Here is a sweet picture of our just weaned calves being sweet on each other. Is that too sweet?

And here is another picture of the falls. This time at dusk. I took the shot without a tripod. It turned out because of a steady hand and a great lens. I love the feel of this picture. It's funny, but I have a hard time with this time of year, the darkness, wetness, and cold...but going to a special place like this and soaking in how the fog and the water and the dusk interact, soothes over all that.

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Our family never grows tired of going here. The girls never want to leave. I love raising my girls with a love for God's creation, like what I have. If you look closely, you'll see a bald eagle on the rocks. He is there for a lazy lunch. There are probably about 50 salmon in the waters under those falls hoping to be able to jump up them. I think some of them actually make it. Other spawn down below. Incredible. Just like our Creator.

Pray for us if you will. The Bonneville Power Administration is talking of coming through our little area with those really, really big transmission lines. Maybe even straight through our property. And to give you an idea our property is at least five times as long as it is wide. And, if the transmission lines went through our property, they could take 20-30% of the width of our property, plus be TOTALLY UNSIGHTLY. We live in a pristine beautiful little valley, which is probably why they are thinking of coming through our way (because the chunks of land are 20 and 40 acres and BPA wouldn't have to deal with AS MANY irrate people when putting in the power lines). It could totally devalue our land in an already down economy. I pray they will get some sense, however, and not take the power lines through such beautiful land. The power lines, by the way, would go right past this pristine park that I have a picture of too, if it were to go through our property. How could they do that?

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The Hummingbirds around here are becoming downright plentiful. We are feeding them Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar Water. That's why it's yellow. I figured it was healthier for them than pure white sugar water. This actually isn't their favorite feeder. It's by our front door - plus it has little small flowers on it rather than the big type they prefer to eat from. The color of the water does not matter. Even though they prefer the other feeders, I've seen up to eight at this feeder. Why can't I get a picture of that?! Maybe I will. For now, this will have to do:

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I am participating in Show 'N Tell Friday with this blog entry. Please visit Mary (aka CanadaGirl) to view other Show 'N Tells or to share your own.

God blessed us with beautiful weather this morning. I and the kids were feeling a little under the weather, but what better thing is there than going out and enjoying God's creation to perk you up a bit.

So, here are some pictures from the park. The girls and I spent several hours there and just enjoyed ourselves.

Natalie (7) always does a great job taking care of Abigail (1).

There were several people there fishing.

They always love touching the water...

...and digging in the sand.

I love pincones, Mama!

Rocks are great fun too!

And running in a wide open field (with no cows in them - LOL) is great too!
And sometimes I can actually get this one to look at me when I'm taking her picture. She has such a pretty face, I think.

I hope you all get the chance to spend some time outdoors appreciating God's creation and talking about it. My kids and I love it and never feel bad about other things we are missing out on for the time we take to spend in nature.

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I had fun playing with pictures today. We went on a nature walk again today. The girls loved it, but of course wanted to go further. I am struck by how green everything is - and yet so bare within the Lewis Watershed. I would like to take the girls to the end of the watershed to the Ridgefield bird sanctuary, where the Lewis meets up with the Mighty Columbia. We are blessed to be so close to so many wonderful streams, lakes, and rivers. We saw a Bald Eagle fly over us just as I was setting up for the first picture. I wish I could have been fast enough to catch a picture. It flew less than 20 feet over our heads. Here are my pics.

I was having fun with my tripod here. I took a fairly slow exposure, a shutter speed setting of 8, and had my girls stand really still, getting the car moving behind them as a blur.

I was also having fun with my new toy here. Again, I had my camera on a tripod and set my shutter speed fairly slow.

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Hey! Just a note: I'm posting this as part of Mary's Show 'N Tell Friday. Go visit her to see more Show 'N Tells or to share your own Show 'N Tell.

It was another sunny day. Well, sort of. It was bright and sunny here at our house. But when my daughters and I drove just a short distance away to go to our nature walk, it was mostly foggy. I liked the effect, however. Do you? Which is your favorite photo of the day?

This is the same river of two days ago - different falls. No salmon this time, but an equally compelling place to visit.

I love the fog effect of this photo.

My girls on a walkway.

Do you think there is a bird in that hole?

"Can we go to the calm water so we can skip rocks?"

The Falls. It was really roaring. I had the toddler in the front pack, so I couldn't really climb to a good angle to show the impressiveness of the falls.
 

Natalie says she just wants it to be a Spring day that is sunny and that she wants to spend the entire day going on a nature hike. What a girl!

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It was a sunny day today. And, it is supposed to be followed by several more. That's a big deal during the winter around here. I am sharing with you some of our photos from the day. The first is a picture of Rachel in the sun shining in through the windows. The latter ones are from our trip to Lucia Falls. We last took our camera to Lucia Falls in October and my how different it is right now after all the large amounts of snow, then rain that we got here in the Northwest.

Rachel's Puppet - she has red glitter glue for the mouth, Rachel wanted me to make sure I told everyone that.

Here is a picture of Lucia Falls from October. This is a lot more water than in the summer. Below I show you Lucia Falls today. It was beautiful. I wish I had a tripod and a little more light than I had. The salmon were out.

It's all one falls now. If you look closely you can see a salmon trying to jump up the falls. I love the color of the water. Don't you?

Here is a closer up shot of the salmon. Aren't they persistent?

Lucia Falls from above the falls.

Rachel & Natalie walking by the river.

This is Natalie telling me that if she were to climb rocks, she wouldn't choose a winter day to do it on. She says this because she is feeling cold because she chose to stomp in ice cold water with her tennis shoes.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip!

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What we do to ourselves and our children from time to time

Well, we take ourselves (and our children I might add) on tangents to locations like the one above. We look at properties we clearly cannot afford and we drool. If you love the country and dream of living on a secluded acreage, you must visit this site (www.hallhall.com) and find a ranch of your choosing.

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