Been a while since I've posted!  I have a bunch of pics :)  First we just have some shots from out in my yard- summer seems to be here!   Great seeing the flowers come out...

Now some pics from my trip over to Eugene this past weekend... This is Sahalie Falls- it's on hwy 126 in the mountains between Bend, OR and Eugene, OR.  I stopped here real quick for the first time and was super glad I did!  The sign is very small and seems insignificant but the falls were awesome!!  I took a little video as well, you can see the force of the wind created... very powerful.   If you look close too, you can see an icy blue color in the water, it was beautiful!

***Turn your sound down- the noise from the waterfall is pretty loud in the video.***

This is on the way back- I suddenly came upon this huge tree with xmas lights on it- it was like 100ft tall.   I don't know how they got the lights on it!!   I stopped to get a pic if I could then saw the moon was out too so it made a nice cap to the trip. 

The reason for my trip was the Degenerate Flame Off- I was a competitor.   It was a really fun and amazing  time and I have pics/ info about the event on my website. 

Thanks for reading!!  Enjoy your  day- and your health!!!!!

I was cleaning up my desktop and found 2 folders with pics I meant to post a while ago... 

First a few pics from right before xmas- it was a beautiful day, crisp and cold but awesome in the sun (bundled up of course!).

Then these are from a cold night- super cool frost on everything!!  Looks like it's a layer of frost on spikey plants/ shrubs but they have no spikes, it's just ice crystals that are ~1/2" to ~3/4" long!!!  I wish I had gotten out an hour earlier- the heat of the morning sun was starting to melt it.   All the trees surrounding me were "snowing", it was really neat.   You could hear it happening all spread out in the adjacent areas.   A short time later I was driving through town and noticed all the trees across the region were white on one side i.e. frosted only on one side- I suddenly realized the sun was shining on the opposite side.   It was really an amazing sight- certainly the only time I've seen anything like it!

Thanks for reading!!  Enjoy your  day- and your health!!!!!

Hey it's time to be amazed at our universe!

I just watched a short video on the Cassini mission (video link) and found this image referenced just amazing.... THIS IS WHY I love looking through a telescope; you can't believe it's REAL.  

Here is a link the page with the "Pale Blue Dot" picture (it's Saturn with the Sun behind it backlighting it)---> look close, on the left just outside the rings, there is a point of light... it's our home; Earth. (there are high resolution pics on the site that are FANTASTIC- check 'em out!!!!!!!!!
LINK )

Thanks for reading!!  Enjoy your  day- and your health!!!!!

Last night it came to me:  strawberries dipped in chocolate.   When was the last time you had that???  I've been missing out...  I actually used very little water mixed with cocoa- a childhood favorite my mom used to make when we were out of actual chocolate syrup.   I really like it much better then the "real thing".   

Just go do it... don't hesitate!  Just dip strawberries in some sort of wonderful chocolate and indulge..  that's my message for today.  Enjoy something that's so simple yet so wonderful- eating all that fruit makes you feel like it's almost really healthy too, lol.  

Tell me that doesn't make your mouth water :)

Thanks for reading!!  Enjoy your  day- and your health!!!!!

Well I had to do it... I went on a hike- yeap, with crutches!!!  Isn't amazing how your brain instantly thinks, "You can't do that!"    Why is that?    Last week it was such a nice day out and I was making myself lunch and thought about how nice it would be to have a little "picnic" on the river.   There are tons of little falls just outside of Bend among other chillin' spots with tables, etc. so I figured I could at least just drive there and sit...

Driving up there I decided to go to somewhere I hadn't been before- Benham Falls- it was quite a ways so once I got all the way there I felt committed.   As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I realized I HAD to hike a bit- the river was down a ways.    Suddenly the mental block dissipated and I realized I crutch around my house, the store, etc. so why not on some dirt????   

So off I went and had a killer lunch on top of a cliff looking down at the river bending around part of the falls (Benham Falls are basically a very long crazy rapid you couldn't raft down).   It was so wonderful seeing the colors, hearing the sounds, and just feeling so peaceful... I need that so bad.   Having this broken foot has kept me from even getting out and breathing the fresh air.... no more!!!!   I LOVE it out there.   My armpits are sore and I'm developing tennis elbow in BOTH elbows but wow, so worth it :)

So a few days ago I decided to do the same thing but different spot on the river and remembered my camera- I really do love taking pictures when I go hiking...  so I didn't get a lot, but a few great shots of the beautiful day.

Here I am, determined!



This marshy spot was interesting on crutches, lol.



Really cool tree twisting around itself.





Now just some great river/ reflection shots... I love when water is like glass!  I also was loving the colors- look how bright red/ orange the shrubs are on the river's edge- such a great contrast with the green of the trees and blue sky!

Thanks for reading!!  Enjoy your  day- and your health!!!!!