No Lions, No Tigers, But BEARS–oh my!

When walking through the woods of the Pacific Northwest, you may run into a grazing herd of deer or a cow that may have escaped from a fenced in corral. And perhaps even a raccoon.  This was the case when out strolling one day with my sister in law.  We walked one of her three mile jaunts – my camera in tow.

Miss Dinky – aka Dinkum – was always about ten steps ahead of us.  Plenty of sniffing, scouting and stick finding.  If you aren’t careful, Dinky will find a large stick to carry in her mouth and whack you in the leg as she runs on by.  And yes, we were both whacked more than once during this particular walk in the woods.  OUCH!

There was plenty of nature to take photos of – like these spider webs in bushes.   They were kind of creepy.  I am not fond of webs or their artisans.

Soon I became distracted by the pretty things along our path.  Rose Hips were rampant with their little dots of red randomly splashed amongst the green foliage.

Other wild flowers scattered the path.  Though basically thinned out this time of year, there were still little pops of color on the hillsides here and there.

We were enjoying our walk and talking about the plants and scat that we found along the path.  Yup, deer scat and other kinds.  You can learn a lot about who “did it” by looking at it.  Coyote scat has deer hair and bear scat will have berries or fruit. 

All of a sudden, to our right, we heard a heavy footed something just beyond the tree line.  It sounded like something very heavy…

….stepping onto the dried vegetation…and it wasn’t us.

And then…

woof.

A deep down in the belly …

…woof…..

We stopped.

We listened.

We stood perfectly still.

I wasn’t afraid.  Just kind of surprised.

Out came the hand gun and we began to walk.

Slowly.

Dinky ahead…she was all ears.  She was careful.  She knew.  We knew.  A bear.

No sight of the bear. 

But we knew he was there AND HE knew we were there.  I kind of felt like the victim of a stalker.

And then this:

…Okayyyyyy……

So onwards..

Carefully we strolled ahead.

Listening.

This corner was the last one near the house.

I kind of felt like running like Forest Gump.  Bad idea though.  In my head was “Run Forest, RUN!”

And the guys, who were building the deck on the house, had NO idea.  Dinky knew.  We knew. Duhgall stayed back with the construction crew.  Lucky him.

A nice adult beverage is always the cure for frazzled nerves.

And a pink one is all the better.

Cold and tasty and easy to go down the hatch.

aww….mucho better-o!!

And our faithful sheps watch from the safety of the deck.

Duhgall….

…and Dinkum.

Our two glorious hounds.

Patiently watching the meadow ahead.

Watching for something to bark at.

And bark loud.  Like that will do any good.

But we let them think they are rock star barking hero's.

Indeed.

Good doggies watching from afar.

And a second tasty adult beverage….paleeeez.

Gracias.

Better.

I’m ready to take on any bear now.

Liquid courage.

Amazing how that works.

My Visit To Monticello Antiques Marketplace In Portland, Oregon

For several years now I have wanted to visit the Monticello Antique Marketplace in Portland, Oregon.  A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing such that.  My husband, Duhgall and I were visiting family in the Portland area and my sister in law, Debbie, and I took a few hours to do a little shopping at MAM.  I cannot begin to tell you just how beautiful the entire store is.  From the moment you walk in, your visual senses are on stimulation overload.  Though the store is made up of several vendor spaces, each space flows beautifully together.  I have several blog friends who sell there and would have loved to have had the time to meet up with them, but our visit was short and we spent our few days with family. 

Below are just a few of the pictures that I took of my visit.  I really enjoyed all of the creative vignettes and even purchased a few things to keep, like a little potted meat jar.

My blog friend, Lisa (A Thing For Roses Blog), has the front window of the store – the window to the right of the front doors.  The next three photos are of Lisa’s pretty space that is filled with all kinds of cottage style treasures.  The little wood dresser sold while we were there.  It was a great little piece!  Lisa also sells at Stars Antique store in Portland and at The Farm Chicks sale every year.  Needless to say, she is one busy gal!

Debbie spotted the farmhouse painting (shown below) in Lisa’s space right of the get go.  She now has it displayed in her kitchen next to two other farmhouse paintings and it is a perfect fit for her beautiful home.

I love the little wire cloche with the bird nest nestled inside.

My sister in law and I fell in love with the cow paintings.  Next time up I will treat myself to one.  I think Debbie will be getting hers before I get mine.  At least I hope she does!!

Plenty of interesting treasures.  I won’t bore you with all the narratives, but let me say that I have never seen a typewriter with keys shaped other than circles. (See photo further below.)

The next five photos are of the space of my blog friend, Debbie (Patina Blog).  Debbie makes the bags and pillows that she sells.  I love her farmhouse style!  Plenty of rusty and chipping items mixed in with wicker demi-johns, ironstone and trophies.  And I have to ask myself how on earth does she find the time to have such a wonderful space AND  teach at her full time job.  A-MAZING!

There were several wood cabinets available for sale.  I especially loved the Eastlake style cabinet below. 

Lastly, the next four photos are from my longtime eBay and blog friend, Miss Amy (So Into Vintage Blog). I first “met” Amy when I bought some beautiful pillows that she had made and sold on eBay.  We have stayed in touch since then – and that was about eight years ago…already.  Amy also sells on ETSY under the name Peppermint Bark.

   I love these amateur paintings of what looks like images of the PNW….perhaps of the Columbia River?  And that transferware pitcher is just lovely!  Amy’s space is filled with funky and fun vintage items from rusty old license plates, artwork and enameled numbers.  And yes, a few doll parts, too.

Debbie and I had a lovely time shopping and finished it off with a delicious sandwich at the deli.  MAM is a must visit again!  And next time, a promise to my friends that I will let you know ahead of time when I will be there.  Lets do lunch!

MAM has a blog and you can read it by clicking HERE.  You can also read more about MAM HERE.