New Blog, and a Year in Photos...

Decided that instead of revamping my old blog that I would create a completely new one! I may still use the old blog, but the past year has brought so many new things into my life that it only feels right to start anew with this blog representing the new me, and our adventures in this next chapter. I'll start with this first post chronicling the entire past year in photos. Pour some tea or coffee and relax as I guide you through our year...

Justin and I met almost exactly a year ago, March 12th, at a St. Paddy's day show at Sam Bond's. It was a Pogues cover band (KMRIA), and this pic was taken from the bench I was standing on when Justin introduced himself to me and kissed me on the hand. <3

He sent me a text the next day that said, "some people are just born beautiful". I was hooked! This is us a couple months later... 

This was also the first year I got to explore Bend at all, after 5 years of living here. We stayed in a yurt, which was also a first, and had way too much fun... I'd really like to make it back this Summer. It reminded me a lot of New Mexico, which I miss terribly, so would really love to explore this area more.

This pic is of Justin and I in Bend, exploring the plant life. See?? Looks a lot like NM!

Myself, Heather and Lori having the way too much fun. ;)

Next we went camping for my birthday at Hobo Camp on the Row River, up past Dorena. It was a breathtakingly beautiful place with woods, a river, and waterfalls. It was a completely magical time, and definitely going down as one of my fondest memories to date. 

The magic campsite right on the river...

kids, friends and guitars... good times!

The gorgeous Row...

Heather and Michele, soaking in the rays, and basking in the soothing sounds of the roaring river...

Hobo Falls! Completely awe-inspiring!

In July, Justin's mom and daughter came out all the way from Tennessee, and it was a fun-filled couple weeks spent mostly out in Dorena, where Justin's sister and Grandma live, right on the Row. Here's a pic of Just, and his near-grown daughter. It sure was so great to meet you Aiko! You're so much fun!

We also got to spend a couple days at the Coast, with Justin and his family, which was just such a blast. Justin's mom rented a house right on the beach, with some awesome tide-pools to witness in the wee hours!

We found a Sea Faerie!

This photo Justin took of me is one of my favorites of all time. It really captures the feel of the place to me. <3

Fairly soon thereafter was the Faerieworlds Celebration, which was a completely magical time. Lots more photos of the events can be found on my Facebook but this photo of the altar at the main stage, with Woodland playing in the background, was definitely one of my favorites...

 Here's one of Isabelly all decked out in her faerie garb. Didn't take long for her to lose the wings and the parasol and give 'em to me to lug around all day though. ;)

And here's me in my cat-faerie get-up... ;)

Here's Justin in his Pan outfit. It was so convincing, we got stopped fairly regularly by folks wanting to nab his picture. They're out there on the internets somewhere... There was even a lady that wanted to specifically take a pic of his belly (it is a wonderful belly, but I thought I was the only one to appreciate it as much), and another lady came up to him and told him he was the real thing (Fey)... Yes, indeedy!

 And here's one of the lovely Joey and her beautiful girls... I made the wings for everyone. It was a labor of love. <3

This woman was breathtaking! Quite possibly my favorite costume of the entire event.

This is Nymbol and his maker. He and his kiddo's all hand-made their puppets, and put an a pretty amazing show for us all. 

This was definitely my second favorite costume. I just love her colors and her style. She IS most definitely a the real thing also...

And the winners for best group outfits go to these guys! They've actually inspired many ideas for this years costume for me, as they are just so lovely in their naturalness...

This is one of the last photos of Isabelle and I taken in our townhouse in Eugene. This was right before we headed out to the Eugene Celebration. Oregon is so amazing with all it's festivals and celebrations! I feel pretty darned blessed to live in such a beautiful, diverse place. 

For example, these amazing B-Boys! Ouch?

And a Eugene icon, the Further bus. Ken Kesey and his family have made a huge impact on this community, supporting arts and community efforts...

