our front yard with the street at top
Our drive to church is through rugged country. The road cinches around the side of a mountain like a too small belt on a too big man. The deep canyon falls off to the right. Curt cranes his head, looking for elk, eagles, what have you; I am the self-appointed scanner of the road who tries through telepathy and jerking hand signals to keep the car between the dotted yellow line on the left and the solid white line on the right. I need to carry a little notebook to mark down all the sights that grace our eyes. Perhaps, cough cough, if we started earlier , we could take some pictures. From my memory of last week:
Elk up to their thighs in deep snow, foraging for food, 5 – 10
Bald eagles, perhaps 8
Hawks, too many to count, mostly red-tail
Wild turkeys, in small clutches and a large group of ~70
Wild geese by the hundreds in lower fields, pecking at the grain
Deer, too many to count
Cows, too many to count
Horses, dozens
Great blue heron, 2
Mallards swimming in the river
LBJs – my husband’s ornithology teacher’s designation for common birds: little brown jobs
Bald eagles, perhaps 8
Hawks, too many to count, mostly red-tail
Wild turkeys, in small clutches and a large group of ~70
Wild geese by the hundreds in lower fields, pecking at the grain
Deer, too many to count
Cows, too many to count
Horses, dozens
Great blue heron, 2
Mallards swimming in the river
LBJs – my husband’s ornithology teacher’s designation for common birds: little brown jobs
the lower left corner is the road
Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air; it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain;
and sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.
A Living Pencil 
Carol,
Your environs sound beautiful. Where do you live?
Eastern Oregon, among Grande valleys and Wallowa mountains.
Oh tell of His might, oh sing of His grace;
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space!
… Oh yes, worship the KIng! … for He certainly does provide bountiful care…even for us “LBJs” Blessings, Laurie
Beautiful indeed! You must have laughed at my fear of riding in the mountains of Colorado when this is your normal Sunday commute? Is this a lot more snow than you normally get in a winter? We have had barely any (not that I’m complaining).Blessings,Sandy
Sandy, everyone is comparing this winter to the winter of 88-89. The snowfall, snowpack, and water content in the snow are much above normal. We’ve been in drought for TOO many years, so it is a blessing. Fears of severe flooding are present and we prayed this morning that God would protect us from that.
Living in Nebraska stinks! Absolutely love that first photo, lawn mogels!
Neighbor still has Christmas lights up and lit: deer, candy canes etc.
Oh dear. Still up? Still lit? They have to come down some day, don’t they?
I love your description relating the road to a belt. Though I don’t live in the Wallowas anymore, nor likely will again, I will always boast that I lived in some of the most beautiful country on earth for just over a year–and am close enough to visit often now!
The scenery in your area is really spectacular! And with your descriptions, I can pretend like I’m riding in the back. My treat today was hearing/seeing a bright red cardinal singing at the very top of a leafless tree. He was easy to spot 🙂
Oh, I miss cardinals. They were the state bird of Illinois where I grew up. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw a cardinal. Pianorose, I thought of the road/belt simile last summer and have been waiting for a moment to use it. If one could look at the topography, I think it would be evident that the mountain looks like a semi-reclined, pot-bellied giant.But there is some mighty beautiful land where you live. The rolling hills never cease to grab my imagination.
Those are beautiful photos and great descriptions. I love the mountains.
“The road cinches around the side of a mountain like a too small belt on a too big man.” TOO EXCELLENT!! lol