A Winter Day at the Coast

 After the Christmas holiday we made a trip to Newport with Anne and Matt. It was VERY cold, but we dressed for it! We went down on the docks in Newport, spent some time at Nye Beach, and showed them our favorite "lookout" at Depot Bay.

 I loved the intense colors in these crab pots and in the wall behind!

 I was surprised to see so many sea lions this time of year.

 Anne and Matt enjoying the sea lions

 Maisy LOVED her time on the beach!

 She will chase a ball over and over and over.

 Anticipation!

 Jumping for the ball!

 Depot Bay

Gorgeous waves and gorgeous colors! Such a fun trip!

Holiday Trip to Utah

 We always head out very early in the morning when we are traveling to Utah from Oregon. The morning sky over the Cascades was spectacular the morning we left!

 We saw beautiful reflections on the way.

 At one point we stopped to walk along this frozen lake with a beautiful view of Three Fingered Jack.

 We also stopped to enjoy this view of Mount Washington.

 The reflections at Suttle Lake were beautiful as well. We drove through Sisters, Bend, Burns, Ontario, Boise, and made our usual stop at Mountain Home where we stayed in a lovely room on the Air Force Base. We arrived in Utah the following afternoon.

 We had such a wonderful time as always at Will and Julie's. We do not see these grandchildren often enough! Here we are having fun decorating rice crispy treats :-D.

 Haha! Luke and Drew decided to decorate their noses like Rudolph. "Deer in the headlights!"

 Never too old for a batch of salt clay!

 The new puppy who isn't supposed to be on the couch, and Maggie practicing ukulele ;-).

 Papa and Grandma with grandson Luke at his baptism

 Papa and Grandma with all of the grandchildren

 Julie and Will with Luke (can you tell he is excited?!)

 Will and Julie's family

 An old billboard in Ogden

 The surrounding mountains are beautiful!

 Time to head home came too quickly. The early morning sun on the mountains was dramatic and beautiful.

 It felt sad to leave this beautiful landscape and our family we love dearly.

 We always pass this old barn as we leave the valley north of Roy where our son and his family live.

 Northern Utah has some pretty amazing landscapes!

 The moon could still be seen in the early morning.

 An interesting old home as we left Vale and headed toward Burns

 We've stopped at this old barn more than once.

 I love following the Malheur River on our way to Burns. There was ice on the river as we headed west.

We never grow tired of the same scenery we encounter each time we make this trip, and we look forward to the next visit we make. It cannot arrive soon enough!

Growing up!

 It has been such a fun year babysitting grandchildren! This little one is growing up so fast!

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, October 2017

 My husband is the greatest! He went to this favorite refuge with me in spite of the many things he still needed to do for his trip to Eastern Oregon the next day. We had a delightful day together enjoying the beauty of the area and the fascinating birds and wildlife. We went there mostly to see the Sandhill Cranes, and we were not disappointed! This time of year you must remain in your car, so I had to take all of my pictures out of the window. This was a beautiful bejeweled spider web.

 Usually you can hear the "purring" of these cranes long before you see them. Their silhouettes are gorgeous.

 I cannot tell you why this is my favorite bird, but I love to hear them and watch them.

 We also saw a couple of young 4-point bucks.

 The lesser yellowlegs is a sweet little shore bird that is common to the area.

 We saw many adult female Northern Harriers on this trip. You can easily identify them by their white rump patch that can be seen when they fly.

 This is a Pied-billed grebe on a a bed of algae. I am not sure if it is a good thing to see this pink algae forming!

 I love the dance of the Sandhill Crane. It can be a mating dance, establish social relationships, involve teritorial claims, accomplish the bonding of pairs, or at times it may just be play!

 In a group of cranes you can often see individuals jumping above the crowd.

 Adult female Northern Harrier eating a mouse

 Nutrias originated in South America, and their feeding and burrowing behaviors can be quite destructive. However, they are still interesting to watch.

 Sandhill Cranes are not beneath a tromp in the mud!

 These cranes can have a wingspan of over 5 feet. They are beautiful in flight.

 I have many pictures of the Great Blue Heron and I am always fascinated by this slow-motion bird. Usually they fly away, and this one kept a very close eye on me.

I love the contrast of the cranes with the dark red grasses.