Amazing Experience

A day at the coast brings renewed family ties, joy, and amazing experiences! This old boat rests on the bottom of the bay next to the Bay City Oyster Plant.


Even this Cormorant appears to be dancing for joy :-).








A stop at The Three Graces between Garibaldi and Rockaway is rewarded with wonderful water fowl. The Brown Pelicans have taken up residence amongst the cormorants and other sea birds.
A stop at Barview Beach is a MUST!








Matt and Anne are taking a stroll with Tillie.












We never have enough wave pictures :-).
A Great Blue Heron in Nehalem Bay. We also made a stop at a wonderful antique store in Wheeler!

















After a DELICIOUS roast dinner at my mom's, we headed home. We had to make a stop to catch the birds and sunset on the bay!









The bay was bathed in a wonderful light.


















Oh, but wait! This was the most amazing experience of all! We passed Idaville on the straight stretch toward Tillamook. We saw splashes of white in the evergreen trees to our left, just above one of the sloughs that brings tidewater in from the bay. We went back and discovered over 20 egrets roosting in the evergreen trees! We had never seen anything like this before.
They made beautiful reflections in the water, but my zoom lens could not capture the whole group!

















More egrets continued to fly in as we watched.































What a privilege to see such a sight!

Serenity

There are few things we enjoy as much as going to the Ankeny Hill Wildlife Refuge. There are very few areas with water right now, but a couple small ponds still attract some waterfowl.




Greater Yellowlegs









What a beautiful world we live in!





Egrets are still regular visitors there.

Jesse likes to go there with us. He loves eating the blackberries!















He also likes Papa's hat. He thinks this is a fair trade.
Dandelions in seed are a great fascination to a little boy!




















Great Blue Heron


















Have you ever tried sneaking up on an egret?





They won't stay for long!


Peace and Serenity...

Pictures From Hermana Farr!

So fun to receive some pictures, several letters for family, and a tape!


Two companionships
Having a little fun...














Class time...
Hermana Farr's District











Hermana Farr and Hermana Laws (companions in the MTC)










Four new sister arrivals (one to the left and three to the right of Hermana Farr and Hermana Laws)
A beautiful day at Provo Temple










Hermana Laws and Hermana Farr
Kate said these Samoan Missionaries wanted their picture with her and with Hermana Laws. Kate said it was probably because she was so pale :-)

Canyon Creek

The trail down to the Canyon Creek campground and picnic area on the Little Northfork of the Santiam River reveals many of nature's wonders if we take the time to look. Bill and I went there this late afternoon with Megan and Jesse, Anne and Matt.































This used to be our favorite swimming hole when our children were little. Now we are introducing it to our grandchildren! It was too late and too cold to swim today, but it sure was beautiful!


















There is so much art in our natural world!
Tilly headed right down to the water and promptly went in.

















Bill helped out with Jesse. Jesse loves the out-of-doors!


















When Bill whistled, Jesse gave it a try as well.
Megan tried her hand at skipping rocks...
and she gave Tilly treats for good behavior.

















Jesse also wanted to give Tilly treats.
It was beginning to get late, so we headed up the trail (with a very wet dog!)











Can you tell that Jesse enjoyed himself?
He also had a good time in the car on the way home :-).