Welcome to our tree, Mr. Woodpecker

Last winter the great oak tree fell into Mumsie's garden.  Since then the branches have been removed, but the trunk remains.  This bird has found lunch and is a frequent visitor.

Have a great weekend!

Watchful Eye...

I LOVED pulling into the Walmart Parking lot to see this amazing bus with it's watchful eye.  If you click to make it bigger--you will see the paint job is extraordinary.

(shiver)  Have you ever felt like you were being watched?!  Haha...  Have a GREAT week!

Welcome! Forever Home Arrival

Good morning!  Meet our new little friend, Mister SnowBug Da'Bean.  He is fitting into the household very well.  After a week, Toez the Polydactyl Cat finally seems to be used to having a tiny bit of fluff flying  around the house.  She is so intrigued.

This morning I awoke around three, until finally falling back to sleep about an hour later. Around five a.m. I was lulled awake by the oddest sensation. I laid there a few minutes before I realized SnowBug Da'Bean was cuddled next to my face with his tiny nose pressed into my ear, purring like a wee bumble bee. Talk about a surprise wake up!

On that note, good morning all you wonderful people!

Visiting Daddy

Above are Mumsie and my two lovely younger sisters standing next to where Dad is interred.  Aren't they beautiful? Every Memorial Day weekend our family makes the trip to Willamette National Cemetery to pay our respects to Dad.  We've been doing so for six years now.  We all miss him so much.

This is the spectacular view from "Dad's Place."  Row upon row of his fellow soldiers, our heroes, can be seen with brave flags fluttering over where they rest.  So sad--so beautiful.

This dear woman was sweet to my heart as she carefully decorated her loved one's resting place.  I found her to be exquisitely lovely.

God bless them, every one.

The Embrace of Trees

These trees stand along the road on the way to the home of my childhood--and they've been standing there as long as I can remember.  Thank the Lord, they haven't chopped down these beautiful cedars yet. 

This is a parent tree embracing her progeny.  Isn't this sweet?  You can stand in the middle of them--it is a wonderful feeling--like standing in the heart of the forest.

Have a lovely day, sweet  Friends!  

Lincoln City Sunset

I captured this photo while walking with my Darling Friend Lynn, in Lincoln City, Oregon.  One can often see such amazing, stunning vistas here. 

The ocean is never the same--it can be beautiful, stunning--and sometimes frightening.  The changing moods of the ocean seem to reflect life itself.

I am so grateful for this beautiful place.

Beautiful Idaho, Gorgeous Oregon

On my way out of Kamiah, Idaho in the early morning--I captured the light as it kissed the tops of the trees.  It was SO beautiful there!

The road ran along a swift stream, where craggy cliffs brooded over the landscape.  I was quite taken with this particular view

I visited my brother and his family, who live in the Columbia Gorge.  This time of year, the hills are covered with beautiful yellow flowers.  Almost as though a cosmic hand decided to butter the sides of the steep slopes.

The wind was blowing quite briskly when I took this picture.  As you can see--it looks as though something has caught their attention.  I think I'm going to draw a cartoon of this--of course, these gorgeous girls will have faces.

Happy Mother's Day sweet Friends!

Springtime Flood

It has been quite a week--lots of flooding in our town--though we have not been  hit as hard as Corvallis, Highway 34 was closed due to high water.  People's homes were flooded there and some lost everything.  No one has been reported as being hurt, which is miraculous.

This is the gravel business located mid-stream along Highway 22.

It is amazing how quickly the river can rise and how slowly it recedes.  Our own River Road is still closed to traffic.  I'm looking forward to being able to take the shortcut into Salem again!

You can find information about the Corvallis flood at the Linn-Benton Community College Commuter.   They've posted some amazing photos.

Have a great day!

Waves in Boiler Bay

I decided to post this picture of waves in in Boiler Bay, because of International Mermaid Day.  I am sure, if one looked closely enough--a mermaid could be seen in this splash of the sea.

Boiler Bay is located just North of Depoe Bay--a beautiful little town along the Central Oregon Coast.  It is named after what remains of one of the most spectacular shipwrecks in American history. The J. Marhoffer was a 175-foot, 600-ton steam schooner built at John Lindstrom’s shipyard in Aberdeen, in Washington's Grays Harbor, in 1907. On May 18, 1910, she was still practically brand-new and was coming back to her home port in Portland from a run to San Francisco when an assistant engineer accidentally over-pressurized it.

By the time ship's Captain Gustave Peterson asked someone to open the valves and flood the engine room, the heat of the fire had made the valve handles too hot to touch, and the fire had spread. Since the engineer could not get into the engine room to shut the power off, the ship was still steaming along at a steady nine knots and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Three miles off shore Captain Peterson got gave the order to abandon ship. Though there were no casualties from the J. Marhoffer, a cook from a boat assisting the survivors, drowned. 

As for the J. Marhoffer, now thoroughly and spectacularly on fire, she was heading straight for the rocky shoreline.  She hit with an enormous crash and explosion. 

The stranded vessel keeled over and burned fiercely for a time; then she was ripped apart by a massive steam explosion that threw chunks of wood and iron in all directions. Fortunately, none of the spectators were hit, although today there’s still a piece of iron pipe sticking out of the bluff above that probably came from the wreck.

