This is looking north from my deck towards the wooden bridge. The water is just inches deep now and crystal clear and very, very cold.
This is looking down on the creek from the far right corner of my deck, on the left side of the tree on the far left above.. You can see how clear the water is in the pool to the left, you can clearly see the rocks at the bottom of the creek.
This is looking southwest off my deck, across the creek towards the north end of town. The grey skies and fog just barely visible at the top. I can hear traffic on 9 and depending on the time of year, music playing in Junction Park, the sounds of the 4th of July parade, and Christmas carols at the annual Tree Lighting at the Rainbow; but I can't see town. Only trees, a few rooftops, and one street lamp at night. You can also see my rain gauge and the back of one of my patio chairs on the right and some of my potted plants on the left.
Sure am going to miss this place but hope to find a place in Oregon like it. I refer to my dream spot as "the illusive Boulder Creek, Oregon". I want a place close to a small town for grocery shopping and such but not a lot of traffic. Clean air. Lots of nature around, trees, birds, and (fingers and toes crossed) water. I would prefer to be on a creek or river as I am here, but am willing to settle for an ocean view (laughing, like that will happen with my puny budget). An hour or two away from the "big city" for those times when there is something happening I want to see. I am about that distance from San Francisco (depending on traffic) and it is nice knowing I'm not totally isolated from the bright lights of the big city.
Just found out within the past few days that I can extend my search down as far as the Eugene area. Turns out Eugene is only 45 minutes or so down 5 from Salem and Kaiser has no problem with subscribers living there. Am starting to rule out Astoria (mainly due to the nasty habit rain has of falling sideways there due to the blustery winds and the tsunami danger). Don't want to rule out any towns within around 20 miles or so of the coast (I am presently 13 miles from Santa Cruz) but also would prefer to be in the hills rather than "the flats". On the other hand (can you tell I am a Libra), I don't want to be dealing with lots and lots of snow. An occasional dusting is ok as long as it don't hang around more than a couple of days in my opinion. Rain, well, I like the rain. Doesn't bother me at all to sit inside, with a nice fire going, listening to the rain, watching the rain while I am nice and cozy inside. Not too hot in the summer either (I can be picky - it is my dream), but will be taking the suggestion of TRex and if my new place doesn't have A/C, I will be buying one in December as my Christmas present to myself.
I've got several black and white woodpeckers with red heads hanging around my birdfeeder out front, along with the usual chickadees. Still haven't seen a goldfinch. My fuchsias next to the birdfeeder are recovering nicely from the heat - well, two out of the three of them are doing nicely - one is still "iffy". Everything else handled those hot hot days okay, probably due to the almost daily watering I was giving them. Going to have to get some fertilizer and potting soil next time I head into town. Some of my potted plants need to go up at least one size of pot, and in the case of my white climbing rose that is a baby of a neighbor's old rose, maybe even two sizes.
The birds are chirping away. All the critters around the neighborhood are waking up and the forest is still. No breeze yet to chase away the low clouds and fog.
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