July 16, 2013 - Sunrise to Sunset

Sunrise off the back deck

Columbia Gorge - driving home

Fire on an island in the Columbia

The hills near sunset

Sunset over the Columbia

Sunset near home

Today was quite the day.  It's been one year precisely since my accident - and a friend drove me to Portland to see my retinologist. (The two things are not related - that's just how the day settled out on the calendar.)  Driving on this particular day is an act of courage - in itself, a thing of beauty.  But the beauty on the drive!  The first photo was taken at home, off the back porch.  All the rest are "through the car window" photos, documenting just a small sample of the beauty that surrounded us today.

 

First and foremost, it seems vital to say that the eye appointment went amazingly well.  My vision has improved to 20/25, so is no longer marginal.  To celebrate, I had injections in both eyes, and will continue to get them every two months.  A very small price to pay for the privilege of seeing.  And it seems to me it is a privilege - everything I look at, all the possible views, every bit of color becomes more and more precious to me as I both celebrate the reality of this improvement, and continue to stare into the fact that there is, as of now, no cure.  But, those injections not only are keeping the disease at bay - they are also working well enough in me that my vision improves almost every time I have an injection.  So, for me, they are "shots of hope".

 

I think the colors in the sky today were put there for my enjoyment, and for the delight of anyone else who would take the time to look.  The variations in the hues was astounding, and changed from one mile to the next as clouds alternated with sunshine, finally settling into a dazzlingly beautiful sunset.  I took many more photos - the joy of digital photography!  Just keep shooting and hope that something will turn out the way you hope!

 

I just noticed that both of the last paragraphs ended with the word "hope".  Apropos for the day, I would say.  It is indeed a hopeful day - new sight, improved vision, enough hope to live on for a good while.  Thanks be to God!

July 13, 2013 - A Bit More of Ashland

The Green Show - Brandon Beebe

The Path the Unity and Love

The Green Show - Meidoko

Meidoko

Meidoko

This year we spent several evenings at the Green Show while at Ashland.  (A third evening isn't pictured.)  These are free performances, often quite different from anything I can see or listen to elsewhere.

 

When I was child and into my younger adult years, the Green Show was always based on Elizabethan music and dancing.  I loved it, became quite the fan of madrigals, and wished I could dance like that.  When the shows changed, I wasn't happy.  (Who among us adjusts easily to change - especially that which we didn't know was coming?)  It took me a number of years to appreciate what I now enjoy.  It's a totally different experience - it rarely immerses you in Shakespeare's time - but rather it takes you across time, across cultures, around the world.  Given enough time, even someone like me can learn to like change.

 

We are back home, now.  We are, of course, debating among ourselves which plays we liked the best and why, which performances were most outstanding and (most important) what would you like to see next year.  There are two of Shakespeare's plays being performed next year I haven't yet seen - it may be time to cross them off the list.

 

As I sat at the Green Show, walked through Lithia Park, camped with my older sister and my husband, and enjoyed meals with my son, daughter-in-law, and her parents, I appreciated what a rich gift I'd been given.  Our parents started taking us to the festival when we were in elementary school.  We started our son attending when he was in first grade.  We all still love live theatre...we all still love Shakespeare.  And we all enjoy going together, sharing the bond of that particular beauty, that particular love.

July 12, 2013 - Serendipity

Late afternoon in the Columbia Gorge

Deer in Ashland

Madrona bark

Painting under bridge deck

The Path

A number of the family (seven, to be precise) spent the past few days at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.  One of the best things about being there (besides the plays, which were wonderful) is spending time in town, out of doors.  It seems like almost anything can happen - and often does.

 

For instance, one day we went to Lithia Park for a picnic, only to find we were serenaded all day by a string camp that was being taught in the park.  Those attending the camp were children - but not just beginners.  A number had real skill at their instruments, and there was singing, as well as playing.  This continued a good deal of the day. 

 

Then several of us went on a hike.  The madrona trees were shedding their bark - the contrast was beautiful.  Finally, later in the day, three of us went to meet the other four at a restaurant.  We were early, so poked around in some odd corners, and found the path and several paintings like the one shown above.  All were under a bridge, so we enjoyed the shade, the seating on stones fitted for that purpose, and the paintings. 

 

Serendipity - beauty is where you find it - and oftentimes you simply stumble across it, while not even looking!

