Nancy Lynne Photography

A couple of weeks ago I got to go fishing in the ocean again. It was a really nice day with very little swell and no wind up until about 11. Then it picked up and got cold and a little choppy... but it's always awesome to be able to be out there on the water. And icing on the cake when you catch a bunch of fish! We caught half a dozen too-small ling cod, 3 keepers and another half a dozen black rockfish. I love to eat ling cod the day it's caught. Nothing better in my book. There were lots of crab pot buoys bobbing around out there, and like this one some of them have been out there a LONG time. We went north out of Newport, out to about 200 feet of water and tried to catch a halibut but no luck there. So we came in closer, over the reefs and caught some fish. Yay. The view of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse from out there is stunning, especially with the beautiful dramatic clouds hanging over the land bahind it. We saw this on the way out, it's the Mt. Mitchell . ...

The recent Wooden Boat Show in Depoe Bay was a hoot, with lots of boats on display, food and beverages, vendor and information booths - including the Port of Toledo's - which featured live boatbuilding demonstrations, and a crab feed! Here is a shot of the bow of an exceptional boat with inlaid turquoise and coral. Amazing, huh? This guy was having a great time... he looks very relaxed. There were quite a few boats on display there... and this sign: ... was on this boat. Lots of pretty boats to see. And chat about. The bagpiper played for a long time, it was awesome. The Depoe Bay Chamber does a great job of putting on this event. The organizers have been a huge help to the Port of Toledo in getting our own Wooden Boat Show off the ground. Salud!

The GraceNotes have been busy lately, singing at assisted living facilities around the county. We have a few more gigs coming up and booking plenty more for summer. Woo hoo! Last Sunday we sang at the Yachats Presbyterian Church, where we found the most interesting windows. Unpolished beach agates are embedded in resin sheets and make up these windows. The texture of the resin makes it look like a watercolor painting. Beautiful! By the way, the GraceNotes have a nice new website . Check it out!

... she aint what she used to be. Not that any of us are. But she's getting to be really geriatric now. She'll be 32 in July. Wowsers. My old Lacey's been a retired pasture ornament for quite a few years now. She is a sweet old girl who loves to rub her face on people. A week ago I thought I'd lost her. She laid down after she'd had some hay and rested for a while, then when she tried to get up, she couldn't. So she laid there and rested some more and then tried again. Nope. This went on for a good half hour, maybe 45 minutes. I didn't think that helping her up was the right thing to do, I thought she'd just lay down again if I did. I thought it was time to tell her goodbye. So I sat down next to her head as it was getting dark, and thought that she wouldn't last the night. I petted her face and told her what a great horse she's been - she's had a long rough life - and that I loved her. She rested for a little while longer, and th...

In today's mail was a copy of the February Jefferson Monthly magazine with one of my pictures on the cover. How exciting! This image was taken at Shore Acres State Park on a rainy November day. I posted pics from that road trip here . When the magazine asked if I had any south coast images, these came to mind. Sometimes those fun roads trips pay off. Come to think of it, I'm overdue for a road trip! It's so nice to see everything blooming... and my grass is growing like crazy! Spring ahead next weekend and then the Equinox the weekend after. Yay. I'm really looking forward to the longer daylight hours. Cheers.

As I mentioned here, I recently rejoined the Oregon Coast Chorus of Sweet Adelines, and last night we sang at the annual Barbershop Festival in Yachats at the Commons. It was a great show, with lots of great men's barbershop from the Eugene Cascade Chorus , their quartets Social Insecurity and Four Over Forty and the Coastal Aires Chorus from Newport. I got some pics before we went on stage, here are my favorites. Trisha sings with the chorus and with two ensembles as well. She is an awesome baritone and my section leader. She rocks! Monica and Chelsie chattin before the show. Group chat: Kathy, Carla, Evelyn, Margaret and Marguerite catchin up. This is Miss Jo on the left, and Miss Chrissie on the right. They will both become nonagenarians this year. Jo is 90 in February (next week) and Chrissie will be 90 in May. They are both a lot of fun, and have had very interesting lives. I want to be just like them when I grow up. Ellen, Chrissie and Sue sharing a smile. Miss ...

Wow... things have been so crazy, I didn't even realize I hadn't posted here in over a month. My apologies to you loyal readers, thanks for checking in. I took a part-time job with the Port of Toledo just after Thanksgiving, and that has been a lot of fun and quite an education so far. I'm working in the office, updating their website, and helping put together the 2010 Wooden Boat Show scheduled for August 20-22, which will celebrate the Port's centennial year. Seems the holiday season is always so crazy, and this year was no exception. Lots of singing gigs with the GraceNotes and the Sweet Adelines chorus, along with the normal holiday stuff and this year, working on top of it all and keeping up with my photography business... whew. I was able to enjoy a nice Christmas dinner with my mom, my aunt Irene (Dad's sister) and my Dad. I'm already looking forward to spring with its longer days and more oppportunites for new adventures. But in the meantime, I'll ...

