A GOOD MONDAY TO YOU!

Ahhh......the start of a fresh new week! I have a feeling it's going to be a good one.

This is another view of the Elk River as seen from the road above.......Quite above as I remember. I was telling some friends last night about how the drop down to the river from the road was quite a ways and the little path down from one tree to another that I could hang on to was a little leap of faith for me. I tried to not concentrate on the distance waayyy down but on the best view I could get with the camera. I remember having to wrap my arms around a tree while holding the camera and snapping. This was one of those shots. Then getting back up was the tricky part. Another leap of faith and trusting that my feet wouldn't slide in the dirt and little rocks. As you can see, I'm here safe and sound. Norm was waiting for me in the car and couldn't see me or he would have really made me nervous and maybe visa-versa. I don't want this to sound like I'm any dare-devil cause I'm not......and my balance isn't what it used to be! I just get pre-occupied in hoping to get a good photo. And the river scenes are new to me. I love this little scene. It just begs for over-heated and tired feet to be in that beautiful pool, doesn't it? One of my Flickr Friends told me that back East where he lives the temperature was 104 today and at 8 o'clock it was still 102 degrees! This photo was probably agonizing for him. Well, there's always a cool bathtub!!

Hope your day is a good one...........make it so!!

UP THE ELK RIVER

It is SO beautiful up there!!! There's just something about rivers that pulls to me! I haven't ever really been up there before specifically looking around for a place to take photos.....but here's a couple that I was able to make due with. I definitely want to go back again and take a little more time...........that's sort of the story of my life!!

And I went after lunch and the sun was a little too harsh but I found some nicely shaded places although I needed to Photoshop them some. I saw a few people along the way that were swimming in some of the natural pools.....it's really quite a bit warmer up there. And when I needed to take a shot from the middle of the water, it really wasn't cold at all. Definitely "Ahhhhh...." on the comfort scale.

There's a lot going on with my friends this weekend and lots of traveling........Safe trips to all of you who'll be behind the wheel. And hope that all of you, near and far, have a wonderful weekend, whether it's busy and exciting or laid-back and "Ahhhhh."

RUN-AROUND WEDNESDAY

We all have those kind of days, don't we?? Just lots of errands and appointments up in the Bay Area. You know, I've never been comfortable using that term in regards to North Bend/Coos Bay. That's the term I reserve for the San Francisco Bay Area.....So, I hereby give up trying to use it in reference to this area.
But back to the subject at hand, which is ????? A bone density scan for Donna, an oil change for my car, a pathetic lunch out, shopping at WalMart and not one new photo to take all day. So, we find ourselves back out at the beach in the Cape. This first shot is closer view of some of the dunes that lead up to the surrounding forests. Again, that wonderful fog doing interesting things to the atmosphere and mood. Doesn't that sand look pristine without a track or footprint to mar the smoothness. Beautiful..... And this little gem........I think Karen said it was a fossil........and if you click on it, you'll be transferred to a larger image and you can see the shells inside. I haven't done any touching up or editing whatsoever with this image. It turned out nice and sharp, huh?

One little side trip we made today was to the North Bend airport. I guess it's been longer than I realized since I've flown anywhere because the airport wasn't where I left it!! A brand new one, which we eventually made our way to, was up the hill and around this and that. I don't know if I like it yet or not. It's so very different from the last one, which was simple and functional in the extreme. This one is quite arty.......it'll just take a little getting used to. There weren't any flights coming or going so the parking lots and the terminal was fairly empty. I had gone in because I had heard that there was a display of photographs there of the southern Oregon coastal cities and scenes. Nope, they weren't there and the manager said there had never been any. There should be though.........the place looked a little on the sterile side. It'll be interesting to see what that whole area of the city will look like in another 5 years or so. There is so much potential up there around the airport.

Hope everyone has a good Thursday..........we're in the home stretch now towards the weekend.......I'm going to enjoy a lunch with friends and go for a little shooting up the Elk River. Hopefully, I'll have some new stuff to show you tomorrow..........Bye, for now.