Earth DecenDance put on an amazing fire show at the Celebration... There were performers on nearly every street corner, and such amazing vendors. There is just so much talent in our community!

Much of the rest of the Summer was filled with lots of little river trips, and camping adventures... I cannot wait til the weather is warm enough again for this! I have to admit that the winters here are pretty hard on me. Instead of getting used to them, they seem to get harder. The reward is during those 6 months of the year when it's amazingly gorgeous, and your surrounded by immense green-beauty all around...

In October, we moved out of the townhouse in Eugene, where Isabelle and I had lived for exactly 2 years, and we got a little place out in the country, close to our friends Jack and Joey. I will probably move my blog post about the process of getting this place over from my other blog just so you can know how much effort we put into making this place ours. We are now starting to turn this place into a real homestead, with the chicken yard finished, a coop going up this week, and a greenhouse next. Justin has lots of plans drawn up for the gardens that you can see on his blog that should hopefully be happening really soon also. The sedentary-ness of the winter (which has been in FULL effect! lol) is about to be over and big time. There are so many huge plans in the works for this place! I'm so excited!

Also, I have started on the path to Herbal learnin'! Near the end of last year, I started many tinctures, syrups and salves. One of the most prolific was the Elderberry elixir I made. It's helped me already, several times this year, and should be enough to last me til they're ready to harvest again next year! <3 Elderberry!

My salves cooling!

My Herb Shelf! Justin is going to be putting up some more of these for me hopefully soon. :D

Here is my Isabelly and her friends on a bike ride on our country road! I love this pic...

Oh, and when we moved in we added another member to the family, "Ocie"! She is one of the 5 kittens I fostered from 4 weeks old til 4 months. She was the only one left at the adoption place after about a month, so I took her back! Yes, I am turning into the crazy cat lady! :D

Isn't she just so cute and sweet though???

Another AMAZING thing that happened this year was a long awaited trip to New Mexico!! Home of my heart! I do love the Pacific NW for so many reasons, but New Mexico has long felt like my true home, which this trip further solidified for me. It is the plan that in the next 8-10 years, to be able to buy a chunk of land and move out there. Until then, I hope to be able to return sooner than every 5 years or so! These photos could and should probably be a post unto themselves, but this is the year in photos, so I'm keeping it on here.

 There are again, many more photos on my FB, as it really is a most enchanting and beautiful place. I have lived all over it, from Pecos to Truth or Consequences, but I really fell most deeply in love with the area that is Catron County. It's one of the biggest and least populated counties in all the country, which is probably part of the draw for me, well that and it's intense beauty. Don't you ever just watch movies like "Jeremiah Johnson" and wish to know what it would've felt like to wander this land long before we "civilized" it?? Well, New Mexico provides for you a bit of a taste of that. I'm sure there are other places in this country I've yet to see that do the same, like Montana and Alaska, but NM pulls on my spirit more than any place I've seen thus far, and I miss it terribly...

This is the cabin on my Dad and Stepmom's land that we stayed in. It is also the cabin they lived in for nearly 2 years while they built their current house. It's one room with minimal electricity and no indoor plumbing. I miss it!

A morning visitor, the Raven... got to see him and his kind nearly everywhere I went on this trip...

My folks own 10 acres of land backed by BLM land, with my Stepmom's folks 10 acres on one side, and her folks friends 10 acres on the other. There are some neighbor houses to see from some areas of the properties, if you try real hard, but other than that, it's an oasis in a sea of Scrub Oaks and Junipers. I  totally fell in love with these trees and probably took more photos of them than might be considered normal, but I just love the way they grow in response to their often harsh environment. They are dwarfs compared to our towering firs and oaks of the NW, but they can grow OUT almost as tall, forming amazing acrobatic feats of twists and turns, making them a most magnificent natural work of art.

My Dad and Rolly... <3<3

My Dad and Justin... Two peas in a pod <3<3

My folks cat Tigger. He's been around for I don't know how long, and here he's trying to fill his water bowl with his Jedi powers...

