Merry Christmas!

And to all a good night.

Garden and Nature

Surprise!  I have some flower photos today.  You like flowers, don't you?  I was looking through some pics and found a few I'd never shared, so let's just step back into the warmer months for a few moments.

The first is Foxglove and Lace Cap Hydrangea.  All the Foxgloves currently in my garden were transplanted from the wild, and they've cross pollinated between deep pink and white to produce some lovely, delicate shades.

The pretty pink Columbine pictured below came from the self-sown seeds of a blue hybrid.

Nature does a fine job on her own with no help from me.  The next few photos were taken on a June day in our local Great Outdoors.  First we have fluffy grass seed heads and a lone dandelion.

Blackberry blooms next.  Love those polka dot leaves.

Wild Sweet Peas:

My Sweet Pea in the Sweet Peas (LuLu):

I need to get out there and look for the beauty in our current season.  I've been preoccupied with holiday card making and a few other things.  It's time to breathe in, breathe out.  Have a beautiful day!

Right at Home

Hello there!  I have a few photos from home today.  We haven't gone on any big adventures since September, but I'm enjoying myself just staying close by.  It's garden clean up time, so when the weather permits I cut back a little more and a little more.  The hydrangeas didn't bloom well this year, and the few I did get came late in the season, but, as always, fall has turned them into a kaleidoscope.

This first one looks like someone splashed paint all over it.

Another bloom from the same bush, drained of color, but interesting.

From another bush we have a pretty blue...

... and at the same time, same bush we have purple:

The next photo shows the one and only bloom on the bush outside my kitchen door.  Sadly, I believe that bush needs to be removed, but you really have to appreciate its last valiant effort.

Geraniums make good cut flowers, especially when you put them in the refrigerator or on the back porch overnight.  These are the last of my orange blooms.  I cut it back and it's trying to make more, but I'm hoping it will rest before next spring.

Speaking of right at home...

This doe is a little too relaxed at the edge of the garden.  She's beautiful and I bear her no ill will, but I'd like her to move off and let Wally and LuLu have their yard back.  No such luck... she returned later with her whole family.

That's all this week from the Miller residence.  Wishing you a beautiful day!

Into the Woods

While we're all enjoying the turning leaves of the beautiful fall season, the color in this pine forest is timeless.  The ground turns from snowy white in the winter to lush green in spring to golden brown in late summer and fall, but the rusty red of the tree bark remains the same.  Location:  Ochoco National Forest in central Oregon.

Next photo below... Is that not the most interesting bark with pretty texture and color?  Gee, I just realized it reminds me of a chocolate crackle cookie...

Next...

Wait, what??  The picture above is a Cottonwood in the South Fork RV Park in Dayville, Oregon.  No tree was harmed in the making of this smile.  Sometimes Nature and Mankind get along beautifully.

Take care, and have a happy day!

The Morning After an Autumn Rain

Standing at my kitchen doorway earlier this week, looking out at the morning... the little knobby-topped mushroom in the succulent pot caught my eye.  Look closely and you'll see all the tiny babies popping up around it.

In the garden beyond, a web draping heavily with overnight rain-jewels:

Two leaves, embracing, caught mid-tumble in another bejeweled web:

The Willow Leaf Maple, while colorful all summer, blazes most brilliantly as it prepares for winter:

Another stop at the succulent pot before I head back indoors.  The camera caught what my eyes did not notice -- droplets falling from the bud to the leaves below.

Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own...

  ~ Charles Dickens

Action Wally and Resting LuLu

Oops, I didn't mean to miss posting last Saturday, but got preoccupied.  Back to it today... with the main reason I started this blog in the first place -- Wally and LuLu.  We spent last Tuesday afternoon at one of our favorite local spots where the dogs can run uninhibited for miles.  We stopped to rest in the shade, but Wally still wanted to play.  Rich kept him happy by tossing handfuls of dry grass.  Wally really is just a big puppy.

He'll always be our beautiful boy.

Finally taking a break.  Their panting speaks to all the fun of a warm fall day.  That's LuLu up front with her grass tiara.

Next is LuLu again, just because she's such a pretty girl.  She's considerably more sedate than Wally, but she knows how to have fun, too.  In fact, she can be quite crazy at times.  Not so much on this day as she was a bit warm in her heavy coat.

I hope you had fun looking.  Have a golden happy day!

Pleased to Make Your Acquaintance

Hello there!  I'm still sorting through photos from our September trip to eastern Oregon.  In my last post I mentioned we took a long walk to see the sights.  We skirted the highway and ventured down back roads to get a good feel of it.  Paused to say "hello" to a local resident.

Our dogs don't have much experience with large animals, but Wally was very polite.

The photo below was taken on a back road.  Heck of a view from the farmhouses we passed along the way.  The big D is for Dayville.

These folks love their town and, it's true, their fossils are friendly.  Dayville is situated near the John Day fossil beds.  I like the signage.  We're thinking of getting one of those "drive like your kids live here" signs for our street.  They were posted throughout the town.

Heading back to camp...  We stopped on the bridge so I could photograph the South Fork of the John Day River, which is the river that runs along camp.  You can see why I call this camp a desert oasis.

These plump wild turkeys were in camp every day.  This photo was taken from our motorhome window and, of course, they wandered off when I went outside.

Someone would love to chase them.

Another friendly campground resident below.

And this...  I found the rock in camp.  You're supposed to post it on Facebook and move it to a different location, but I left it for another camper to enjoy.

Its smile is contagious.  I hope it worked on you!  Have a happy day!

Fall Color

Fall is already showing its colors, and how beautiful it is!  Truly, there's something to love about every season, isn't there?  Today I have a few photos taken on our September trip and, of course, I've got Wally and LuLu up first.  They posed nicely for me in front of this bush of rose hips, as pretty now as it was when blooming in the summer.  There are flowers growing all over this camp, looking quite natural in their setting.  I wish I'd photographed the hollyhocks when we were there in July.

With our preponderance of conifers here in the Pacific Northwest we don't get quite the fall foliage display you see in other areas, but where deciduous trees grow there's bound to be color.  In certain areas of McKenzie Pass, Oregon the maples, sumac, and conifers were taking a foothold in the lava beds and the contrast was quite striking.

We were unable to stop at some of the prettiest sites as we passed by the pull outs too quickly.  We were on our way home with a long drive ahead of us, but we did want to linger here and there to enjoy it.  In the photo below there's more lava bed showing.

Back at camp in eastern Oregon... we went for a long walk, exploring the area.  Apples on the branch speak "fall" very clearly.

Well, gee, here's Wally and LuLu again.  Can't take just one pic.

These don't look like happy faces, really.  They aren't thrilled about posing and they just want me to finish up and give them the treat I promised.  Sheesh, Mom.

I'll be back with more next Saturday.  Have a beautiful day!