P52 - Week #21 Hardy Road

One advantage of living in a rural area is the opportunity to travel multiple country roads that take one to all corners.  I have driven many of them multiple times; visiting during the different seasons provides the variety. One road is Hardy Road, so named because much of the land bordering the road is owned by members of the Hardy family. It's a dead-end road, so driving in also means turning around at the end and driving back the same direction.  No loop road here.  The yellow lupine was in full bloom, as was the arrowleaf balsamroot.  Probably the main attraction on this road, other than the late spring bloom, is a very old Ford pickup, maybe from the 1930's.  The last date on the license plate is 1947, and I know it has been sitting in that field for a very long time, subject to all the elements.   Another big attraction this county road provides is a beautiful view of the mountains at the far south end of neighboring Grande Ronde Valley, with Mt. Harris and Mt. Emily in between.

P52 - Week #21

The dry bank beside the road was loaded with lupine and balsamroot blossoms; I acquired my first (and I hope only) tick of the season by crawling around with my camera.

The ancient Ford pickup; 1934 sticks in my mind, but I would have to confirm that with the owner. (The pickup is a 1927 model.)

The view south, Mt. Harris on the left and Mt. Emily on the far right--"guardians" of the north end of the Grande Ronde Valley.

 Mt. Harris

Most probably the Elkhorn Mountains in the distance.  Indian Valley and the Grande Ronde Valley are hidden by hills.

Week #5 P52

It's past time for a new blog post, but I'm just not achieving much photographically.  So I'll post my choice for the 5th week of P52.  This bovine trio was photographed on a recent drive "to the country," which is relatively close to our house.  These cattle are fed from the road....their "feeder" utilizes side of the road, which is very convenient.  It also keeps the hay relatively dry as opposed to being in the mud of the feedlot.  I thought these heifers were quite cooperative to stop chewing and look at me in unison. 

Palmer Junction in Early September

One of the main rural roads out of town is Palmer Junction Road; it runs north for more than 20 miles. The unusual thing about this rural road is that it's paved. (The reason for that is a fish hatchery where spring chinook salmon are raised and released.) Driving this road is a good way to spend an early evening in late summer, when it's too hot to do anything else.  The light was strange because of the smoke from forest fires.

Wire Gate

I love gates of all types, and because I live in a rural area, I see many gates that open into farm fields.  Often, the gates are made of wire. Sometimes, they have wooden posts as stabilizers, but some don't need them.   Such is the situation with this gate.  It's a combination of woven wire and barbed wire, and when opened, it's just tossed to one side.  In this case, the gate was opened to allow farm equipment into a field for harvest.