Sonoma County is a unique place. On the westside, Highway 12 and Occidental Road run parallel to each other between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, with peaceful countryside in between the two roads: grassy pastures dotted with gnarly old oaks and grazing cattle, egrets and herons […]
All posts filed under: North America
A Stroll through Old Town Olympia
We’ve visited Olympia several times. The people are friendly, the city easy to navigate, and if you stay in, or near Old Town, everything is within easy walking distance. Some of our favorite things to there are looking at the many incredible murals, grab […]
Think! Before you Drink!
On this rainy stormy all hallow’s night the upcoming election gives me great fright this toxic bubbling witches brew it’s a really nasty hate-filled swampy stew Let’s flush the hate and vitriol down before our cherished democracy completely drowns Simply worded, I’ll say it out […]
California Road Trip 2018 … Hiking Howarth Park
One morning during my visit to Santa Rosa I met my friend Trish for breakfast at the East West Restaurant across from Howarth Park. I remember when they were located at the corner of Sonoma Avenue and Farmers Lane. The menu hasn’t changed much since […]
California Road Trip 2018 … “Good Grief Charlie Brown”, Part 2
Snoopy’s Home Ice has a bit of an alpine chalet look. The flower boxes remind me of Europe! The area around the entrance. Come on in! Welcome to Santa Rosa! Welcome to Snoopy’s Home Ice! I spent many an afternoon watching our boys learn to […]
California Road Trip 2018 … “Good Grief Charlie Brown” Part 1
Do you remember when most of us used to get a newspaper delivered in the driveway? Some mornings the paper would be wet because it had landed right in the sprinklers. The Sunday paper always contained lots of add inserts and a multi-page color comic […]
California Road Trip 2018 … Getting there!
On my way to California this July, I spent the first night in Ashland. This small town is about halfway point between Portland and Santa Rosa. The entire distance is around 650 miles, one way. While it’s possible to drive it all in one day, […]
Zunday Zen … Bluebirds at Sunset
“Want to look for bluebirds at sunset?” How could I resist? Meandering along a trail, through endless meadows … Golden Hour’s magic in plain sight. Just behind the bend, a Townsend’s Solitaire appears. Quietly, we approach. Off he goes … and so do we … […]
Happy Friday from the McLoughlin Promenade!
Wednesday morning before my writing class, I took a walk along the McLoughlin Promenade in Oregon City. The sun was out, song sparrows were singing high up in the trees, and then, there were the rhododendrons! Huge, gnarly old branches securely holding up so many […]
A Stroll through Downtown Bellingham, Washington
We did a number of short road trips last summer. One of the places we explored was Bellingham, Washington. It’s about halfway between Seattle and the Canadian border. There were lots of city parks, a board game pub, colorful murals, donuts with enough sugar to […]
Winter Magic at The Oregon Garden, Part One
After a bit too much holiday drama last year, the Zendog and I decided to do something different for Christmas this year. So we did! We headed to the Oregon Garden in Silverton. This charming small town is just about an hour southeast of Portland […]
Zunday Zen … Breathtaking Autumn Farewell
Nature, dressed in layers, layers of colors, layers of texture, layers of light. Nature quietly changing, quietly returning quietly returning to the earth. Nature getting ready, ready to rest ’til awakened in spring. These photos were taken about 10 days ago at the Oregon Garden […]
Happy Friday from my very favorite Beach!
Last week we spent a couple of days at our favorite beach in Lincoln City. After a deluge of rain, the weather forecast predicted two days of sunshine and warm (for early November) temperatures. We promptly booked a room at our usual hotel and packed […]
Zunday Zen … Home … It’s where the Heart is!
Portland is a special place it’s “weird”, it’s hip, it’s cool. From up above here on display is Portland’s living room. We have it all! The suburban mall, the wild and rugged coast, we have the Gorge for beautiful hikes, the mountains, desert and rivers. […]
Tasty Tuesday … Out of this World Blueberry Coffeecake
What a treat to start the day, and the week! This morning we were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event: An almost completely total solar eclipse, visible right from my very own backyard! Excitement woke me up early in anticipation of the eclipse. This being […]
A Stroll through historic Downtown Jacksonville, Oregon
Until this spring, I had only passed through Jacksonville once before. I don’t remember much of it, except that the town seemed to appear in the review mirror before I could blink. Add to this that it’s a bit out of the way from the […]
Golden Hour on the South Umpqua River
The cloud formations, soft evening light and the picturesque South Umpqua River made for a romantic walk in Roseburg, Oregon last week. We spent the night there on our way to Southern Oregon. I’ve been stopping here for the last twelve years on my annual […]
Zunday Zen … Springtime Magic in Oregon
The afternoon sun’s hypnotizing reflections captured forever.
