Sunday Brunch and a Little Drive

We decided, with Jill-Baby in town, to go out for a nice Sunday Brunch. The best spot in town is the Valley River Inn. It has a great view of the Willamette River and a great layout of food from Asparagus and Buffalo to Yogurt and Zucchini.

Ed was very happy to be going out with Jill ...

... and even Serena Lou came along.

The waitress pointed out what looked like a path down to the river on the opposite bank. It turns out someone did some excess celebrating after the Ducks vs Cal Bears game and rolled into the river and spent some anxious moments on top of his van before being rescued.

The layout of food was very creative and appealing including this pasta mushroom dish.

There were plenty of flowers decorating the tables and we had a really great meal and visit with each other.

The interior of the Inn is very tastefully done.

Even the trees outside were colorfully Autumnish.

I really liked the graceful curve in the stairway.

After leaving the Inn we drove a little way up and I took this picture of the Willamette...

... and the pedestrian bridge going over the river with two security officers in yellow rain gear walking across,

This is part of the 28 miles of off street paths in Eugene and when you include the 78 miles of on-street bike lanes you can see why Eugene is the #1 Green city in the US and it's not just the bike paths.

Top 10 U.S. Green Cities

1. Eugene, OR (score 9.0375, pop. 137,893)

First on our list is the university town, Eugene, well known as a powerhouse of green industry, clustering sustainable businesses. Nestled in the Willamette River Valley with views of the Cascade Mountains, residents enjoy numerous bike trails, clean air and water, parkland and outlying wilderness areas. Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85 percent of Eugene's power, reducing greenhouse gas emissions considerably. A little over 16 percent of Eugene is green space, including athletic fields, city parks, public gardens, trails and waterfront. The city has over 2,500 acres of publicly owned wetlands, and its West Eugene Wetlands Program includes a mitigation bank, a native plant nursery, protected wetlands and educational features.

"Overall, we have a reputation for protecting the environment and that reflects a commitment throughout the city organization to look for ways of becoming more sustainable," says Jim Carlson, assistant city manager, citing the city's bio-diesel and hybrid fleets, its evaluation of all city activities for environmental impact and the mayor's sustainable business initiative to green the local economy. And Carlson notes that "In next year's budget, we're planning to purchase 25 percent wind power for all existing general fund buildings such as libraries and city hall."

Next after taking Ed home we took a back road home and up one of the roads we saw this pony that both winked at us and stuck his tongue out (click image for a larger view).

We also saw this huge red barn,

Then we saw this herd of turkeys ...

... and finally these Black Angus cows.

"In the northeastern part of Scotland lie the four counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine, and Angus. These counties touch the North Sea and all extend inland and have some high or mountainous country. They have been favored through the ages with a temperate climate and good crops, although the topography of the country is rough. Pastures do well in the area because of well-distributed rainfall. Plenty of grass, plus a nearly ideal temperature for cattle production, has made the area very suitable for some of the greatest improvement that has been made in our purebred breeds of cattle. The county of Angus contains a fine expanse of highly cultivated land known as Strathmore, which is one of the very fine valleys in that part of Scotland and which has become famous in the history of the Aberdeen-Angus breed.

Early Scottish Cattle. Although little is known about the early origin of the cattle that later became known as the Aberdeen-Angus breed, it is thought that the improvement of the original stock found in the area began in the last half of the 18th century. The cattle found in northern Scotland were not of uniform color, and many of the cattle of the early days had varied color markings or broken color patterns. "

No Scrabble last night.

Quote of the Day ~

"I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sounds exactly the same, Infact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same." ~ Angus McKinnon Young, born on 31 March 1955, in Glasgow, Scotland) is a guitarist and songwriter who has been the lead guitarist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC since the group was formed in 1973. Young is known for his hard-edge style lead (and signature vibrato), wild stage energy, and schoolboy clothing.