Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: morning light

A Park Featuring Sand Dunes! How would you like to stay at a campground sitting right next to sand dunes? Along part of the Oregon coast lies a 40-mile stretch called the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, which are especially popular for folks who enjoy ATVs, dune-buggies and of all things, sand skiing! These dunes are also quite beautiful to look at, but I wouldn't recommend walking over them for any distance. The loose, deep and slippery sand is very arduous for cross and not recommended except for short stretches. (By the way, these dunes are only open to vehicles in certain areas.) Honeyman State Park has plenty of hiking and biking trails that do not go into the sand though, and I fell in love with this wonderful park and its unique habitat. The forest which hugged the edge of the sand was healthy and full of birds and other animals to enjoy, and of course I found lots of flowers and mushrooms to photograph as well! Today's Picture One of the trails I love takes me past a small pond and out to a much larger and picturesque lake. Every morning I was greeted by sun or diffused light streaming down through the trees, and in some of the trees, ferns grew. With beds of moss to cling to, the glowing greens and beautiful light was a sight that took my breath away every day. Up in one tree I saw this pair of vibrant fronds which showed the beautiful spores dotting each blade. Magnificent! Art News: New Doodles! I'm posting a pair of doodles I drew the other day and of course I have many more to share, which I'll do whenever I add another post! I don't draw every day but still, my linework improves quickly, which I'm very delighted by. It will be fun to see where my creativity leads me. Today's Insets One day Steve and I got to watch a family enjoying the sand dunes in their ATVs and it was such fun to get pictures! You'll see several pictures showing them buzzing around and climbing the hills of sand. One also shows the ocean in the distance. You will also see a picture of huckleberry flowers and a row of shelf fungus I found on the bark of a tree. Thank You For Stopping By! Thank you so much for your visits and support! Please forgive my lack of visits, I hope to get back to stopping by as soon as I am able. :) Have a safe and happy weekend! :) Explored on 1/7/22; highest placement #5.

(+3 insets) We Live for the Morning Light! There are few things as breathtaking as taking a nature walk on a lovely morning. It's something to look forward to, it's something that fills me with excitement the moment I open my eyes at the start of each day, and no matter how many glorious starts that I have enjoyed, I will always look forward to the next one! They are all different in some way and each is full of its special gifts. And aren't we lucky that we can take pictures to share? Every day at Tugman, I hop out of our trailer, walk around the edge of the nested campground loops and make my way past the entrance to the cement path that will take me to the Eel Lake trails. This footpath leads through a huge meadow which skirts the lake and leads to the boat launch for fishermen and kayakers. The glowing, green glade is dotted with picnic tables and has a gazebo for family gatherings and there's even a wonderful small playground too. I've shared a few pictures already, showing the robins who charge around the meadow, but there are so many other special sights to see! Art News: New Doodles! When I was exploring doodles online, I was intrigued by the premise behind a popular style called "Zentangles," which are drawn on 3.5" square pieces of heavy paper. Instead of just scribbling doodles, artists are encouraged to sink into a meditative state while doing so, using the drawing to keep thoughts from wandering away. It is a very pleasant feeling to "zen-out" this way and it's become a great therapy to many people. Of course, just creating the doodles is wonderful all by itself! However, one thing I can't stand is when someone takes something nice and turns it into a marketing ploy. In the case of Zentangles, the people behind it want everyone to purchase their "official" square tiles and special kits. Which, of course, are outrageously expensive. I really can't stand that crap! So, I looked around and found the perfect alternative--cardboard coasters at a quarter of the price! A couple of days ago I got my package of 100 3.5" x 3.5" cardboard coasters and immediately created a doodle! Now there are two, and soon there will be more! I've included a picture of my first two tiles, aren't they fun?! :D Today's Picture One morning the sun was shining at just the right angle to cast enormous shadows through the meadow's oak trees. I stood for a long moment, drooling at the lovely dappling on the grass, admiring the gorgeous silhouettes against the cloud-streaked sky. You will see in the background to the left, the fence on the small dock. There I have seen fathers fishing while their kids play, sometimes reaching into the water to catch salamanders which make their home there. You'll also see a few picnic tables with wonderful views of the lake too. Today's Insets I'm also sharing another picture of sun shining through oak trees on the meadow, an image of the straight path that heads to the boat launch, and a picture of my two doodles! Thank You For Stopping By--Keep SAFE! I sure hope everyone is doing ok with all of the crazy virus developments these days. I enjoyed reading that so many of you have your boosters and doing your best to be careful. No guarantees but it helps. I was in a store a couple of days ago and there were a couple of people who didn't have masks on, instead wearing defiant faces and just daring anyone to say a thing. I sure wouldn't want to be a store employee these days--it's no wonder there is such a shortage of people willing to take these jobs. What a strange world we're in these days. Anyway, I hope you folks have a fabulous weekend!! Explored on 12/10/21; highest placement #1.

