A Day in the Gorge

I went with my husband to work one day when he drove up the Columbia Rive Gorge to one of his work sites. It rained the whole time he was in the Dalles, so I spent my time in antique stores and driving around the dam. After he was finished we were able to take our time going home, so we took the old scenic highway. It really was a visual delight as there were several falls and many wildflowers in bloom!






The blossoms on the Oregon Grape (state flower) were prolific.

































We saw beautiful apricot orchards.
"Popcorn popping on the apricot trees..."











Horesetail Falls
Wahkeena Falls (the lower part...the falls are very tall and difficult to photograph)
























































We saw some beautiful light in the gorge.






























Then the rains hit us! How lucky were we to enjoy our afternoon in the sun?
But even Oregon rain has a beauty of its own :-).

You Can Tell it is Spring!

It doesn't really feel like spring until a variety of birds begin to show up. A few of these stay around the whole year, but several of them migrate through. I enjoyed taking most of these out of my windows, but the hummingbird and the bluebird were at my neighbors' house.

Black Capped Chickadee enjoying our suet feeder



Black Headed Grosbeak
The California Quail have been coming around in large numbers this year.











Chestnut Backed Chickadee...if you are patient, it is fairly easy to get these little birds to eat out of your hand.
Acorn Woodpecker (my daughter Kate took this!)

Lesser Goldfinch

Cowbird











Female Downy Woodpecker (the male has bright red on its head)
Evening Grosbeak

















Gold Crowned Sparrow...I like the rain bouncing off of everything, including the bird!












Gold Finch
House Finch

















Rufous Hummingbird
Sharp Shinned Hawk (eats the other birds!!!)
















Junko



















Mourning Dove
Purple Finch

















Scrub Jay
Towhee











Western Tanager
Western BluebirdFlickerWhite Crowned Sparrow

Ukrainian Eggs

Some of my kids came home before Easter to learn how to do Ukrainian Eggs. I am fortunate that we could use one of the upstairs bedrooms for an art studio. It has wonderful lighting and accommodates many different kinds of projects.

I learned how to do these eggs a few years ago, and it was fun to share this craft with my family.

Kristin was doing some art while the rest of us made eggs.

















This picture shows a kistka (Ukrainian tool) that is used to apply wax to the eggs. It is heated and then filled with beeswax.


The wax is applied in layers. Whatever color is under the wax, that is what color will be "unmasked." The egg is sometimes dipped in 3 or 4 colors.

























Once the design has been completed, the layers of wax are removed from the egg.












Here is one completed design. The different colors show how many times the egg was dipped and wax was applied.
Paul (front right) was not very happy with the way his egg turned out. However, once the wax was removed and the egg was varnished it was transformed into a beautiful egg.











Some of these eggs were made in the past, and one was made by my first instructor. You can see how beautifully they turn out! It is a VERY fun craft that we hope to make a family tradition.

Cherry Blossoms at the State Capital

We've been in Salem for 30 years, and I've never taken the time to enjoy the cherry blossoms at the capital mall. Kate and I enjoyed a beautiful afternoon doing just that!





















































When Kate wasn't posing for me, she was talking to a "special someone" on the phone while I ran around taking pictures :-).

Marsh Wren

Kate and I recently made a trip to Ankeny Hill Wildlife Refuge just south of our home. It was one of the first sunny days of the spring. While we were there I finally captured a Marsh Wren with my camera, and the spunky little thing was singing its little heart out!