A GRAY DAY

And that's OK, isn't it? I'm sure summer isn't yet over but a break here and there lets us appreciate that warm sun even more. Below is shot I got of some simple grass growing on the beach. I love the willowy and free-flowing look of the leaves. You would have been able to tell that it was summer since the leaves are pointing south. LOL. We're famous here for our summer north winds. I like the equally simple ripples in the sand. Interesting contrasts. Here is one of my favorites, showing off that beautiful fog but allowing enough detail and color of the dunes and hills to show through. I'll probably have this one enlarged and printed up. I like it that much. Today I finally made that stew I wrote about last week. Lamb stew has been wafting it's delicious aromas through the house. Now THERE'S a word I use all the time!! Waft.
Who talks like that anymore?? Well, obviously not me by what I'm writing here, huh?
The rest of the day was catch up with all kinds of mundane chores. And I'll be going out with Norm to see how our new steps are progressing...........Everyone have a great Wednesday!!

PUT A FEATHER IN YOUR CAP............

Back to Cape Blanco beach..........I spoted this little feather and it looked so lonely out there all by it's poor lonesome..........I think a close-up of this turned out fairly well, huh? The little pebbles make a nice textural contrast and it's something a little different.



I mentioned yesterday how the fog kept coming and going and the below photo shows some of that action. I'd never shot the cape from this angle before and the lighthouse looks so small compared to the length of land it sits on.

I love this weather we've been having...........overcast in the morning means that it's probably very warm inland, but here in mid-morning the overcast burns off and it's beautiful! We have a contractor building new steps from our deck to the yard and he looks soooo hot. He was more than grateful for that glass of ice water I brought him. And again, I can feel autumn in the air. Some early leaves are beginning to fall here and there and the rustling sound of Scotch broom as the pods start getting ready to pop. Norm has started moving our firewood from where he had it stacked to finish drying, over to where it'll be handy to haul in this winter. So the days and seasons proceed and change.

BEAUTIFUL CAPE BLANCO

I'd never been to this beach before and was so happy to have a new place to explore and shoot. Karen suggested we go here and I followed her in through the Cape Blanco campground.......those are incredibe also. For anyone looking for a very neat place to park for awhile, this would be it.
It's surroundings keep the wilderness feel since each camping site is separated by tall hedges of whatever Mother Nature put up....rhoddies, salal, huckleberry and many other evergreens.....thick with greens! The beach itself has driftwood in one particular area rather than scattered all over..........gives the feeling of a clean beach. Many previous visitors have made different driftwood sculptures and little 'forts', some being very creative! The day we went there was little wind and fog kept coming in, moving around, sliding out........made some really great sights. Other's were down on the beach also and it was interesting to see mist-shrouded figures emerging out of the heavy clouds......sort of eerie.
Since the day lacked much sun it gave me more of an opportunity to fool around with monochrome like the wave action here in the below photo. The tide was coming in and there was a stellar sea lion that was trying to keep up on the sand. When we first saw him, he was on a little strip of sand peninsula about 15-20 feet out from where we stood. As the tide came in, he kept scooting forward, out of the water. When we had first came upon him I had thought we could just walk across the shallow water that divided the shoreline from the sand strip and get closer to him. We didn't and I'm happy for that! The tide was coming in pretty rapidly and was fairly deep in a short while. Deep enough for that sea lion to be swimming in.

