We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

I thought this space would hold post #3 on our fabulously cool, and green vacation to Oregon.

Did I mention I loved how green it was there?

Moving on.

This morning, I heard a racket outside.

The local bluejays were upset by something.

I assumed it was my office assistant, Hobbes.

I went out to see if he needed my cover to reach the house without getting dive-bombed by the mob of jays.

Instead of finding my cat, I found they were hassling a very large rat snake.

Finally!  She'd come out of hiding!

I'd been missing an egg every couple days, for weeks.

I'd go out several times during the day to see if I could catch her in the act of snacking on the free buffet my hens provide.

No luck.

The hens were no help either.

Since rat snakes don't eat full grown chickens, the hens never gave any warning when the snake would come for lunch.

It took me longer than I would have liked to catch her.

She was a good sport about it though, and only tried to bite me once.

I finally gave up and just plunked a trash can on top of her, then slid the lid under her.

This picture is of her in the can.  

She was hoping I would lift the lid just a bit higher so she could strike at me and have me drop the whole works.  

No such luck.

I took her several acres away and released her into a nice brush pile.  

A perfect place for a rats nest.  

She'll have to work for her meals now.

I May Never Go Home Again, Day 2

Yesterday, I forgot to mention the main reason we went to Oregon.

Our nephew, Nathan, got married to his sweetie, Jen.

They were nice enough to invite us to join them.

On with the trip-----

Before we left Portland, we ate a small breakfast at the hotel.

Not very filling.

We were anxious to get on the road and out to the coast.

I was so starved for the color green that I was even taking pictures of the countryside.

I made Eric stop here to see what fruits and veggies they had.

Bought a pint of the most amazing strawberries we have ever eaten.

Hunger finally overtook the bunch of us and we just had to stop at this place in Lincoln City.

Any place that acknowledges my love of pork right in their name (specifically BACON), has my vote!

Good food, good service, marginal coffee.

You can't have everything.

More photos of green. 

I heard lots of 

"How tall do you think those trees are?" "Is it this green all year?" coming from the backseat.  

My kids must have been reading my mind.

We finally arrived at the Inn at Otter Crest.  This was the view from our balcony.

(((sigh)))

The namesake of the town of Otter Rock.  Otters are no longer found near this rock.  I spent some time researching why they don't and couldn't find any reason.  It's now home to many species of seabirds and seals.  It's about 1/2 mile off shore, right in 'front' of the Inn.

The first thing we did, after hugging family members already there for the wedding, was head down to the beach.  It was low tide and we took quick advantage of the chance to poke around in the tidal pools.

The resident pod of harbor seals were taking in a little sun.

"You about done?  I'm trying to get a nap, here!"

Have I mentioned how much I love the scenery?  The green?

This waterfall was just below our condo, but only accessible from the beach.  To get an idea of its size--Eric and Quinn are just below it and to the right.

Preston, probably wondering why we're down on the beach if we can't swim.

Flowers will grow anywhere in Oregon.  

I can barely get them to grown at all in Texas.

Quinn, checking tide pools for sea critters.

One of my very favorite pictures of the whole trip.  

Jenna and Eric.  

Don't know what they're talking about, but I love seeing them together.  

Preston being chill.

Preston being silly.

All within a moment of one another.

Pelicans.

I know, I took lots of pictures of nothing really important at all.

I was just so happy to be back in the Pacific Northwest.

It really does speak to something inside me.

The pelicans again, this time with sunshine in the picture.

Something, I'm told, doesn't shine as often in Oregon as it does here in Texas.

Knowing the sun was very important to the happy couple (outdoor wedding), we decided to bring the sun with us from Texas. 

Will it shine for their wedding on day 3 of our trip??

Tune in later and find out.

I May Never Go Home Again

I am already home, but I felt like I may never go home again on this vacation.

Day 1 was spent in Portland, Oregon. 

This picture is the only one I took in Portland.

My camera somehow got turned on during our flight, and only had enough power left for one photo.

Everything else in this post was taken by Jenna.

We were SSooooo hungry!

We were up at 5am to leave Austin, and didn't arrive in Portland until 12:30 (2:30 our time).

Hungry either breeds crankiness or silliness in our clan.

Silliness was (thankfully!) the chosen emotion when we finally landed at a restaurant.

 Portland hillside.  

So green!

One day Quinn will be big enough to fight off "the hand".

 Poor Jenna, Preston is the king of photo bombing.

This is the Willamette river, by the way.

It leads to the Columbia, which leads to the ocean.  

 Here, Preston imitates Capt. William Clark by taking a look at the Willamette river, but not venturing too far.  

Or not. :)

Flowers along the river

 Canada geese and goslings

Quinn, Preston, and Eric--done with looking at the river!

 More river

 A sunny day well spent by an artist

 Water lilies

Redneck yacht club.

Jenna's camera proceeded to run out of batteries at this point.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the very most import feature in Portland.

AUNT NORA!!

She is in Portland, housesitting for a friend.

She met us downtown, showed us around, took us to the world's largest bookstore,  soaked up some sun and ate some pretty decent pizza with us.

Unfortunately, we all started to fade after dinner.  

It was time to find our hotel and go to bed.

It was probably still light out when we dropped.

Our brains were still on CST bedtime, even though the clock showed PST time.

A Guessing Game

The family is leaving on our summer vacation tomorrow.

First, we will be going here.

I am given to understand that it probably won't look like this.  We probably won't be able to see that mountain because of low lying clouds and rain (hint-hint).

What we will see is my dear sister, Nora!  She's going to show us around a bit and share a meal.

We'll head out the next morning for......

Here!

We will have 3 wonderful days spending time with family, watching our nephew marry the girl of his dreams, and figuring out how to capture some of the cool air and rain to take home with us.  There'll likely be some touristy stuff happening as well.

On day three, after celebrating Father's Day with all gathered, we will head back to the place in the first picture.

BUT......we will stop on the way to visit someone very special and meet all her Critters (hint-hint!)

Someone I've known for a very long time (since I started my blog in 2008), but never met.

Any guesses on where we're headed in any of these pictures?

No?

Well, you'll just have to wait til I get home to know the answers.

Office Assistant and the Water Cooler Conundrum

My Office Assistant spends quite a bit of time at this particular water cooler.

We have a different model that is much easier to get water from, but he insists that this one is superior.

He tells me that the water from this one just tastes better.

I can't imagine why.

 The only trouble is, it's a bit out of reach for an easy drink.

Standing on his tippy-toes in back, while clinging with front paws makes enjoyment of the tastiest water a bit less enjoyable.

 He thought he had it figured out here, but then discovered that keeping one's paws dry and getting a drink are two pieces of his puzzle that will not ever fit together.

At last, he gives up and puts a paw in.  He had no worries about contaminating the subtle bouquet of bird in his water.  He assured me that he'd just washed his paws.