Chapter 38 - Life on the Farm

Well life on the farm is kinda laid back
Ain't much an old country boy like me can't hack
It's early to rise, early in the sack
Thank God I'm a country boy

Well a simple kinda life never did me no harm
A raisin' me a family and workin' on a farm
My days are all filled with an easy country charm
Thank God I'm a country boy

When the work's all done and the sun's settlin' low
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow
The kids are asleep so I keep it kinda low
Thank God I'm a country boy

I'd play Sally Goodin all day if I could
But the Lord and my wife wouldn't take it very good
So I fiddle when I can, work when I should
Thank God I'm a country boy

Well I wouldn't trade my life for diamonds and jewels
I never was one of them money hungry fools
I'd rather have my fiddle and my farmin' tools
Thank God I'm a country boy

Yeah, city folk drivin' in a black limousine
A lotta sad people thinkin' that's mighty keen
Son, let me tell ya now exactly what I mean
Thank God I'm a country boy

Well, my fiddle was my daddy's till the day he died
And he took me by the hand and held me close to his side
Said, "Live a good life and play the fiddle with pride
And thank God you're a country boy

My daddy taught me young how to hunt and how to whittle
Taught me how to work and play a tune on the fiddle
Taught me how to love and how to give just a little
Thank God I'm a country boy

Well I got me a fine wife I got me an ol fiddle
When the suns comin' up I got cakes on the griddle
Life ain't nothin' but a funny funny riddle
Thank God I'm a country boy.

Written by: John Martin Sommers     Recorded by: John Denver

What a fine way to start this blog, singing!!

And now to the story and it all begins with running across, through social media, an old friend from High School, Kathy Huff. Texts led to a meeting and then to a favor. Last time Kathy left her home for time away, she asked Carol to house/pet/chicken-sit for her and Carol did having a great time in the process.

So when Kathy made plans to go to Hawaii and visit her kids, she naturally asked Carol to house/pet/chicken-sit again and I, just as naturally, asked if I could tag along. And I did.

And that is how I imposed myself into Carol's vacation thus making it, in part, my vacation, too.

And with that out of the way, let's begin, in no logical order, to see what's cookin' down on the farm.

First off was this pic. This is the dining room at Kathy's place and it is used for art work now. I had come in after dropping Kathy and Kent off at the airport and, camera in hand, saw these lines and decided I'd try a pic just for the halibut.

I did. I slipped the Nikon over to B&W and grabbed a couple of shots. I figured I'd just be seeing what turned out and then erasing them. Y'know, more an exercise in just adjusting the camera and then taking a picture rather than trying for something good.

But, as is often the case, I found that I liked it. Clean lines, good shades with a long range. A simple and straightforward composition.

I'm keepin' this one.

This place is a garden. There's flowers all over and then there is the morning AND evening sun. It's great for back-lit pictures and I'm making the most of it.

Plus, after the many subtle hints and pushes by Carol, I am using the tripod. And it's been paying off.

Big time.

Crisper pictures.

I've been pretty much using the Nikon P900 on the tripod for this whole VaCay so far.

And getting loads of pictures of the wheat field behind Kathy's house.

Showing the many moods of the field and the wheat.

The unknown cat. Actually, the cat has a name but neither Carol nor I can remember what it is. Nonetheless, this cat rules around these parts. In and out at his leisure...food every evening and plenty of wee creatures to track and catch. He came up to the rear porch with a field mouse the other day. I was surprised when he let him down and the mouse took off with the cat hot on his trail, again.

Mostly we've just been lazing about the house...and the back yard. 

I've taken to, because there are so many different subjects, shooting pictures of the birds in addition to the ones of the flowers. That's what you'll see mainly, birds and flowers. There will be a couple scenics thrown in for good measure but if what I've done so far is any gauge, then look for plenty of birds and flowers.

Like this Eurasian Collared Dove. There were two of them and they had perched high in two different trees and were singing to each other.

This has become, because of my highly developed since of juvenile humor, one of my favorites.

Hahahaha, it gives a new dimension to the term, "Mooning".

An American Goldfinch female showing off her better side.

I like the moodiness here. I think I'll try and reshoot it but I'll do something I rarely do and change the scene...just a bit. I'll remove that stem that's growing into the picture from the left, behind the left-most flower. It's distracting in what would otherwise be a pleasant composition...to me.

Just looking and seeing. I thought this was kinda cool. The lines from left to right and top to bottom. And I am liking this tripod thing. 

We drove into McMinnville once so I could get a hair-cut and we could go to the movies. And we've driven around the area in the evening trying to see (no luck) some hawks.

Other than that it's been lazing about and shooting pictures in the backyard. One of my favorites is the Chickadee. I 'caught' two of them the other day.

Hahaha, I wish I were wittier so I could write a better caption for this. I really like the look this shite-crowned sparrow is giving as he peeks around the grill.

"Whachu' lookin' at, Willis?"