Here is one of my shots of him........I just discovered that it doesn't work to have an already enlarged photo printed with my name.......So you see that distracting printing on it. (Lets you know that you're looking at a photograph, huh??) I think this is one where he is working his way forward. Every once in awhile he would stretch waaayyyy up like he was reaching for the sun. Then plop down again on the sand. I wondered if he needed to take the pressure off his lungs. He repeated this over and over again. Eventually he ended up in that 'river' that I mentioned above, and we thought he might come up on the beach, but he kept a careful eye on us and seemed like he might head back out to sea. There was another couple sitting on the beach and watching quietly and we did the same. We didn't have that much time left though so had to cut our watch & wait short and we headed on back to go home......My last glance at him over my shoulder told me that he probably did climb up on the beach. It's was great though, to see this enormous sea lion up closer and putting on such a neat show! I've seen them in the water before, usually hanging around marinas where they clean the caught fish but never on land. Pretty neat to catch this act!

OREGON GOLD

I did a little 'archive diving' with this shot. This was taken last November off of Seven Devils Road between Charleston and Bandon. I remember it being a race between when the sun would disappear and if we would find a place where I had a clear view of the ocean and setting sun. As you can see we pulled it off. Fantastic color, huh??

Tonight is the night we're all supposed to go out and look towards the northeast for the Perseid meteor shower. Clear skies and little if any moon should make for some clear viewing. Northeast isn't the most unobstructed view at our house, but maybe I'll see a good number regardless. I've never had much luck in the past but I suspect that's because I don't stay out there long enough to allow it to happen. Patience.............sigh.

Today, or at least this morning, was tarring day. The driveway needed re-sealing and Norm looks more black than he should........and even Willie, my cat, had to get into the act. And I do mean INTO! There were a few places up close to the house that had some crevices and required more tar to fill it up. Naturally, that's exactly where Willie needed to put her right rear paw. Tar up to her ankle. And of course on the other paws also just not as deep. I tried wiping it off and that really didn't do the job very well. As it dried (quick-drying tar) she walked in fir needles and other outdoor dried vegetation which of course, stuck. She'd take a step and shake, almost a quiver, that right rear, then maybe another foot would get the shake-quiver. She didn't raise nearly as much of a fuss when I put her ankle deep into a basin of warm soapy water and tried working it off. Then I noticed she'd also dragged her tail through the tar. What a mes! Whatever I didn't wash off has dried now and she'll just have to live with it. I'll have to remember the next area we tar to keep Willie in the house. And spray Norm with bug repellent before he gets bitten so often as he did this morning. Too late, but it helped with the rest of the morning pests, I sprayed the buggie stuff on Norm and Nanci, from next door who was trying to swat flies at the same time as gardening.

I hope you all have made good plans for this beautiful sunny weekend. Today was one of those nice warm days that we wished for in the middle of winter. Go out and enjoy!!

THE FRANCONAS & NETFLIX

I've been wanting to experiment a little more with black and white. Emily and Rick were nice enough to let me do some shooting of them. I'm nowhere near satisfied with the results but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I could immediately see things that I'll do differently and hopefully better next time. Still it's fun to look at people we know............

This top photo is a profile (duh!) of Emily and I did want to get the highlights in her hair. The photo isn't clear enough but it's a nice pose, don't you think? And the one below makes me smile. I think the joke being said at the time was something about the Netflix movies that I choose.

Well, maybe tonight's wasn't such a winner but I usually pick good movies. Norm really chooses the majority since he enjoys them so much. I'd rather be working or reading about photography or maybe some good book on metaphysics. Tonight's I did choose and it was "Creation" about Charles Darwin. I thought it might be adventurous but it was a little dark in dealing with Darwin's struggle to overcome his own conscience regarding his young daughter's death, his distance with his wife because of that event, and whether he was actually at war with God. All of these issues seemed to be the implied reason why he became so ill and almost died. It was filmed in England and the scenery was, as usual, beautiful. They lived in a lovely home and I tried not to remember that it was probably drafty, cold and all that reading at night must have blackened their lungs with that oil or candle smoke. (cough-cough). So.......no trips to the Galapagos Islands although there was a very touching story about an orangutan named Jenny.
And the ghost of his daughter was with him and us through the entire film. Anyway, I wouldn't recomment it HIGHLY but it was OK. Norm thought it deserved 'no stars'........a little harsh, I'd say. No accounting for some tastes.........