(+5 insets) (seeing larger is better!) (Please scroll down to "Today's Image" for photo info) Notes Written on the Road: Morning Light at Harris Beach State Park It's hard to beat that gorgeous golden glow from Magic Hour. It gets me up and out of the trailer in anticipation of marvelous oohs and ahhs as I walk along, discovering one lovely sight after another. I was heading towards the far end of the campground loops when I was stopped in my tracks by what I saw. Some folks had started a campfire and the smoke was drifting softly through the trees. The sun shone down through the branches and created those magical beams of light we all love so much. In front of me was the dappled shadows on the pavement and grass and the star of the show was a camper van tucked under a tree at the side of the magical beams of light. I thought to myself, "WOW! That looks like an ad for Reserve America Campgrounds!" What a beautiful sight! I stood and stared for a moment when I noticed a bit of movement next to the van. I'd missed spotting a picnic table there but now I could see a woman, bundled up and contentedly reading a book, puffs of chilly breath rising up around her. Normally I would pass by quietly so as to not disturb her reverie but this time I had to intrude. "Good morning!" I called, and stepped close enough that she could see me around the bushes obscuring the table and campsite. She looked up in surprise and said, "Oh! Good morning!" "I'm sorry to disturb you but if you enjoy taking pictures of your campsites, there is a very magical view here from where I'm standing. The sunlight is creating beautiful shafts of light which make your van and campsite look amazing!" She put her book down, stood and turned to smile in excitement. "YES! Oh, THANK YOU! I'll go get my camera!" She clapped her mitten-covered hands and rushed to get into her van. Grinning back at her I departed with, "ENJOY! And have a lovely day!" She called back, "YOU TOO!!" As I continued my walk I felt so happy that I was able to share that moment! Today's Picture My main image shows the photo I took on my walk that I described above. Sometimes everything is just right and you are lucky enough to have a camera with you to capture the magic moment! Today's Insets I'm also including another group of images showing some of the neat things I've found on my morning walk… * Another view of the rugged coast at one of the Sunset Trail's benches… * The gorgeous dappling on the trail that leads down to South Harris Beach… * A collage of bunny pictures that show the fluffy little friend who I frequented on that path down to South Harris Beach… * A man enjoying a walk on South Harris Beach with his two very boisterous buddies… * And finally, the silly face I spotted on a tree trunk along Sunset Trail! Thank You For Stopping By! It is very humbling to get so many kind remarks from all of you who take the time to visit my pictures! There's no feeling like the waves of joy I feel, knowing that I've accomplished my goal: to make people happy with a gift I am so fortunate to have. At the same time, it's a very powerful experience to visit all of the incredible photography that you all share with us here on ipernity. I'm so glad to be part of this community. You're my online family and I couldn't be luckier to be a part of this fine group! Hope all of you are doing well on "Hump Day"! :) Explored on 11/17/21; highest placement #1.

