Beware exploding file cabinets!

Be very careful about how you fill that filing cabinet ... you never know when it will "explode!!!", flinging its contents around the room at random.

Wear protective gear at all times!

Warning! Paper cuts require really tiny bandages!

Ice Queen Becomes Old Maid

I decided to check out the puddle where I found the Ice Queen during the winter freeze. Much to my surprise, this beautiful frozen woman has morphed in the springtime ... into the profile of a grizzled old maid! Do you see her outline? Huge nose, jutting chin, a whisper of a smile ...

Beware Sea Serpent!

I happened across this random heart in my little (work in progress) rock garden that I fill with all of my rocky treasures. As I looked closer I realized that this heart is also very clearly a sea serpent! He has his head and bulbous tail raised out of the water, with his long sinuous body looping around in and out of the deeps. I kind of like him -- he looks at home here.

Conversation

I went back to Oregon City yesterday, with several hours to browse the Willamette River. This time I went down the "politically correct" path, complete with handrails, steps, and cement lookout point. B-O-R-I-N-G! The only things I got good views of were all of the fishermen in boats blocking my view. So I jumped onto the rocky shore and started walking (well, climbing from rock to rock) to a point where debris from the December high water was stacked up over my head. Twigs, limbs, branches, trash, all waiting for me to discover their treasures! I took a picture of one particular limb, jutting out into the river. To me it resembled a giant hand holding a very large stick.

When I got home and viewed the picture, I was entranced by the reflection of this huge log onto the surface of the river. I saw what looked like a girl, hair tied back, having a conversation with someone behind her (wearing a hoodie?). What a surprise! What else is to be found in this photo? Who knows!

Hearts on the Move!

I've decided to start a new blog (link! Yay, I did it!), with only the awesome random hearts I have found. I will still post "everything else" to Random Stuff, though! This blog has become one of the highlights of my very busy days, and has brought joy and peace to my soul. Why would I give that up???

Oriental Mushroom Dude

My imagination is probably working overtime here, but when I look at this picture I see the seated profile view of an old Asian man wearing a sun hat, his (cedar sprig) arms crossed in front of his chest. Otherwise, it's just a random mushroom I found in the woods near the stream.

Awesome tree

This wonderful old tree is a Big Leaf Maple, worn by time and weather. The tree is actually much larger than this section, which is at least 100 feet up from the base. We found it yesterday when my sister Beth and I visited the woods of our childhood. So many of the wonderful memories are still there! Deer Valley, Huckleberry Bridge, Museum Tree, Deer Garden, the mud flats ... the same, yet different. As we tramped through the canyon, surrounded by lush forest and the stumps of old growth timber harvested in the mid-forties, I was glad we were given the gift of nature as children. It was fun to introduce my kids to the fairylands of our childhood, to share with them the dreams and imaginations we had as children ourselves.

Beth and I were surprised at how we noticed the same things, photographed the same things, and yet never got the same pictures as each other. I can't wait to explore more corners of the world with my sister and see what we come up with ... the same, yet different. Maybe next time my other sister can come with us? What do you think, Honey?

Glowing Leaves

I love the small, often overlooked things in life. They have their own charm, their own beauty. I try every day to find something unique in the world I see everyday; today it was this blackberry vine glowing in the early morning sun. Have a berry bush kind of day! I will!

LEC Dinosaur

Abandoned building.
Trash.
Vandals.
Broken windows.
Leaking roof.
Pools of water.
Sunshine.
Imagination.

Sunshine reflecting off broken window into pool of water onto wall.

Elusive LEC dinosaur is caught making his rounds.

Eyelash Bush

Just a random picture of a "plucky" little seedling I found just off the big corner of Bell Road. Wonder how it came to be there ??? "Eyes" can't figure this one out.

Pileated Woodpecker

I've heard the strident call of the pileated woodpecker every once in a while for the past several years, but have never been close enough to one to get a good picture. This morning, I nearly lost my breath when a huge bird swooped directly over my head while I was walking near the woods, and landed within 10 feet of where I stood awestruck. He began digging for insects in the rotten, moss-covered tree branch directly in front of me, the red on his head bobbing repeatedly as he ate. I enjoyed the show for about 5 minutes, then he once again flew over my head and left ... never knowing how much his little show meant to me.

Dead Leaf

I almost didn't see it. One wet dead leaf among kabillions of other wet dead leaves in the woods this time of year. And yet it alone caught my eye -- you see it was glowing a soft ethereal tan. Backlit by the late winter sun, it became not just a single wet dead leaf, but a thing of beauty, of peace, of promise. It had to have been put on that forest path just for me, hoping I would notice. I'm so glad I didn't step on it.

Random Hearts

A few more random hearts I have found. This has been fun! On this page I have sidewalk, puddle, BBQ controller, driftwood, and heart leaves with Dow's bike

I'm "tired"

I'm "tired".

Maybe a dip in the hot tub would be helpful!

Found Hearts for Valentines Day

I never could draw a perfect heart. They are always lopsided - one side too narrow, one side too fat, too squat, too long ... I realize now that all hearts are perfect, because real hearts are not all the same. These pictures are proof of that! When I started finding them, I couldn't stop! These are but a few of the random hearts I found over the past few days. Try it!