Rick was the one who came over to help......well, not exactly 'help'........it was more like he DID it ALL.......in getting the new wireless router hooked up so now Netflix and a couple of other choices can be seen from the computer to the TV........'streaming'?? Rick had just had oral surgery yesterday and was still somewhat uncomfortable so his help with this was even more notable.

So.......other than taking a walk and getting scared half out of my wits by a flock of about 3 or so buzzards, that was a part of my day........A note about the buzzards......they were so engrossed in eating some dead animal that I guess they didn't hear me coming close by. They were in the woods and when they went to flap off, one or maybe more, clumsily whacked into a tree and the sudden noise of wings flapping and branches being hit just startled me. I'm always on guard with pepper spray easily accessed. I've run into more than one bear so my ears perk up at unexpected sounds.

Everyone have a great day!!

A DAY IN THE GARDEN

I think I have a case of writer's block tonight..........A friend sent an email that had a couple of great small ship cruises listed and the "wander-lust" is nudging at me. The one to Alaska really appeals to me. Now that I have this love of photography I think I'd be seeing everything in a whole new light. Although, when I took a cruise to Alaska on a large ship, I was in awe of Alaska. I read in a travel writers column that you can tell the people who have traveled to Alaska because they can't find enough adjectives to adequately describe the beauty and hugeness and awesomeness.........see what I mean?? Breathtaking!!! Well, I'll just have to wait and see if I want to follow through on something or it might just be a passing mood. Right now my mind is buzzing like this bumblebee here on the marjoram in the yard. If you can take the time to look at this enlarged, it looks like it's staring right at the viewer.
In the meantime, I have a short jaunt to a beach I haven't been to before to do some shooting. It's always fun to try new places.

Have a wonderful Wednesday...........halfway home to the weekend. Start making fun plans now!

MORE FLORALS FOR MONDAY

I had taken some new photos of Garrison Lake the other day, but to tell the truth, I don't like them much. It was windy and the light was harsh. The water was so deep a blue that as a photo it looked unbelievable. A couple of things caught my eye as possible interests but the green and pink things that were floating on the top of the water ended up looking like 'gunk.' There was some frothy white all around the reeds that could have been snow.......or someone dumped detergent into the lake. So.....think I'll just delete that bunch. The first one here is Nanci's broccoli going to seed. Backlit with the afternoon sun, it sets off a glowing yellow that against the dark I think makes a nice contrast. And she did share some of that broccoli and it was delicious!! Thank you, Nanci!

This next one I call "Under Queen Anne's Lace." On Flickr I was going to title it "A Peek Under Queen Anne's Lace".....but there are so many other cultures that take part in Flickr, I decided to behave myself. Just never know who's feelings you might offend. It's a pretty perspective though, don't you think?

Norm and I had lunch today at the new Redfish restaurant. We each ordered a Kobe-beef burger and it was very good. Everything very fresh. I loved the staff that worked there and as always, Chris H. was warm and friendly. Course, you can't beat that view!! The wind was up and the sun directly overhead but I could still see a whale's blow every so often out by the rocks. When we lived above Battle Rock a number of years ago, I did love to look out and watch the summer whales feeding all day and then head back to Tichenor or Nellie's Cove later in the afternoon. I would love to have breakfast there sometime and bring my camera........I bet it's going to be beautiful! I also had a chance to take a much more leisurely look at the art gallery and we met a delightful and well informed young man by the name of Jeff. I think of him as a docent, although I'm not sure of his title. It's all so well done, and the art is so beautiful. Even the restrooms!! I have a hard time imaging it shown any more professionally........ and it manages to keep the artful integrity of each work shown to full advantage and in the perfect light. Such a community and south coast asset!! There might just possibly be one or two of you around who have not yet tried the delicious food and great atmosphere of Redfish's restaurant ........ or taken in the culture and beauty of the gallery but if you haven't you are really depriving yourself of a treat. So.........GO!! You won't be sorry.

