Two photowalks at two parks within a day.

Around noon, I headed over to Aumsville Ponds County Park to get some pictures of the place. While I did see some wildlife, the Great Blue Heron that I saw flew away before I even knew it was there. After I left this park, I headed over to Bonesteel County Park for more photo opportunities...

Aumsville Ponds County Park:

 Camas Lily

Canadian Geese

Red-winged Blackbird

Bonesteel County Park:

 "The Boardwalk"

"The Woods"

Silver Falls State Park April 15th Photowalk

After getting back out to the park, I decided to hike the trail from the day-use area to the campground and then continue on the Nature Trail that circles the campground. Though I got to see beaver dams, I unfortunately did not see any beavers...

American Robin

 One of three picnic shelters

 Trail though the Woods

 Oregon Anemone

Steller's Jay

Silver Falls State Park April 9th Photowalk

I had the day of, so I went back to Silver Falls to hike a trail that I have never been on before--the trail connecting the day-use area with the campground. I got to discover more plants that I had never seen before as well...

 Pacific Bleeding Heart

 Palmate Coltsfoot

 Spring Queen

Western Thatcher Ants (this photo makes me think of abstract modern art)

Silver Falls State Park April 8th Photowalk

 Starting today, I will be going to Silver Falls once a week partly to volunteer and partly to take pictures as part of my project that I am starting. That project will include photos, videos, and audio from the park that will be compiled as a video for visitors to buy. I expect the project to take at least one year to gather all the pictures necessary. As usual, the best photos from today are posted below.
 

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Red-flowering Currant (should have been called pink-flowering currant)

Salmonberry

 Scouler's Corydalis

Skunk Cabbage

South Falls

 South Fork of Silver Creek

Tall Oregon Grape (Oregon's state flower)

Western Trillium

Cherry Blossoms at Oregon's State Capitol State Park

 After waiting for a whole year to pass for the cherry trees at the capitol to bloom once again, I drove over there earlier today to get some pictures. Unfortunately, some of the pictures were ruined by microfibers that had gotten inside my camera when I changed the lens. But as usual, below are the best pictures of the day.

 

Pioneer and Wilderness Parks Photowalk

Earlier today, I went back to Pioneer Park in Stayton to explore more of it's 9+ acres to get a better sense of what was there. Now, the first time I went to this park was last Fall to see the covered bridge near the parking lot; and of course the last time was earlier this year when I got a picture of the resident Mallard Ducks and the bridge. This time, I skipped the bridge because, let's face it, the surroundings do not look that great this time of year. As I was walking, I often took the smaller side paths as they tended to get me closer to wildlife where little white butterflies flitted this way and that. On one of those less traveled side trails, I was taken to the west end of a pond that included swimming Garter Snakes and to my best guess, a Western Pond Turtle. Another little side trail took me to the parking lot for Wilderness Park, where I walked across the footbridge and over to the dam, where water was flowing over in a cool waterfall. As always, my favorite pictures are included below.

St. Louis Ponds Photowalk - March 4th, 2014

The other day, we had some sunny weather, so I went to a Marion County Park that I had not yet been to, known as the St. Louis Ponds. The sky was perfect for the outing and as usual, my favorite photos are posted below. I heard from some of the regulars that were fishing that Beaver were often seen in these ponds, although there was no dam or lodge to be found.

I normally wouldn't take pictures of exotic species unless I wanted to talk about their invasive nature on my other blog, Oregon by Nature, but at the time I took the picture below, I had no idea it was the exotic species from Europe known as the House Sparrow.

 

Pioneer Park Photowalk

I decided to go to Pioneer Park in Stayton yesterday to get a few pictures since I would be in town. While there, I discovered a pair of Mallard Ducks diving for food below the water's surface.

"Double Dipping"

From time to time, I may use the same title with a different picture. Such is the case with this next photo having the same title as one that was posted back in January

"I'm Watching You"

 

"Ducks and Raindrops"

South Falls February Photowalk

The other day I went over to Silver Falls for two reasons: first, to turn in an application for the interpretive naturalist position; and secondly, to go on a small walk to the base of South Falls with my camera in hand but no tripod. as a result, some of the pictures I wanted to capture were blurry. Below are a few of the photos that I took that day.

"Winter Cascade"

"Silver Falls"

 

"The Power of Water"

 I liked the texture of the moss on the maple trees. The moss in the photo below is just one of many that live in the temperate rainforest that stretches from northern California to the Kenai Penninsula in Alaska,

"The Waterfall Trail'

The flower below is known as a Spring Queen, but also known as a Snow Queen because they bloom just after the snow melts. The whole region of Northwestern Oregon was hit by a snowstorm that started melting four days before I visited the park.

"Flower in February"

"Falling Water, Rising Mist"

Bonesteele County Park Photowalk

 I found out about Bonesteele County Park last Autumn when I was looking around for natural areas to visit that were nearby. I had intended to go back to is sometime this winter, and the opportunity presented itself when to answer one of three questions with a picture for my photography class. Those questions were the following:
1--What do you love about the Willamette Valley
2--What do you love about your dog
3 (extra credit)--Some interpretation that combines the first two. My interpretation is "I love hiking with a friend in all the natural places within the Willamette Valley."

Anyways, the pictures below show me and my dog (actually my parents dog since I don't have one) at the county park that is closest to where I live. I honestly hate being in pictures because it make my skin look paler than it really is, and I need to train my brain not to look at the camera when I am not in a portrait. I found that all too often, I was looking at the camera while walking instead of looking at the landscape around me. I think that is why I love animals, they don't always look at the camera. When they do, it seems more like they are looking for what made the "click" noise.

 I really love how the ferns grow out of the tree, and so in the next three photos, I tried to capture the idea that wherever life can find a root, it will flourish.

 "Tree of Life?"

Every time I have taken a photo of ferns on trees, I have always captured the ferns from a distance, such as in the picture above. Since the trail took me right below that very same tree, I was able to get a picture of the ferns from below the branches, giving me the picture you see below.

Once again, life found a way to thrive; this time growing off a boulder. The forests of the Pacific Northwest always seem so magical to me when you come upon sights like this. Especially in the Springtime when the majority of plant species get their new leaves. I think the dog heard the click of the camera.

"Leaning Tree"