Ellsworth Street Bridge in Albany, photo by Dennis Rivera
Happy anniversary, Oregon, my love! I can hardly believe we have been here five years – the time seems to have just flown by. The best part of this move has been the new friendships we have made. Not to get all sappy, but I am so grateful to have both new friends and old friends in my life here.
Here is to many more happy years in Oregon! *cheers*
At first I was uninspired by the sunset last night. We’d just missed being able to shoot an amazing (double!) rainbow and there didn’t seem to be a whole lot going on with the clouds. Then I decided to shoot from a lower perspective… and that made all the difference.
Watching the Otters
Little Miss Veronica was recently hospitalized. While there, it was decided that there would be a couple of fun outings when she was back home and on the mend. Which she is, thank goodness! One of her choices was the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Her other idea, which absolutely cracks me up, is the play area at Ikea. Hee hee!
So, this weekend we headed for the coast.
Puffin
It was my first visit to the aquarium I really enjoyed it. My favorites were the otters, of course, (squee!) and the aviary, particularly the puffins.
anemone
They also had a temporary exhibit of these amazing sculptures made out of trash found in the ocean. From the site:
Our oceans are in crisis. Every year, millions of tons of discarded plastic ends up in our global waters where they corrupt reefs, kill wildlife and slowly make their way into the food chains used by humans. Washed in on waves, Oregon beaches are frequently strewn with discarded plastics of every size and shape – from soda bottles to automobile parts. Some of these plastics may have traveled thousands of miles on the ocean currents before making shore… but no matter where they came from, plastic pollution is a global problem.
Sorry to point this out, but they had an awful lot of cheesy plastic crap in their two gift shops. I know a lot of funding probably comes in through those shops, but… a plastic shark head on a plastic stick? Really? You know that’s going to be broken on the way home. Anyway. I wanted a (stainless steel) coffee mug with an otter on it, but I restrained myself.
Some friends and I went to visit the Mission Mill Museum – an historic woolen mill – in Salem this week. We had a docent take us through the mill portion and I’d really recommend this (though we did push the limits of patience of the two small children with us).
It was a really enjoyable day. The only thing I’d say, if you’re planning a visit, is to pack a lunch or head out somewhere local… the cafe seemed a bit overpriced to me.
I didn’t bring the Nikon, so these photos are just from the phone camera:
It snowed here on Monday night, and when I opened the chicken coop door on Tuesday morning, the chickens went, “oh, HELL no.”
They’d never seen snow before, since we didn’t get any last year.
They seriously wouldn’t come out until I tempted them with some leftover cooked pumpkin. The snow melted from the grass by late afternoon.
But it’s lingering on the steps:
Earlier this year, I tried to start up a photo-a-day project, but got bored with it pretty quickly. It was feeling more like a chore at the time, so I scrapped it. However, I decided to start it up again as a way to chronicle my fifth year in Oregon. This time, I plan to take all the photos with the camera in my phone… or at least most of them.
The photo here is from day 8… went up to Marys Peak this morning. It was cold and foggy, but we managed to make it back down the hill before the rain hit!
We’ve been living in Oregon four years as of today. Still feels like home!
Heceta Head Lighthouse
Editing… I wanted to add this photo, taken just now:
10 Minutes in the Back Yard
Giant Lily Pads at the Oregon Garden
Craftgawker
Etsy Mini
