End of Autumn & Beginning of Winter

Giving Thanks

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1)

This was the sunrise this morning on a trip to Eugene, OR.  I'm thankful for God, family, and life.

For those in the US, I hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday!

First Morning Light

November Colors

I was on the campus of Oregon State University this afternoon.  The school's colors are orange and black but yellow and brown seemed to be prominent today.  Below are more shots from the campus.

 Trees standing around

Oregon State holiday sprig

 Campus treeline

  "Oregon Trail"

The cool crisp air and the autumn colors trigger an internal awareness that the holidays are fast approaching.  I hope you're being blessed with the peace and joy that the holidays bring.

Covered Bridge Residents

Two spider webs on the Rochester Covered Bridge.  The one below has the "Catch of the day." 

A brief look on Wikipedia shows that these arthropods are too complex to be a product of evolution.  The scientific community is confused on how to classify their 109 various families.  Isn't God amazing?

Covered Bridge Tour #1

I traveled to Southern Oregon this week for work.  The weather was dry with the morning hours cold and foggy.  The afternoons were mostly sunny with beautiful fall colors.  I have a plan to visit all of Oregon's covered bridges.  No time limit; just visit them when I can.  This one is Rochester Covered Bridge in Southern Oregon.

The bridge is in good shape.  It was remodeled in 1969.

Every time a car would cross, the bottom boards would rumble.

An autumn afternoon in Oregon.

Autumn on the Wilson River

These were taken yesterday afternoon at the Wilson River in the Tillamook State Forest.  I was on my way home from a trip to the coast (where yesterday's photos were taken).  For the full story on the purpose of the trip please see my other blog.

 

(Men fly fishing on the Wilson River)

A Peaceful Sunset

Late yesterday afternoon I rode to our place at the coast. I managed to arrive at the ghost hole and catch a similar sunset that I've captured in the past.  In fact, my signature photo is almost the same.

The ghost hole is a popular fishing spot on the east side of Tillamook Bay.  During the fishing season a floating platform with restrooms is held by the two poles.

I hope you're finding peaceful moments these days.

An Oregon Autumn Morning

 Some scenes from my travels this morning in the country. 

Previous corn field.

This has been smoldering for a couple of weeks!

 Newly planted field.  Winter wheat?

An autumn driveway.

Backlit fence.

Shakey Legs

Harvest Sunset

Last night I rode the motorcycle to a Monday night meeting I have each week.  The sunset was nice and lasted a long time.

I had parked on a dead end road in the country.  As I was clicking away I heard the faint sound of an engine.  It was a farmer pulling his cultivating discs.  He turned in front of me and gave a silhouette to the sunset.  Farming has long hours.

Light Morning Fog

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."  C. S. Lewis

Autumn Colors

This makes me want a slice of pumpkin pie!

Faithfully Waiting

 Faithfully waiting to get back on the road.

Curved Steps

These are the steps leading to the Vista House from yesterday.  They remind me of a stack of large coins.  They have a different appearance if you squint.

Visit The Weekend in Black and White for more photos.

Vista House at Crown Point

Today I worked in the Columbia River Gorge, one of Oregon's favorite natural attractions.  This is Vista House which overlooks the Gorge at Crown Point.  The river separates Oregon and Washington.  The Gorge has some of the most amazing cliffs that were formed long ago.  It's described as a "spectacular geological wonder".

The building has been a landmark and visitor spot since 1918. 

Because of the natural funnel-effect that the Gorge makes, it's generally windy and it was very windy at the Vista House today.  My plan was to take some shots for HDR images but it was too windy for a tripod.  That will have to be on my to-do list. 

Floating Fuchsia

We looked out the front window this evening and saw this floating fuchsia between the two porch posts.  It's slowly spinning while hanging from a spider web thread.

It looks like it's defying gravity.

Maybe I should have waited until Friday to post this.  The title could be, "Friday Freaky Free Floating Fuchsia".

A Change in the Weather

Although this photo was taken last Saturday morning, it's evident that the weather is changing.  Cool night air passing over warm ground from the previous day gives the condensation needed for fog.   The fog makes this road look lonely compared to how it usually looks.

Our first day of fall today was cool and rainy.  I'm looking forward to fall, how about you?  I like the beauty with the colors, the food, the weather, and college football.  What do you like about fall?

Fishing Memories

Fishing brings to mind good memories.  Memories like when I caught my first trout near Lake Michigan.  I was about 6 or 7 and we were on vacation taking a drive around the lake.  We stopped at a trout farm, the kind were you catch fish and then the nearby restaurant cooks them for you.  I was so excited when I got my first fish onto shore that I let him wiggle back into the water after I got him off the hook.  Okay, so it was the second one that made it to the dinner table.  The first one got away.  He was a "practice fish".

Then there were a few times fishing with my dad and grandfather and times with my son and grandson.  And I spent many hours fishing various lakes with my father-in-law in a little 12 foot Sears fiberglass boat.  I don't know how we got all that equipment in there with us.  It wasn't so much about catching fish because truth be told we didn't catch many.  It was more about being together and building relationships.

These photos were taken this morning on Tillamook Bay.  I was working on the coast and noticed a handful of boats on the water in a light drizzle.  The scene brought back the fishing memories.

I hope you have good fishing memories with family and friends.

Duck Designs

I posted this photo earlier this year but it wasn't in black & white.  The other night while looking through past photos I converted some to black & white just to see what they look like.  Have you done that lately?

This black & white version emphasizes the designs in the water late in the afternoon in the fall a few years ago.  I guess I'm looking forward to fall.