(+11 insets!) (Please scroll down to "Today's Pictures for inset information) Trip Talk: Little Upgrades and the First Two Projects: Our Bedrooms! Our new trailer is going to be a perfect way to travel around the country! That being said, we need to upgrade some things before we are satisfied with its current state. Steve's done lots of little additions around the place, such as adding felt dots and rubber bumpers to doors so they close quietly and don't bang into walls. We noticed they neglected to put caps on the recessed screw holes here and there so we got those. Lots of things like that. But also, there are four projects that we planned on right away: our beds, the coffee bar/charging center, and our computer/gaming stations. Today I'll cover the beds! The Beds: Steve's (You can see the location on Inset 1 and look at "A") First off, we needed to upgrade the sleeping situation. The first and easiest fix was the master bedroom. It came with a king-sized mattress stuffed into a queen-sized space, ugh! How ridiculous to stand in there trying to find room next to that silly bed! Steve quickly fixed this by sawing down the bed's platform to a proper size. When we put a queen-sized mattress in place of the ginormous king-sized bed, suddenly it was like a breath of fresh air! For the first time since we've owned the coach, the master bedroom FEELS like a master bedroom! Sheesh. We are astonished by the propensity of people who want everything to be LARGER. What type of person would WANT a king-sized bed? They are entirely too HUGE! The Beds: Janet's (See Inset 1: "B") The second part of this equation was my bed. The Avalanche has a new and rare layout called a "mid-house bunk room." Ordinarily this is a double-decker platform ("bunk house") located in the back of the coach, which is what our Grey Wolf had. I used the bottom bunk as my private little nest and I loved it in the beginning. However, by the time we got back from our six-week Vancouver Island trip, I was DONE. All of the sideways wriggling in and out of the foot-accessible-only bed got to be intolerable, especially at three in the morning when I needed to make a bathroom run. I couldn't even sit up completely unless I wanted to bang my head. No amount of coziness could make up for that cramped and totally annoying sleeping situation. This became a defining criteria for choosing our full-timing rig. The perfectly tiny bunk room in the Avalanche is located half-way between the back and front of the coach and is even has *gasp* actual doors (as opposed to curtains)! It came with an attractive couch which folded out to entirely fill the room with a classic, uncomfortable, temporary bed. No thanks. I did sleep on it when we stayed at Joseph Stewart State Park but we also put a gel-foam topper on it to make it reasonably comfortable. No worries...we had a plan! We took out the couch and in its place, Steve built a platform to fit the 38" x 72" space. When completed, there will be three spacious drawers underneath, but for now the frame is in place and it's absolutely perfect! What about the Mattress? At first we were at a loss. Custom-made anything almost always means sky-high prices and that's all we could find as we combed the search results. Finally I found pay-dirt! The Military Supply House makes mattresses of any size with a zillion options, all at a totally affordable price. We paid about $230 to get mine made and when it arrived, we were both totally blown away. It's gorgeous, soft but supportive, impeccably made and sewn, and best of all, it is EXACTLY the right size! We were so impressed that we're ordering another one in queen size for Steve's mattress! (The temporary mattress in place right now was borrowed from our guest bedroom so we could go to Joseph Stewart.) A Perfect Room for Janet The difference in that petite room is amazing. It's no longer an awkward nook with a little sofa in it that folds out. Now it's got an exactly-sized bed with lots of room to move around. There's a spacious countertop on the opposite side and I'll be able to add a chair to sit and use my laptop. With this arrangement I'll be able to write and work on my photography without distraction. What an upgrade!! The situation I had in the Grey Wolf quickly began to drive me crazy. I'd wriggle into my lower bunk bed, crawl into place, turn over to sit down, drag my computer onto my lap, position my mouse next to me and finally I'd open the laptop. It was such an ordeal to get everything properly set up that getting back out again was really annoying. Granted, it was a wonderful, cozy place to hang out but once I was there, I didn't want to move...it was too much effort! So you can see why I'm so over-the-moon with my wonderful little bedroom in the Avalanche! (Note: you may wonder why I'm in the little room and Steve is in the master bedroom. This is because Steve is 6'2 and I am 5'4. He cannot fit into that little bed but it's the perfect length for me. I also wanted to have my own space for writing and creating without being disturbed. The master bedroom doesn't have a desk area. The situation is absolutely ideal for us! Oh, and in case you didn't know this yet, we sleep apart because Steve snores and we prefer restful nights!) Today's Pictures It's another installment from Joseph Stewart State Park! The main picture was the view we saw from our coach every morning, can you believe it?! Stepping just outside, I took this picture of gorgeous light and shadows streaming through the trees that surrounded our trailer. How amazing it was to be here, and yet the park is a mere 45 minutes away!! The first inset today is a graphic to show the layout of our Avalanche 365MB with areas noted for the projects we're working on. (I'll talk about the other projects in a later blog.) The rest of the insets are more subjects that I found while I was blissfully wandering around with my camera. You will notice lots of lovely fall leaves, but also mushrooms and even a ridiculous sign on a path sprayed on by someone who has dyslexia! ENJOY! Pam, today it's such a bright and beautiful day, I can't stop smiling when thinking about the hopeful situation for you that's coming up. There is nothing like hope. Now there is a large sprig to grasp onto and I'm so glad!! Have you recovered from your procedure and feeling better? I'm wishing the best for you and sending lots of *HUGS* your way! Explored on 12/02/19; highest placement #7.