The Center Of All Creation

Spiders are everywhere right now, especially in my yard, which has a lot of trees and bushes. Garden spiders such as the one in this photo are all over the place, to the point where I can't walk outside without having to duck and weave to avoid them. I don't always succeed. A few minutes after I took this photo, I walked right into the web. The spider was fine, but his web was a goner. I felt terrible.

The photo at right is the same little dude, this time as a macro.

Sunrise Down On The Farm

Okay, so it's been raining the last few days. That means I haven't been able to go out on my scooter and take photos. It also means I'm posting a somewhat similar shot to one I posted a couple of days ago (it was taken at the same time).

It's the same farm, the same hay bales, etc., but this time I pointed the camera at the sunrise.

Hay, Hay, Hay

This field is technically just outside of Stayton, on Fern Ridge Rd., just across Highway 22. I'd been hoping to find a field with hay bales in it before the season was over, so I was rather happy to find this yesterday morning.

The photo was taken at around sunrise so I had to lighten it a fair amount. It's been way to hot for me to go out during the day. It's supposed to cool down this week, so hopefully I'll be able to go take more photos when it's actually light out.

Wind Blown

It's the time of year where Queen Anne's Lace grows wild here in pretty much any empty field around town. I think it's a lovely sight.

Bright As The Sun

I posted a photo of a sad sunflower last week, so I thought posting a happy version of a sunflower would be appropriate. I took this on E. Marion St.

Summer Landscape

We've had a pretty dry summer, with only a little bit of rain once or twice in the last month or two (gosh, how is that for specifics?). That leads to a lot of brown grass, especially in the fields surrounding Stayton. The field in the foreground is next to the Public Works reservoir and pump station, while the fields in the background are farming fields. The row of trees in the middle run along either side of Fern Ridge Rd.

Joni Harms In Concert

Last night I attended the first concert in the brand new Mill Creek Concert Series, a series of free concerts put together by Ken Cartwright.

Last night's performer was renowned western music singer Joni Harms from Canby, Oregon. She put on a great show, and was very kind and accommodating to her fans (including a certain someone with a camera - thanks for putting up with me, Ms. Harms. :) ).

There was a great turn out for the event, and the local Moose lodge provided hot dogs and hamburgers. It was a fun time.

You can view photos from the concert via my Flickr photoset of the event (including Ms. Harms' talented and absolutely adorable children, Olivia and Luke), can read more about the concert series at StaytonEvents.com, and can visit Ms. Harms' web site at joniharms.com.

Thanks to Ken Cartwright and the sponsors of the event. I look forward to attending more concerts this year, and in future years.

A note about the photos: I kinda had my camera set to 800 ISO without realizing it, so forgive the noise reduction (a.k.a smoothing) I had to do on the images. And I need a better telephoto lens. And I'm whining, so I'll shut up now. ;)

Walk Through Summer

I posted a photo of these trees in Neitling Park in May, when they were showing off their spring colors. I thought it might be nice to revisit the park in a different season. I'm hoping to remember to do this this autumn and winter, as well.