Juvenile Green Heron

It's been a while that I made it to the pond in Willamina and, as usual, it didn't disappoint!
This time I met this cute Green Heron, a youngster, as is visible by the fluffy down feathers it's still sporting on top of it's head.

Green Herons usually stand motionless at the water's edge as they hunt for fish and amphibians. They typically stand on vegetation or tree branches that overhang the water,like this one does, and they don't wade as often as larger herons.                                                            

                      

He didn't mind me much and proceeded fluffing those feathers like I wasn't just standing a couple of feet away!
Like one of the locals assured me one time 'Huddleston Pond always surprises'! 

Closer to home, as in at the end of the driveway, the telephone wires were 'buzzing'. 
Not so much with phone calls but with long rows of little Swallows:

I think these are tree swallows although they could be Violet-greens but it was hard to determine their color in the bright morning light ..

                                                                                                                                   

I seldom have the opportunity to photograph them at all since they're almost always flying, they eat 'on the wing' and I've heard they even take (very short) naps while flying?!
(Apparently they can sleep while flying by utilizing unihemispheric sleep or by entering brief periods of REM sleep. Some theories suggest they may also descend slowly in circles while sleeping, regaining altitude when they wake up.)

  

 

I've found another area to go for a walk! To the left of that fence up above is some room to move around it and according to the neighbor that lives next to this property it's totally OK to do so, despite the 'no trespassing' sign.
Apparently locals/neighbors are exempt .. great!
 

It's an old logging-road and is in a very good state. No weeds or mud or overgrown vegetation, just a very easy (flat!) dirt-road.
According to the guy I talked to it goes in for about 3 miles and meanders through a mixed forest. 
Wildlife sightings are plentiful and are usual of the 'benign' sort although cougars and bears have also been seen on occasion (mostly at night on the trail-cams), so he advised carrying a phone, a big stick and some bear-spray .. oooo-kayyy! 
I'll keep my head on a swivel!

The apple and pear trees are looking better and better:

 

   

 

Also, my Morning Glory is finally starting to flower! 

 

 

And I got a, not that good, of a shot of a California Sister, a butterfly common in California but also seen in Oregon:

 

 

                         

 

 

OK, this is a little bit of a hastily written post because I'm busy packing a suitcase for our clothes and several totes with kitchen stuff and food ... yes, we're going on a little vacation! 
Next week Tuesday the 19th of August happens to be our 25th Anniversary if you can believe it (we can't!). 
Since we're not people for a party, and neither of us has family or friends close by, we've decided to celebrate this huge and utterly unbelievable fact with a little outing to the coast.

Tomorrow we'll set sail, or in our case start driving the car, to Ocean Shores in Washington state, about 4.5 hrs from us.
I've booked 6 nights in a cute (looking) little motel which sits about a block from the ocean. Sounds great!
We'll probably drive up to the Olympic State Park for some hiking and will visit some of the little coastal towns along the way.

A quarter-century of love and commitment ... we're sort of in awe of ourselves. 
We're (still) together and we're for sure going to celebrate!