Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

I acquired a used macro lens on Friday, so I've kind of been taking photos of really small things the last few days. I'm going to have to force myself to think bigger again.

So for today, I'm posting a macro shot of what's left of a dandelion flower. I'm trying to remember where I took this, but I'm not sure. Not that it matters, since dandelions can be found anywhere.

Golden

This was taken last night, a few minutes before sunset. We had actual spring-like weather yesterday, so I went tootling around during the evening hours with my camera. It was a nice change from the hail and snow we had less than a week ago.

Fallen Spring Leaf

Some of you may remember my interest (okay, obsession) I have with autumn leaves (check out the autumn category of this here site for examples).

Well, it seems some of those autumn leaves stuck around and decided to fall in the spring. Which, despite them being dead and brown, made me happy. So here's a dead, crumbly, brown leaf. Enjoy. ;)

Until I Die

It's time once again to visit my favorite trees in Stayton, a group of oak trees near the hospital, off of 10th Ave. The last time I posted a shot of them was in December (visit that page for links to my other photos of the trees).

True To Form

Um, so, yeah, this is another photo of spring blossoms. But they're all over town! It's not my fault! They call to me like a siren's song! :)

I took this at Neitling Park. Most of the blossom trees there are yet to bloom, but when they do... well, don't be surprised if you see more blossom tree photos before spring is through.

Watercolor

Today's photo is a bit of sunset reflected in a bit of water at the south end of 4th Ave. It reminds me of a watercolor painting.

Vulnerable

Okay, so yesterday was a bit odd. We had a brief snow shower in the morning (too brief for me to get any photos), and then it was sunny in the afternoon. That's in addition to the hail we had a few days ago. And we may we have snow again today.

Somebody needs to tell Mother Nature it is late March. Spring. This isn't supposed to happen.

Anyway, so instead of all that, I'm posting a photo of an Asiatic lily. It is spring, darn it, even if the weather doesn't know that.

The Edge Of Beauty

Yes, today we have another flower photo. It's not my fault. Blame spring.

I have no idea (again) what type of flower this is. It was on a bush in the parking lot of the library, that's all I know. It's just the edge of it, anyway, so I could lie and say it's definitely (insert name of flower here). But I won't.

Although it could be an azalea. Or not.

Head In The Clouds

The top of the hill on 10th Ave., next to the hospital, is my favorite place in town to take sky photos. I took this shot a few days ago, when the clouds were just being extra pretty. I think they were posing.

Gentle Curves

These are cherry blossoms. Unless they're plum blossoms. Or some other type of blossoms. I looked up both cherry and plum blossoms, but I can't tell them apart. Ah, heck, at this point I'm not even sure they're blossoms. They could just be very pretty rocks for all I know.

By the way, Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates the holiday.

Pretty In Pink

This lovely little cherry blossom was hanging out with several of its buddies on a tree on 3rd Ave. yesterday. It was fairly windy, but the flower stopped moving long enough for me to get this shot. That was very considerate, really.

Standing Apart

As part of my quest to find spring flowers, I spotted these lovely azaleas in front of the telephone company on 2nd Ave. The shock of color these provide is just beautiful.

Spring Shine

It's only a few more days until spring officially arrives. Yay! So I went on a flower hunt yesterday to see what's blooming. These lovely daffodils were found next to the community center on W. Virginia St.

I may feel compelled to post more flowers over the next day or two. Consider yourselves warned.

I Will If You Will

So, the other day my mother, after hearing I'd taken more shots of the Stayton-Jordan Bridge at Pioneer Park, said, "You know, they have pretty trees down there, too." In other words, she thinks I might have taken a few too many pictures of the bridge.

Mothers. Do they always have to be right? Not that it will stop me, of course. Just sayin'.

Anyway, I took a picture of the trees, just for her. These are actually the trees at the edge of Wilderness Park, which is immediately behind Pioneer Park. Close enough.

Snow Day

We had a fair bit (for us) of snow yesterday. At my house, we had roughly 2.5 to 3 inches. So that means a snow picture from me today, and one or two very nifty shots from a guest photographer tomorrow. And maybe more from me after that, depending on how long the snow sticks around. Or if I can't find anything else to post. ;)

In The Distance

Earlier this month I posted a photo of some hills outside of Stayton which can be seen from town. I wasn't very happy with the photo, as it was somewhat blurry and the color was all wrong. I had cropped out the trees in the lower part of the photo because they came out very dark.

So I decided to reshoot the photo, this time using a tripod, a polarizing filter (to get the color right), and a different lens. It's basically the same view, but the results are fairly different.

For those who care, I took this on a small street just off of the east end of E. Santiam St.

A Trickle Becomes A Flood

Today's photo is the final image from my trip to Silver Falls State Park, an amazing park not far from Stayton (see also: South Falls, North Falls, Upper North Falls, and a black-tailed deer).

The above photo of water cascading down some rocks was taken near a bridge in front of South Falls. You can spot such mini-waterfalls (or whatever they're called) in various locations around the park.

