Hiatus

Last Saturday on our way home from another failed hiking expedition, Double D and I noticed a sign for Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, Louisiana. Intrigued, and hoping to salvage what was left of the day, we decided to explore. As we got closer we started seeing deer of all types, hundreds of them, on acres and acres of green pastures. Then hubby pointed to a zebra. I was all, "What the what?!" Turning into the gates there were kangaroos and ostriches. My eyes widened to the size of Jupiter! All the wildlife calmly grazed, paying no attention to our vehicle. We arrived too late to take a tour, but we got to drive through the front section of the park, and these are the photos I was able to take from the car window. Autumn, I wish I had brought along the Apex Bean Bag you gave me!

As always, I appreciate your kind comments and cherish the relationships I've made from blogging. It has truly been a wonderful experience, for the most part. At this time, I shall be taking an extended, if not permanent break from blogging. If interested you can always find regular rantings on Twitter. My warmest and best to you all! God bless.

Camassia Natural Area

Camassia Natural Area was on our agenda for a wildflower hike on the third morning of my Portland adventure. Unfortunately, the wildflower peak had come and gone, yet I managed to find a few gems out there. If anyone can help with identification, I'd be grateful.

Coast Lotus or Witch's Teeth

Shot on ISO 6400. The only reason I can tolerate the 5D Mark II. 

Crystal Springs

Moving along with my vacation adventures, I now present to you Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. Another favorite destination in Portland, I visit this magical place each time I visit. This is the only place that I can hope to get close to the wood ducks, since they are so accustomed to human activity. And of course the flowers are something else. Hope you enjoy!

Wood duck, male and female

Stellar's jay

Red-winged blackbird, female (if not, please correct me)

Ridgefield

The second day in Oregon my daughter planned an early morning bird watching tour in Ridgefield, WA. The group ended up with too many people and was going too slow for our liking, so we bailed and decided to explore on our own. Not long after sneaking off like thieves in the night, we stumbled onto a couple of photographers with gargantuan lenses pointed toward a tree. To our sheer and utter amazement it was a pair of great-horned owls; a momma and her baby. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy so my pics didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. We were so glad we ditched the group because we circled the park twice and never saw the owls again. If we hadn't gone when we did we never would have had the opportunity to observe these beautiful birds.

All in all we saw 28 different bird species! How I wish I could have photographed them all and done them justice. Just gives me incentive to return again soon. So while these are not my best shots, many of these are lifers, and for that, I am beyond delighted.

Marshy area of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Marsh wren with a grub worm

Pair of great egrets

Great-horned owl and owlet

Tree swallow

Pied-billed grebe

Cinnamon teal, female and male

Possibly a savannah sparrow

American goldfinch
I thought about cropping this down, but I liked the way he was leaning horizontally

Savannah sparrow

Song sparrow

Cedar waxwing

Black-headed grosbeak

Smith Rock

Smith Rock was my favorite destination in Oregon on this particular trip. That day I took about 200 photos with the DSLR and less than 50 with the iPhone 5. It's hard to believe I didn't take more shots. I think I was in awe and simply forgot to shoot! Plus, I was trying not to fall into the canyon. When the weather is cooperating, Oregon is absolutely breathtaking.

I whittled the total number of photos down from 900+ to less than 500, so you will be seeing the Pacific Northwest for some time to come. Without further delay, here is a sampling from Smith Rock. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for humoring me. :)

Edited to add: this is my beautiful daughter, Autumn, with my granddog, Callie :)