After the Snow

 

The day after the snow I went out for a few more pictures in Creswell starting at Garden Lake Park.

 Where I parked was next to a really beautiful barn that was perfect for a snowy picture.

There is a creek that flows into the park creating the lake that took on a very look in the winter...

... and the light of the sun reflecting on the snow created a terrific back lit image.

 

I found the great leaf that had landed on it's feet looking like a hand drawn person.

Driving our of the park area I saw these people sledding on the berm of the bridge that goes over interstate 5 at exit 182.

 

 Next I drove over to Sears Road to see what was happening there...

 

I like the wire wrapped rock boundary markers in this field ...

 

... where this herd of cattle grazed in the snow...

...Next to a castle on the hill near cougar mountain.

Quote of the Day ~

"And finally Winter, with its bitin', whinin' wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow." ~ Judge Roy Bean

Drive to Elkton

 The day before the drive to Elkton Sharyn and I visited Delta Ponds a wonderful wetlands area in Eugene, Oregon.

"Over five decades ago gravel mining cut off what is now the Delta Ponds natural area from the flow of water from the Willamette River. Today, after 10 years of planning and phased implementation, water is once again flowing from the Willamette through Delta Ponds – creating 2.2 miles of valuable side channel habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon and a wide variety of other species."

City of Eugene Delta Ponds Restoration from MetroTV on Vimeo.

 We didn't stay long that day but did take a short walk on the north end of the wetland park seeing some ducks...

... a posing Cormorant and even a great blue heron on the far right...

... and a slightly larger picture here.

"Delta Ponds is a 150-acre waterway site consisting of numerous ponds, channels, wetlands, and associated riparian areas. This unique natural area owned by the City of Eugene borders a stretch of the Willamette River, just downstream from Valley River Center. For many, it is a favorite spot for bird watching, fishing, and enjoying the outdoors."

I like these red not sure what these are ...

... white berries possibly banenberry.

So on the day of our drive to Elkton we stopped by Pass Creek County Park part of the Douglas County Park System and found some wandering Geese...

The park is a great place to stay in your RV with 30 full hookup sites and is just off of Interstate 5 south of Cottage Grove at the Curtin exit.

There were also some ducks ...

...and Sharyn also spotted a hooded merganser ...

Swimming around enjoying the nice warm day.

When we got close to Elkton I got to stop and take some pictures of one of my favorite places on earth...

... it's a small valley on the east side of the hill that drops into Elkton...

... and is on my top 10 most beautiful and serene places on earth.

The north side of the road is a tree covered forest that was wonderfully white, blue and green that day ...

... but to the south it was all green and softly lit.

 

The town of Elkton is restoring the southernmost fur trading post of the Hudson Bay Company.  The Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. In 1836, Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Umpqua near the present day town of Elkton, Douglas County, Oregon. The Fort was a regional center for the fur trade and many Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians traded hides for goods there. The fort was destroyed by a fire on 15 Nov 1851 and the post finally closed in 1854 as the fur trade diminished.

Quote of the Day ~

By the late 1850's the Community was selling more than 100,000 traps a year to, among other customers, the Hudson's Bay Company ~ Spencer Klaw from "Without Sin"

Cottage Grove Lake Low Levels

 

 February of 2010 this was Cottage Grove Lake and it was lower than later in the year...

 

... but this was Cottage Grove Lake today and it looked almost totally drained.

There was some water but it was trickling in slowly...

... yet it was definitely much lower...

...and in some places almost dry.

I'm not sure whether this is normal but it seemed very low and I hope it doesn't mean drought.

I hear many ski areas around the country are still low on snowfall let's hope we get more rain/snow but not in too great an amount. We looked a little for Snowy Owls hearing they are moving farther south this year with some spotted in the area.

We didn't see any owls but on the way home we did spot this Kingfisher sitting on a power line over the Coast Fork of the Willamette River near our home

Quote of the Day ~ "When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." ~  Benjamin Franklin

New Year - A Great Start

*** To see a larger picture of these images click on the picture 

I've been wanting to get a picture of Frank's Oar House for ages and so, as part of my New Year's Resolution list this is one of the first following my quitting smoking

 Last night we had another glorious sunset and some blue sky during the day.

 Of course Sharyn and I have a shared resolution, along with the vow to quit tobacco, and that is to get out and do some traveling and exploring. Today we took our first drive of the year to Florence, Oregon to see some predicted turbulent surf. We drove to the north jetty where the Siuslaw river...

 ... Comes into the Pacific and looked back to the town of Florence...

 ...and then at the sandy beach.

 Near where we parked was a coast guard tower...

 ...and lots of sand and beach grass...

 ... along the path to the jetty.

 There were big waves but nothing worth walking out to the end of the jetty but on the way to the car I did manage to get a shorebird in flight ...

 I'm not sure what the heck this thing was but I think it was on Coast Guard property.

 We stopped in at the  Harbor Vista RV park that's part of the Lane county park system where I got this shot of the North Jetty from the overlook just above...

 ... and this shot of a weed flowering just off of the walkway.

 Getting back into Florence I took a picture of some trees on a very high sand dune across the harbor...

 ... then took this flower on the way to Mo's seafood on the river.

 Another part of my resolution to get some pictures I always wanted and never go was this great bridge. Cushman was a station on the Coos Bay Branch of the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad, named for local residents C. C. and I. B. Cushman.

 This bridge is a swing span railroad bridge across the river there. The bridge opened to allow ocean-going barges to reach a now-closed sawmill in Mapleton. In 1940, Cushman had a population of 145 and a full-service port. At that time the hills above the community produced Port Orford-cedar, a large evergreen coniferous tree native to the region, but by 1990, this resource was depleted and the port no longer served ocean-going vessels.

 I stopped for a look at the Wildcat covered bridge ...

Just so you know I consider it a good sign seeing a beautiful rainbow next to us on our drive home and even more special to share the day with my very special lady. Looking forward to a very great New Year.

Quote of the Day ~

 "Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, or a new country." ~ Anais Nin