My Stepmom's parents got to make it down in time for Thanksgiving and to see us, which was a really nice treat. They are such lovely people...

Another wonderful gift of getting to go back to NM was the opportunity to make a trek out to the Anima Center again.

I love the people and the place there so much! Ever since my first trip out there several years ago, I have felt very tied to the place, as it is completely magical and intense. Or as Loba here said, "it's like New Mexico, on steroids"! Exactly. You can NOT come away from that place without being completely transformed. Every time!  

SO much love for this woman!

This is the gorgeous wood stove in her lovin' kitchen! The food she prepares is some of the best, if not THE best, I have ever eaten! Incorporating wild foods into everything she makes, as well as lots of love and intention, makes it the delicious art that it is. 

You might not be able to tell it, but there's a lovin' kitchen over there, up and behind those rocks. This was taken seated by the lovely San Fransisco River, by which they dwell...

Said River...

Looking up at the Ponderosa's near my cabin...

Said cabin! The "Goddess Lodge"...

View inside the "Goddess Lodge"...

View of the Cliffs near the Anima Center...

Cougar? tracks I spotted on my hike out...

S/he seemed to be following these... Javelina? tracks...

And finally, when I was near to where I parked my car, I spotted a flock of Wild Turkey scaling the cliffs...

Do you see him? It's blursula, I know, but he's there...

We also got to witness the "Festival of the Cranes", a yearly celebration at the Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Sanctuary near where my folks used to live in San Antonio, NM. This is where THOUSANDS of Sandhill Cranes and Blue Herons, Geese, etc. flock to every year in route to warmer climes. As proof of our human impact on the planet and it's inhabitants, the turn-out this year was record lows. Sad. Just look at these magnificent creatures... Sad to think they could be leaving us.

We should be ashamed...

New Mexico sunsets are some of the most brilliant I've ever seen...

Here's Isabelly with her Emma and Grandpa, hammin' it up at the Bosque...

Moonrise over the Bosque...

We also took a day hike out behind the VLA (Very Large Array), after a little picnic. The one and only pic of the gang, and everyone looks bewildered except for Izzy. heehee!

 There were so many wonderful rock formations in this Canyon... What was it called again, Terri??

Crone Rock....

Camel Rock...

Turtle Head...

Skull Rock? or Grayskull? ;)

George Washington Rock?

Oak Grove...

Fox Scat!

Here's what we saw on the way out... 

Also got to drive up to Albuquerque to see an old friend all too briefly... <3

The rest of the Winter pretty much went like this...

Yule...

Isabelle made Ugly Dolls for everyone, the owl she made for Angela being my favorite...

Here she is modeling the new Wildcrafting Basket I got at a White Elephant party...

Here's Justin modeling a miniature version of himself and looking harrier and harrier all the time. I love it!

All the amazing presents I got this Holiday... I am blessed!

Heather, Michele and Grace on a country walk near our house... <3

Then... SNOW!!! Finally! The rest of the country was blanketed in it, getting sick of it, and I just wanted something to finally stick for once! Here's our Heavenly Bamboo off the front porch covered in it... <3

 The view from the corner of the backyard...

And that's all folks! It's March again, and the start of another new era for me. The first couple of months of 2011 have been pretty bumpy, but I'm hopeful for things looking up soon what with the change in the season and all the new things blooming more and more all around us. Thank you all for reading! Looking back like this, and compiling all the years memories this way, has made me realize what a great blessing this past year has been, which is exactly what I needed right now. It's my hope that this blog will be more of a real blog than my last one and I will be better about chronicling the important events of my life as they happen, instead of saving them all up for the end of the year. ;) Look for lots more homesteading and wildcrafting photos as they happen, as well as recording the festivals and things that happen all around us here in Oregon, as they're soon upon us.

Much love!

~Amanda Lynn