tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43701781673608461242024-03-15T22:20:52.985-07:00Within My FocusEvelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.comBlogger1560125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-8447340550615768852024-03-13T19:10:00.000-07:002024-03-15T22:20:20.014-07:00Looking BackTen years ago, I created a blog post of my Rusty Crusty Autos. This photography was one of my favorite projects at the time. I've run out of these old vehicles, but I still have an eye for the "rusty crusty ones. Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-90629562329735985942024-02-09T22:07:00.000-08:002024-02-09T22:07:28.833-08:00February Snow Storm This corner of Oregon had an intense winter that lasted a fairly short time. Sub-zero (-15 degrees) temperatures for several days and more than a foot of snow. Then the rain began! The first "atmospheric river" event on the West Coast moved inland with above freezing temperatures and rain. It wasn't long before the snow was gone...except for the tops of mountains. FebruaryEvelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-64119040681258226502024-01-15T19:40:00.000-08:002024-01-15T19:40:09.742-08:00An Hour in the Mountains at 2 degreesI consider it fortunate that we live so close to the Blue Mountains of Oregon...just 20 miles from our front door is the summit at 5100 feet in elevation. When it snows, it is a magical place, so I must go! This particular day, the sky was gray which affects the "colors" of the images. I never "play" in the snow; I only photograph it, and often I don't get out of the car.&Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-74658930700239607992023-12-02T18:04:00.000-08:002023-12-02T18:04:21.531-08:00Barbed Wire My photography activity has almost dried up...and I'm not certain why. However, I want to keep this blog active, so I'm going into my files for this post. Barbed wire fascinates me, particularly if it is old. Living in a rural area where wire fences are common, I have some good opportunities to find interesting barbed wire. Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-30855528243864712302023-10-29T20:14:00.003-07:002023-10-29T20:18:19.668-07:00And just like that, fall fell into winter?? I think I posted leaves last year, but each October they are simply amazing in color and shape. Because we had a long, warm early fall, the foliage was able to "bloom." These are just a few of the varieties and colors I found last week. Since then, we've had 20-degree temperatures at night. And the higher elevations got their first snow...just a skiff here in the Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-15477061641468964192023-10-08T08:46:00.005-07:002023-10-08T09:54:27.437-07:00Fall is Creeping In I believe I've never expressed a fondness for fall, probably because I like summer so much. However, nothing can beat the colors and textures of fall. We haven't had frost yet, which is unusual for this country. We are experiencing morning fog, however. Usually it's in the valleys bordering a river; however, this particular day, the only east-west freeway was closed Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-16111314984083454432023-09-13T08:53:00.006-07:002023-09-13T18:51:58.042-07:00"The Lake" As one who grew up in Northeast Oregon's Wallowa County, I knew Wallowa Lake as a familiar place...but not one that my family visited very often. It was and is a tourist attraction, and as a farm family, we didn't do many "tourist" things, even those relatively close to where we lived. This lake was formed by a glacier and the east "bank" of the lake is considered nearly perfectEvelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-78926366577561589392023-08-18T18:56:00.001-07:002023-08-18T18:56:59.517-07:00Sunflowers Don't Last Long Enough It's been a month since my last blog post; I try to keep the subjects interesting--both to myself and any readers. This post involves my favorite summertime flower...the sunflower. I grow some of my own...one is more than 10 feet tall...but my favorites are found in the fields where sunflowers are grown as crops. The Grande Ronde Valley is the site of a large variety of field Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-76489508633244734602023-07-18T16:07:00.003-07:002023-07-19T07:57:18.410-07:00Summer Yard Vistors Town Deer...that's a term many communities are familiar with: deer that live their entire lives inside city limits. Most people dread having deer on their property; they are death on many plants, flowers, and veggies. It's not unusual to see gardens fenced with 6 ft. high fencing. As for me, I can usually deter deer damage by spraying a solution called Deer Out.Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-76595765677187938672023-07-13T13:29:00.001-07:002023-07-13T13:38:04.740-07:00Summer Images After peony season, it's just a short wait until the summer flowers bloom: coneflowers, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans. Fortunately, they don't appeal to the town deer. (The pretty blue chicory blossom grows in an empty lot across the street.)Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-80018432151405849192023-06-13T13:47:00.000-07:002023-06-13T13:47:30.882-07:00The Fleeting Season of the PeonyThis year, my peonies were amazing...but they usually are. It's a flower my siblings and I learned to love by way of our mother. When she passed away at 94, her peony garden had probably 200+ plants over an expanse of property that stretched into what was once a pasture for cattle. Now, 4 of her 5 children share some of her peonies and have added others of our own purchases.&Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-23923927820669391862023-05-29T21:38:00.003-07:002023-05-29T21:48:00.644-07:00Why Should I Move West? As we have retired and continue to age, our children would like us to be closer. However, the eldest lives in Brooklyn, NY and the youngest lives in western Oregon. If we moved to the Portland area, we would be closer to both: one, physically closer and the other closer because the airport is there. We've seriously considered it, but we like where we are, whereEvelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-91021171321498467432023-05-12T08:14:00.004-07:002023-05-12T08:14:39.098-07:00From Birds to Dogwoods Each year, I drive across the mountains to Walla Walla to photograph the dogwoods in Pioneer Park. It's always a special time for me. My husband and I wander from tree to tree and then to the beautiful aviary in the park. There are only 3 white dogwood trees; I wonder if they just don't do as well there are the pink ones. Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-16953458335658280502023-05-04T13:00:00.001-07:002023-05-04T13:04:58.353-07:00More Birds....the Transitory Type Spring often means the migrating birds stop for a while. The White Pelicans generally stay in the area most of the summer, finding quiet sheltered streams or wide bends in the Grande Ronde River. As for Sandhill Cranes, there are nesting sites south of here on a large marshy wildlife preserve. This is the first time I've seen the cranes nearby. When I Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-65512405901117112892023-04-18T13:24:00.003-07:002023-04-18T20:39:58.534-07:00Spring Means the Return of Special BirdsAs I compose this post, it is alternating between snow and sunshine outside; some nearby communities had inches of snow this morning. We escaped that snow. We keep asking when some warmth will arrive. Birds are one sign of spring....birds that left when it got cold last fall. We can usually mark our calendars for the arrival of osprey pairs and for hummingbirds. For 30+ Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-61612333349137129542023-04-10T21:56:00.001-07:002023-04-10T21:56:20.533-07:00Please, Can We Have Spring? For some reason, this winter seems to have lasted longer than usual; it's not unusual for snow in late March, but we had snow and rain and cold. Today it was actually 74 degrees! Tomorrow, the high will be in the 40's. The landscape has been so colorless, so I've been looking for some signs of spring. As of April 10th, I've found promising signs. Muscari (grape Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-86864605921050602262023-03-18T19:30:00.002-07:002023-03-18T19:30:21.930-07:00 The Blue Heron I have always tried to capture a heron with my camera....they are unbelievably shy, however. That's why this particular series was special for me on a drive recently. I've given up on finding the bird in water, but I often see them in open fields, where they are hunting gophers. This bird reminds me of the Stealth Bomber when it starts its flight. Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-73700950144927268452023-02-27T13:43:00.002-08:002023-02-27T13:47:04.305-08:00A Snowy Drive in the Grande Ronde Valley This hawk is contemplating Mt. Fanny, whose peak is hidden in fog.Cove Episcopal Ascension Chapel in tiny Cove, Oregon Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-68426051899601688822023-02-16T21:17:00.000-08:002023-02-16T21:17:52.198-08:00Oh Deer! We're actually surrounded by deer, elk...and pronghorn antelope in more recent years. Our short drive on Valentine's Day produced sightings of many deer, both whitetails and mule deer.Whitetail doe watching her youngsterThis almost-yearling was so curious about us.When the fawn walked too close to our pickup, the doe stamped her footand snorted loudly. Then they both flashed Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-47953671020715318892023-02-10T13:47:00.002-08:002023-02-10T13:47:29.630-08:00Valentine's Day For the first year of many, I sent my children their Valentine packages (one to New York and one to western Oregon) early, and I bought flowers to spend time photographing Valentine-themed images.Above are four of the heart-themed cards I made to send away. Below are the floral arrangements I put together to serve as still-life photography subjects. Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-83504218115439987692023-01-26T20:50:00.001-08:002023-01-26T20:50:22.503-08:00The Magic of Frost This morning was one of those foggy, frosty situations; temperatures were in the low 20's and there was just enough moisture in the air to create frost. Everything is "hairy" for a couple of hours, including weeds, fences, and trees. Teasel is photographic any season, but especially in the frost.The top of the neighbor's Black Locust Tree....high above rooftops. Pine trees take onEvelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-46121443498610333352023-01-09T12:26:00.002-08:002023-01-09T12:26:52.485-08:00Shoot from the Car When we drive anywhere, I take my camera, along with my phone. My husband likes to tell people that I just yell "Stop!" .... but I'm a little more controlled than that! Most of the time, I just shoot from the passenger window. The daytime moon shot below was taken with my phone while we were driving home. This little church in Cove, Oregon is one of the most photographed Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-40238728121794027652023-01-01T10:15:00.001-08:002023-01-01T10:15:44.004-08:00New Year, New Post For the first time in our married life (44 years), we spent Christmas away from our own home. It was in the newly purchased home of our youngest son, his wife, and daughter (our only grandchild). A week away was odd, but time went quickly. We dealt with Christmas stockings, Santa's "runway" of fairy lights and candy canes, and food for the reindeer. When we got home,Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-92194705956132363962022-12-17T09:10:00.003-08:002022-12-17T19:26:04.492-08:00Winter Again Although I really don't like to be cold, I love the look of winter. I'm lucky enough to live where there are some pretty dramatic winter scenes, and I never tire of photographing them. We live at the foot of the Blue Mountains and the summit of 5100+ feet is just 20 miles to the west. It's a quick drive with many photo opportunities. Such was the day yesterday, Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370178167360846124.post-91202006367262765222022-11-12T18:50:00.000-08:002022-11-12T18:50:07.908-08:00Fall Color at Eastern Oregon University The EOU campus in La Grande, OR is a beautiful location. The campus sits on a hill. There's a mix of old traditional buildings and ones that are more modern. The grounds are planted with a beautiful combination of trees and other plantings; fall season is especially beautiful. I was delivering some canvases to the administration building (Inlow Hall) and then spent 10 Evelyn S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139868988311962712noreply@blogger.com1