Today, the ship’s boiler can still be seen from the highway at low tide--I have seen this for myself at low tide.  You can hike a rough trail leading down from Highway 101 just north of the entrance to Boiler Bay State Park when the tide is extremely low.  It is because of this rusty remnant the little bay, formerly known as Briggs Landing, is now called Boiler Bay.

Have a lovely day.

NOTE:  Sweet Wendy--if you get this--the link you sent won't allow me to comment because it says my account on bethniquette@gmail.com doesn't have permission for access.  I'd sure love to see your lovely valentine! 

Happy Day! Spring has finally Sprung!

I love going to the store to see all the Spring flowers available.  These are colorful daisies.  I couldn't resist taking a picture.  It is SPRING and has been in the mid 70's for the past week.  We have been below average for temperatures since February.

What a delight to feel the sun on my face...to touch the dew on the friendly morning flowers.

I'm sorry I've been out of touch.  I have been pretty sick for about two months--it started off with that awful flu.  Monday after the third visit to the doc, I found out I have pneumonia--I'm on tons of meds, so I hope to be getting better in a couple of days.  It will take awhile to get completely out of the woods, though.

Have a beautiful weekend, sweet friends! 

Ocean Song

When we visited the beach for a week this past January, we were in for a treat.  It was shirtsleeve weather--sunny with temperatures in the mid-60's.  I sat for hours on the beach watching the waves of the Pacific Ocean, listening to their song.

I have only captured its beauty in part here--the waves were magnificently huge offshore, rushing upon the beach to splash in a playful fury at my feet.

I can imagine all kinds of things in this beautiful wave...what do you see?  I love the idea that the ocean claps its hands in glee.  If you watch and listen closely, you can see the dance and hear their songs of joy as they sing to their Creator. 

Psalm 98:8, 9  Let the waves clap their hands in glee and the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the world with perfect justice.

Nature's Valentine

I have been away from this blog for quite some time.  Too many things going on in my life.

Today is the fourth Valentine's Day I've spent without my Beloved.  I miss him so much.  But rather than sit around feeling sad, I have chosen to celebrate my family and all the wonderful Friends God has brought into my life.  I couldn't have made it thus far without family and friends.  Thank you, dear ones.  You know who you are.

Blessings and peace to all those who face this day with a broken heart.  "Blessed are those who mourn, for the shall be comforted." ~Matthew 5:4

Thanksgiving Greetings

Happy Thanksgiving!  This is my dear little cat, Toez.  She sends her Thanksgiving Greetings along with mine.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I had a houseful, siblings, nieces, nephew, Grandma and friends.  It was a blast!  I watched the five cousins get re-acquainted.  They helped to decorate the Christmas tree the day before.

Thanksgiving itself was a blessed wonderful warm event.  The cousins ranging from age 11-33 played Hide and go Seek for over four hours.  They had a blast.  Mumsie and I had great fun watching their antics. 

They are all musical, so there was music everywhere.  Uke, guitar, piano, drums, base recorder, flutes--all were in use.  We sang together--and Oh, it sounded beautiful.

I love my family and am grateful to God for all of them.  I can hardly wait for next year.  If a person could have a favorite holiday--Thanksgiving is it for me!

May blessing and peace be yours this Holiday season.  

Winter is Coming, yet There is Hope

Today is the fourth anniversary of my sweet husband's heaven day.  Since last January I have made great strides in my healing.  I am so grateful for GriefShare and my wonderful church, Morning Star.

I don't know how I would have made it through the past ten months without them.  I have learned SO much truth--and now, instead of hiding from my grief, I am walking through the pain and I'm almost to the other side.

I will always miss my Beloved.  We were married for 31 years and shared a wonderful adventure together.

But it is time to move forward now.

Blessings and peace to you, dear ones.  God is good--He is near--He is always near to the brokenhearted.   And there is always Hope in Him. 

Colors of Fall

Fall is here!  It has been what my Grandfather called an "Indian Summer."  I love that name--it brings back so many wonderful memories.

I remember collecting beautiful fall leaves and pressing them flat in old phone books.  Nowdays people don't use phone books because they have everything on computer and in their phones. 

It is silly--but I still have some of those old phone books--and the leaves are still there as colorful and bright as the day I pressed them.

Despite our warm Fall, it is beginning to get crispy cold at night and the colors are beginning to show in the leaves of the trees around my home.

Have a wonderful Fall season, sweet Friends. 

Beautiful Angel Clouds

August is the best time of the year for amazing clouds!  It has been a long hot summer, but I've enjoyed this summer more than I have in years.  I love the sunshine, long days and the hot weather.

There was a time when Fall and Winter were my favorite times of year.  Back then I could cozy up to my husband in front of a beautiful crackling fire.  Today it is my cat and me!  I'm not looking forward to the shorter, darker days of winter.

In the meantime, I can look at the clouds--they are so beautiful.  These clouds look like angels to me.  What do you think?

Happy Fourth of July!

Every year I look forward to the Fourth of July.  This year the fireworks were more spectacular than ever.  Maybe it is because I forget how beautiful they are!

We had a houseful of guests again this year--and it was a rollicking good time.  Lots of wonderful company and a ton of good food.

Have a wonderful summer my Friends!