Local Scenery

 

 

I really like where we live now. It may not look "beautiful" at first glance, but it is full of interest. 

Here are some pics from a spring walk to the neighborhood reservoir. On our way we pass the rocks you see above.

Spring comes to our area a lot later than it does in the Willamette Valley. While they are luxuriating in enough green to fill Ireland, dotted with early flowering trees and violets blooming in profusion, we have to look a little harder for our early signs of spring. Usually there are small white flowers throughout the winter (1/8" or less blooms), but these early purply ones you can't miss!

The year this walk was taken, the reservoir had water in it. It's been a bit more like a mud puddle since then.

It doesn't look impressive, but there is a character to the area, something I have been seeking in Oregon for thirty years. I won't repeat my rant here about Oregon's lack of character in general (although I think I'm due to write another one), but out here, I found it. Call it cowboy culture (there are real ones here), or rural salt-of-the-earth stuff, or tough, stick-to-itiveness because of the landscape, but there sure is something out here that the rest of the state needs.

 

I was impressed that the canal system and dam built were built by the locals over a hundred years ago. I am impressed with the hard-working ranches big and small. I am impressed that the nearby City of Prineville (with a population of less than 12k) has its own railroad, warehouses and airport, which seems to me to be a sign that the can-do spirit of the settlers lives on in the area. 

 

I am impressed with how friendly and welcoming the locals are, despite the fact that they are getting invaded every year by more and more outsiders who want to change this place. They should have shut the doors after letting us in ;-)

It doesn't rain a lot, but when it does, we take note!