Reub's journey

11 December 2012

December in Oregon


 It is pouring outside. This shouldn't come as a surprise because western Oregon is a temperate rainforest, and that's what it's supposed to do this time of year. Oregonians complain about it, and generally warn people from other states to stay away.

 

"You'll be miserable from September through May," they warn the Californians who wonder about moving here.  In fact it can be very gray, and often wet after summer has passed.



We've caught up from 2012's drought of September and October. These days the streams are overflowing and the ground is soaked. I don't know how it absorbs as much water as it does each year.



 If you look for it though, the wet days bring out color everywhere. It's really not about being gray all the time.




 October's yellow leaves look like schools of fish.





 Ed and Reub fetch hundreds of balls on the muddy slopes near our house.



Moss grows all over, creating landscapes atop fence posts.




 The weak sun shows itself between showers, lighting the edges of even the tiniest mushrooms.




 Wild turkeys roam wherever there are oak trees. In this case it's our back yard.




I'm not originally from Oregon, but you can probably tell that I like it here. I love the long months of darkness and rain water, rainbows and moss. If there are days when I tire of it, well then, it is perhaps time for a nap.


23 comments:

  1. Some fine snaps here, Kerry. It's amazing how on a dull day, the rain saturates the existing colours and brings them to life. Your photos illustrate that well. What bird is that sitting on the top of the branches in the second shot?

    That kitty couldn't possibly look more comfy. :)

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    1. Hilary, it is some kind of hawk but I don't know specifically what it is. From a distance I first thought it might be an owl, but he/she just had those feathers all fluffed up to dry and was a hawk with a big round owl-ish shape.

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  2. wow, that's a good amount of rain! love the turkey and that muddy tongue!

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    1. Lots and lots and lots of rain. Reub's tongue remains muddy for months.

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  3. ah rain ... thank goodness for absorption and evaporation ... and how sad that little kitten is so unable to relax ;)

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    1. :0) Yes, he loves the sound of rain on the roof when he naps!

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  4. Your great photographs look like the Oregon I see outside my window. I think I'll go take a nap.

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  5. Beauty is in the details, isn't it? Though I prefer the sun to overcast cold wet days.

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    1. I do appreciate a sunny day, but the colors can be washed out and everything looks over-exposed in the bright light.

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  6. i love that turkey photo!!! wish i were sitting looking out your big back window at that gorgeous tree myself...

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    1. You're welcome ANYTIME! I bet you have turkeys in Ohio, although maybe not in town.

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  7. I like the nap idea. Beautiful photos too.

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    1. Hi Rebecca! I'm surprised to see you; don't you have a wedding to go to? :)

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  8. Gee, ditto all that from the Southern Oregon Coast!
    Beautiful pictures~

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    1. Ha! It's good to have somebody from Oregon watching. Keeps me honest.

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  9. I like the way rain saturates colours. We Easterners could use some of your excess wet. My creek level is down 25% this year - so feel free to pass on a shower or five. :)

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  10. "I love the long months of darkness and rain water, rainbows and moss."

    The photos tell all--except for the mudslides and floods, of course. I didn't know you weren't from Oregon. Where are you from and how have you been here? I'm from Mississippi and came here in '86.

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    1. I could do without the mudslides and floods, though, of course those calamities are part of the natural world & often exacerbated by human choices.

      John and I moved here in 1998, so you have over a decade on us. We had been living in Alabama for 9 years, but originally we're both from Wisconsin. There are things I like about each region.

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  11. What wonderful glimpses into your beautiful state. My daughter loves it there in Portland. Yes, even the rainy days. She hated the heat of Texas so much, a little rain is nothing.

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    1. The difference in climate between here and TX is huge! There are a lot of people who would not want to make that switch. Portland is a really cool place, and a very young town.

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