Olio - noun : a : a miscellaneous mixture : HODGEPODGE
b : a miscellaneous collection (as of literary or musical selections)
That pretty much sums up this blog. A minimally organized blog of the rest of November. Presented in the order taken and that is pretty much it for any kind of organization. I'm olioing all over the place here, folks.
A couple observations here if you don't mind. First, I can't believe how much photography colors my life. It has become an integral part of my day-to-day living. I rarely, if ever, leave home without it. If I do then it is a conscious decision to leave it because it would not be politic given where I am going. For example, this evening I went to work with the Scouts getting them started on their Merit Badges and I didn't take a camera. I had decided that it wouldn't be appropriate to use a camera at the Troop meeting. Maybe later, when I am better known. So, you see, cameras fit into nearly every aspect of my life.
Next, I find I am 'seeing' along certain lines which I prefer to think of as themes. I'm seeing patterns in my photography. You might be noticing them, too. I've mentioned them in the previous blog and you'll see several of those themes in this gallimaufry.
I'm also beginning to think in terms of a purpose. I'm beginning to think in terms of what I could use this picture for; where it might go. Normally, I shoot and then sort it out later but now I'm see the glimmer of a plan, an intent that was not there before. It's exciting.
Well, there it is. A couple of embryonic ideas and a reason d'être for me.
Okely-dokely, let's initiate contact with the enemy in this firefight...
First off we were driving to the River House on the Salmon River for a bird walk/photography class being hosted by the ASLC last Saturday. To get there you drive north on The 101 and, a couple miles out of the city you hang a left on Three Rocks Road. We were at the intersection where Savage Road runs into Three Rocks and we saw these guys grazing languidly along the side of the road.
Quite a big herd of elk. This area has a numbers of homes dotted around along the road. It's not like this is a wide open forest. It is all part of the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area and so I guess that keeps a lot of the hunters out.
Fun Facts: The 11,890-acre Cascade Head Experimental Forest was established in 1934 for scientific study of typical coastal Sitka spruce-western hemlock forests found along the Oregon Coast. The forest stands at Cascade Head have been used for long-term studies, experimentation, and ecosystem research since then.
In 1974, an act of Congress established the 9,670-acre Cascade Head Scenic Research Area that includes the western half of the experimental forest, several prairie headlands, the Salmon River Estuary to the south, and contiguous private lands. The combination of the two areas has resulted in a more diverse and coastal related research program. In 1980, the entire area was designated a Biosphere Reserve as part of the United Nations Biosphere Reserve system.
And so, they have a lot of elk there.
At the River House, we hooked up with the other birders. It had already been decided that we wouldn't be going on the walk. Carol has been feeling a bit punk lately and going out in that cool weather with a strong possibility of rain wasn't a great idea. We were going to hunker down and wait for the photography presentation later on.
And, they're off!! Meanwhile, back at the fireside we waited for their return. Haha, sometimes there can be something good said for the flu bug.
When they got back, Michael gave a good presentation on cameras. I can always learn something new about photography. Jack D. helped out and we had a good time talking cameras and photography.
Saturday was a busy day. First was the bird walk and then we stopped by the Chinook Winds Casino. They were hosting a celebration of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians. This year is the 30th anniversary of their tribe being recognized by the U.S. Government.
They were holding tribal meetings and then, later that evening, they were opening up the event to the public. In addition, they had something akin to a Craft Market. Lots of arts and crafts were for sale.
Carol was especially interested as she's been looking for something to put on the back of her binocular harness to dress it up a bit and make it really hers...individual.
There were plenty of options to choose from.
The crafts filled one of the convention meeting rooms in the Casino.
And she did find something that fit her. This will be put onto the circular leather patch that anchors the straps on her binocular harness.
The weather was great and when I got to the house, I took the time to get this view of the ocean from the bluff.
I mentioned earlier that I've taken to driving around to different parts of the city when I want to take a walk. It gives me a bit of variety and let's me see more of Lincoln City. Today I thought I'd park by the Cultural Center and walk down towards D River.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw where they were unloading the Center's Christmas Tree.
