Bald Hill Evening Walk

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Heather and I went on a walk up Bald Hill this evening.  The sun was shining, it was the perfect temperature for a walk, the grass was green, and the trees were just leafing out.  Perfection!

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The old Bald Hill Farm.  The Greenbelt Land Trust is trying to buy the property so that it does not get developed.  This is a double-edged sword.  While it is good for the town to have a greenbelt, it is also bad for the town in that the greenbelt almost completely encircles Corvallis, effectively limiting all future growth and expansion.  At least current home owners know that their property values will always increase?

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Many flowers were blooming along the trail through the wet meadows and fields owned by the farm.

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Heather enjoyed a bench while I took photos of flowers.

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On top of Bald Hill looking toward Marys Peak.  Not a cloud in the sky today!


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On top of Bald Hill.

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Looking out toward Corvallis.

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These are special trees.  I have never seen larger madrones anywhere.  The trunks of this cluster of madrone trees each span 5-8 feet making them some of the largest on the west coast.

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They reach toward the sky in the midst of a grove of relatively young douglas fir trees.

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Heather standing next to one of the smaller trees for size comparison.

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The old barn on the north shoulder of Bald Hill.

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Such a great grass field to roll around in!

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The sun has set.

IMG_6724Heather looking out toward Corvallis and the nearly full moon.


IMG_6734The full moon and Corvallis behind us.


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Goodnight Wednesday!

Summer Solstice

 

 

On the summer solstice, Christy and I ventured out to Bald Hill to take some photos and watch the sun set.  I made a time-lapse which is at the end of this post.  It turned out pretty well.  Someday, I am going to make great time-lapse films when I get a good camera…

 

 

 

It is incredibly lush out at Bald Hill this year.  The late rains alternating with hot weather has made the plants go wild.

 

 

 

It looks like all of the snow is gone from Marys Peak.  Hopefully the Forest Service reopens the road soon.

 

 

There were hawks hovering far above us most of the evening, hunting for dinner.

 

I setup my tripod and camera with extended battery pack to take a time-lapse of the sunset.

 

 

Christy took shots with her fancy Nikon camera.

The sun rays bathed the hills and valleys between Bald Hill and Marys Peak in amber golden light as night drew near.

 

 

Goodnight sun, hello dusk.  And thus ended the longest day of the year.  It’s all downhill from here until we hit the depths of winter and the cycle repeats.  I’m already looking forward to next summer solstice.

This is the time-lapse I made of the sunset and twilight.

 

A Walk that Turned Into a Hike

 

 

 

Last week Jesi needed to blow off some steam.  We ended up walking eight miles and didn’t get back until nearly dark.  Here, the old sheep barns have been taken down and a new barn is getting ready to rise.

 

 

The last week or so we’ve had coastal low clouds and fog rolling across the valley.  It reminds me of San Francisco.  Perhaps this is what global climate change will look like.

 

 

 

 

On this day the fog never quite made it to the valley.  On other days it has gone all the way to the Cascades.

 

 

 

 

On top of Bald Hill.

 

 

Some artwork in the barn on the flank of Bald Hill.