I think I'll go for a walk outside now
The summer sun's callin' my name
(I hear ya now)
I just can't stay inside all day
I gotta get out, get me some of those raaays
Everybody's smilin'
Sunshine day!
Everybody's laughin'
Sunshine day!
Everybody seems so happy today
It's a sunshine day
Every time I opened the folder to edit the photos for this post, the Brady Bunch's "Sunshine Day," kept replaying in my head.
Whenever I'm home, I try to take advantage of the hiking trails near my parents' house. (If you live near them, or have figured out where they live, please don't say so in the comments. I try to keep my, and their, whereabouts vague.)
At the tail end of summer, I saw that the blackberry bushes still had some fruit. While lil' sis met up with some friends for lunch, I decided to take a little hike through the woods and pick some blackberries for cobbler.
Hazelnut trees. It's Oregon's state nut, you know.
Green and peaceful. I love these walks through the woods. Occasionally, I run into one of the neighbors, but most often it's just me and empty silence.
Wild strawberries.
Sword fern?
My favorite is angel hair fern. See how the stems form a circle like a halo?
Hemlock.
Douglas fir tree. It's Oregon's state tree, you know.
Vine maple. Nine lobes on the leaf. Vine maple has nine letters so it can spell its own name. Umm, yeah, can you tell I used to teach plants at outdoor school? Trout Creek! Went there as a sixth-grader and again as a high school camp counselor my sophomore and junior years.
Thimbleberry, jokingly called Indian toilet paper because of its soft leaves. No berries today, but they're rather like raspberries except softer and sweeter.
Who needs a fancy camera when my point and shoot does awesome bokeh like this?
Wild roses that have formed rose hips.
Salal berries that have withered on the bush.
The trail has wide open spots at some points that make me want to go jogging, until I get to the narrow hilly, gravelly parts that is.
Am I trying too hard to be artistic?
A regular maple leaf can also spell its own name since maple has five letters. Somehow, teaching the differences between maple and vine maples seemed cooler back then.
Pause.
Pick more blackberries.
Continue.
Wild daisies.
Thistles always remind me of Scotland. Queen Anne's lace to the left.
The trail meanders around this abandoned car that's deep in the ravine.
Creeped out some of my cousins when they visited and I took them walking through the woods with me.
The trail got a little hilly about here.
Holly. As in Christmas.
Why were there so many apples on the ground?
Look up! Too bad I couldn't reach any.
Up close to a douglas fir.
It has groovy orange bark. That's one way to identify a Douglas fir tree.
Mmm. Not as luscious as they are at the height of summer when the blackberries are plump and warm, but still pretty good nonetheless.
Lil' sis and I like to tease that our brother doesn't know us at all because he can't remember which berries we each like best.
Me? Blackberries and blueberries.
She? Raspberries and strawberries.
My haul after the walk. Destined for a Blackberry Cobbler later that evening.
Everybody's smilin'
Sunshine day!
Everybody's laughin'
Sunshine day!
Everybody seems so happy todaaay
All Oregon posts can be found in the tag, Series: Oregon. I suggest reading this particular trip in this order:
I-5 From LA to Portland
Mom and Dad's Garden
Burgerville - Portland - Oregon
Hakatamon - Beaverton - Oregon
I Think I'll Go For a Walk Outside Now...
Vista Point - Oregon City
End of Oregon Trail Interpretive Center - Oregon City
Stevens-Crawford Heritage House - Oregon City
Museum of the Oregon Territory - Oregon City
Mom's Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes)
Blackberry Cobbler
Bonneville Lock and Dam - Cascade Locks - Oregon
Bonneville Hatchery - Cascade Locks - Oregon
Multnomah Falls - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Horsetail Falls - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Wahkeena Falls - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Bridal Veil Falls - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Historic Columbia River Highway - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Latourell Falls - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Crown Point Vista House - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Banh Cuon Tan Dinh - Portland - Oregon (Closed)
Downtown Portland - Oregon
Lan Su Chinese Garden (Portland Classical Chinese Garden) - Portland - Oregon
Powell's City of Books - Portland - Oregon
Mom's Geoduck, Dynamite-Style and Chao Oc (Vietnamese Rice Porridge with Clams)
How to Prepare Geoduck and Razor Clams
Geoduck, Japanese Dynamite-style
Chao Oc (Vietnamese Rice Porridge with Clams)
Le Bistro Montage - Portland - Oregon
Kenny and Zuke's Delicatessen - Portland - Oregon
*****
1 year ago today, Roasted Purple Cauliflower with Bacon and Balsamic Vinegar.
2 years ago today, Northern Vietnamese food at Vien Dong Restaurant - Garden Grove (Little Saigon).
What a happy and inspiring post! :) Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us for a walk with you and continuing your plant teaching. That was fun! :D
ReplyDeleteHappy and fun post. I'm off to the Arboretum now after reading your post :).
ReplyDeleteP&S camera's aren't bad at all actually for most situations :). Especially with the blackberry pictures you took...so beautiful, so vivid!
Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteWell worth taking a walk :-)
ReplyDeleteOpy,
ReplyDeleteI don't know about inspiring, but it makes me smile when I think of home.
Jenn,
Haha. Did I teach you anything new? :P
ETE,
You know, I have yet to visit the arboretum! I'll have to do that one of these days. My little point & shoot is perfect for hiking. Who wants to lug a big old camera around. Plus, I was juggling blackberries too.
Sis,
:)
Nikki,
:)
You should! I recommend going on a day right after the rain, and arriving at around 9 if you want to see the peacocks open their feathers. Lots of people were at the Arboretum- almost everyone was taking pictures due to the vivid colors that came after the rain!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would ever bring my DSLR for hiking but I just might. I know I'll get tired holding it even if I bring a smaller lens...
ETE,
ReplyDeletePeacocks! Thanks for reminding me. I always just think arboretum=trees, which it does, but peacocks are lovely too.
I had a heavy duffle bag-type of purse with my P&S and Dslr when I hiked to the bottom of the canyon and around the rim in Mesa Verde last summer. Oh my! It was suuuch a pain!
Haha I saw crushed and abandoned cars too during my hikes in Los Alamos, right by a riverbed. There was a cliff above it so it probably fell from there ... hmm ... ok so I probably should not have laughed.
ReplyDeleteI'm envious of you lack of snow and dead plants. I forget that it's not the dead of winter everywhere.
ReplyDeleteDo we even live on the same planet? Right, so I had sun and blue skies Saturday, but unlike you from Sunday onward, Snowmageddon with a French accent. Like you, I went out with my P&S and snapped nature...well, nature in a different season anyway.
ReplyDeleteBurumun,
ReplyDeleteThis car was in the middle of the woods with no road or trail big enough for it to drive through. A mystery!
Jake,
Actually, these pics are from September 2008. I'm waaay behind in blogging some posts. But, I don't think you want to see the sunny LA pics. Might make you even more envious.
Tammy,
See comment above. :P