BEWARE OF SUICIDAL SQUIRRELS!!

I always travel to work and back home along Holly Rd. On clear days I get a nice view of Mt. Hood.  I admire the residents gardens, especially one filled with dahlias.  I smile at the horses and imagine them trotting with manes and tails wafting in the breeze.
I have always enjoyed this little jaunt.
But the last three evenings have been harrowing.  At this one point along the road headed towards Redland, just after the curve on Holly, a daredevil squirrel has dashed out from the side of the road where he hides behind rocks or brush (I swear he is waiting for me!) and played chicken with my vehicle!!
Now my best friend, Sue, always tells me that she does not swerve for the critters.  Another acquaintance has told me that he does not brake for squirrels.
But I am an animal lover, so I hit my brakes and swerved to avoid the cantankerous devil.

He leapt back towards where he had come from after going halfway across the lane, and I was sure I had hit him.  I was shaking, and then saw him run back across in the other direction and knew he was safe.  But it was almost like he was playing tag with my car!  And this has happened three times now.  I think he is lucky that I drive slower than most or he may have been road kill!

As I finished my drive home, I kept thinking of that commercial for an insurance company where the squirrels run in front of a car, then you hear the squeal and a crash, and then the squirrels high-five each other and laugh.  Hmmm...I wonder if he was high-fiving a partner and then laughing as I drove on my way?

Tomorrow evening I am going to either be fully prepared for him and go only 10 mph, or I will take a different route and trick him!

THE 2010 CIVIL WAR

Today I went to Milo McIver State Park to watch a Civil War Reenactment.  I was able to convince my husband to go along with me as long as I promised to tote a folding camping rocker for him.  So I did!  It is a rarity to get him to leave the house so I was very willing.  First we sauntered through the camps.  The people who participate in these events are really dedicated.  They use all equipment just like back then in their camps as well as the battles. 

They even have shops to sell costumes, jewelry, metal wares, bonnets and lots of other items.

I could picture Roxie in the purple dress!

There were many women and girls dressed in costumes.

Here is a slideshow of the costumed women and girls that I photographed.

This next video shows some of the soldiers.

And this slideshow displays snapshots around the camp of things I saw, what the living areas looked like, and flags!

I enjoyed reading the various signs posted within the camps.

They all urged people to join up and battle for the Union or Confederacy!

The battle was loud, with artillery and cannons firing.  I discovered that there were two problems for someone taking photographs of the event.  Number one:  attendees were facing the sun, and so were the cameras.  Number two:  a lot of smoke was created by the various guns and cannons, and it blew my way!

They both caused problems in trying to take photographs.

I am posting a few photographs!

See all the smoke!

In this shot you can actually see the yellow fire from the gun muzzle!

The battlefield was often in a smoky haze, and I am sure it was like that in the Civil War long ago.

When the cannons fired, sometimes they created smoke rings.  What was interesting was that when the smoke ring hit a tree, the branches moved from the repercussion!

Below is a slideshow of some of the photographs I took of the battle.

Makes you think about what it was like for our ancestors who fought for one side or the other.

RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET

Last weekend my friend, Sherri, invited me to visit her and see her horses and new puppy.  The pup is adorable and seemed to like me.       She is a little shy around the horses as they are SO big to her.  But she did give the one horse a tender paw pat on the nose.  It was funny when the horse sniffed the puppy and enveloped the puppies whole nose and mouth!  The horses are ponies.

One of her horses has very unusual eyes!  Bluish with a dark center.  I have never seen that before!

I thought it was rather spooky looking.  The horse was so gentle and handsome.

This one is the baby, only a few months old. 

The baby was very curious and wanted to get attention. 

She was constantly coming right up to me and sniffing me, my camera bag, my camera, my clothes...

notice the Mohawk mane!  Made me laugh.

Now that is a pose!!

This is mother to the baby.  She is the largest horse of them all.

She has 3 white socks, which means 3 legs are white just above the foot and one is black.

She is gentle and lovely.

I just love the way I got the shadow of the horses head as the sun was slowly setting.

Isn't this sweet?  Mother and daughter!! Ahhhh!!!

Here baby is playing with a ball!  That's a kid for ya!

I laughed when I looked at this shot because it almost looks like one horse is small and is standing on the other!

Sherri is extremely knowledgeable about horses, training them and breeding them.

She loves the horses and yet knows how to teach them their boundaries,

just like a mother with children!

Horses are beautiful.  I have always loved seeing them poised in a field or frolicking around.

And I think most women imagine riding upon a gorgeous horse in some romantic setting.

Admit it!!

In mine, I was always in a flowing white dress (I know, not proper for riding a horse, but this is imagination!)

riding through a field of golden flowers.

What would your "horse scene" be like????

I rode off into the sunset...in my van!!

A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A THING OF BEAUTY

On Tuesday after Roxie and I absorbed the beauty of the Japanese Gardens, we took a stroll through the Rose Garden nearby, just past the tennis courts. I love roses (who woulda thought!?) and like taking photographs of them at various angles and distances. One of the things that intrigues me is how petals are layered and create architecture and texture. It is hard to explain, but you can see in my photographs...

Some roses draw you into their core.

Some roses have subtle but stunning color.



Some speak softly yet deliver their message.

Some roses are not shy yet they are composed and assured.

There are roses that draw you in and make you want to peel away the layers to view the center secret.

When you look closely at some you see slight imperfections, yet that does not take away from their beauty.



A few are donned in frills and layers, like a Southern debutante. Always lovely!

beauty, color, texture, scent

Roses are like people-each unique, each has a different pose and look, different coloring, different scents, different feelings. And like people, there is always a secret, hidden core.

Like people they are judged.

In my eyes they are all lovely, all unique, and all add something to our world.