Over the River and Through the Woods

Back when I was a kid (before smart phones and video players in the car) we amused ourselves on long car rides in 'old fashioned' ways, like singing old songs that my mom taught us. 'Over the River' could be sung anytime of year, but of course it got special attention on Thanksgiving Day, as we drove to both sets of grandparents' houses to celebrate.

Over the river and through the woods,

To Grandmother's house we go;

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,

Through the white a drifted snow.

Over the river and through the woods,

Oh how the wind does blow! 

It stings the toes and bites the nose,

As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods,

Trot fast my dapple-gray.

Spring over the ground like a hunting hound,

For this is Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the woods,

Now Grandfather's face I spy.

Hooray for the fun! Is the turkey done?

Hooray for the pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Creekside

Such a cute little creek in the Gifford Pinchot forest.  

Last week it was mostly rocks, 

but after a few inches of rain over the weekend 

all the creeks and streams are full.

Deep in the Woods

Looks like it's going to be a colorful fall in Gifford Pinchot this year.

Hope the rain coming this week won't spoil it,
And won't bring snow to the mid elevations yet!
We went to Indian Heaven over the weekend, in search of fall color,
but it's already under a few feet of snow :(
And barely driveable in my minivan.

And Just Like That It's Fall

Sort of unusual for summer to linger into October, but that's the lucky weather we've been having in Southwest Washington this month.  Last week we woke up one day, freezing around the house all morning, before figuring out we needed to turn on the heater!  So sunny and 70s in the day and low 40s at night is how the week has gone.  And yesterday, we even had a little fog!  Exciting only because it's fresh right now.  (I'll be so sick of fog by the end of winter.) Clover and I walked to the little creek on the campus trails to see how it looked in a thin fog.  This involved hat and gloves, although I shed them before the end of the walk.  I liked the light; a thin fog adds just the right amount of diffusion for a photo with some depth.  I'll try this spot again once the Big Leaf Maples really start turning yellow.  (Plus I'm intending to get out with my camera a few times a week, so hopefully more active on the blog this month and next.)

Happy New Year!

A wintery reflection to star the New Year: Multnomah Creek just downstream from Multnomah Falls. Hard to believe this little creek, so quiet and meandering, is all that is left after the falls!

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Pineapple Express

I'm constantly learning these West Coast weather terms.  Last year in California I learned the term for a ribbon of wet weather originating in the Pacific Ocean, 'Atmospheric River.'  This year there's a new term for this weather system, 'Pineapple Express.'  As near as I can tell, a Pineapple Express is an Atmospheric River that originates in Hawaii.  Either way, it means wet weather for a while.  This system happened to coincide with especially cold weather so that's why we got all this snow.  Today it's icy as well, and I'm working on getting a shot of one of the hummingbirds (so I don't have to leave the house).  Our Pineapple Express will continue through the week, but it will turn back to rain tonight or tomorrow.