Black-Eyed Susan Vine

My friend, Lynnette got me this Sunny Lemon Star Black-Eyed Susan Vine for my birthday in June. I love it! It's going crazy right now. Every day I go out and have to gather up more loose ends to train up the arbor. I only wish that it would come back next year! That's OK. It's worth it to get one every year!

Weekend-Part 4 Headed Home

We had a wonderful time this weekend. On our way home, the Columbia River was like glass. We stopped at Viento State Park which was another one of those places that you pass everytime, but never stop. It is west of Hood River. Viento means wind in Spanish. Sorry, no wind this day, but that was OK with us! It is a really nice little park that has day use areas and a campgrounds. And, the best part is that it's right on the river with plenty of beach. I don't think I'd want to camp there overnight though because the railroad tracks border the park and they run all day and night. But, we will definitely stop there again...and bring a lunch!

Weekend-Part 3 The Dalles

While traveling back down to the gorge, we ate lunch at a great Mexican Restaurant (Casa El Mirador) in The Dalles. We made a run to Home Depot. It's two hours away and the closest one. Boy, are we spoiled! We also dropped in to a glass blower shop. It was so interesting to see them create beautiful pieces of art. Right next door was Sahara Pizza. Very convenient, ha! Actually, Candi planned it that way. :-) It's small, very friendly and has THE BEST PIZZA! Sorry, I have no pictures to show you. I was too busy eating.



By, the time we hit the road to go back to Lonerock, the sun was well on it's way down and the moon was rising. We stopped along the way to get some pictures. We had no choice, it was so beautiful!
Mt. Hood
Mt. Ranier

Weekend-Part 2-Saturday at Maryhill

On Saturday, the four of us headed back down to the gorge. We had never been to Maryhill Museum on the Washington side. Everytime we drive the gorge, we'd look at it across the Columbia sitting up on the hill and say, "We need to go up there sometime." Well, now was our chance to do it and with friends, which is even better!








The house itself, was turned into a museum after Samuel Hill's wife, Mary, refused to live out in the middle of nowhere. I bet that's where the phrase, "Where in the Sam Hill are we?" came from! Samuel Hill traveled the world and he collected art everywhere he went. The museum has quite an impressive collection.





Afterwards, we headed back, but first made a stop at the Maryhill Winery. So, Lamar and I had our first winetasting experience. It was fun.

A Weekend Away

Lamar had a three-day weekend. We weren't planning anything because we were going to get the grandkids overnight. But, plans changed, so we made arrangements to visit our friends, Andy and Candace Beebe in Lonerock (eastern Oregon-1/2 hour from Condon). What a beautiful weekend. I never tire of the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge...





Once we turn at Biggs and head into the hills, the beauty continues, in a different way, but it's just as beautiful. I love seeing the old homesteads, long abandoned, along the way and often wonder what stories they could tell.









On the road to Lonerock, giant windmills are changing the landscape. Although I hate to see them out there, they are pretty amazing.

A Golden Day

Before Lamar and I left for the weekend, we did some watering of the flowers. When I was done, I decided to go down to our property border. It is a bank that goes down about fifty feet. On the other side (in a few short weeks) there will once again be a wonderful pond full of geese, ducks, heron and millions of frogs. I love the winters here just for the pond alone!
Anyway, in Annie's (our Golden Retriever) days of youth, she loved chasing the birds in the pond, so we buried her at the edge of the bank overlooking the pond. Yes, I know. Anyway...back to the reason for this post...there on her grave is a small sunflower that has popped up. I thought it was a cool thing because we didn't plant it and out of all our two acres, it was on her grave. Golden flower...golden retriever? Yes, I know, but I couldn't help it. I felt like it was another little gift just for us.

Bloomin' September