We also came across some very cool (ha!) icicles near Upper North Falls. My pictures of them didn't turn out all that great, but my friend Steve captured a very nice one. Check out his photo: Nature's Ice Sculpture.

Rush Of Nature

Today is waterfall photo three of three (see also: South Falls and North Falls) I took at Silver Falls State Park.

Upper North Falls is an adorable waterfall, and very different from the first two. It's shorter, wider, and extremely cute. I wanted to take it home and put it in my yard. It wouldn't actually fit in my yard, mind you, but let's not let reality get in the way of things.

I'll be posting a non-waterfall photo from the park tomorrow, and maybe one more after that.

Falling Down

Today's image continues our mini-tour of a few of the waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park (see also: South Falls), which is about 17 miles from Stayton. This is North Falls, taken from an observation point some ways away. It's truly a beautiful setting, with the tall trees surrounding the falls.

Tomorrow I'll post a photo of Upper North Falls. Stay tuned.

P.S. Thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's photo. I very much appreciate it.

Over The Edge

(See also: color version of photo)

I went on a day trip yesterday with my friend Steve to Silver Fall State Park, which is about 17 miles from Stayton. The both of us lugged our camera equipment around and saw three of the waterfalls at the park. That means you're going to be seeing waterfalls for the next few days. :)

Today's photo is of South Falls, an awesome waterfall which has a walking path that goes directly behind it. I took said path and promptly felt like I'd just taken a very cold shower. I didn't get any decent photos from back there, though. Too much water spray on the lens.

As a side note, I freely admit I stole my black and white processing technique from Steve's amazing shot of South Falls. Go check his out while you're here.

Lost In The Crowd

I had thought I was through with leaves for now, since autumn is over. But I was wrong, so very wrong. I found this pile of leaves at the Lone Oak Cemetery the other day. And I do believe they're even oak leaves. I could be wrong, of course, seeing as how they weren't labeled. Somebody should fix that. ;)

Looking For Signs Of Life

I had plans yesterday to go out and about to take pictures, but the weather had other ideas. It stayed near freezing, and there were even little snowflakes in the air. That's all very bad when one rides a scooter. Brrrrrr.

So I took a picture of some branches on a barren filbert/hazelnut tree in my backyard. Yay.

Misty River

According to the Travel Oregon web site, the Roaring River near Scio is the only river to flow into a creek instead of the other way around. The photo above is just after the river and the creek, Crabtree Creek, come together.

This rather spiffy geological oddity sits right next to the Larwood covered bridge. I took several photos of the water the day I was there. I discovered I really like taking pictures of flowing water. It's all my friend Steve's fault.

I have a brief video of the area, showing where the creek and river merge and the nearby covered bridge. It's about 20 seconds long.

Click on the thumbnails below to see more wet and wild water:

Incandescent Plant Life

This is some random but colorful plant which resides outside the library. I have no idea what it is. But it's pretty.

Can you tell my mind is blank? I can't even think of a caption to go with this photo. I am such a failure.

Uprooted

A friend and I went on a bit of a road trip yesterday to a couple of the covered bridges in the area (I'll likely post a photo of each over the next two days). Somewhere in the vicinity of nearby Scio, we went by this awesome old tree in the middle of a fog intensive field. It's awesome, and I want to take it home and make it my own.

Mighty Might Oaks

It's been quite some time since I last posted a photo of my favorite oak trees. I was trying to capture the fog was that all over that day, but in the end I decided I liked the trees backed by the fog better. I just love those trees.

Previous photos of the trees:

• Oak Trees By (Nearly) Night
  
• Sun Spot
  
• Late Afternoon
  
• Oak After Sunset
  
• Oak Tree Twins
  
• In The Shade Of The Ol' Oak Trees

Sister Golden Hair

Stayton stays pretty green all year round, since we have a lot of evergreen trees, etc. But some things do "die" during the winter, such as the grassy plant pictured above.

I'm trying really hard to remember what it looks like during the warmer months, but I'm failing miserably. I pass by where this plant is rather frequently, so I really should have noticed. I know it's green, but that's all I know.

It's All A Front

These trees run alongside 10th Ave. It's basically a thin strip of trees, backed by houses and an empty field (I think they're grooming it to put in new houses, but I'm not sure. I do know it has a lot of rocks.

Kinda like my head.

A Late Autumn Evening

I took this last night on 10th Ave. The sun was on its way to setting and it just made a pretty little scene. Nothing is more beautiful than nature.

P.S. To all Stayton area drivers -- could ya please stop pulling out in front of my scooter? It's really getting annoying almost getting hit on a somewhat regular basis. Thanks.

To Wonder At Its Vastness

Friday's weather was rather icky. It was cold, rainy, foggy, and snowy, all at the same time. And I had to go out in it on my scooter twice. As I said, ick.

The field in this photo sits behind Power Yamaha, which is just off of Cascade Highway, towards Sublimity (Stayton and Sublimity are separated by about a mile).

