American beauty

The first time I set foot in Oregon I knew I wanted to live here. It was green, hilly, and uncrowded. It had four seasons a year, unlike Southern California. It took a little finangling, but four years later we headed north. With two kids riding shotgun, a third one almost due, a big truck and a little Toyota Starlet packed to the roof with our belongings.

And here we are.
Still.
Till we die.
Our burial plots, recently purchased, are in an idyllic little cemetery on the mountain that overlooks our house.

Jeff and I spent the weekend at the beach. It was relaxing, with reading, crocheting, and crossword-puzzle-solving being high on the list of activities. We did, however, try a little hike at Cascade Head, just north of Lincoln City. The trail-heads are quite hard to find, but after a little reconnaissance, we found the north entrance. It is a six-mile, one-way hike. Knowing we weren't in the mood for 12 miles, we decided to hike in for a while and then turn around.

The forest was in its usual state of dampness and we found many weird and wonderful fungus specimens growing on old logs. Here are some of the best ones.


Some of them were just growing in the damp, brown, fertile soil of the forest, like these.


Several times along the trail I almost jumped out of my skin when one of these brown frogs hopped off into the undergrowth.
Jeff said, "You scared it."
"Well," I said,"It scared me!"


The woods were beautiful, with a palette of brilliant greens and rich browns dotted with the yellows and purples of tiny wildflowers. It must have been a rugged winter on the coast because the trail was criss-crossed with fallen trees.



Jeff mostly went over them.
I, of course, mostly went under them.
THEN
we came to some places that had been washed out, trees uprooted.


I gamely struggled on, thinking that things HAD to get better soon.
Didn't they?
But no.
We climbed down yet another little ravine, turned a corner, and saw THIS.
My nemesis.


This one looked too much like spelunking for my taste.
I have lost my yen for the derring-do.
We turned around.
Defeated.
Except for we did have a very nice hike.
At least a couple of miles.
Enough to justify a piece or two of rhubarb cake when we got back to the beach house.