Spring/Winter??

I got up this morning and wondered just what day it was. The calendar said April 19, 2008 but the snow was falling and it was freezing. They tell us we are in for a couple of days of winter. I think we are just on the southern edge of this low pressure. It has been snow, sun, snow, etc. for the morning. It is now up to 40 degrees on my deck and none of the snow is sticking to the ground.
I didn’t get any pictures but as I was coming back from playing tennis at 7 AM the snow was falling in those BIG flacks that you sometimes see. Right now it is cloudy and threatening so I don’t know what will happen next. Maybe summer will come in July this year.

Band Singer

I have just a wonderful experience for me. Although I have sang for many years in may venues, last Friday I had a chance to sing with the dance band at the Friday night dance at the Senior Center. The leader of the bandand keyboard player, Ken, had created an arrangement of “It Had To Be You” for me to sing with the band with trumpet lead, saxophone lead and my singing. We did not have a chance to practice but just did it. It was wonderful, all the members of the band are experienced professionals and to work with them was great.
The first song went so well we did:”Blue Moon” without any arrangement. Ken just said “Blue Moon in E” and anyway we went. In the middle it seemed like the trumpet was ready for a solo so I stopped singing while he did his thing and then joined for the finish.
Ken even invited be back for another time so this will be something I can do every month we are around. I will be singing next Friday also.

High Desert Museum

We made our yearly visit to the High Desert Museum and got to see a lot of the exhibits. It is into the winter so there was no “Birds of Prey” show and we didn't take the time to visit the Native American's Exhibit
The big show of the day was at the Desertarium. Lizards, snakes, tortoise, scorpions, and gila monster were out under the heat lamps. They had a short presentation and there was even an opportunity to pet the snake or submit a name for the two new gila monsters. The Birds of Prey are usually my favorite but it is now the winter season so all we saw were the birds in their cage and the wire mesh made pictures difficult.
The homestead exhibit had two sheep and a lady acting as the homesteader and telling you about the life in the little cabin. The steam sawmill is nice but I have never been there the days they have it running. I think it is only like four times a year but all the the lumber used in building the barn comes from the mill. The 1 to 12 scale model of a sawmill is interesting. It took the man 25 years to build and is a very nice job. They say the steam engine even works. I will have to take their word on that.
The river otter talk was just that. The 12 year old male was not going to get up from his nap for a few fish. They had a second female until last March when she died of old age. Both the lynx and the bobcat were also taking there nap all day long.
We did go through the Spirit of the West Gallery that has a number of very nice life size dioramas and also visited a gallery with a large glass exhibit and video.
Several places had bird feeders and benches that provided an opportunity to watch the bird and squirrels feeding.

Eagle Crest

We have settled in at Eagle Crest Resort for the week. It is cool but looks like it should be a good week with little rain. The trees have started to change so there are some spots of color among the pine trees. There was a touch of snow on the pass as we came over but don't think there will be much more this week. I did put in the chains in just in case.
Sunday we took a walk down by the river and through the residential area. Once we reached the hotel, I continued on for the longer walk by the river while Marilyn headed straight back to the condo. Didn't see many animals on the walk. There was the large flock of geese that live on the lake and golf course behind the hotel that are always there with a few ducks. I don't think they ever fly more than 100 yards. I am sure there are many golfers that wish roast goose was served more often at the local restaurant. I did see some other ducks and geese along the river that do fly and would fit into a different group that the ducks and geese by the lake.
When I returned to the condo Marilyn told me about all the birds and deer that had come by to pay a visit. In fact five deer seem to just live around the condo. Marilyn called them the security force for the area. There were three smaller deer and their two mothers in the group. The doe would come up to eat crackers from the people next door.
We played a game of tennis in the afternoon and then I went to get some additional pictures of the area in the late afternoon light. We will be playing tennis and visiting the area on days with little rain.

