March Sunset

Wow. See? I caught up the last five months in just a few posts!
I feel bad that I've been so tied close to home, but it's for good reasons!

My latest sunset was last Friday. Again, with my friend in Newberg. We went to our usual spot, some farmland adjacent to a newly built elementary school. A close, but somewhat scenic area that provides a lot of available sky.

This day wasn't spectacular, but as as always, when I find myself staring at a cloud-filled sky, I think how thankful I am to live in such a beautiful area. And more importantly, that I am able to enjoy one of the simplest things this life has to offer...a beautiful sunset.

I often take random snapshots of myself and found this one pleasant enough to post. Me in all my sunset-lit, freckled glory!

As per usual, I am driving Gert (my gray Jeep). She's been with me through all the posts on this blog (or most), and I think it's time to acknowledge her! I can't believe it's been almost eight years since I took her for a test drive and later signed the papers. Awww... :) She enjoys a good sunset too!!

Crisp Mount Hood

Another one of my sunset hunting expeditions, which ended up mostly fruitless. This evening in early January 2011 left us wanting for a "real" sunset, but the colors that were thrown onto Mount Hood were lovely.

I was able to get a couple decent shots of the mountain, though it is days like this one, that I renew my interest in finding a nice long lens for my "big" Nikon. Something else for my list!

These pictures were taken off the St. Paul Hwy, just outside of Newberg, Oregon. I remember being SO VERY COLD taking these pictures, and hoping the sky would throw just a little more color at us. But it must have been too early in the year (Jan. 4) for Mother Nature to waste the good color on such a short lived sky show.

Bagby Hot Springs

My sister and I decided we needed a treat for our birthdays. So, over the first weekend of December, we decided to drive up to Bagby Hot Springs and take a dip!

It was cold, but not snowy down in the valley, but once we started heading up towards the hills, we saw more and more snow. Once we made the final turn off, I thought it prudent to actually pop the Jeep into four wheel drive. There was about 6" of rutted snow on the road. Though fairly well traveled, it was still snowing and made for some slippery driving.

Once you get to the parking area, it's a couple mile hike up to the springs.
They're doing some renovation to the buildings/tubs, so the public tubs were mostly out of commission. We chose to share one of the private tubs. Which was perfect, since not long after we got there, a load of teenagers showed up and filled up the remaining private tubs.

Was great to go sit in the nice, toasty water. I do wish it was a bit more sound proof, since some people have no filter on what they say. However, the hot springs experience just isn't the same without the naked hippie folk running around.

These are a few pics from the hike up and back. The river looked so pretty surrounded by snow! Makes me want to do a series of winter river shots next year. Great idea!! I'll have to put that on my list.

Catching Up On Sky Shows...

So, I see it's been awhile since I posted on here. Not much to tell. I've stayed pretty close to home the last few months. But I have managed to capture a few sunsets (when we actually have sun).

Let's see...I have a few pics from December. One BEAUTIFUL sunset taken from the parking lot across from my friend's house in Newberg. The sunset crept up on us, so we couldn't get to a more "picturesque" location, but we at least got to snap a few pics of this absolutely stellar sunset. I couldn't believe how BRIGHT and GORGEOUS the colors were that day. Truly amazing.

This wonderful old oak tree is in her park, and the fading sunset can be seen through its leafless limbs.

Seems like we have had so few sunsets this year, that it's nice to look back on these pictures and be able to actually post a few sunny images! With any luck the rain will dry up soon, so I can get some more great sunset pictures.

Wine Country in the Springtime

So, I got the chance to drive up in Oregon's wine country (aka, the hills behind Newberg/Dundee) and was surprised by how many wineries now make their home in Oregon. I recall driving up 99W through Dundee in the early 80s and seeing Argyle Vineyards reform a Victorian era farmhouse into a tasting room. As a kid, I thought they were nuts! I'd heard of Napa Valley wines, but who in the dickens had ever heard of Willamette Valley wines?? Not me, for sure!

Well, fast forward some 20-odd years and the hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley are strewn with grape vines. A friend's nephew will be getting married at one such vineyard atop one of the many grape planted hills outside of Dundee, and we drove up to get a look at the site. I have to say I was very surprised by not only the amount of vineyards, but with the meticulousness with which they are kept. The rows of grapes are perfectly trimmed and wired, not a stem out of place.

And the views of the valley below are quite breathtaking. We happened to pick one of the few sunny afternoons we've had this Spring, and were witness to a beautiful sunset, and some spectacularly sunny views of Portland and the Cascade range. Unfortunately, my camera isn't equipped with a bad ass lense to capture those faraway sights, but I was able to snap a few shots of the grapevines and sky.

