Friday, April 02, 2010

Rat Creek Adventures in Wonderland

We saw the sun and decided to take a drive around Dorena Lake near Cottage Grove.

After driving almost all the way around the lake we saw a road cutting north called Rat Creek Road so we explored the road. We came across this great old barn...


... built in 1889.


The road was curvy and wooded...


... and we found some great trillium in bloom...


... and Blue Grouse flowers or Snow Queen or scientifically known as Synthyris reniformis.


There were some huge old growth trees...


... and even a nice little waterfall.


As I said it was very wooded...


... revealing some odd looking white cups that were very small...


... I have not discovered just what they are.


Then it got weird in a nice way. From fantasy mailboxes...

... the other side...


to the roaring Rat Creek.


Then there was the dog and peacock in the road...


... so we waited for the peacock to pass by.


Next we saw some fence post decorations that made us smile. The included this old tin car...


... a locomotive...


... two more little cars...


... a merry-go-round, wagon and an out house...


... one more old car ...


... and a wise old owl.



Next we saw another nice barn.


The road had become a one lane drive so we retreated back toward the lake.


There was an old gas pump with gas for 15¢ a gallon with a wooden box for payment.


I liked this comfortable old farmhouse...


... and this nice large nursery.


Almost back to Dorena lake I got a shot of Rat Creek...


... and found this Fawn Lily thanks to Sharyn's help.


What a lovely flower that opens wide from ...


... a slender white bud hanging from a long stem with two mottled leaves.


Our Oregon state flower

Oregon Grape
Berberis aquifolium

A low growing plant, the Oregon Grape is native to much of the Pacific Coast and found sparsely east of the Cascades. Its year-round foliage of pinnated, waxy green leaves resembles holly. The plant bears dainty yellow flowers in early summer and a dark blue berry that ripens late in the fall. The fruit can be used in cooking.




There were more trillium mostly white...


... and a few lavender/pink.


Then Sharyn my able and astute spotter found two giant trillium...


... and we were amazed at their size.

Thank you Su for the great flower identification on a few of these.

It was a fairy tale drive and it was good to be out in the sun.

Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen 313 ~ The contender 294

Quote of the Day ~ "Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale." ~ Anon

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful "enchanted" little drive. Who knew a place called "Rat Creek" could be so pleasant! Thanks for sharing.
Your friend,
Carol

Anonymous said...

Aww! The owl is lovely.
~~PF~~

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