More with the flowers. It's a target rich environment and one that invites me to take pictures every morning and every afternoon. It calls me, it beckons, it is irresistible.

To me, at least.

It's amazing what you can do with modern cameras. Like this: I was around 40-50 feet away when I shot this sun-lit flower. I had no idea I had captured a photo-bomber until I'd downloaded the picture.

See him? The white, ugly little Crab Spider sitting on the upper left side of the flower.

I'm not a fan of spiders but it is fun to find them where I never expected them.

Just goofing around with the controls and had it on B&W. And liked it.

Can't explain why other than the tonal ranges and detail. 

I must be getting better with the tripod and catching birds because I finally got some pictures of a hummingbird.

Now I have to figure out how to catch his wings in flight. I pushed the ASA to 3200 trying to get enough speed but, alas, no. Still a blur.

I'll have to push the speed and then go to Shutter-Priority and set the shutter speed to 1/500. Maybe that will do the job. Maybe.

These wings flap at a rate of 10-15 beats a second.

Dios mio!! Eso es bastante rápido!

Another robin. Most of the times I see these fellows they're on the ground, scratching. It's a treat to catch them at the top of a tree on occasion. And this one had something in its mouth.

Country Roads...and this is the Muddy Valley Road as it stretches to the north away from Kathy's place.

Whoa, hey!! Here's the backyard with dos doggies, Molly, on the left, and Pepper, there entering the picture in the foreground.

A little, more intimate, look at paradise, Oregon style.

And this little piece of paradise is surrounded, engulfed, enmeshed, overwhelmed and inundated with flowers of all kinds.

Like this rose. From out near the front porch.

Bellissimo!!

We've been out to the Tiny Town of Willamina a couple times now. Each time we've been struck by the Flags the City of Sheridan (we pass through Sheridan on the way to Willamina) has on display along their main street.

We've wondered why and when we stopped, we discovered this touching monument to the men and women who have served their Country.

And it gave us a moment for some quiet reflection.

Here's the array of flags. On either side of the center point of this display they have the service flags, in the correct order for display, for the branches of the military.

And back on the road. We saw a hawk and had stopped to get a picture but he flew off before I could get the tripod up. Not to worry, I walked around the area and found this stretch of scenic road waiting to be captured.

And moving just a bit further to my right, it turned into this scene. It's amazing how the light color changes with just those few steps. A whole new experience.

Later, on that same drive, I got this field. I enjoy the symmetry of the rows in the field. The colors, patterns, shapes.

A swallow wallowing on a wire.

And a whole bunch of swallows. We saw a swarm of them flying around while a number of their compatriots lounged languidly on the lofty lines above. 

It cried for a picture.

And another, which I straightened out in iPhoto.

OK, everyone get ready for the picture. Alvin? ALVIN!!!

We'd pulled over in a very rural part of the valley. Homes are spaced well apart. I'd deliberately pulled up far enough so not to block or intrude on a driveway. As I was getting the shots, a woman came out from the house and asked us if everything was Ok? She just wanted to make sure we were all right and didn't have car trouble.

Country living. Country folks.

Down the road from Kathy's is the turn onto Latham Road.

And these thistles. I noticed they grow three to a stem.

Besides being photogenic, they also are predictable. See the main stem? From that every one of them grows a large thistle and then, from two branches, identical but smaller thistles.

Science lesson is over.

Along Latham Road. It's wild and it's unruly but there is a certain beauty to it.

And the the bush-whackers come by and they're gone for another season.

Whoop!! Bird time again.

And what better bird to lead the parade for another days worth of bird-shooting but an All-American Goldfinch.

And our ever-present pal, the Collared Dove.

A Grosbeak.

Fun Facts: Several birds of the finch family, Fringilliae, ae known as grosbeaks. They get their name from the French word Gros, meaning "Thick," because of their distinctive heavy, cone-shaped bills, which are used primarily for cracking seeds. 

The gray dove on top of the steel-gray barbecue grill. 

Gray on gray.

And a Spotted Towhee.

Fun Facts: The Spotted Towhee is a large sparrow that prefers breeding habitats which include thickets and scrublands throughout Western North America.

Looks a lot like the Spotted Towhee, doesn't he? I thought that's what it was but, no, it's one of those ubiquitous robins. You can tell by the beak and the color of his belly.

Hahahaha, ain't I getting fancy!?!

Boom!! Snap back to flowers!! Ah, c'mon, I warned you. Another particular favorite for me to shoot. 

Long stem with single flower. I've seen this before, mostly with tulips. It means I knows whats I likes.

Maybe.

I shot these following pictures as an afterthought, a small study to see what the camera would do because I was bored standing on the back porch waiting for the doggone birds to come back to the feeders.

In other words, I put very little thought or effort into these shots.

But I love'em!! I really do!! I find it hard to delete any of them...ever...at any time.

These two are the same but I can't delete either one of them.