July 7, 2013 - Back at Home, Lots Is Happening

Mimosa tree in full bloom

Mimosa and clematis

Visitors to the sunflowers

Bee and wasp

Could you gather any more pollen?

Some sort of bee...

It's always busy around the sunflowers, but last night I noticed that things seem busier than usual.  I had hoped to capture a finch on film, but was more than happy to settle for all these different kinds of beetles and bees, finding exactly what they wanted in the sunflowers that grow wild.

 

I appreciate the fact that a garden, though cultivated, still remains quite wild.  I can't (and don't want to) control the pollinators.  I can't control the pests.  (Well, maybe I could, but I choose not to - they leave plenty for me.)  I control for water, but not for sun and heat.  And though I control what I plant, there are always volunteers.  I don't bother to buy tomatillos - plenty will come up from last year's crop.  The same is true of dill, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes.  Today I even found a volunteer petunia in a vegetable bed.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised - I regularly have a favorite pink salvia that grows there.  The weeds, of course, I can count on to self-sow - I just try to keep the numbers down.

 

Another major self-sower?  The mimosa tree - I have lots of volunteers.  They're difficult to transplant, though...I appreciate the person who potted the one that now graces our back yard.  She has always been a skillful gardener - and I appreciate her skill more and more as I try to replicate the gift she offered me.

July 5, 2013 - And Let's Not Forget the Purples, Yellows, and Pinks!

Fleabane

Elephant head pedicularis

Checker mallow

Cinquefoil

Rosy pussytoes

Oregon sunshine

Shooting star

Sulfur buckwheat

Big-pod mariposa lily

????

Wood's rose

We did, of course, see flowers of other colors on our trip through Oregon and Idaho.  Above are a few samples.  A few of these (the mariposa, the buckwheat, the shooting star) were found in huge masses in some spots.  Others, like the one I can't identify, were found in one place, and one place only.

 

A bit of history might help you understand my love of wildflowers.  When I was a child, we spent our summers living in the Cascades, where Dad worked for the Forest Service.  We were surrounded by plants like these, and my parents took great delight in identifying them, and teaching us what they were.  Mom's favorite, I think, was twin-flower, because of her Swedish heritage.  (They're named, in Latin, after a Swedish botanist.)  I don't know that Dad had a favorite - he simply loved things of beauty, loved the outdoors, and bequeathed those loves to all his children.  So my work here is a continuation of what my parents taught me, as a child, to treasure as a wonderful gift.

July 4, 2013 - Red(dish), White and Blue(ish)

White bog orchid and paintbrush

Columbine

Butterfly and achillea

Penstemon

Scarlet gilia

Lupine

Polemonium

Thimbleberry

Penstemon

My husband and I spent a couple of days wandering on back roads in Oregon and Idaho over the Independence Day celebration.  Our intent was to go to Baker City, visit the Oregon Trail Museum (which we did), then head down to Hell's Canyon.  Well, after visiting the Historical Center, we had lots of time, so took off on a backroad tour through the Elkhorn Mountains, west of Baker.  Most of the photos taken above are from that trip.

 

The second day we headed east, and did indeed go into Hell's Canyon.  We traveled via Halfway - a town with an enchanting view, if ever I've seen one!  (On the south side of the Eagle Cap wilderness.)  Then down into the canyon...and I do mean down.  Our car was averaging 45 mpg all the way down!  We drove a ways along the river, then took a very back road out, seeing only one other vehicle until we got much further into the Payette National Forest.  The photo of the massed penstemon is typical of what we saw throughout that area.

 

Beauty surrounds us, quite literally.  Open your eyes, look and see!  (The butterfly on the achillea was hiding, so let me get quite close to take the photo.)  It's a wonder, what's actually present - the gift of beauty we have been given.

July 1, 2013 - My Son Fights Fires

Rose - The Firefighter

Day lilies - in remembrance and honor

Sometimes the news of the day hits closer to home than usual.  My son is a firefighter.  Not a hotshot, not on a wildland crew (though he has fought the occasional wildland fire.)  But he is a firefighter.  And, as I kept hearing today, both danger and safety are a way of life for those who choose to protect the lives and property of others.

 

The rose shown above is called "The Firefighter".  It's a bit weary, as we are experiencing the same heat wave that is going through Arizona.  The lilies have spent most of the day in the shade, and thus seem a more fitting tribute - fresher, lovelier, still vibrant with color.  My prayers are with those who have lost loved ones...and with those who continue to fight the fire.