On the same trip, we also stopped alongside Hwy 99W, just before you turn off to Hwy 18, at a little rundown shack which apparently used to be a roadside stand. It has been abandoned for many years, and I'm sure would make a barnwood frame-maker a very rich man! This shack happens to sit next to a beautiful, lush field of green grass, and as we passed, I noticed the sun about to set over the hill behind the field. So I had to stop and take a picture! As we wandered along this field of grass, I noticed that there was a "perfect shot" through one of the openings in the little shack. When you walked through the building, you came out to this perfect scene of golden light across this grass field. My camera certainly did not capture the absolute majesty of this...but it gives a good impression of what I saw that evening.

After that, we drove back toward Newberg (the "back" way) and my friend showed me the Lafayette Locks. In all my years of living in Oregon, I'd never even heard of them! There isn't much left these days, just some cracked cement and a few nearly submerged wooden pilings. But apparently, this was quite the busy place when they were still logging the area. She said the river used to be filled with logs, and they'd work them downstream (Yamhill River).

Today, it looks like a great river to kayak on, but it's awfully stinky right in that area. I suspect there is some sort of agri-pollutant entering the river nearby, as there was a lot of white foam along the edges of the river. It's a shame that such a healthy-looking, beautiful river is probably not too safe to swim in any longer. We humans sure know how to wreck a good thing, don't we? At least I was only taking a picture...

Home sweet home.

Well, it's official. My mom is selling her house. It's been official for quite awhile now, but with everything else that's going on...I've only just now grown ready to blog about it.

After many, many total hours of thinking and talking about what to do with the 5 acres that I've known as "home" since I was four years old, the decision was made that it should be sold. What with my life being in the greater Portland area, and my sister virtually homeless before she settles into a new RN job, our childhood home has been lost to neglect and the ever imposing blackberry vines.

Those three big fir trees in the middle of the picture were our first Christmas trees (the center one was our very first in 1979). There is a tree just on the other side of the front steps there that was a mere seedling that I planted back in 1982 (2nd grade) and it is now over a foot in radius. It's over 28 years old now. Crazy how time flies.

While it's sad to walk away from so many memories we've all shared there — every tree, plant and corner of that property holds a memory of my childhood with my dad — it's also a bit of a relief. I have felt guilty for not being able to help my mom out more in taking care of it, because I've had my own life to live. As has my sister. There of course are also residual feelings of resentment for my mom, because i feel she hasn't held up her end of the bargain either... All water under the bridge at this point. 20/20 hindsight and all that. Long story short, after all the tears, laughs, and "what ifs", the decision to sell is probably the best solution to the "what should we do" problem.

While we won't have the trees my dad planted, we will always have the memories we made with him and my mom while growing up there. Thank goodness we have the amazing brains we do, because those memories will remain more vivid than any album of pictures, or videotape could ever hope to portray.

Abstract Day at the Beach

I went to the beach this weekend. Yep, that's right. February at the Oregon Coast. It was beautiful! Sunny and in the 60's! I could hardly believe I didn't need my sweatshirt! Also... the tide was VERY high and that was a bonus for some beautiful scenery. Unfortunately for at least one person who was walking their dog in Lincoln City, the high tide was more of a surprise than they could handle. Apparently, their dog was swept away by a sneaker wave, and they went in to get their dog out – which they succeeded in doing, but in the process of saving their dog, drowned themselves. Very sad. I feel bad for that person's family, yes. But I honestly cannot believe this happens to people. While I was walking on the beach, a young family was walking along the shoreline. The father jumped up on a stump that was about 20 feet out, and his daughter joined him. She being about 6-7 years old, thought it was cool because "daddy" thought it was cool. Just as the dad got off the stump and went back onto the beach, a huge wave came along, and the little girl was left on the stump screaming and crying to get off! The wave was higher than the stump and of course the little girl jumped fearing for her life...and the dad had to run back to her and pull her out of the water to keep her from going under. I just find this complete lack of common sense overwhelming. I don't understand how stupid people can be. It's one thing to put your own self in danger, but to endanger the life of your child? Why are these people parents!?! Okay, I'm off my soap box...

While I was there, I of course took a few photos. I've decided since I have such an interest in shapes and patterns that I'm going to start shooting what I term "Natural Abstracts". It's my new thing! :) Sort of seeing art in nature – not just looking at a wide angle shot of a landscape or a beach, but a close up of a particular pattern or color palette or shape. These are a few of my "abstracts" from this weekend. I'm going to actually frame up a couple of them for my apartment! I like them well enough. I've always had a thing for abstract art anyway, though some of it is TOO abstract for me. I love the natural flow and color of these pieces.
All of these images are of drift wood. Some of them are more obvious than others, but overall, with a bit of photoshop work, enhancing the existing natural colors gives them an artistic abstract quality which I think is quite beautiful.

I think the one below is particularly beautiful, think Edvard Munch "The Scream". The movement in the wood creates beautiful lines. I like it.


I'll post more as I find new abstracts to shoot. It is definitely my new focus, rather than just typical "snapshots". Not to mention it will be fun to hunt for abstracts!