Oregon Coast Aquarium

We made the annual trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium with the granddaughters Joanna and Stevie. On the drive to Newport we pasted the hillside painting of the reclining nude. Last year it was the Mona Lisa and because of an accident caused by someone stoping too soon that resulted in a death, the ODOT had block the roadside so you could not stop beside the road. For some reason this weekend the cones were pushed back so we were able to stop and get a picture along with a slug picture. I think the granddaughters were more interested in the slug than the painting. They named Slimy. Anyway I put the painting on Flickr and tagged it Nude so have been getting some hits.
It was overcast, so went to the aquarium first and made the normal tour. This year the changing exhibit is CLAWS so we get to see crabs, lobsters, etc. It was Sunday so the aquarium was crowded and I included in my Flickr pictures some I had taken earlier this year. Also with my new camera in the shop I was using my old camera and don’t think it takes some pictures as well as the new camera. The aquarium does change some with the new exhibits and then births that occur or animals that come in for rehab. One of the interesting ones now is the baby wolf eel. The wolf eel is such and ugly animal to me and it has been interesting to see them grow over the last two weeks. They also have pictures and other information about the eels. I also enjoy watching the birds flying through the water.
After the aquarium we were off to Agate Beach where I cook hamburgers and the girls play on the beach. It was a little windy but still they love the time on the beach more that looking at all those fish at the aquarium. Their attention span is very short at most of the exhibits. The touch tank is one of their favorites and they also enjoy the Passages of the Deep with the tunnel through the three different ocean habitats. The shark habitat is always a big draw for everyone and crowded on a Sunday.

Potluck

On Sunday we attended an old fashioned Potluck at the Cliff and Gay Hall’s place in King’s Valley. They have restored the original King’s family home build in 1846 and purchased 160 acres surrounding the home. They are in the process of making this land into a nature preserve.

The people attending were basically three groups: the neighbors, tennis players, and physicians. Cliff is a retired physician and Gay plays tennis. Of course the tables were loaded with a great variety of food and drinks. Everyone enjoyed a great meal and conversation and then several of us took one of the provided maps to take a tour of the farm. All of the animals were in hiding but we did have a great walk.

Most of the pictures I took were around the farmhouse as most of the land is covered with newly planted trees and tall grass. The Luckiamute River runs by the farm as well as another small creek runs through the property. The returning of the land to a nature area is a continuing process and the local school children have helped in planting some of the trees.

More pictures of the event can be found on the flickr photos.

Berry Heaven

We are now in berry season. One of our friends said when they moved here they thought they were in “Berry Heaven”. The strawberries are about gone but we are into blueberry, raspberry, marionberry, and others. A few days ago I went out picking blueberries. They were plentiful and good. It only took about 20 minutes to fill my bowl and head for the nearby McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum for a walk.
The three-mile hike through the forest was great many spring flowers are still blooming and the weather was just right. It was a little warm on the uphill climbs but with breaks to take pictures made it a very pleasant time.
The next morning it was blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We have also had some ice-cream with the berries. One of our friends also had some marionberries that she shared with us so we have been enjoying some of the wonderful berries of Oregon.
I should also mention that the Washington cherries are coming into the stores and are a great as ever. There is something about fresh fruit and berries that is so much better than the frozen or canned.

Oregon Coast Pictue Trip

Well the trip to the Oregon Coast was good and bad. I did get a lot of pictures but it was very cloudy and we got caught in rain about the time we where going to head down to the tide pool. We did see whales. At least two probably a mother and baby right next to the shore but all they would show us was a fin and maybe their back as the would blow.
I tried many things since all I was to do was take pictures. Got some reasonable shots of birds flying and many lighthouse shots. I wish I had a bigger zoom as the birds were nesting. Some were on the nest and other were gathering grass for the nest. There was also the rock out in the ocean that was covered with birds. Most of these shots required a higher zoom.
Some very nice flower shots and I do enjoy the close-up shots of the flowers. While I was shooting flowers and just looking around a song sparrow landed on some of the flowers I was observing so that required another eight shot to try to get the perfect shot.
Since this was a trip organized by Rush Hour Photo, there was another couple on the trip and I rode with them. They were new a Corvallis and very nice people. Paul Rentz, President of Rush Hour, and Andy, his friend, where along to help identify animals and flowers. Part of the cost includes processing at Rush Hour and I am looking forward to any input that Paul might have as a professional photographer on the pictures I have taken.
Of course I have been busy with photoshop to see what I can do with the pictures. Since it was cloudy, some adjustment of light and color was done on most of the pictures. Then of course you really don’t want the parking lot and viewing platform in the pictures of the lighthouse so they had to be removed. The last was the combining of the lighthouse with one of the seagulls I caught flying by. All the pictures of the whale were a waste. Even if I had more zoom a fin is not that exciting and then if you really zoom in will you be where the whale decides to surface the next time?

You see a sample of my work here ,more is posted on Flickr, some are in process, and some have been deleted.