we stayed with our son and daughter-in-law) to Eugene Oregon.   The map for the first part of the journey (from our winter home in Florida to Colorado) is HERE.    Because we always break up the trip with a lovely stay with our Colorado family, I've called that our half-way point, but  that's not at all accurate.    (We drove 2,159 miles from Fort Myers to Longmont and then 1,222 miles from there to home.  A total of 3,381 road miles -- not counting side-trips  (mostly in Colorado and Utah).   

 

Abandoned -- along a back-road somewhere  --- Wyoming or Utah or Idaho  -- but the poppies don't know or care.

 

We did not necessarily take the shortest possible route on either 'half' of the journey  and we do not drive long days.  We never have enjoyed that kind of travel -- even when we were younger.    We also took a little longer on the second part of the trip because, while we were in Idaho, we read that temperatures of over 100 F were happening in Eugene.  So we decided to play on the road a bit until it cooled down some at home.

 

Onion seed field somewhere in Idaho

 

Temperatures in the triple digits do not make for good moving-back-in-weather.    And we knew that, this being western Oregon, the extreme heat would not last for long.   Happily it did soon cool down a bit and we arrived in good time for the family picnic on the Fourth of July:

   

  

 

Here are two members of the clan who do not mind having their pictures taken one bit.   We were in the "woods" .... the far back part of the boys' grandparents place.   (Their grandparents are our daughter and son-in-law. We are proud to be the 'GGs' ... the great-grandparents.)  

I took the bird pictures below a couple of days before the Holiday, also in our daughter's yard (closer to their house.)    I was meant to be unpacking our travel van, which we leave out there (we have a small generic car for city use) -- but it was more fun to sit and chat with the family while watching the birds.

 

 

I'm not having any luck identifying this amusing 'little brown job'.  We used to call all our brown feeder birds "LBJs" but that was years ago .   Now it bothers me not to be able to name all the birds we see and I'd love any help I can get with a name for this one.

 

 

Seen in many yards in Eugene 

 

It's good to be home on the West Coast.  We like it here!

   

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

Thanks to all of the hosts for providing these sharing opportunities. 

 

ANY COMPLAINTS?

 

It has been a while since I posted a silly sign all by itself.  But I still "collect"  them.

 

 

 This was on the counter of an old-fashioned (and actually very friendly) hardware store where we shopped here in Fort Myers.  

 Nobody had any complaints.

 

 

 

Linking to  Lesley's SIGNS SIGNS (but of course you already knew that!)  Thank you Lesley!

WORTH THE TROUBLE

 

We saw this sign as we pulled into Northern Lights Campground, Glenallen Alaska (but we stayed there anyway.)   

 

There definitely ARE mosquitos in Alaska and the campground hosts here had the right idea -- you might as well laugh about it!   It was a very nice well-run place to stay.)   And (like pretty much everywhere else in the State) the scenery in the area was  well worth a little inconvenience -- and a little bug spray.

Here is some of what we saw just before and after we stayed at this particular campground:

 

 

 

 

 Linking to Lesley's SIGNS SIGNS and Gemma's SCENIC WEEKENDS.  Thank you both for hosting.

 

A FOREST OF SIGNS

Signpost Forest is a (free) roadside attraction in the town of Watson Lake BC.  In 1942, when the Alaska Highway was being built, the US Army Engineers put up a directional post at their camp at this location.  The signs pointed to camp facilities and the nearest communities.    A homesick private named Carl Lindley added a sign pointing to his home town of Danville Illinois.  That started a tradition that is now known as the World Famous Signpost Forest.

 

 

 According to Watson Lake's website there are now over 72,000 signs.  Anyone can add one -- and  obviously many tourists do.

 

 

 

 The tradition is to bring your own home-town sign,  but a few other kinds of signs seem to have snuck in there as well.

 

 

We stayed in Watson Lake on our way back to the lower 48.  And (only partly) because we'd never heard of this tradition we didn't add a sign -- we just took the ones that were already there (pictures only).  

So if  you visit Watson Lake, don't forget your sign.  

 

Linking to SIGNS SIGNS (obviously) and GOOD FENCES (stretching a bit, but the meme is about gates too and the top pictures does show the gateway into the Forest.)