It's time to plan for Santa's visit and Toledo's Hometown Holiday celebration! This year we'll be at the Main Street Galleries, 305 North Main, on Saturday, December 12 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. There will be lots of fun activities all over town, and don't forget about the lighted parade at 5:30! See you there!

I joined the Oregon Coast Chapter of Sweet Adelines in the summer of 1994, just after my first divorce... because I was ready to do something just for me, and over the years it has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. The chorus is made up of some of the most diverse and extraordinary women I've had the pleasure of calling my friends, and I treasure them. Like many other members, I've come and gone from the chorus over the years, and have always been welcomed back with open arms whenever I was able to attend performances and other functions they have put on - they throw the most amazing holiday parties - and have competed with the chorus and in a quartet several times. These ladies know how to have a good time. The whole chorus traveled to Washington, DC over the July 4th holiday in 2001 as part of a Music Celebrations event, and my quartet 'High Hopes' sang our swan song, "God Bless the USA" - after an amazing 6-year run - on the steps ...

The 5th Annual Halloween Costume Portraits Event will run 2 days this year, Friday the 30th and Saturday the 31st from 2:00 til 7:00, at the Main Street Galleries, 305 North Main. See you there!!

A recent roadtrip along the Oregon backroads to see some stunning fall color yielded some of these interesting sights... A flock of wild turkeys - they were headed for the cover of the woods, making all kinds of interesting noises... A beautiful wooded path... Interesting fungi... And at a stop along the road to overlook the Columbia River Gorge, a raven stopped for a moment... it was dizzying just to watch him fly from so high up... The view from up there... the drop off at my feet was several hundred feet and very unnerving to get too close to the guardrail... The fall colors were just stunning... And a surprise along the way, a herd of bison grazing on the hillside... A parting shot before the sun went down, a highway bridge alongside a railway bridge... beautiful!! Been down with the flu all week... ugh. Starting to feel better today I think, just in time for Halloween!! I'll be doing costume pictures for Trick-or-Treat Toledo on Main Street on Friday and Saturday in the...

I had a nice lunch date with Mayor Rod today, our conversations are always interesting, enlightening and enjoyable. Thank you, Your Honor. ;) This afternoon I attended the Newport Chamber's Business After Hours, hosted by Bateman Funeral Homes . I knew it would be a fun and interesting event, they always are, this one especially because the catering was by Oregon Coast Catering , they always do such an awesome job, and live music by Coin of the Realm , which is always awesome as well. It was interesting to see the funeral home facilities in that context, rather than the circumstances under which I've been there in the past, that I'd lost someone near and dear. The Newport Chamber members are always so friendly and welcoming, it is a joy to attend their functions. I won a nice Harry and David snacky package in the raffle too... always a nice bonus. I skipped out of there and headed north to Gleneden Beach to attend a class on the " Master Key System " - which I fou...

Miss Freckles and I took a nice long walk on our favorite beach today... the weather was warm and a little windy, but no rain. It is so nice to have our 'private' beach back, where I can just let her run off-leash because there is no one else around. A nice long trip to this beach really rejuvenates my soul, and gives us both some much-needed fresh air and exercise. There was a lot of washed-up mussel shells and kelp today. I think it's beautiful. This mussel shell was about 6 inches long. Lots of interesting colors and textures to be found. Miss Freckles the mountain goat - she really loves it at the beach. We saw lots of seagulls, pelicans and some chirping oyster catchers. More pretty flotsam... Last week the weather was perfect for a road trip down south, with some trekking thru the woods to find a bagfull of chanterelle mushrooms. The scenery is just stunning. A short stop to check out the fly-eating plants at Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside... very interesting plant...

I had the pleasure of capturing some beautiful images this week of a lovely, spunky and all-around awesome high school senior. We were out in the country near her home, and so we got some portraits of her in her mom's sorority dress under one of her favorite walnut trees. She has two beautiful dogs, who were pros at posing for me. And she has one very agreeable horse. He was fun, and pretty much took whatever we dished out to him. Plus he's gorgeous! I also got to go fishing again, the ocean was nice when we got out there and I got some pics of these 4 female sea lions resting on the marker buoy. Then the wind came up and the chop made it rough out there so we headed back into the bay for some crabbing. We did catch one fish before we came back in, and a few dungeness crabs in the bay... so fresh fish and crab for dinner. Yahoo! A busy weekend coming up with weddings and singing at the local fire department fund-raiser... will be a blast. The weather has just been stup...