One donkey and three goats--- Just hanging out near the Maryhill Winery on the dry side of the mountains.

 

After so many years, it begins to blend in...

 

Pretty with flowers...

 

Beautiful White River Falls, near Tygh Valley, Oregon.

 

The hills are brown this time of year on the dry side of the mountains, but where there's a pond, a creek, or a river, there is green!

 

A very active sky!

 

Even lying there, he still adds beauty to the hillside...

 

The old schoolhouse in the Goodnoe Hills of Eastern Washington State, just north of the Columbia River. It closed in 1962. For more than a half-century, kids of different ages and races were taught here. Their teacher drove the school bus, cooked their lunch, and made sure they learned their ABCs, Math, History, and how to get along with other kids.

 

It won't keep anything in or out, but this fence in the Goodnoe Hills is still standing...

 

A few weeks ago the combines ran day and night to harvest the wheat. Now there is only quiet. The old barn and corral still stand as a reminder of another time.

 

The urge for going...

 

No school today...

 

It's an odd little bridge in the cattle country of the high desert-- only about 6 feet long, but well-engineered and solidly built many years ago. It's basically a footbridge across a gully, wide enough for people and cattle, one at a time. There are no other structures nearby.

 

Someday these old buildings will be gone, leaving nothing behind. That's the way of things, but it's sad.

 

The wheat has been harvested, and the hills are glorious!

 

I think I'll wait outside...

 

Fall comes to Tygh Ridge on the dry side of the mountains...

 

A bouquet of colors on a cliffside from the dry side of the mountains.

 Sharing today with Mersad's Through My Lens

A beautiful sight in the Columbia River Gorge -- Two sailboats and the Hood River Bridge...

 

There's a place to sit and watch the leaves...

 

The dam and the train...

 

And then the sun came out again...

 

Falling into Fall...

 Here's one for Red!

On the dry side of the mountains, high above the Columbia River, this ranch has been part of the area for 150 years.

 

A castle on the Rhine? A villa in Tuscany? An ancient rampart?

No-- It's part of an old warehouse in the tiny town of Winlock, Washington.  It's well over 100 years old and has sat unused for decades.

I think he's got something important to say...

 

Just a tired old barn, still trying to keep standing...

I think it must have been a very fine house, once...

 

What a nice spot for a bench! It's good to sit and just be a part of the forest.

 

Very tall trees!

 

It smells like fall...

 

Just a few days till the Autumnal Equinox!

 

Like a monument!

 

Quiet time... Even the squirrels are taking a nap.

 

Softly...

 

A quiet explosion!

 

And the trees whisper, "Goodnight."

 

Paddling a canoe around Silver Lake in the early evening seems like a good idea...

The Mt. St. Helens caldera shows up nicely with the bit of snow. Elk Rock is the pointy thing on the right.

 

Sharing today with Mersad's Through My Lens

A lovely September afternoon on the Spirit Lake Highway. Mt. St. Helens is hiding under a cloud on the right side of the picture.

 

Flowers in the park on the north side of our little town. I don't know what they are, but they sure know how to attract attention.

 

So much color in the meadow...

 

A place of many wonders...

 

The sun came out this afternoon. Hot weather is expected for the next few days.

 

In a little corner of the wetlands where there is always water or very wet mud, there is a strange flash of color--- purple! There are very few of these purple leaves, and the plant is surrounded by others. Pretty, aren't they!