Click on any photo to see it larger.

Friday, April 8, 2016

The saying goes...March comes in like a lion...
 and so it did...rain, rain...and wind
but that didn't stop us from having fun times with these kids!





 I took a few trips to Blue Lake to see my old discoveries.
 not much has changed.  
 The geese are returning...massively!  
 I am not sure if MY GEESE ever left, but I found them right by where baby goose was hatched.
A huge old tree has fallen on the place where the nest was.  Now, I read that geese return to their old nesting site, but I am anxious to see if that means 'the area' or 'the same exact place'.  With that old tree fallen, it sure will make it more secluded for her to sit if that is where she is going to nest again.
 The day I spotted them there, they came right up to me!  And that was before they knew I had food for them.
 I spotted a robin enjoying that sunshine.
There have been some pretty cloud formations over the mountain.
 This one made me thing of an alien landing.
 I have found a workout route.  Here is part of my 'trail'.
 Everything is bursting out in color!  Our new yard has something new popping up almost every time I go out there.  
 In the bottom right corner is a berry field.  That is where I used to spend my time in June and July, picking berries to earn school clothes money.  But now, it seems that little by little those berry fields are turning into nurseries.  
 At the end of February, I was given a photo assignment by a person I met on my photo site called 'Project 365'.  I was on it for a couple of years, posting a photo a day and met some really nice people from all around the world.  One by one as we all left 365, we connected on Facebook.  So anyway, this guy gave a bunch of us an assignment to get out there and shoot a photo a day of the area we live in and on April 1 we were to load it onto Facebook to show off our areas.  It was fun and got me back to places I don't normally go so that I could officially post my album without cheating and posting photos from my archives.  Below is Downtown Portland with the cherry blossoms, the State Capital with blossoms, the End of the Oregon Trail in Oregon City and the St. John's Bridge in Portland.  
 Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge with the Vista House.
 Timberline Lodge and Mt Hood
 Then we had to take off before my whole month was over, but I was able to get some Oregon shots that I would not have been able to get otherwise.  The coast and coming home we went through Eastern Oregon and I got the plateaus.
Whenever I see log trucks, I remember my Grandpa Harman.  He was a logger, and so was his son, my Uncle Gene and also my Uncle Dale.  Both Uncles lost a toe when a tree fell on them!  At different times of course.  
I loved this line of seagulls.  I always think it is funny how birds know how to space out perfectly.
Our first stop along the way was in Eugene to visit my Uncle Dale.  (He is the one who lost a toe)  He had just had back surgery.  My cousin Susan and her husband JR took him to meet us.
We drove to the coast after that and then took Hwy 1 all the way to Oxnard.  It is so gorgeous!  I am not sure if I have just gotten used to it, but it sure was not as scary this time as it was that first time.  We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and then on to the seals near Hearst Castle. 
 We spent a few days with Uncle Jimmy.  Even took him to the harbor for a really enjoyable lunch. 
 And then we went on over to Dennis place in time to celebrate Daniel's 4th birthday, he was so excited!
 Daniel, always full of fun and makes me laugh!
 Gabe, growing up too fast!  Now in Martial Arts and he practiced and practiced the monkey bars that day until he conquered them...all by himself...all the way!!!
So it just happened to be Spring Break while we were there, so Abby and Dennis went to work and we stayed with the kids.  I know I had as much fun as they did.  Maybe more.
 Here are a few of the crafts we did.



Not only Daniel's birthday and Spring Break, we also spent Easter there!

 And then we had to say goodbye...
 A while back, a photo went around the internet with some gorgeous flowers along the Grapevine as you drive north on I-5 away from LA.  I pretty much figured it was a fake, but this time, the hills came close to that photo.  I still think that they used photoshop to add more color and flowers, but that is OK, I found some too.  
 and as the saying goes...March goes out like a lamb...