#228 It's about Me and a Place to Visit

 

Random 1: Mission San Francisco de Asis, Rancho de Taos, NM

#228 It’s about Me and a Place to Visit

This post comes out of left field, right field, and down the road a ways—two photo essays and a recommendation. There’s no high purpose to the two photo essays other than I found some photos I could have fun putting together. The recommendation is a fun place to have lunch and a visit. There’s plenty to see here, so let me get started.

I remember a catchy advertising slogan of a “flowers-by-wire” service that went “Say It with Flowers.” The implication was that flowers can carry a variety of emotions and sentiments. I’ve pulled up a few flower photos to see what they say or might say.

Blue, blue, and more blue.

What message would a  large blue flower send?

Does a blue background compliment the pink hollyhock. Taken at the church in Taos.

Delicate, wouldn't you agree? 

Butterflies and bees.

Near Red River, NM.

Share the good stuff.

Oregon Gardens, Silverton

Flowers for sale.

I have no idea where this was taken 23 years ago.

Taos, NM

More or less color.

Near San Luis, CO

This is more colorful, but is it more interesting?

Vincent Van Gogh as well as many other famous artists believed that self portraits (now “selfies”) gave insight into the human soul. I can’t compare myself to any of those other artists, but I too believe that the selfie can lead to insight. I find it hard to pass up opportunities to add a selfie to my collection—and then see if it tells me anything.

Mirror images.

Another use of flowers. 

"Off with his head," said the Red Queen.

Windows as mirrors.

And what does the red light mean?

A picture in a picture. It's got to say something.

A shadow of the self.

The warrior kachina is my spirit (12% Apache) fighting Parkinson's.

The reality is most of the time even the sweater wins.

Am I just a shadow of my former self?

A Recommendation: The Historic Butteville Store

10767 Butte ST NE, Aurora, OR 97002

503-678-1605  www.butteville.org

Hours: closed Mon., Tu - Sun. 9:00 - 6:00

Breakfast (9-10:30), lunch, special Sat dinners twice monthly

Anne ordering lunch.

Library Room

Years ago Anne and I went to a nice Christmas High Tea and concert at the Butteville Store. Sadly, the Store no longer lists that type of entertainment in their scheduling. Instead the current management has earned a fine reputation for cafe or bistro-style meals and specialty ice cream dishes. 

We’ve gone several times, with small groups or by ourselves, to the Store and been delighted each time. The lunch sandwiches and home-made soups are interesting and tasty and the ice creams and sundaes are delicious. 

This was the wheel of the sternwheeler which used the Buttrville landing dock until the rail took over in the early 1900s.

The history of the community is not to be missed. The site’s web page gives a vary complete history of the Native American (Kalapuya tribe) background, the French Prairie area, the community (which is one of the oldest in Oregon), the sternwheeler landing, and the building. The Butteville Store is a museum of artifacts and pictures of the rich history of Butteville and has excellent seating both inside and out.

Ospreys (and sometimes eagles) can be seen on the Willamette River a block away from the Store.

Donated to the state of Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. in 1999, the historic Store is now administered as part of Champoeg State Park with food service provided by HalfPint Bros. Only a few miles off the I-5 freeway between Canby or Aurora and Newburg, the Butteville store is a fun and rewarding stop. 

Random 2: a rough wood fence in Santa Fe, NM.

NEXT: We'll see what I can find.

#227 Back to Photography

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who sent me encouragement and suggestions after last month’s rant (or whatever you call it). I really do appreciate your comments and I tried to take them to heart. The first thing I did was to get out one of my old travel cameras—a Lumix ZS100 with 9-91 zoom lens. Next I started taking the camera everywhere I went so I could look for photos instead of waiting for pictures to come to me. I also tried to turn each outing into a project. The result has been good fun with photography again. Not all the pictures I’ve taken this month are keepers and there have been no prize winners that I can see. But then many of the snapshots do tell a story and there may be a hidden gem of two in the lot.

This post will highlight 3 or 4 photos from the outings I’ve recently taken. I used the Lumix camera and a Nikon Z50ii with a 28-400 zoom lens. What I hope this post also shows is that even though my journey with Parkinson’s can still be depressing, with the help of some of you and my wonderful soulmate Anne, I can still find value and interest in doing things I can do. 

AROUND THE HOUSE.

I started looking for things around the house to photograph. Some were common or everyday items and some were put together. Here are a select few.

Anne trimming our roses.

Garlic from our neighbors next door.

The pills that are our lives.

The one who doesn't fit guards them all.

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

Hope Village, the senior community in which we live, has a communal garden area for residents. I took my camera with me on a short walk to the garden.

Sometimes the flower or fruit isn't the picture.

Each unit in the Garden Homes section of Hope Village has its own patio.

AROUND TOWN.

Any time I went to the small downtown area of Canby I took a camera. It’s a very quiet town most of the time, but I surprised myself with what I found shoot.

The middle of the day in a quiet town.

On a hot day even partial shade is good to find.

Pretty Trash

Any guesses? It's one of two metal shaped benches in front of the old city hall. In the summer we call this burned buns. 

THE COMMUNITY POND.

I had to stop at least once at the Canby community pond. Instead of my usual walk along one side of the park, I sat in my car to see what I could catch around one picnic table.

Duck!  Remember I'm shooting this out a car window.

MOLALLA RIVER STATE PARK.

About three miles out of town is a small state park along the Molalla River. I hardly ever go there for photos because I didn’t think there was much of interest for me. I was surprised how much I could find when I really tried.

Artist Anne at Work

River Rescue Boat...We hope it's just practice.

BIRTHDAY LUNCH.

Anne and I took a trip to Salem to join her youngest sister, Charleen, at the Ankeny Vinyards south of Salem. We celebrated Charleen’s birthday with a lunch of pizza and wine. Another chance for photos.

Sisters

Great pizza. Happy birthday!

OLD PHOTOS. And for those of you who made suggestions about my access to old photo files, I have good news. I have figured ways to access some of the external hard drives and I'm working on others. Thanks.

Fence and barn near Taos, NM.

Sweetheart tree in southern Colorado.

Museum door in Taos, NM.

NEXT: Maybe more and bigger projects.