 

Thank you to Lesley for Signs and Theresa (TexWis Girl) at the RunAroundRanch for Good Fences.  Visit and link up!!

 

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

This is a slightly edited repeat post from another Colorado trip -- 4 years ago.  It seems perfect for Independence Day and perfect for the  SIGNS SIGNS meme, which I have been away from for way too long, and also for SKYWATCH FRIDAY.  

 PIKES PEAK, UNBUSTED

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Katherine Lee Bates, a professor from back east, thought of the words to the poem "America the Beautiful" while she enjoyed the majestic view from the top of Pikes Peak.  She had taken a train journey and seen other sights that she put into the poem (later set to music) but said that the words came together while she was there. 

 

The switchback road to the summit of Pikes Peak is owned and kept up by the City of Colorado Springs.  It's a toll road.  We paid and then a few miles further up, we noticed a booth on the other side with a line of cars.  We wondered if the City charged again for coming down.  The down booth, it turned out, is a brake check.  If you're overheated, a guy tells you to pull over until the brakes cool down.  Geoff knows how to drive in the mountains and didn't ride his brakes, so we didn't get busted.  We thought going down the switchback curves was less scary than going up. 

 

It's not too hospitable an atmosphere up there above the treeline, so I'm pretty sure people would have paid to get back down if they'd had to!  Only 60% of the oxygen available at sea level, plus snow, thunderstorms in the afternoons (possibilities of hail, wind, and lightning any time of the year).  The temperature rarely goes above 40.  (I think it was a little warmer the day we were there, but it was quite windy.) Here you can see the afternoon black clouds rolling in. 

 

Here are some things we learned about this 14,115 foot mountain.

 It isn't a National Park or monument.  A small upper portion was designated as a national historic landmark in 1961.    

• It was discovered by explorer Zebulon Pike, but he never made it to the summit.  Someone named Edwin James was the first to do so (in 1820).  

• Gold was discovered in the area in 1858 and "Pike's Peak or Bust" became the slogan of the Colorado gold rush. 

• There is an annual car race called "Pikes Peak International Hill Climb".  (Only two of the people in our car cared a thing about this race.  They sat in the front seat.  They were father and son.   The other two of us thought that the sharp curves were quite treacherous enough at safe speeds.) 

  Note:  In a comment on the original post, Geoff sent a link to a video of a car taking part in this race.  It was scary just to watch.

LISTEN TO THE TREES

 

Good advice seen a couple of days ago at Six Mile Cypress Slough, one of our favorite places to walk here in Fort Myers:

 

 

Wherever there is a good spot to get off the walkway  at Six Mile Cypress, there are posted words with even more food for thought.  

Someone has done a wonderful job of choosing  quotes for the  signs.  And I'm sharing this one with other lovers of this form of the printed word at over at Lesley's SIGNS SIGNS (thank you!)

BE GRATEFUL

 

This is a repeat, but from a few years ago -- prior to Lesley's  fun SIGNS SIGNS meme.  

We saw this billboard several times on our roadtrip through the midwest in summer 2009.  Never did learn the story behind it, but it seems perfect for Thanksgiving Week (in this country) and good words to keep in mind any time.

 

  

  

  

  

 

EACH KINDNESS

 For SIGNS SIGNS.  Thanks to Lesley.

 

This sign was painted on a mirror in the ladies room in a small cafe where some friends and I had coffee  recently.    It didn't make it real easy to put on lipstick, but I'd rather see this  picture and thought than my reflection any day!

 

 

(The thistle blossoms really don't have a thing to do with the post, except that the sign somehow reminded me of these pictures from my files.)

OREGON RECYCLES

Linked to SIGNS SIGNS 

 

Oregon has had a container deposit law since 1971 and it makes a real difference in reducing litter.  There are self-serve return facilities at every supermarket.  ( Click here to read  the wiki article about the "bottle bill.")

This bike, with its spiffy trailer, was parked at the store where we usually shop.    

The guy was returning quite a haul of bottles and cans.  He picks up  along roadsides (stuff thrown out by idiots) and is also happy to take can and bottle donations from shoppers who don't want to stand in line for their return receipt.

 

HIGH WATER

FOR SIGNS SIGNS  -- Thank you Lesley.

 

 

Sounds like a good idea to me!