And, honestly, I just cropped the previous picture a bit tighter here to get yet another look at the same subject. And I loves it.

OK, this one is different but, wow, it still really speaks to me.

Even this one, which is mostly leaves. And yet I enjoy the movement and color.

Every shot I took was a winner!!

You can see I was just shooting to shoot but I am so happy with what I got.

Truly a "Happy Accident" over and over again.

Alright, all good things, etc., and this is the last one. But pretty cool, eh?

Yeah, I know!!

Honest, different day, possibly a different bird. When you have a finite number of feeders they sometimes repeat themselves.

Sue me.

Another Grosbeak. At first Carol thought it was a sparrow and since she knows way more about birds than I'll ever know, I agreed. But she figured it out from the beak as to the species.

Wham!! Back to flowers. Because that's the way I roll.

Pretty spectacular, these shots made with the tripod. They're not visual triumphs but they are clear and crisp. Possibly the cleanest, for clarity, I've ever made.

Carol spotted these Ladybugs doing what Ladybugs do, eating Aphids. There were lots more on the bushes, munching happily away.

Round Two of the Hummingbirds.

Still working on catching their wings in flight. But, small wins, I'm getting them in the shots taken with a tripod.

Woo, woo!! I'm getting better.

And I caught one in a quiet, reflective moment.

And then she was off. Zooooooooom...

They stopped for a moment to have a confab. Sharing some wisdom...

"Oh, geez!! What'd she say!!? Pick up the kids at four or was it at five!?!?"

One of my tricks is to Google Map where the city where we're going and then click on the "Nearby" and choose "Restaurants". That way I get a bird's eye (hahahahaha, I am SOOOO funny!!) view of what's available for eats. 

Used to be I'd just arrive someplace and look for a suitable place to grease (eat). Used to be worked OK, but Google Restaurants works better. It's how I found The Stockman's Cafe and, ahem, it's how I found Coyote Joe's.

I figured we'd be here for ten days and we might want to sample the local cuisine. I was right. I just didn't figure on how quick that would be.

We'd dropped Kathy and Kent (K&K) off at the airport and on the way back I figured why not. We had to eat, we had gotten up at 0330 to drive K&K and so why not hit Ol' Coyote Joe's for a solid Country Breakfast.

And we did.

Character and class!! Plus good food, friendly service and a reasonable price. Booyah!!

The decor suited me. Early Country Kitsch. Me Likee!!

And Carol did, too. Here she is coming back from visiting the necessary and getting ready to give the traditional Schubert sign for OK...raised arms in a Vee.

They beat us in by 33 seconds and got the table I would have wanted. Ratz.

Chicken-fried steak, two fried eggs, over easy, hash-browns and a GIANT biscuit with more than enough butter = Smilin' Jack

Willamina, aka "TimberTown, USA".

OK, so while we were there I used the facilities and noticed a large dining room set off in the back. Carol had already mentioned that she'd heard that Willamina had a very active and good Kiwanis Chapter and then we saw where they were hosting pancakes breakfasts and a Kid's Fishing Derby so, on a hunch, I asked the waitress on my way back to the table is the Kiwanis met in the back room.

Not too surprised to hear that , "Yeah, they do. They meet at Noon on Tuesdays."

'Nuff said. We were there at noon on Tuesday. After introductions and announcements, they introduced the Guest Speakers from the Yamhill County Fair.

These three accomplished ladies are the recipients of the County Fair Scholarships and as such are now the 2017 County Fair Ambassadors. 

Poised and articulate, they did a bang-up job explaining a bit about their personal history and the history of the Fair.

Everyone enjoyed it.

Both Carol and I noted that while the two clubs had a lot in common, they conducted their luncheons different. This club had no Fine Master or Announcements of any kind at the end. 

But they are active with several large fund raisers and projects to better their community.

Here's one of the money raisers. They are selling commemorative coins from Willamina. Plus the coins have some precious metal in them and so they sell for around $20 a piece.

After a good meal we took a short walk over the Willamina Creek.

And then back to Shangra-la.

That hammock is deceiving. Looks comfortable but, for me, it was an ungainly and awkward experience.

And I couldn't land the dismount, either time, when I got off it. Almost as awkward and clumsy as getting in and out of a kayak.

There's Muddy Valley Road again.

Hahaha, and a robin. 

With thistles. Old home week, eh!?!

Hey, it's a Scrub Jay.

And I even shot him in B&W. But it's clear and crisp.

Back to the fields. I have an affinity for these fields...not that I would want to work them, just shoot them with a camera. From a distance.

There's something here and I'm gonna keep looking for it.

And so, these were my first few days on the Farm at Kathy's. It's been fun and I've been sleepy nearly every day. I've wanted to take a nap every day since I got here. Haven't, but I've wanted to.

I'm enjoying myself. Enjoying my company and my opportunities to shoot.

Life is a cabareto, chum.