Wednesday, February 3, 2016

A Jaunt in the Gorge and Flowers on the Farm

Hello!  Are you up for a drive in the gorge with us?  Last week when I drove to Multnomah Falls to volunteer I noted almost 200 Tundra swans were in Mirror Lake (between Rooster Rock and Crown Point) but of course I didn't have time to stop and get a photo.  Every day since I had hoped for a sunny day so I could go try to get some images to share with you.  So, yesterday was the first bright day so my long-suffering husband agreed to go with me.  :-)  The swans were gathered further east so where I pulled over on the shoulder of the freeway to see them, they were behind a lot of leafless trees - but they were right in front of the waterfall over the cliffs.  


In this photo you can see the Union Pacific train heading west towards Portland.


My zoomed in shot of these swans shows one of them with it's wings stretching and fluttering.. they are so pretty!  


It's interesting that each time I see them there are differing amounts of the swans there.  Last week there were twice as many as this week.  I wonder where they go?  Hmmm.


We then drove on to Cascade Locks.. one of my favorite places.  We decided to have lunch at the East Wind Drive-In.  Dayle walked up to the outside order window and I waited in the warm car.  :-)  This was my view from the car of the snowy forest across the street.


I love to photograph the neon sign here.  The sky was quite bright with the sun backlighting the clouds so it's not the best image.. :-)


While I waited I heard a lot of honking and looked up to see a flock of Canada geese flying low over my car to  land in the field across the street.  I hoped that none of them would feel the "need" while over my car.  LOL!


When we drove back through town I pulled over and stopped at the Indian owned fish shop to check it out and saw this gorgeous craggy tor across the street.  *SNAP*


I've wanted to go into this shop since it opened 2 years ago and this was the first time.. it won't be the last!  They even serve hot chowders inside, next time we go it will be for lunch!  Brigham Fish.  It's owned by two sisters and most of the fish sold here is locally caught by friends and family members.  Oh.. that's my dear husband there.


Here is some of the delicious looking fish for sale.   


They had smoked smelt which we bought six of and smoked salmon of many varieties of which we bought three of -- Chinook, Sockeye and Steelhead.  We will test these out later on some crackers and will let you know the results.  :-)  Hey, someone has to do the hard work here.. right?


I swung in to our favorite little park to snap a photo of the Columbia River, the Bonneville Dam is just behind the bluff on the right.  This park is right under the Bridge of the Gods.  


The bridge which takes one from Oregon to Washington and back for a fee of $1.  :-)


Back home and I saw the big patch of Snowdrops under the Pear tree - so I walked up to get a few photos.  Oh how I love these darling harbingers of Spring.


They are so aptly named.. don't they look like drops of snow?


I waked past the chicken pen and said hello to the hens.  Then I saw 3 more open blooms of the pretty Camellia we planted in front of the big maple stump in front of the chicken house.  I so look forward to seeing this bush grow, it's only 2 feet tall right now.  The flower looks rather like a tulip, doesn't it?


And look!  The Daphne flowers are budded out!  Ohhh.. can't wait until they bloom.  The most fragrant of flowers.


I'd been looking for something to hang my heart collection on and after swimming on Monday Gracie and I visited Craft Warehouse and found these fun branches with little lights on the tips!


Here is a night photo of it lit up.. I'm enjoying this immensely!  I also got some "firefly" lights to lay along the table - that room is so dark during the short days that the lights brighten up our long evenings.  


I plan to make another few of those crocheted puffed hearts like the one on top of Periwinkle my purple sheep.  When I do it I will share the pattern.  I'm off to swim with Gracie soon!  It's so fun to be able to chat with her while we swim back and forth doing our laps for an hour.  Have a great day!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

20 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful heart tree and the little lights are adorable. Great to catch a glimpse of those geese together. I loved the look of all that beautiful fish. Take care.

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  2. I enjoyed seeing the gorge, thank you for sharing. There are a lot of birds around there. I haven't seen many swans in real life, so that was nice for me. I like your little lighted branches, what a cute way to display your heart collection. I hope you have a nice swim with Gracie.

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  3. What a lovely day out you had! Love your hearts!

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  4. Oh how I love the Gorge and I miss our frequent drives down there to see Mandy. The last three times I've crossed over the Bridge of the Gods I've paid the toll for the car behind me. I would love to have seen their faces when the toll taker told them that it been paid for them. Kind of fun! We'll have to try that drive-in next time that we make it down that way. I don't remember having seen it before. Is it on the main road through Cascade Locks? Fun times with Gracie! I remember our visit to the Craft Warehouse. Lots of fun. And I really like your branches for your hearts with the lights. It's gorgeous! I miss you my friend.
    Blessings, Betsy

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  5. What a gorgeous craggy tor! The swans are lovely too ... and the photo with swans, train, AND waterfall is hard to beat. Hope you had a good swim with Gracie.

    Snowdrop envy here.... :D

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  6. Why do I have to work? I want to travel those roads too. Beautiful pics as per usual.

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  7. Thanks for taking us along on your jaunt! Those swans are so awesome. We live a couple of blocks north of the river on the WA side and have had a lot of geese flying over lately. Sometimes I can see them right up through the skylights in our house. Love to hear them honking. I haven't noticed the fish place before...will have to look for it when I'm out there next time. Yum, smoked salmon!

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  8. Oh Teresa, your posts never disappoint! I love the shots of your little trip. Such beauty where you live! And all of the pretty blooms too! Love the branches that light up for displaying your hearts. Perfect! Those swans are really something else, aren't they!!!
    Lovely post.
    xo Kris

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  9. Thank you for the additional swan photos--they are beautiful!
    Blessings, Aimee

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  10. What a beautiful spot, and I love the fish shop with lots of locally caught fish - excellent. Maybe the swans go off to graze during the day? The migrant swans here spend their days out in the fields, then towards dusk they fly to their safe pond to spend the night. CJ xx

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  11. What a gorgeous jaunt and beautiful photos! Such a wonderful place to live! I love your little sweetheart tree too :)
    Helen xox

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  12. Ah pretty heart tree - doesn't it look gorgeous? From your pictures, it looks as if its still pretty cold over there and you're talking about spring already. I'm still thinking mid summer here but its been very strange this year - or maybe its just me feeling colder than usual. Is that what happens when one gets older I wonder? xox

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  13. I loved traveling around with you seeing all the sights. Everywhere you look there is such beauty.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  14. My tour guide!!,L. All your images are calling to me
    I Heart heart heart your little lit up centerpiece!

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  15. I very much enjoyed going with you Teresa. Beautiful sights. The heart tree is so pretty - love it. Anne x #19

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  16. Loved your photos today! I wish I would see some swans around here. I don't know if there are any. Surely there are? I absolutely adore the lighted branches decoration you hung your hearts on...perfect! It looks great!

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  17. What gorgeous photos! I never tire of seeing your nature photos, Teresa! Love your heart centerpiece! :)

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  18. Your tree looks lovely with all the hearts ♥ Beautiful photo's again Teresa and sure enjoyed the swans and the geese and glad your car was not involved lol xoxo

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  19. What a lovely heart collection!

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