SNEAK-PREVIEW SUNDAY

Every year we have a sneak preview of fall colors from one vine maple in our yard. We bought two of them a number of years ago and this one always turns color and drops it's leaves in August sometime. It's a coincidence, I'm sure, that about a week ago I thought I felt the first 'feel' of autumn in the air. This first photo with the daisy still in full summer bloom, shows how off-beat this maple is to the rest of nature around it. This is one from the same tree where some of the light configurations and detail show up nicely.

And lastly, here is a branch that still shows green. I liked the composition and again, the light play and shadows.

Been a nicely quiet weekend. I found a zucchini muffin recipe that I like and so will be making up muffin batches with all the zucchini that is about to explode in our garden. I'll appreciate them as the garden closes down and cooler weather comes. I was telling my friend, Karen, the other day that I like summer dishes, like salads and bar-b-ques in the summer and fall and winter call for the hardier dishes like soups and stews. She thought that since we live on the coast and have chillier evenings, that the stews work all year. Now, I find myself craving a big pot of stew!! Maybe it's the mood set by my vine maple, or that little 'autumn' feel, but my guess is that I'll be dragging out the cast iron dutch oven for some stew within the week. And around this house that also calls for a loaf of crusty country bread..........and of course, a salad, because it is, after all, still summer.

Have many of you seen the movie, Alice In Wonderland, yet? I had heard it was a little 'darker'

than past movies. Actually, I've never been much of an Alice In Wonderland fan. All the characters in the story seemed too bizarre and scary to me when I was younger. Now I'd call them 'disturbing'. So, not expecting much I was surprised that I liked it. Course, just about anything Johnny Depp is in I find great! The special effects were great and I understood the story a lot more than when I was a young girl. For any of you that DID see it, did it occur to anyone else that the Red Queen would have made a very good modern-day terrorist? Lots of "Off with their heads" among other things. Ahhhh, but justice and truth prevail in the end......So, now everyone go out and have a great week.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Hearing the news this morning from one of our neighbors that all of our garbage containers had been invaded by a bear........again! just reminded me of all the problems lately there have been this year with animals. There seem to be a lot more bears this year and who knows what happened to their usual food sources. I keep hearing that the rangers tell that the berries haven't ripened yet and they are small this year. Really?? The berries are never ripe until late summer to fall.......and we did get plenty of rain last winter so I don't know why the fruit would be small......maybe the lack of heat has something to do with it.......but things are definitely off with the bear population and behavior. Then another neighbor told of someone here in Cedar Terrace of having seen a cougar and cub in their back yard. No THAT sort of bothers me. A cub would say to me that she (they) wouldn't be traveling far if she's still tending to her young........and a cougar is much more a predator than bear. Although 'our' bear is playing a little rough these days. He wasn't contented enough to just steal the amonnia-clorox-old ashes-cat litter-drenched-to-deter- garbage bags, he apparently threw the metal holders out in the street too. Like one of my neighbors said, each time it gets into stuff, it comes that much closer into accepting human contact as normal. Then real problems show up. So, we're hoping that the Fish and Game starts doing something besides waiting for the berries to ripen.

The day wasn't all about bears and misdirected animals.......I had such a nice visit and cup of coffee with a friend this morning at Siren's. She's a very special lady and our time spent talking always seems to contain a "Wow!" factor for one or the other of us.......usually both.

And Norm is one giant step closer to getting his instant viewing of Netflix thanks to the generousity of Rick. Norm does love his movies!!

Well, these photos.....where you wondering when I was going to get around to them??.......they are again of Bandon.
The first one, like yesterdays, showed off that wonderful light I mentioned. And the second was of a sea cave, maybe........I love little hidie-holes and that's what this one reminded me of.

Beautiful sights of nature in our country, huh? We are blessed!

Have a fantastic Friday!