 

This seems like another one of those 'doh' signs  -- I mean who would need to be told?  But apparently many drivers -- or maybe hikers -- think they can beat the cascading water -- or just drive through it.        

This sign was in Colorado, near Lyons, but we've seen similar warnings in other places such as on the California desert and Arizona.  Probably anyplace where there are deep canyons and sudden flash floods  (and people with no common sense).        

RAINVILLE ROAD

THIS edited re-run (with re-done pictures) is linked to SIGNS SIGNS. We were lucky to spend Spring in London five years ago.  

While we were there, our son Geoff wrote that he had come across a reference to a Rainville Road in London.  The rest of this post is what I wrote in our original blog, while we were there.

 

 
 As he said, what are the odds?  Our last name's unusual enough that we were intrigued.  (Maybe if it was Smith or Jones, we wouldn't have immediately planned to go there.)   It turned out that Rainville Road is located in a very pretty part of West London in the borough of Hammersmith/Fulham.  We had another place we wanted to visit in the area of King's Cross, which was the nearest tube stop, so it made a great daytrip.

 

And, wow!  "Our" street runs parallel to, and just a building's width away from, The River Thames --  it's east, across the river, from the new Chelsea Stadium.  It's a mixed use street, starting with some stores, a couple of good restaurants and a pub, and a nicely located architectural office.  There's a block of flats -- Rainville Court -- that have views of the river on the back side.   We walked through a little alley pointing to Dorset Wharf to get to the River Side of the street.   

Sure wish we had more information on the  history of the road's name -- we haven't yet been able to find out anything more about it.  Maybe if we have time, we'll go back to the Borough and see what we can learn.

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Added note, 2012:  We never did have time look up any further information while we were there....  And when we got back from England we started this blog and did more traveling and .......... but someday maybe ...... 

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Here are comments from two of our sons on the original post:

Right after I suggested going there I started getting worried it was in a really bad part of London. So huge sigh of relief. If you go back, knick the sign for me.Posted by: Geoff | July 08, 2007 at 09:31 PM 

 

I bet Rainville Road comes from the time of William the Conqueror.It would make sense, we are from Normandy. As a matter of fact the largest Cemetery from D-Day, mainly Canadian and British Dead is called the Cemenar-de-Rainville.(Or however you spell it in French).Posted by: Pete | July 25, 2007 at 12:39 AM
 

 

 

 

WARNING

FOR SIGNS SIGNS  brought to us by Lesley.  

 

 

 

 And here's one thinking about eating a car:

Seen in the Everglades.  Another sign explained that vultures are attracted to the rubber seals around windows and doors.

We escaped unscathed ..... so did our RoadTrek camper van.  (Although I did fall asleep wondering if we'd be wakened by vultures on the attack.)

IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME ....

FOR SIGNS SIGNS.  Thank you Lesley!  Visit, laugh, learn!

 

It wasn't the first time we'd been given this advice (although it hasn't been on a road sign before) ......

.... and it wasn't the first time we ignored it!

 

MENTAL THERAPY APPOINTMENT?

for SIGNS SIGNS    .....  Thank you Lesley!

Window sign in Cape Coral -- spotted on our way to lunch.  

This shop's not my "fun service salon" -- it's too far away from where we live.   I've never seen a shop actually "offer" mental therapy before, but when you think about it, it really is a big part of any good beauty-shop/salon visit!  

Of course, my hair's so short that I don't have to go to the shop very often -- and it doesn't take long for a good operator to give me a good cut -- so I don't get a LOT of mental therapy.  (Be kind -- no smart remarks please!)

SMILES

FOR SIGNS SIGNS*  (Not my pictures just this once  --  these came in an e-mail, but I need a smile this morning and maybe you do too. ) 

  

 (Great buy, but we have enough already thank you very much!)

 This might be a better bargain -- at least you get a clean old person!

 Thanks to Lesley for hosting.   Visit Signs Signs for more smiles!

TRASH TRAILER

FOR SIGNS SIGNS at Lesley's.   Go visit -- you'll enjoy yourself!  

 

The Maintenance staff at Upriver provides daily on-site garbage pickup service. 

(I don't think anybody has ever complained.)

TYPEWRITER RIBBON? SAY WHAT?

