"I got half-a-dozen paintings from that shattered plate".

Georgia O'Keeffe

"Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused."
African saying from Gratefulness.org

The Willow Farm

It took me reading Lloyd Kahn's recent post to find out about this cool farm in a town (Pescadero) that I lived in / near for years. Way cool willow sculptures and ideas for you gardening/farming types out there. Willow is so abundant in so many places and just as beautiful (if not more) as bamboo! They even do commisions for small garden houses... www.thewillowfarm.com

South Falls, Silver Falls State Park 177 ft

Tuesday June 8

A low flying Hot Air Balloon was the first thing I saw upon opening my eyes and looking out the window of my new summer cabin this a.m.

My plan (after being here a few days) was to try and hitchike to the (other) nearby town of Silverton, Oregon. I needed to buy more food and get some things from the thrift store and call some folks as there is no cell coverage in The Canyon. I walked out to the road and waited about 2 hours to get a ride (fear based American society, this would never happen in Europe). But as you know, everything happens for a reason....THE BALLOON PEOPLE are the ones who I finally see stop with their large basket on the back of their van. They brought me all of the way into Silverton(14 miles) and dropped me off with some pointers on cool places. This was their first time ever launching from Silver Falls! If you ever are in the Salem area and have a few extra hundred dollars, check out http://www.balloonflying.com/ . Below are owner Jim and his seasonal help, Cecil! Really cool, really friendly (and obviously trusting Thank God!) Yes, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Thanks Guys!

The picture on top is my new office. Well it's actually a little ways up the trail from here. This is the main attraction, South Falls with a 177 ft drop. It's raging now. You can walk behind it. I'd never really truly known the meaning of the term "breathtaking" until now. I gasped the first day I saw it. On the second day when I finally went down and stood in front of it , I cried. A spiritually moving place indeedy. Negative Ion Capital of the World. NI's cause positive feelings of elation in people (long ago blog subject (for moi).


Without this man, June Drake , who was a photographer living in Silverton in the early part of the 20th century, we might not have SIlver Falls at all. June Drake was/is to SFSP what ANsel Adams was to Yosemite. Except June Drake did the work of both Adams and John Muir. His tireless work over many years and trying to get the word out about this place is what saved it.
Search Silver Falls S.P. for more on that. I am on a limited use library computer right now but hope to write about Silver Falls more. I feel that all of my life's work has led me to this one seasonal position. I actually have Drake in my ancestry. I sure do hope I can connect our families somehow.



I definitely feel like I have landed in the most recent Ken Burns National Park Documentary. It is what inspired me to return to my field of Natural History Interpretation. I am so very glad that I followed my heart.

The meadows in the park right now are filled with these Oregon Iris. Hmm, Lavender colored Iris, my favorite, go figure.

I will write more about Silverton later...but click on http://www.silvertonchamber.com/ . Am I in the right place or not? Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. I am truly BLESSED!



"Thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives."

Jalaluddin RumiCamille and Kabir Helminski's RUMI: JEWELS OF REMEMBRANCE

Thoughts for today:

In the campground that I stayed in last night, there was senior citizen driving a 90's era VW bus.
This was a bumpersticker on it. I had been hiking in the rain for a bit...so when I saw it, I broke down and cried... and I won't ever give up.

"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -- that is the myth of the "atomic age" -- as in being able to remake ourselves." Mahatma Gandhi

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds". Albert Einstein
and
The Sun has finally come out in Oregon!!!!Yippee

Bus Ridin' Tourism

On Wednesday I managed to extract myself from answering all these facebook replies (not sure I will keep doing it ) and decided to get the bargain of the century Eugene public transportation $3.00 day pass and tour Eugene while my friend was in school.

I went downtown to start checking out the various routes and see how far I could get.

Well it's still raining buckets and I can't think of a better way to see a town and what's where and such.

When I first got downtown I saw one of the many folks who try to get petition signatures (as a job) and check it out---this guy had on a full wet suit and booties. Talk about making the best out of a difficult situation...I laughed hard and told him he was brilliant. That's a challenging job anyway but this guy fully embraced the rain.

I also took a bus out to the expansive Dexter Reservoir (which I am assuming is the Eugene water supply) in the town of Lowell, down to the local community college and to the base of a large hill called Spencer's Butte. They seem to call everything "buttes" around here. What looks to me like a tree covered hill is a butte.

I had yet another great conversation with a few of the elderly ladies on the bus and one of them showed me the trailhead to actually hike to the top of Spencer's. In the early part of the day the busses were largely empty but by the end of the day I was worn out and had enough of wet smelly people crammed together like sardines.

All and all though I am glad that I did it. It always helps me to be more self sufficient when I am visiting friends anywhere, to learn the bus routes. Santa Cruz Metro is still the best I've seen (as it hooks up to all of the other local transit systems up and down the coast) but Eugene is a close second.

I am so very grateful that I had two Grandmas that rode the busses everywhere in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. They took me for rides when I was little and to this day I can't stand driving in any city where there are busses. Makes sense eh?

This is a really cool Cob bench that someone built on my friend's road here in Eugene. It's up by the road to allow any passerby or person waiting for a bus to sit on down and relax. Now that's community action. Cob is a mixture of straw/clay and sand. The soil here is so perfect for cob building that you could build a house right up from the ground, with no additives except straw and water.

The McKenzie Bridge Ranger Station was built to resemble some of the great old lodges of the Pacific Northwest. It is an architectural wonder to behold. The Natural History Interpretive displays on the inside are some of the best that I have ever seen.

Vanilla Leaf (Achlys triphylla)

A Beautifully crafted bench on the porch of the McKenzie Bridge Ranger Station


Old friend/ Covered bridge