A DAY UNPLANNED

Today was one of those days where the best of laid out plans just got in the way with reality. Ever have one of those?? Not that I'm complaining.......I went to visit a friend this morning and ended up listening to a healing meditation tape and nothing much beyond that got accomplished. I 'floated' through the day in my own little happy cloud..........La-la-la........

I pulled up this photo from a few days ago when we were on our way back from Coos Bay. The week before I had lost an earring and thought if I revisited my stops from where I might have lost it there was a small, but still a possibility, that I might find it. I'm usually lucky about finding lost items. Not that day. But I did like the way the light was hitting the rocks that afternoon. It was clearly defining the contrast of the light from the shadow areas.


I have a new project to look forward to using my photography. The woodlands, forests and the like where the mystical and magical might meet. A very neat lady, that I don't yet know nearly well enough, has a website built around her successful book on the faerie realm. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I think there have been some photos that I've posted here in the past that I might be able to send her that will be what she's looking for........hopefully. I keep you informed.........
So, until later.........have a great day and start planning for an even greater weekend! It's coming up fast!

A FAMILIAR FACE RE-VISITED

The familiar face isn't Norm this time.........it's computer-savior, Rick Francona! An enormous 'thank you!" I couldn't get on line from yesterday afternoon until this morning and was agonizing in the throes of computer-withdrawal........I tell you, it was BAD!! Rick is always in giving-mode and now very busy being Rotary president for this year. I'm sure he had better things to do than to come rescue my computer. Just so you know, Rick, you are very much appreciated! Thank you.........

OK......so now that I can breath freely again I can enjoy my photo of one of my hollyhocks. Love the sun shining through those petals.

This time of year the garden is producing more vegetables that I can keep up with. I canned about 16 pints of pickled beets this morning. Ever notice that most people either love or hate beets......pickled or not. It might be a texture thing since the taste isn't really that strong.

And the lettuce is hard to keep up with.........I'm feeling like a rabbit these days. If anyone in the area would like to pick some lettuce (Romaine) just give a call. The zucchini is behaving just like zucchini does....over-producer that it is. And the string beans are finally starting to produce a little. The basil needs picking so that means more pesto. Lots of greens, huh? And the fresh is always so much better than the store bought.......no offense, Rays, or Safeway, or etc.

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday........You can just picture me dancing around my now-WORKING computer!! A good day!!

BLOOMING BUDS

Boy!! The garden is just full of so many different blooms right now........in a multitude of colors. Some of them are pretty spectacular like this first one here. I love the hollyhocks every year. They volunteer where ever they find friendly ground and the colors seem to change every year as they cross-pollinate. I love the deep red here.......in past years there have been some so deep a red that they were almost black. Stunning! And the little fuzzy daisy in the background is probably not good photographic composition but I found the contrast between the two appealing.

My new and forced email system is in effect today. I hate it..........I was very happy with my Outlook Express and now have some jumbled and cramped page where ads take up valuable reading space. Another page gives me news that I don't want, on my mail page.......They said that there would be a seamless transition in bringing over all my contacts and folders. Unless it's still in the works, they appear to be GONE.........AGAIN. A few weeks ago there was some disruption in service while with Verizon while switching over to Frontier. All my mail folders disappeared. OK......I'll be a good customer and understand that these things can happen. But now again plus all these other irritants having me feeling like anything BUT a good customer. I'll give it another day or so, but then I might have to try and figure out how to get back my Outlook Express........



OK.....back to the garden........This is one of the photos from yesterday of the maroon and white lily. Experimentation with black and white seemed like it might work especially with that black background. It looks better when enlarged if you have the time to take a quick look. I think I might fool around a little more with black and whites. The effect can really be dramatic, I think.

OK.......it's Monday and are you going to have a great week?? I'm all for expecting the best each day and then see what happens. Sometimes that little reminder to myself will help me to choose how I see things and some of the choices I make. And if not, like a friend of mine said recently, 'denial can work sometimes'!! Now if I can just apply that to the new email system.