FOR LESLEY'S SIGNS SIGNS.  Notice anything a little last century here?

 This picture, taken just a week ago, is part of the decor at a big-box office supply chain store.  The wall signs are supposed to point customers to the section they need.  

.... But I'm pretty sure that if you asked any of the mostly 20-something clerks for a typewriter ribbon, they wouldn't have the slightest idea what you were talking about!  

I wonder how long it's been since management actually looked at those signs!

 

 

 

PEACE SIGN

Each side of this pillar at Manatee Park states its message in a different language. 

And in any and every language in the world, the messsage is our wish for the New Year as well!

 The Peace Pillar is on one of the walking paths at Manatee Park in Fort Myers.  VISIT LESLEY'S GREAT MEME FOR MORE SIGNS SIGNS.

OUR KIND OF ZOO

FOR SIGNS SIGNS - (go visit!).  THANK YOU LESLEY.

 

No animals were harmed in making this post.

...... AND ALL THAT JAZZ

FOR SIGNS SIGNS hosted by Lesley

(Sign and window display sighted in the French Quarter of New Orleans, end of November 2011).

 

 

 

SOME PEOPLE ASK....

If you think this is a question, I hope you'll be kind when you answer it!

 

 Why is another little town where I just had to jump out to take pictures of the signs.  This one is another place miles beyond nowhere -- it's in Arizona, just past Ajo heading down the lonesome road toward Tucson.

THIS POST IS LINKED TO SIGNS SIGNS.  Thank you Lesley.

The picture below is what it looks like around Why.  I don't know Why, it just does.

 (My blogging friend Hazel, from England, has included information about WHY the town is named as it is in her comment below.  Thank you Hazel!)

      

HOW NICE

FOR SIGNS SIGNS, hosted by Lesley

Conversation when traveling along State Highway 20 in California a couple of weeks ago. 

"It'll be Nice in 10 miles."

"Oh isn't this Nice?"

 

 "Wait a minute, was that Nice?"

The only thing we saw in Nice was this advertisement for a bed and breakfast. 

So maybe it was more Nice (Nicer?) off the highway somewhere. 

 

 

DISMAL NITCH

FOR SIGNS SIGNS Thanks Lesley!

This cove along the Columbia River was the last campsite for Lewis and Clark expedition before they came to the Pacific Ocean. It's a rest-stop along the State Highway now.

It was a pleasant afternoon when we stopped today.

But when the Expedition stayed here right about this time in 1805 the weather wasn't so cooperative. These quotes from two members' journals probably explain the Dismal name. (Explanatory signs with quotes from journals were placed along the expedition route for its bicentennial in 2005.)

GOT PUMPKIN?

FOR SIGNS SIGNS.  THANK YOU LESLEY!!

 

Yes we do! 

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY FALL

From a trip to Vermont, quite a few Falls ago. Blogged before, but not for SIGNS SIGNS!

DR PIERCE'S PLEASANT PELLETS BARN

  LINKED TO SIGNS SIGNS  (thank you to Lesley for having this great idea and hosting) and to a new meme for me BARN CHARM.  (This post just seemed perfect to share with for barn lovers.)

     
 
In the early twentieth century, advertising on barns was a popular way to get your message out in front of the public.  The advertisers usually paid the farmer for the space by providing a coat of paint.  Dubious remedies were pretty popular back then too.

This sign is said to have been painted in 1903.  It stands within the present day city limits of Cottage Grove, Oregon, and is easily visible when driving through the city along Highway 99.  

Sadly, the barn is in serious disrepair and the current owner of the property wants to tear it down in order to make the home and property more saleable.      

The County Historical Society is interested in its preservation but has been unable to negotiate a price.   

Although a group of people are still trying to save it in some way, this icon of another time is slated to be demolished this month. 

  Here is an article about the barn.

THE PATH

First, a quick note to let you know, if you use Blogspot and have your comment box set to "Embedded below post" I am unable to leave a comment on your blog.  Please consider changing to "Pop-up window" under Dashboard-Settings-Comments-Comment Placement Form.  Thanks!