Firm In My Be-Leaf

*sigh*

Well, here we are with more autumn leaves. My camera, completely on its own, immediately gravitates to any and all autumn leaves in its vicinity. See, it's not even my fault, they're just too picture-worthy.

The lame pun in the title is my fault, though.

More From Clear Lake

Today is the second photo of Clear Lake on the McKenzie Pass from guest photographer Ronda Faught (don't miss yesterday's image).

Be sure to visit Ronda's new web site for more of her awesome photography. You'll be glad you did.

Thanks again to Ronda for sharing her photos!

Photo is copyright © Ronda Faught. All rights reserved. Do not copy or reproduce in any way without permission of photographer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, gobble, and all that good stuff. Mainly, though, it's a time to be thankful for the good things in our lives. One of the things I'm thankful for is the guest photographers who've kindly let me post their photos.

Ronda Faught, guest photographer extraordinaire from nearby Sublimity, has once again provided two lovely images for today and tomorrow's posts. She provides wonderful glimpses at areas outside of Stayton, because as she says, "Oregon has a lot of beautiful places most within a couple hours or less from home."

Today and tomorrow's photos were taken at Clear Lake on the McKenzie Pass (Highway 126) (here are some facts about Clear Lake, if you're interested). It looks like a beautiful place to visit.

Ronda's also started a web site to showcase her photography. Give it a look:

Ronda Faught's Digital Landscape Photography

Thanks, Ronda! I hope everyone has a very happy holiday (or, if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, have a very happy non-holiday).

Photo is copyright © Ronda Faught. All rights reserved. Do not copy or reproduce in any way without permission of photographer.

Cold Dead Hands

It was a cold and dreary day when I took this photo last week. The whole sky just said, and I quote, "Ick." But the mostly barren tree branches made it prettier, so it was okay.

The title comes from the fact the tree branches look like hands. Cold dead hands.

It's been raining since the day after I bought my new scooter, so I haven't been able to go out and take new photos. I think today will be better, though, so hopefully I'll have some new stuff to post tomorrow.

A Blue Hue

This be a hill. A blue hued hill. I took it from some street off of Santiam St. It's a new road, and Google Maps shows it on the satellite image but doesn't on the map.

That's all terribly exciting (or not), but the most interesting thing about today's photo is I took it yesterday. "So what?" you ask (you did, I could hear you). Because it means I once again have wheels (squeeee!). Yes, friends, yesterday I bought a new scooter I couldn't afford, so I can once again go out and taken action packed shots like the one above.

Maybe. It's going to be raining for the next few days (or more), and I don't have a windshield yet. And my camera's not water resistant. Neither am I, for that matter. But I'll get out when I can.

A Shock To The Heart

For today's photo I went to the exotic location of my backyard, since I'm still minus transportation. The lovely red color is provided by the last few leaves left on a Japanese maple. Such a pretty tree.

Feelin' Knotty

Since I featured autumn leaves yesterday, I thought a change of pace was in order for today. So instead of leaves, I'm posting a picture of the trunk of a tree which produces autumn leaves. Totally different.

I have no idea what kind of tree it is, as usual. I like the pattern in the wood inside the hole (for a larger view of the photo, click on the picture above and then choose 'all sizes').

This was taken in the parking lot of the hospital on 10th Ave.

Down By The River

This is a little creek which runs next to the public library, also known as Salem Ditch. I think I called it Stayton Ditch in a post the other day, but that would be wrong. I believe it's called Salem Ditch because Stayton supplies water to Salem via that ditch. But I could be wrong about that, too. Heck if I know.

Anyway, it's rather pretty, and doesn't look anything like a ditch to me.

Red Leaf

Today's photo is of a lovely red leaf off of some tree or another. I did a color "cutout" to make the red of the leaf stand out.

For those curious as to how I did it (because folks have asked before): I used Paint Shop Pro X2, but any image editor which allows you to custom select areas of an image will work. In PSP X2, I used the Magic Wand tool on the area outside the leaf and its stem and branch. You can also select the area you want to remain in color, then invert the selection.

If you have a steady hand, you can also use a 'lasso' type tool to draw the selection with your mouse, but I personally suck at doing that.

I then converted the selected area to black and white. Not really complicated, but it can be a little tedious to do.

Autumn Rain

Stayton has had some rather nice weather recently. That lovely weather has provided some great opportunities to take pictures of autumn leaves, which is why I've posted so many recently.

But since it's been literally days since I last posted such a photo, it's perfectly fine to post another. Yep. I'm not obsessed, just, uh... greatly interested.

Right?

DP Theme Day: The Color Blue

This month's city daily photo theme day is the color blue. I waffled on what to post, and finally decided on the above. My other two options will be posted over the next week, so stay tuned for that exciting event.

The water above runs under the little bridge on 2nd Ave., near the post office. It's what we affectionately call the Stayton Ditch, because that's what it's called. :)

Click below for well over 100 other city daily photo blogs participating in today's theme day.

P.S. A big hello to the person last night who asked if I was the "mastermind" of this here blog. Howdy! :)

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