Young's River Falls

Today was one those days when it drizzled and rained and was so gray that a person could easily have slept the day away, or whiled away the day on the couch. Having tried both of those things and being bored to death, about 2:30 we decided that we needed to leave the house and do SOMETHING, anything!

I wanted to go to Rain Tree Nursery (now 7 Dees) to look for lettuce starts and onion starts. Of course, they had neither. But we found a beautiful rose bush and some little fushias for my hanging pot at home. Not really wanting to go home yet, I suggested that we try another nursery up on Old Young's Bay Road. Mike mentioned that he'd seen Hood Strawberries for sale near Warrenton. We bought a 1/2 flat of strawberries and drove to the nursey to find it closed.......and, possibly, out of business. As I made a u-turn in the road, Mike said "Oh, I guess we could go to Young's River Falls one day." Young's River Falls?? Is it on this road? Let's go. Another u-turn and we were on the way.

What a lovely drive through forest, farms and cattle ranches; even some sheep thrown in for good measure. After many turns and a really, really old concrete road obviously made for Model-Ts, we came, literally, to the end of the road. I'm not sure what, exactly, I had expected of these falls, but what I saw was not it. Wow! A beautiful, remote setting and a large, roaring falls. I'm sure the magnitude of the falls has a lot to do with the fact that it hasn't stopped rained here since last October, but it is very beautiful. We managed to hike down to the bottom without sliding
too badly on the wet rocks. The falls were roaring and it was very misty. Mike says this is a favorite swimming hole for the locals in the summer and not a really cool place to be if you are not a "local" with a lot of beer. But today no one else was there. What a beautiful place.

We stayed a little while as I took pictures and nearly sat on a large banana slug to have my picture taken. Yuk! But I avoided the slug and we had a wonderful respite from the boredom of yet another gray Oregon day. On the way back around the loop we came to the little town of Olney. I suddenly realized that I was exactly where the Hood to Coast Relay runs. What a revelation! And I had no idea that there was something as beautiful and hidden as those falls so close by. Perhaps after the HTC this year I could show the falls to my son and daughter in law. We'll have to take some beer of course!

Goldfinches and Other Birds

The Goldfinches do not seem to mind the rain. It's a good thing 'cause it just keeps raining. I keep trying out my new cameras to see what they will do. These photos are part of the results of that endeavor.

I find that if I put either of the cameras on manual focus I can shoot from many different places. That includes through a window screen and from the neighbor's yard. Both of my newer cameras have many programs that are new and wonderful, but I am still learning. But I can still focus manually when I need to.

Apparently my Niger Seed is sought after by more than just the Goldfinches. As I can see in these pictures, the Juncos also like those seeds. Both species are so small that it is hard to tell the juveniles apart. Even though to us, it is still cold and rainy, I believe there are some newly hatched little birds around. I think that's is what I am seeing in my bid feeders this weekend.

Anyway, enjoy the photos and we'll all hope for more sun in the days to come!

Strawberries, Roses and Rain

Mostly what we've had this Spring is rain; lots and lots of rain. Everyone is tired of it at this point, and I am no exception. I've tried all the homilies like "Oh, this is what makes Oregon so green and beautiful" and "Well, the sun will be here eventually, it's early yet." But, damn, it's NOT early now and I want the sun!

So, today, for at least one day, THERE WAS SUN. I badly needed to not only mow the tall grass (or rent-a-goat), but I needed to clear out the refuse, old plants and bindweed that had grown over my vegetable garden area. I'm sure you've all had the experience of facing something so seemingly overwhelming that you almost can't begin. In not beginning this morning, I found that my strawberries had bloomed and made berries even without the sun. Apparently they failed to notice. And my roses as well seem to have been oblivious to the drab, gray weather. I was able to pick no fewer than nine beautiful strawberries (breakfast tomorrow!) and nearly every rose bush I have is either in bloom or bursting with buds.

Treat that it was to have berries and roses, I eventually faced the bindweed. I realized early on that my garden recycle container was no match for the volume of plant material I would dislodge. I went to Ace and bought those large bags that look like grocery bags on steroids. They are compostable and the yard waste truck will take them. They're HUGE! I filled five! Lifting them at the end of my day was challenging, but the garden area is almost ready for veggies. If I have any sun tomorrow I will till in the garden soil amendment. The tomatoes that have been patiently growing in my shop will finally have a permanent home. I'm already planning what else I want to grow.

Let's see, I want cucumbers, hot chili peppers, lettuce, tomatillos if I can find them and maybe some peas. I love fresh raw peas. So, it's cloudy again already, but even one day of sunshine has raised my hopes, once again, the Spring/Summer will eventually come.