Friday the 13th

Okay, so I found this horrible doll at the entrance to the woods just behind the chicken pen. I wasn't going to include it here, but hay! It's Friday the 13th! I'm quite sure this doll wasn't always this scary, and is only that way now because it needs a really good bath.
I know some people who are like that .... :=}

Broken Pottery

This pretty little jug used to hold sprigs of dried grasses, and it was beautiful. It was used it as an outside decoration one summer, and was much admired and happy. Winter came, and the poor little jug was forgotten. It felt abandoned ... and cold. One night it froze solid, and split in two. A child came along, found the broken pieces, and tossed them aside where no one would be hurt by the sharp jagged edges. It landed in the most beautiful garden, where it blended in perfectly.

It's jagged edges now worn with time, this pretty little jug is happy again, as you can tell. It has found its true home, amidst the ferns and leaves of the garden. Beauty comes from being content and happy in our lives, no matter what our circumstances are. This pretty little jug can show us how.

This Heart's For You

I've seen this old log hundreds of times ... nothing special, just an old log turned into a makeshift chair near the old trailer. Today, with the rain ending and the sun trying to break through the clouds, the light was just right as I walked by and saw it -- A HEART FOR BETH! Yeah, this one's for you, sissie-kins! Hope you enjoy it!

Other Side of Oregon City

I had an hour to kill in "old town" Oregon City today, so I went down by the river to get some pictures of the historic old bridge. I apparently went to the wrong side of the walkway - (to the South there is a path/stairway down under the road and onto the pristine rocky edge of the river) - and ended up on a well-worn muddy trail that never did get to the river bank down below. There were lots of fishermen in boats on the river, and $$$$$ houses on the opposite bank, with fenced off lots and beautiful docks. Where I ended up, however, was a summer homeless camp, not used at this time of the year, but waiting for its warm weather tenants to find it again. There were beer cans and graffiti, mud and old tarps, magazines and wet sleeping bags.

I never did get pictures of that historic old bridge. After all, it's been photographed a billion times already. I got to see something more ugly, more gritty, more REAL. I don't regret finding this place. I may go back someday. Until then, in the words of the graffiti artist ... "Bring peace to OC".

Spring versus Winter - Round 2

Catching huge snowflakes on my tongue, trying not to freeze my toadies ... icy slush catching in the honeysuckle leaves and new spring shoots.

Winter versus Spring, Round 2 goes to ----- WINTER!

Mika Uppa Tree - Again

I have never seen a cat so eager to climb trees. My mom says she must have gotten it from me, and I can remember climbing nearly every tree in the woods behind the house (in my younger years, of course!).

Mom says I was about 4 years old when she found me clinging to the very tip top of a tall fir tree, swinging back and forth. She says I about gave her a heart attack! I don't remember that, but I remember traveling with my family to Yellowstone (at about age 4) and climbing up the first tree I could find every time we stopped. I can remember my mom calling for me and someone else answering "she's probably uppa tree!"

Anyway, I caught Mika in yet another tree today, and just had to take her picture. Do you see why I love her so? Note the second cat, hot on her tail ... shortly after I snapped this picture, the combined weight of the cats (there was a third one, not in the picture -- also up the tree) dipped the branch and they all clambered off.

Spring versus Winter

The past few days were almost balmy, making my heart yearn for spring. Last night, however, winter came back ... freezing raindrops onto flower buds, and painting the delicate emerging leaves with the colors of fall.

Winter versus Spring ... round 1 is a draw.

Raindrops in the Dark

When the world seems dark
With no hope at all
Look around ...
See the drops of dew
Sprinkles of rain
Slivers of rainbow
The sun is going to shine again
And warm us to our very soul.

Fairy Tea Party

When we were young
We dreamed of big things
We dreamed of little things too
Like how the fairies, gnomes and elves
Would drink from the tiny cups
We would find in the woods
And fill with water
So our friends wouldn't be thirsty
And we'd put out little tiny pieces of bread
So they wouldn't be hungry
I remember our tea parties well
Do they?

Yellow in Winter

When the colors of the winter world are brown, black and green ... well, I couldn't resist trying to capture the rare glory of bright neon yellow.

Ice Queen

On a recent cold morning, I took this photo of a frozen puddle in the parking lot across the street. When I got home and looked closely, I was amazed to see this complete face of a lady I call the "Ice Queen". I sent a copy of the picture to my sister, who has the amazing gift of seeing things in clouds, trees and all things nature. She was the one who encouraged me to blog the queen. Hmmmm that didn't sound right did it? Hahaha

Sunrise Kitty Silhouette

I always carry my little camera with me; I never know when a good picture will pop up! Like this one taken just after sunrise a few days ago. I was out getting wood for the fire, and heard a loud "meow". Looking up, I had just enough time to see one of our cats in the tree, and pull the camera out of my pocket in time to take a picture before he continued his trek up the tree to the roof. I love the contrast of tree, sky and kitty silhouette.