Memorial Day Weekend

Friday I was fortunate enough to be given an unpaid furlough day. I'm not special, all the employees of the district I work for received the day off. It was nice of them to add it to a holiday weekend so that we could have four days off. So we headed to a beautiful RV parks nearby, only a 90 minute drive south-east.  Casey's Riverside RV Park in Westfir is on the banks of the Willamette River. I enjoy walking the loop around the campground, looking at the beautiful river as well as all the flowering perennials, shrubs, and planters all over the place filled with flowers as well as veggies such as lettuce, squash, rhubarb, etc. We didn't plan ahead in time to get a river spot, but when I looked out my dining room window, I had a view of a blooming lilac next to two other flowering shrubs. I was happy.

Friday after we were all set up, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.  Will sank into his chair declaring it was time to take a nap in the sun…but he just kept sinking.

 How many chairs have McAnulty men broken in the past decade, I wonder? The chair has been repaired. It seems fairly sturdy, but reclining in it is not recommended.

We did some exploring around the area on Saturday, including a stop at Salt Creek Falls.

 I love it when I see flowers blooming on the edge of a cliff with no help from anyone but the Master Landscaper Himself!

We found some time to take a rest on our evening stroll and enjoy the view from this awesome swing. (This picture was taken on our last visit there in 2009.)

We saw an osprey grab a fish, then flounder trying to get out of the water with his large prize. After some thrashing around, he was finally able to get airborne!

It was a very relaxing weekend, though I was very troubled by the news of the arrest of a young man who is accused of plotting a Columbine-style event at the high school right next door to where I work. I'm acquainted with some of his family members and know that they are kind, caring, well-respected people. I am so thankful that this was reported and stopped. I pray for him, his family and friends, and that all of us will be kind to each other and care more about others than ourselves.

So tomorrow will be a different kind of day than we expected when we left school on Thursday. I'm planning to get there early.