FOR SIGNS SIGNS.  These aren't exactly  signs, but they are pictures of printed words that I really wanted to share!  This is one final post from the Recycling Center -- the stepping stones of this meditative path are  part of the garden.     Listen to Leonard Cohen while you virtually walk the path by clicking on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e39UmEnqY8

 

                                                                                                                                                                       

  

                                                                 

BRING (ME) SIGNS

 FOR SIGNS SIGNS

Here are some creative uses of recycled materials from the BRING Recycling Facility that I posted about earlier in the week.

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                    These mark aisles of recycled building materials with signs made from those materials.

_____________________

 
And another sign marking the recycled-art garden -- sign is made from recycled tiles.  Bench and arch  are lined with (ready for this?) recycled toilet tank lids. (Enlarge to see better.)  The sculpture, fence and gate are also made from recycled materials.

THREE LITTLE WORDS

FOR SIGNS SIGNS  hosted by LESLEY , who on other days of the week blogs beautiful daily pictures of Southern Ontario. 

 

These three little words can strike fear in the heart of the stoutest woodsman and make the calmest woman squirm.  Although it has been years since either of us has actually suffered the effects of touching this nasty little plant, the sign is reminder enough.

In  woodsy areas around here, especially this time of year, you don't want to stray (or even reach) off the beaten path.  

This is not the Fall color I've been waiting for.

VENETA RUNS ON ESPRESSO

Click here and follow the links for more signs of the times.        SIGNS SIGNS 

It's well known that the Pacific Northwest population is obsessed with coffee (those cool gray and rainy winters).    Veneta, the closest town to the RV Park where we're staying, is no exception. 

With a population of about 4500* and covering an area of only 2.7 square miles, the town boasts at least four espresso stands.  And that doesn't even count a nice restaurant where you can also get a good latte with your  breakfast.  

 

There are two Nina's Pony Espresso(an area franchise) -- one on each side of the highway, I guess for when you're too desparate for coffee to cross the street.  The Cup of Joe, also a drive-through kiosk, is on the edge of a strip mall less than a mile away.    

This little walk-in coffee shop, in that same strip mall, has free WiFi, so it's a favorite stop.  (We have a fairly speedy phone connection to the Internet in our RV, but I need WiFi to download to my Kindle.) The only way to resist sipping on a latte while I download (and read) is to park in front when the cafe is closed -- they kindly leave their WiFi on.

 And, by the way, if you're having a really really really bad day, they offer this alternative:

 

And that should just about cover whatever ails you!

 

 ( *The 2010 population is up 65% from the 2000 census.  This little town is growing.  I'm guessing that a lot of the new residents work in Eugene, and I imagine they enjoy sipping their coffee drinks as they drive in to the city every morning.)

A DIVINE PLACE TO LIVE?

FOR LESLEY'S SIGNS SIGNS  Click on the links for some fun roadside reading. 

Would you want to live on this street?                     

Would you feel  hallowed, holy, or  sacred?  Or excellent or delightful?  Or blessed?

(All of those, according to my dictionary, are synonyms for "divine.") 

 Sadly, I will never be able to let you know what this divine road is like.     

 

Because when you live on a street that is hallowed, holy, sacred, blessed, excellent or delightful, you don't want just any old person walking down your street and spoiling it all!  

And so you add a 'no tresspassing' sign to the bottom of your street sign.

 

DOES ANYBODY NEED THIS?

FOR LESLEY'S SIGNS SIGNS -- this photo taken in a kitchen shop in Florence Oregon

 

Just think, for all these years and all these hundreds of bananas, I've been using a plain old paring knife for this job.  Or even a table knife if it was easier to get to.

 Thank heavens somebody invented this wonderful tool to save me from all that hard hard labor! Yeah, right. 

Is this something your kitchen needs?

 

IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD......

 

FOR LESLEY'S SIGNS SIGNS.  Taken at a coffee shop in old-town Florence Oregon while waiting for our morning lattes.

 

 Enough said!

OUT IN THE COUNTRY ....

 

Having fun while taking part in  SIGNS SIGNS.  Visit or add your own.

"Out in the Country Past the City LImit Sign..."  the country boys on the radio used to sing.**

Where we stay when we're visiting Oregon, we do them one better.  We're parked in the country past the "Road Ends" sign.  The entrance to the RV Park is located between these two signs.  

  And after that there really is no more.  

