Weekly Photography Challenge: Broken

Last week while I was driving around in Camas, Washington I passed by Lacamas Lake and caught a glimpse of a blue heron perched on a fallen and broken tree. I quickly seized the moment and pulled over to take a photograph of this blue heron.

Although I often see Blue Heron’s I have never been able to get this close to one before it flew away. This time I was lucky and snapped a photograph or two before it decided I was too close for comfort.

Although the main subject of the photograph, the heron, is not broken, I would not have been able to take the photograph if not for the broken tree which is the secondary subject of the photograph, so I decided to go ahead and share it for the photography challenge this week.

You can join the wordpress photography challenge also by following the link here.

Icy Days: Multnomah Falls and Lacamas Lake

Back in the middle of November (very early for such cold weather here) it got down right freezing here. There was a stretch of many days in a row where it did not get above 20. That usually happens once a year or so around here, but usually in January or February. During that stretch I ventured out to look at Lacamas Lake, near my house, and could see that it was completely frozen.

I have always wanted to head out to Multnomah Falls when it was frozen, so while my kids were in school I took a very short trip out there to see it. It was not fully frozen, but there was a lot of ice around it. It was beautiful. A few weeks later a huge rock fell and broke a large chunk of this beautiful historic bridge right off. 😦 I guess they think that the freezing conditions probably loosened the rock. It was lucky that it fell in the wee hours of the morning, so no one was hurt. This bridge is usually very busy as it is a view point for the falls as well as a part of the hike to get to the top of the falls. It is currently closed pending…well hopefully getting fixed.

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The entire Columbia Gorge scenic area is just gorgeous. If you ever come out to Oregon or South Washington it is a must see. There are so many waterfalls, with trails that fit any kind of hiking ability. My good friends got married at a place right next to Bridal Veil Falls and hike in their wedding attire to take pictures at the falls before the wedding. It was great.

Stump

More from Lacamas Lake when it was emptied. Our fall was unusually warm and dry, I am talking temperatures up into the eighties even in October. I am used to seeing a fall with high temperatures in September and maybe breaking 70 in October but I don’t remember ever experiencing an Oregon/Washington October that broke 80 before. I have to say that I love it but also realize that rain is super important to the ecology here. I have even noticed many many evergreens that are so dry they are dying. Luckily now in late November it is pouring rain.

 

Little Yellow Tree

 

Lacamas Lake is surrounded by large evergreen trees and boasts miles of hiking paths that can take you as far as down town Camas. Tucked within these evergreens are a growing number of deciduous trees that are most visible during the fall when their colors are in contrast with the evergreens. This small yellow tree was one such tree.

I would love to go on a trip to the East coast during the fall some year (maybe to visit my extended family) and see the trees changing color there.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal

Every fall the city of Camas drains Lacamas Lake. Why do they do this? I am not entirely sure why they drain the lake, but I suspect it is to prepare for the rainy season, clean the lake out, and do any repairs that need to be done on the bridge and dam.

This year I was able to take a walk in the empty lake on a day that my daughter and son were both in school. I have a few posts coming up that will have pictures from the lake.  These three in particular fit very well with the theme renewal so I thought I would share them for this weeks photo challenge.

I think it is amazing how this little tree is making its start directly out of the stump of this dead tree. Also note that usually the lake is filled all the way up to the green tree line that you see in the first picture. Life’s delicate balance for sure.

Thank you for stopping by. Feel free to explore these other pages to see similar posts:

Past Weekly Photo Challenges

Flora and Fauna

Camas Lily Field: Anticipation

On my hike last weekend I went up to the lily field hoping that they would be in bloom but not really knowing when they are usually. They were not yet but I can already tell that if they all bloom at once this is going to be a great place to go take a photograph with the blue/purple lilies and the green from the moss.

I can’t wait and I hope I don’t miss it! I hear there is a very small window of time that they are in full bloom.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Journey

This is the path that I took my most recent journey on. It is Round Lake, which is a part of the Lacamas Lake hiking trails. They are fantastic trails to walk, run, or bike. I am looking forward to seeing the Camas Lilies in bloom soon. There is a whole field of them that look like they should be making an appearance in the next couple of weeks.

A Day of Remembering

This last weekend I was celebrating my best friend’s birthday, she would have been 31 (see a post about what I did last year here) but died from cancer, September 21, 2010 at the age of 29. I decided to go on a hike that she and I had done together more than a few times with our kids. I was hoping that the lily field would be in bloom but it looks like it will be a few more weeks (it has been unseasonably cold).

There were some very cute little blossoms on a bush that I think was a huckleberry bush but I am not all that sure.

This hike felt great and it was so beautiful out during the morning, I felt very at calm but still felt like something was missing. After I finished the hike I wanted to try a few other hikes and headed out to Beacon Rock but it was so windy I could hardly push my car door open against the force of the wind so I skipped that one.

I felt myself searching the rest of the afternoon feeling like I was looking for something. Feeling quite discontent and restless at every stop I made. Finally after driving over the Bridge of the Gods (which I wished I was walking over, what a view) I pulled over. I stood at a wall looking over the cliff at the bridge. Suddenly I realized that I could not find contentment in this journey, on this day, because some small part of me was still trying to find my friend.

This realization was amazing, maybe a bit overwhelming as well. I don’t know why but it didn’t even cross my mind the last few times I have attempted to really concentrate on celebrating or remembering her. Those times have included: her birthday last year when she would have turned 30, the 1 year anniversary of her death (also my daughters birthday), or most of this day, spent searching and feeling incomplete and dissatisfying. So although that realization has me in tears (literally) I think it did make me come one step closer to dealing with her death and oddly making that day feel more complete.