Just cruising...

The Great Blue Heron, with his wingspan of over 6 feet, cruises at 20 to 30 miles per hour.

Small flowers, big glow...

Early Morning, another view...

Early Morning...

Because of the extremely unusual heat we're having, we decided to visit the wetlands shortly after sunrise this morning.  Mt. St. Helens is a faint shadow in the distance.

Dark and cool--- and quiet...

Still learning...

No hurry...

Slow turning...

They used to fish here...

Waiting...

Windows and pews gone, unused for a hundred years, the Locust Grove Church still stands proudly in the Eastern Oregon sun.

The prettiest flower in the rose garden...

...was a tiny wildflower!

Only the barn is left...

The Mountain's Mouth...

Looking straight into the caldera of Mt. St. Helens, you can see the beginnings of the new mountain top-- the dome in the center.  This view is from a ridge nearly 2000 feet above the pumice plane below.

Almost there...

Nothing but echoes...

flying into the sun...

Mountain showers to the west...

Big river, long train...

Coldwater Lake family...

Busy...

Not much snow left...

Grazing...

Peaceful...

Life and shadow...

Don't bother me while I'm eating!

Big tree, small flower...

Hummingbird magnet...

Never ask directions in the forest...

There's one in every crowd!

And now for something completely different...

Run away!

The forces of nature...

This is Mt. St. Helens, with the caldera visible in the upper left and a vent blowing steam on the right.  The green ridge on the left rises nearly a thousand feet above the Toutle River seen cutting through the mud flow from 35 years ago.

Who? What?

 

This little fawn was just across the road from the horses.  He didn't seem to mind us at all.

Almost a unicorn

The mare in the meadow--- with a passenger

A pretty horse with a friendly bird on her rump...

In a corner of the woods, near the water...

Almost home...

Remembering...

Nature's Art Nouveau...

Blowdown monuments...

35 years ago, it was nothing but a gray-brown moonscape.  The stumps are a reminder, but the view is increasingly green.  Mt. St. Helens is cloud-shrouded in the distance, on the left.

If you go into the woods today...

When I grow up...

...I want to live in a lighthouse

Quiet... Just the sound of the wind.

Coldwater Lake, from Coldwater Ridge...

Pretending to be a python...

This colorful little garden snake was perched in a bush, about 5 feet above the ground in the back yard.  I wonder if he was pretending to be a python while seeking the warmth of the sun... 

Can't catch me...

It's amazing you can see him at all-- there in the center of the picture.  A fish, 20 inches long and just doing his thing.