(Sorry 'bout the blur -- apparently my hand was tired from the walk (?).)

 

(**The song is "Boot Scootin' Boogie" sung by Brooks and Dunn.  We don't have elevators out here, but if we did, country and western music would be played on them.  It's what you hear everywhere.... in the grocery store and in the car next to you when you are driving there.  It could be worse.)

So yup we're out in the country, a few miles from civilization, but it's definitely worth it:

 

 

 

MUCH TOO MUCH

 LINKED WITH  SIGNS SIGNS

 Early this month,  I posted a sign that didn't give enough information.  Today, here's a sign-board that gives too much --. so much just looking at it gave me a headache.  

This was at the corner of a turnoff road to the campground where we stayed at Lake Eufaula, near Checotah Oklahoma.  It's a nice enough Lake and we enjoyed our overnight stay at a Corps of Engineers park there. 

But we didn't think this signboard added much to the atmosphere. 

It wasn't very busy when we left our camp spot the next morning, so we stopped for a picture. 

But I didn't see anyone else stop on the way in ... it would be impossible if you had traffic behind you.  So this was just about as ineffective as no sign at all and didn't contribute much besides visual pollution.

 

A FAIR PLEDGE

 

Linking this sign seen at the Oregon Country Fair with SIGNS SIGNS hosted  by Lesley. 

 

 

 

 

ALIVE AND WELL....

FOR SIGNS SIGNS hosted by Lesley:

 

 This sign made us laugh when went to the Oregon Country Fair here in Veneta last weekend.   (I think we have one of those rooms).   

The Fair is a one-of-a-kind festival, not your usual fair,  and I'll post some more from it later. 

This particular booth turned out to be a place where founders of the OCF gather to tell stories about its origin and history.  The fair has been held annually for 42 years, so most of those founders are somewhere near our age group and obviously they still have a wry sense of humor!

  

A SIGN THAT DOESN'T QUITE DO ITS JOB

 Linked to SIGNS SIGNS hosted by Lesley whose main blog is Southern Ontario Discovered.

This sign is at the end of a long driveway entering onto Bayshore, the street we take every time we leave our Florida home to go anywhere. 

Every time I saw it I thought of Lesley's fun meme SIGNS SIGNS.  And every time I thought  'I really need to get a picture of that.' 

So on the day we left home for our summer roadtrip, Bill pulled off at the next driveway and said "Here's your first photo op of the roadtrip".  (We were a quarter of a mile or less  from our house.  He knows me pretty well -- we didn't quite stop every quarter mile for a picture, but sometimes it was pretty darn close.)  

So while it would make a good logo for Lesley's meme, I have no idea what the sign is really about.  Perhaps they make signs?  Maybe they want to sell the space to a billboard company?  I have no idea.  (The driveway is long narrow and rather forbidding -- I've never wanted to drive down it to find out.)

 

 

USUALLY FRIENDLY!

We're on the road, on the way to visit family and friends in Oregon (eventually), so here's some advertising from the Oregon coast for SIGNS SIGNS.

   

   The YaTel Motel advertises "Always Ultra Clean -- Usually Friendly."   

I think it'd be worth taking a chance. 

Our grandson and grand-daughter-in-law were on the Oregon Coast this spring and he e-mailed this picture to us.  The motel is in Yachats, on the Central Oregon coast.

EVERYBODY IS GONE -- EXCEPT US.

SHARED AT  LESLEY'S SIGNS SIGNS, a meme where I'm having way too much fun.  Go look -- or add your own post. 

So, according to some people who got an awful lot of publicity, last Saturday was supposed to be the day that all true believers would be lifted up while the rest of us remained on Earth for a while.

 

When I went outside the next morning, I noticed that enough staff members had been left at the newspaper to put out a Sunday edition (YES!).  But I also noticed right away that most of the other park models on our street were empty and all shuttered up.

 

Which means either that our neighbors had been lifted up OR that they've gone back to their summer homes "up" North. 

I guess we'll find out when the next Winter Season starts here at Upriver RV Resort!

 Notes: 

Sign photo from the Register-Guard, the excellent newspaper we read when we visit Oregon.  Our daughter called our attention to the picture --  -- the billboard was on a street that we used to travel frequently when we lived there.