The tree had been planted in the front yard of a home in Otis back in '94. They hadn't planned on it growing quite so large. It had become too big for the yard and so they were looking to get rid of it when they struck on the idea of donating it to the City. This way, they'd get rid of the tree and the City would get a Christmas Tree.
Win-Win!!
So, I decided to get a couple pictures of the tree...you'll see it when it is up and decorated later in another blog.
I was thinking of documenting the unloading for...I don't know...and I zoomed in on the guys doing the work. I didn't realize until I got back and downloaded the pictures that I had very nearly bumped into my doppelgänger!!
Seriously!! There he is!! ME!!
I know, right!?! Pretty damn weird!!
Although, I have to admit, he is good-looking, y'know.
I've been playing around with birds on a wire...the lines and patterns. Here's another one of my weak attempts at being Artsy-Fartsy.
Plenty of opportunities to get pictures of birds on a wire.
And then, blissfully unaware that mien doppelgänger was back at the Cultural Center, I ambled on down towards D-River. It's interesting what you can learn just by getting out of the car. In this case, my Mini.
I've been to this same place maybe seven or eight times, at least, and never noticed that this small area was actually a park. And may I say, thank you for calling a park a park and not an Open Space.
Yep!! There it was, Hostetler Park. And, it turns out, it was once quite a little city attraction.
Fun Facts: Who would have thought...looking around, I found this article from 2011. Evidently, this man's idea didn't fly with the City Council.
The park was named after an early settler to the area, Henry Hostetler. He donated several portions of his land for public projects. The park was a popular recreation area until the 1964 tsunami, which sent huge logs up the D River, destroying the small beach that had attracted swimmers and boaters to the area.
Here's the article: "A Lincoln City surf promoter used to talking up the biggest waves on the Oregon Coast is turning his attention to a calmer stretch of water by trying to persuade the City to bring back a paddling and swimming area at the south end of Devils Lake.
John Forse, organizer of the Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic surf event, wants to see the City breathe life back into the area around Hostetler Park, which, during its heyday in the '70s, was home to boat docks, diving boards and even a burger bar catering to motorboats.
The park sits on the north bank of the lake at the mouth of the D River and is currently home to a few picnic tables, a trash can and lots of native vegetation." (Hahaha, the reporter paints a pretty picture doesn't he!?!)
Evidently, the idea sorta died. I think you can guess why with the last two sentences in the article shown below:
"The kiosk concept is currently on hold after receiving a cold welcome from councilors when they considered the Lincoln City Urban Renewal Agency budget for the coming fiscal year.
After hearing concerns from some members of the public about the proposed location and purpose of the kiosk, councilors directed staff not to spend any more time on the project until explicitly instructed to do so."
Haha, sounds to me like the owners of the lake front property just across from this small park made their views known about having a bunch of loud kids, etc., a hundred feet away across the World Famous D River...Shortest River in the World!!
Well, that was interesting. The things you learn, eh!?!
Back to my walk...we've seen a couple of egrets near the bridge that spans the D River...Shortest River in the World, when we've driven by and even, on occasion, stopped at the park to get a better view. As I was walking over the bridge, I saw this fine fellow moving about and got a couple of pictures of him.
Well, I say a couple but when I got back and down loaded the pictures from the camera, I found I had over 480 pictures. I figure about 400 were of this guy. So, yeah, you can say "Thank you, Jackie" for not putting more of them on this blog.
You're welcome.
But, regardless of the number of pictures I took of the egret, I did acknowledge the other waterfowl out on the lake today.
Like this guy...
I have since been informed that this fine fellow is an Eared Grebe. Of course!!
Oh, remember I mentioned the people that lived across from the park that would have been affected by having a popular waterpark there. Here they are. Some of them. You can see why they might not want the waterpark across from them.
To be honest, if I lived over there, I wouldn't want a waterpark near me, either.
Oh, look!! A coot. Hahaha, see, there were other birds out there on the lake.
But I digress. Let's get back to Eddie the Egret.
He was very patient with me today, giving me plenty of opportunities to get his picture. The boy loves the camera!!
And a Bufflehead. What a cool name, eh? Bufflehead. Ya gotta wonder how they came up with that moniker...Quick!! To the WikipediaMobile, Robin!! Wonder no more, y'all.
