It's Christmas Eve and I finally have some spare time to catch up on my uploading of old photos! I took these when the Fall colors were at their peak in 2011 at my Grandparent's property.
It's nice to look back and remember how pretty Oregon can be at that time of year. Now everything just looks dead. :P
By the way, that nice house is for sale. My Grandparents lived there for 60 years.I grew up eating from this 60 year old plum tree. I don't know who planted nor it's variety. My grandparents purchased the land in the 1950s. Some years it doesn't produce much, luckily this year it's producing a LOT of fruit! So delicious!! This year is likely to be the last year the property remains in my family's name. So I may not get to eat the fruit from this tree again.
Not many kids grow up with so much room to run around! I am grateful. The property includes my parent's and grandparent's houses. It was also good for me to grow up next to my Grandparents. I've helped to maintain the property for as long as I can remember: fixing fences, trimming trees, cutting down old dead trees with a chainsaw (hard work but always fun).
There are many apple trees of the old, tall variety. The three King apple trees actually fell down in a wind storm when they were young. My Granddad pulled them back up with the tractor and they continued to grow. That's why they are all twisted and crazy looking now. They have an amazing ability to keep growing even on branches that have broken off and with hollowed out trunks. Sometimes I think they will never die.
Also on the property are other old trees plum, pear, walnut. They are all very big and not like the commercial varieties grown today.
There's an old pig house that has become completely covered by a large huckleberry bush. Can you spot it? There's a door in there somewhere!
Until something interesting tech related happens, here are some more scenic pictures from my daily walks with Lucy (dog). She's been a motivating partner, because she waits patiently for me to take her on a walk each day and I don't want to dissapoint her! :)
A typical rainy and gloomy day, then suddenly the Sun bursts through the clouds and rain creating a double rainbow with beautiful streaks of light and shadows through the sky and on the ground. Unfortunately, my camera didn't capture all that brilliance, but it was still awesome for about ten minutes during my walk.
It was a nice day in the Portland area today! When the Sun comes out in Oregon, you've got to take advantage. I'm glad Lucy decided to walk me to the park. There were many more people out than on my rainy day walks. It was good to see little kids playing organized soccer instead of just empty fields for a change...more vibrant, more energy, more bustling, more alive.
