Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Where there's smoke...


This is a picture I took from about a quarter mile away, across the farm fields of my husband taking Ladde for an early morning ride last weekend.  This horse is so beautiful to me...I think he's majestic.   This is a picture of two of the most important guys in my life.  

Notice how hazy it is?  There are several forest fires in our Pacific Northwest, none really close, but near enough to affect our air quality.

My guys are headed back home, unaware I'm watching them through my lens...


Looks like they're taking a moment to gaze over at the neighbor's horses.  Such beauty...
I might be a little, tiny bit prejudiced.


A view heading over the Willamette Pass last weekend...trees as far as the eye can see.  


This is the viewpoint at O'Dell Lake that the dogs and I hiked to.  It's a really big lake and was a beautiful day.  You can't really tell from this picture, but we were probably about 150-200 feet above the water at this point.

I only saw one boat with a couple of fisherman on the lake that day.  Sure would have been a perfect day for a little boating or fishing.
 Almost made it to the top...Annie's feeling the burn right about now.  I'm not sure, but I think this trail may go around the whole lake.  Now, that would be an enjoyable hike to do someday.  This was very near the point of my "little episode" when I was making my trek back down this trail...sshh.  Note to self:  next time, bring a walking stick and do not stop!!


These pictures are in no particular order, but they're of the Pole Creek Trail forest fire in Central Oregon.  It's still not contained, and these pics were taken last Saturday.  This one is just coming into Sisters from Bend.  The smoke and haze was very dense, and the air quality was hazardous.


 Just outside Sisters...


The quality of the pictures are not great because they were taken from the car while we were driving down the highway.  The sun was amazing though; much more blood red than these photos represent.


Looking eastward from the other side of Sisters just above Blue Lake on the Santiam Pass.


Same location, looking eastward towards Sisters, but zoomed in...




Pretty trippy huh?  Living on the wetter side of the Cascade Mountains, I'd never really thought much about living with the possibility of this happening in my back yard before, but it does happen.  Everywhere is so extremely dry right now, it's amazing there aren't more fires than there are.  This is another good reason to have the sage brush cleared from rural property, and smaller trees thinned.





This is my beautiful Kadie and Jules.  She's the young gal that's been coming over occasionally for lessons on horsemanship and she's just beginning to ride.  Kadie at 28 years old, is the kindest, most gentle horse I've ever had the pleasure of spending time with.  The perfect horse to learn from...

Jules is in love.

Since Kadie has arthritis in both hocks, she can't be ridden...so, that's where Harley comes in.  He may be blind and unsuitable for mountain riding, but he does perfectly fine in a safe, enclosed environment.  This was Jules' first riding lesson on Harley.  He was a little rusty, but came around in no time.  I think he really enjoyed having a job and being pampered by a little girl again.  Being brushed, loved and fed treats...what's not to enjoy?


Since this post has gotten a little photo heavy, I'll save the pictures of my dream home in LaPine for another time.  We're still experiencing warmer than average end-of-summer weather.  We hit 91 the other day, but it's cooler and a bit overcast today.  My tomato plants are producing like gangbusters, zuchini, yellow crooknecks, green beans and cucumbers are dwindling.  Marions are drying up on the vines, but the pears and apples are in their prime.  Summer's nearing its' end, but it's going out with a bang this year.  I'm always a little melancholy about the passing of another summer, but I'm looking forward to fall and all that lovely season has to offer.

Blessings all,
until next time...Lorie @ Cingspots

10 comments:

Michelle said...

That third photo deserves to be a beautiful poster on your wall!

Isn't the air quality awful? Reminds me of growing up in Southern California. Forest fires are one reason living on the "dry side" doesn't appeal to me. Floods and fires scare me!

Lea and her Mustangs said...

Fires are so awful. Our area is full of smoke today again. A really nasty one over by Wenatchee in particular. Being in the middle of wheat field, even though harvested still make it scarey. We keep a green area around the house and sprinklers ready to turn the water on. Scarey for sure.

Am glad you liked the rug. I am about half finished with a hall runner. I keep getting side tracked with a quilting project and a sewing project. I need to finish one before I start on another maybe.

Does Harley have any vision? Pepper has about half vision in both his eyes. He has glaucoma. Would only ride him on easy places. He stumbles pretty easily.

Blessings Lorie, hope we get to meet someday.

RURAL said...

All the shots are beautiful. What a gorgeous horse.

We are still seeing residual smoke in the valleys, it's from the wildfires up here.

Melancholy is a good word, that's what I am feeling also....a little sad, and little happy that another season is changing.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Grey Horse Matters said...

The smoke is awful but I'm glad you're not in any danger.

Beautiful pictures of the trip too. It looks like a wonderful place to live near.

Harley is a great horse. I'm sure he's glad to have a job to do. Jules looks like she's enjoying herself.

C-ingspots said...

Michelle, that's something I'd like to do with several pics I've taken over the years. One of those things I don't seem to ever take the time to actually do. Someday...
Lea, Harley has a tiny bit of vision in 1 eye, and he also has glaucoma in both eyes. We think he may see some shadowing, but no distinction. Other than that, he's perfect!
Jen, thanks! The passing of time and those distinctive rites of passage like the changing of seasons is always a mixed bag of emotions for me.
GH, Harley is amazing! A kind soul who's as non-confrontational and easy-going as horses come. Had he not lost his vision, I'd have been happy with him for the rest of my riding life. So, we find new ways to amuse him and make use of his talents.

Oak Creek Ranch said...

Beautiful photos. We live with the threat of wild fire and are compulsive about clearing brush. Its a necessity.

Jenn said...

Lovely photos of your two handsome men, the smoky air lends an ethereal quality to them!

Wildfires are SCARY! I'm glad they aren't close to you!

Simply Marvelous said...

Photos are just terrific! What a beautiful area to live. Fire is frightening. I haven't recovered from the terror of the fires we had in So. Calif a few years ago. So many horses were rescued from the canyons. We all grabbed trucks and trailers to go help with transport. People were amazing.

Strawberry Lane said...

Lori, Thanks for your comments on my blog "Simply Marvelous". I gave Royal a hug for you and he sends a slobbery "thank you".

Also, thanks for being the first of my "old friends" to welcome me back when we opened the barn doors on "Strawberry Lane" again, after 4 years away from cyberspace. How very nice of you!

Adventures of the Super Ponies said...

I loooove all these pictures. I think the ones of yours boys should def be framed. All the appies are great!! Spots are the best.