Fun Facts: The name bufflehead is a combination of buffalo and head, referring to the oddly bulbous head shape of the species. This is most noticeable when the male puffs out the feathers on his head, thus greatly increasing the apparent size of his head.
Hahaha, yeah, like we want a bunch of noisy kids and their drunk dads cavorting across the river from us and throwing their trash in the river. Hell, yeah!!
I left the river and continued my walk.
I just like the colors, the patterns. These chairs are set out in front of a candy store along The 101. OK, quick (and easy) quiz - What's the name of these chairs?
Believe me when I say that I was constrained, severely constrained in presenting pictures of Eddie the Egret. It was painful and, again, you're welcome.
But that walk ended and another began. Different day, different walk...around the neighborhood. Sometimes the familiar things are best.
Oh, and the answer to the quiz: The Adirondack Chair.
Fun Facts: (I swear, I learn the most interesting things creating this blog!!) The Adirondack chair is a simple outdoor chair made of wood or man-made materials. Originally made with 11 flat wooden boards, it features a straight back and seat
with wide armrests.
The first Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee while vacationing in Westport, New York, in, oddly enough, the Adirondack Mountains in 1903. Needing outdoor chairs for his summer home, he tested his early efforts on his family. After arriving at a final design for a "Westport plank chair," he offered it to a carpenter friend in Westport in need of a winter income, Harry Bunnell. Burnell saw the commercial potential of such an item being offered to Westport's summer residents, and apparently without asking Lee's permission, filed for and received a patent in 1905. Burnell manufactured hemlock plank "Westport chairs" for the next twenty years painted in green or medium dark brown, and individually signed by him.
Modern Adirondack chairs usually feature a rounded back and contoured seat, modifications made by Irving Wolpin, who received a patent for his design in 1938.
I don't know the name of this plant but it sure does create a lot of picture opportunities with its colorful leaves. I've gotten some (I think so) good pictures of them.
(I've since been informed, once again it appears, that this is a flax plant. Ahhhh, so it shall be until I forget, once more.)
And, keeping with my increased interest in patterns and rhythm and repetition, I saw this pattern on the door to the laundry room at my place. The afternoon light was coming through the blinds on the windows creating this pattern.
El Artsy y El Fartsy.
Another day, another walk. OK, in case you're wondering, I'm trying to get at least a one mile walk in every day. I am way too sedentary and, uh, ah, plump. Gotta get out and do some more walking.
The fabled Seven Miles of Beachfront in LCO. This was taken looking north from the D River State Park. That small stream you see just beyond the beach grass is the mighty D River as it flows into the Pacific.
B&W + Birds on a Wire = ?
Hahaha, I have no idea. I just liked it. Maybe I should crop it a bit more on the right hand side. What do you think?
Here we go again. Yeah, I'm still trying.
#lovemesomeB&W
And, a Flash from the Past, a piece of driftwood on a beach. In B&W.
Tres original, n'cest pas?
I've said it before but this small hobby of mine has opened up so many things for me. I get to see much more than I think I was able to see before. Not that my vision has improved, it hasn't. My ability to notice detail has been enhanced.
Like flowers. Hahaha, what a cliche, but, honestly, I never really took the time to stop and 'see' the roses, or, in this case, the fuchsia.
And now I do.
And the birds, too.
We were walking up to the store (Honest, I have a Mini and it runs quite well!!) when I saw this large murmuration of starlings (Hahaha, love the Internet) in a yard across the street.
I figured when I walked over that way they'd take off and, by golly, they did. I was ready.
Hahaha, I didn't realize how many of these I had taken. Birds on a wire...in B&W.
I caught these two at the right time. Betcha they're yelling at their kids!!
My bluff. I threw out some left-over Brim's Popcorn. The gulls can see a single kernel hitting the ground from over a mile away. My recliners are missing...during the storm over the weekend, they were blown across the yard. One of them ended up in the gully to the right...broken.
Ratz!!
Another day and, you guessed it, another walk. I went over the Wildwoods Open Space and I wasn't 50 feet onto the trail when I caught a movement about 30 feet to my front. I stopped and looked and there were two deer there, having lunch. I walked by them, maybe 20 feet away and they just watched me...just like in the picture. They weren't overly concerned with me...just aware.
