Bandon I

The Pacific Ocean flowing between some of the beautiful big rocks of Bandon's coastline. My 2nd favorite OR beach, the south beach at Bandon is truly a windswept beauty. More photos to come!

Florence II

Another photo snapped in Florence yesterday, near Old Town. Watch for images from Bandon (if I can choose just a couple of them!) in the coming days.

Florence I

For the next few days I'll be posting photos from my visits to Florence and Bandon, OR (I just arrived home a few hours ago). Sometimes a change of scene can clear the mental smog that can accumulate when one lingers in a single place too long.

Drooping Sunflower

Somewhere in West Eugene.

Monroe Park

Enjoying the warm temperatures at Monroe Park (8th and Monroe streets).

Middle of the Road

Looking north on Lincoln St (at 24th). The College Hill area is one of my favorite places to walk in Eugene. I wish I still lived in close proximity. Ah well.

Front Entrance

Looking very much like a garden gate, this entrance in West Eugene actually leads to the front of someone's house. This beautiful, shady space, oddly enough, opens onto a rather barren-looking grassy area. I like that this lush facade is available to all passerby.

Brick House

This house, at the corner of 12th and Washington (or is it Jefferson?), is nestled in to its lot so nicely. To me, a very homey looking place.

Farmer's Market Scene

Groundwork Organics, like most of the other farms represented at Eugene's Saturday Farmer's Market, does a brisk business in wonderful fresh, local produce. Also, like a number of the other farms represented, Groundwork offers a Community Support Agriculture subscription program. What's a CSA? Go to http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ for more information.

Proposal Rock

A more complete view of Proposal Rock at Neskowin.

Neskowin, Not Eugene

North side of Proposal Rock at Neskowin. This beach is the site of many wonderful memories for me and for my family.

Near Mt. Pisgah

Before I knew better, I used to occasionally swim in this water, near Mt. Pisgah. Unfortunately, this waterway carries a lot of agricultural runoff. This is still one of my favorite spots for skipping stones.

Good Eats

Chef's Kitchen is a very popular eatery for the "epicurious" who can drop $60 or $70 for a good meal. I've never been there, but I keep hearing good things about the place and the parking area smells amazing.

Rooftop

This roofer is working on a house near 24th and Lincoln streets. I like the way the foliage looks in this shot.

Find The House

I've come to think of this place as a Eugene landmark of sorts, and it has inspired no shortage of questions for me. Who lives there? Is the overgrowth intentional? Are there structural issues? Have the occupants always wanted to live in a tree house?

If you want to check it out yourself (from a respectful distance, of course) it's between 17th and 18th on Lincoln St.

Oregon Country Fair

Full disclosure: I haven't been to the Country Fair for about six years, and I'm just fine with that. It's changed a lot in the last decade, and so have I. In truth, I think I like the idea of the OCF a lot more than the experience itself. But that's just me. I decided to include this very old photo (from 1999) because so many people in Eugene consider the OCF to be one of the town's defining elements (the site is actually in Veneta, west of Eugene).

Defazio Bridge

This cyclist and pedestrian bridge, named for current Oregon congressman Peter Defazio, affords a beautiful view of the Willamette River, as well as an opportunity to escape the bustling, high-traffic Coburg Rd area.

OnThe River

Cooling off in the Willamette River near the Eugene Water and Electric Board site.

C'est La Vie

My soon-to-be-in-laws will be visiting from New England in a couple of weeks and this Eugene B & B, C'est La Vie, will serve as home base for them for at least one night while they're in the area. Having never previously heard of this B & B, which is apparently a Victorian house of rich history, I decided to take a walk yesterday afternoon to check it out. I would have loved to have snapped a lot more photos--it's a stunning place. But there were several people out in the side yard and I didn't want to disturb them by poking my camera at them. One of my favorite aspects of the landscaping? Like an arboretum, most of the landscape plants had accompanying botanical identification signs. Very nice.

Lily

This beautiful, plush creature is my rabbit Lily. I snapped this photo yesterday evening while we were both outside on the back patio trying to get some air. Why a photo of my rabbit, you ask? Well, it was around 102 degrees yesterday and I decided to play it safe by sticking close to home. Besides, she's pretty cute, yes?

Beautiful Morning Jog

I'm posting this pretty late today. Until now I haven't been able to bring myself to be around anything that generates heat. It's ridiculously hot in Eugene today and I'm baking in my skin. Sunday morning, when this photo was snapped, was, conversely, beautiful and temperate.

Art & The Vineyard III: Misc. Scenes

Eugene's Alton Baker Park, home of the Art & The Vinyard festival. It's also one of my favorite spots for photographing ducks and geese.


Big chair. 'Nuff said.


When he's not overcome by the cleaver in his head, Mr. Spoonman crafts a wide array of interesting metalworks, most of which began as spoons.


A beauty from the Cascade Raptor Center booth.

Art & The Vineyard II: Hip Chicks Do Wine

The booth for Hip Chicks Do Wine, an enterprise out of Portland offering some very intriguing varieties. That's my friend Julie wearing the mochila (backpack).


Ummm. Sangria.


Unfortunately, in this photo it's not easy to see the logos on these glasses. My favorite was "Wine Hottie."

Art & The Vineyard I

The dragon that awaits, just inside the gate.



Okay, so I know I haven't exactly been adhering to the rule of one photo-a-day on this blog lately. Sometimes I find that one photo just isn't enough. Take this dragon, for instance. A single photo simply wouldn't do him justice. So, from time to time, I intend to break the one photo-a-day rule.

I attended Eugene's Art & The Vinyard yesterday and snapped a shed load of pictures. So, for the next few days I'll be featuring a few of the resulting images. Happy 7-7-07 everyone!

Koopa

He's a dog. He's a dad. He's Koopa, enjoying some love from one of his favorite humans.

Independence Day

Peaceful patriots. This image was snapped on Park St. just west of River Road yesterday evening.

Independence Day punch. My friend Kate made this yummy vanilla/orange punch, as well as a delicious spice cake, for her party guests.

In yesterday's heat, many of us retired to one of Kate's porches, to chat and to listen to music.

Our local treasure and espoused hobo, Mark Ross, treating us to some music.

Foliage...

...we grow a lot of it around here. A scene just outside of Dot Dotson's photo shop as I look NE on Willamette St. I'll admit that this shot was snapped a few weeks ago. These flowers have probably completely wilted by now in the summer heat. I haven't been out with my camera for several days. I hope to remedy that today and--hopefully--to have some Independence Day-inspired shots for you tomorrow.

Hunter

I spied this dog hunting a family of Nutria while I was out for a walk recently. I didn't stick around to find out if the dog succeeded in catching any of them. Does anyone know what the plural of Nutria is?

Gardener's Bliss

A joyful gardener. Is she enjoying the fruits of her labor or just basking in the warm sun and quiet green surroundings?

Corner Meeting Place

This charming corner somewhere on Garfield St. between 18th and 23rd (next to Eugene Zendo) appears to be a neighborhood public meeting place, complete with an announcement board. A wonderful idea. The chalk board says something like "We're all in this together."