I really like the easy relationship the deer and this city have together. I know there is another city in Oregon, Ashland, that recently held a 'Deer Summit' to discuss the problem of all the deer in their city.
"They wait three feet outside of my car door. And the horn doesn't drive them away. The car doesn't drive them away (Haha, do you see the humor in this last sentence?) I have sat in my car 20 minutes, feeling intimidated and not wanting to get out of the car," said Ashland resident, Leslie Gore. (Maybe if she sang to them!?! Or called her cousin, Al.)
It isn't that bad here in LCO. Mostly we see two or three deer and they always steer well clear of we humans.
But, still, for me, the City Boy, this is a real kick in the Ol' Pants.
Walking and getting pictures of flowers. They're few and far between now that Fall is here and Winter is just around the corner. I can always count on Surftides, a nearby motel, to have flowers in front of their establishment.
The allure of the open road...
Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.
Jack Kerouac
Walking by a water filled ditch, I saw these water plants growing. Patterns.
Back to Surftides again. They have this really neat covered swimming pool. Well, the pool isn't that neat but the building it's in is. It reminds me of cheesy 60s style Space Architecture. Which it is.
Whenever I see it I started singing the theme song to The Jetsons in my head...
Meet George Jetson...his boy, ....
Hahaha, here we go again!! Pop Quiz!! Name the other three members of the Jetson family.
Did you get the others? Hahaha, I knew you could do it...
His boy, Elroy...
Daughter Judy...
Jane, his wife.
And we skip back from the future to the here and now. And, mailboxes.
Hahahaha, thought you were past these, did ya!?! You thought wrong!!
And just because you got cocky, here's a second dose of mailboxes!!
That'll teach ya!!
Here's that plant again. Someday, maybe, I'll find out what these things are called. But for now they provide plenty of picture opportunities.
(Hokay, it's flax. Duly noted and, I imagine, soon to be forgotten. Again.)
Here's my world. Evidently it is long walks and a lot of pictures. And I tend to look small. Like these leaves. I know I saw leaves many times before in my life, but I don't think I really appreciated them. Really, they're small pieces of art.
Bulrushes along Devils Lake.
FYI, the slang name for these plants is Buggy Whips. Ohh, that sounds tres modern.
There's the swimming pool again.
Fun Facts: The Jetsons originally aired in primetime from September, 1962, to March, 1963. It was Hanna-Barbera's Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones. I didn't know this but they brought the show back with new episodes and it ran from 1985 until 1987. One reason I missed this was I was overseas in Germany at that time.
Flowers.
And the pesky European Starling. Winter colors.
Kinda snazzy, eh?
Ah, Northwest Jetty. Mi casa y mi Mini.
Hitting that 'Vivid' button on the Ol' Camera again.
What the...!?! Mailboxes!?!
Hola, what happened in 1809?
Glad you asked...Illinois became a territory.
Madison succeeded Jefferson as President.
Mary Dixon Kies became the first woman to get a patent...for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
And, finally, Meriweather Lewis died under mysterious circumstances along the Natchez Trace at an Inn called the Grinder's Stand.
On an important note, wearing masks at balls is banned in Boston. Whew!! Thank goodness, crisis averted!!
Busy year, that 1809.
Christmas arrives earlier with each passing year. I heard my first Christmas commercial over two weeks ago. Every store now has Christmas decorations for sale. Ahhh, I miss Thanksgiving.
OK, I admit it. I am a crusty old fart who likes things a little bit more traditional. Expect a lot of Christmas decoration pictures. You've been warned.
Reflections...I haven't visited this theme in quite a while.
Finally!! Something that is Thanksgiving related. These guys are on sale in front of the local Jo Anne's.
And, speaking of Thanksgiving, you'll be giving some because this is it for this round. I am just about caught up with all the stuff that happened while I was AFTB....(Away From The Blog)
Just about. I'll have to check.
There it is. My world and welcome to it. Nothing spectacular, just seeing the things I see. No adventures but a lot to see. Keeping busy and loving life.
It's good.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
