Nancy Lynne Photography

'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.' - Dr. Seuss 'Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.' ~ Harvey Fierstein Two quotes I have been trying to keep in mind lately, as I feel I have been bullied into silence... and that just isn't right. I don't feel like a victim so much as I feel like a target. So... getting back up on that horse with some trepidation but more optimism than I've been feeling for the last six months or so. It's been a really rough winter, but like the title says, I'm starting to feel like myself again. I'm still grieving my losses and I miss my mom and my Lucky every hour of every day, but I'm also starting to look forward to the next adventures that Life chooses to throw in front of me. Transitions abound, life changes direction, some doors close...

My mom was always so good about reminding me to post on this blog, she wanted to see the newest pics of what I'd been doing. My apologies for not posting for a while. She passed away on November 2nd after having surgery to insert a rod into her femur, which because of her osteoporosis had been broken by the tumor growing inside it. She was anticipating radiation on that tumor and another on her upper arm bone after she'd recovered from the surgery. The tumors were very painful and she couldn't undergo radiation with the broken femur. Anyway, I miss her very much. Thank you to everyone who expressed condolences. On December 14th, my beautiful Lucky was apparently struck by lightning in the pasture and was killed. I am grateful that he was a big part of my life for 13 years. We had so much fun together at the beach and in the woods, he just loved to go exploring. I adored this exceptional horse and my heart is truly broken at his passing. Lots more difficult and distre...

It's time for Toledo's Scarecrow Festival. I've seen them popping up all over town. Brenda Searle helped me set this all up today, was a beautiful sunny day and we had a lot of fun. We used stuff we found in the attic at the Port office and some stuff that I had from doing past displays. Had a super-short Council meeting tonight so I swung by to get an after-dark pic. Looks cute. The weather is supposed to get ugly over the weekend, I hope it all holds up!

Tonight when I went out to visit my beautiful Lucky, the elk herd was in the pasture again. There are a dozen or so cows, and this beautiful buck. He was laying down when I got there. I quietly made my way out to where they were, the horses helped me a lot by gathering around me and camouflaging my approach. I got within about a hundred yards of them. They are just stunning. He finally stood up and gathered up his girls. When I'd apparently gotten too close, they decided to move back up into the woods. The horses just graze right alongside these guys. Too cool!! Recently I purchased a new kayak, and these pics are from the maiden voyage up the beautiful Yaquina River. I love my new boat, and am looking forward to many adventures in it. And lots of photo ops, to be sure! The leaves are turning color and falling now, so the scenery is at one of its finest times for photos.

I finally made it to Crater Lake ... after living in Oregon almost all my life and never seeing it before. It is absolutely breathtaking. This is Diamond Lake, on the way there. Another beautiful spot. The day was sunny and warm... and very dry. This was the first look at the lake and Wizard Island. The rim road is 33 miles long with more than 30 places to stop and stare... And take deep breaths and just soak it all in. It smelled like pine needles and sweet fresh forest up there. The slopes are steep and slippery all the way around. There is one trail down to the water, where they do the boat tours. I wanted to do that, but it was really crowded that day... and time just didn't allow. So that's on the to-do list for next time. The water really is that color. Like a jewel. There are no rivers or streams feeding the lake, only rain and snowmelt. They do get a lot of snow up there. This is the Phantom Ship. There were forest fires in the area that day, so this...

Recently I attended a luau at Oceanview with my mom and some of her friends. Here she is. This is Violet. She's a doll. This is Elvis . Isn't he purty? He did a great show, too. Shannon gave him a hula lesson. Then she gave everyone a hula lesson. This is Sharon, whippin up the yummy drinks. Isn't she a pretty lady? I don't know her name, but she was charming. The lady on the left was the school secretary at my grade school. She still looks the same. And she remembers me. Shannon dancin for the crowd. She is effervescent. And beautiful. Another pretty lady, Irene. Saw some friends visiting their kinfolk too. This is Dottie. She is often my mom's lunch partner. She has a sheltie and a big green parrot. It's High Tea on Friday, I'll bet that'll be just as fun. Especially if it keeps raining like it has this week. Enjoy!

Wowee, what a weekend. This year goes down as the best Wooden Boat Show ever! Lots of pics to share so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the festival with me... We had lots of live music over the whole weekend. Here is Unkle Nancy and the Family Jewels rocking the crowd with their fun music and funky costumes... They even had a belly dancer! What fun. They are full of energy and spark, and very entertaining to watch. The Gracenotes serenaded the Sunday crowd. Lots of people were out enjoying a sail in the slough. This beautiful 17' Teak Lady sloop, MaZu was donated to the port for their kids boating club. Gorgeous boat, and very fast. Love the colors on this boat. Port Secretary Debbie Scacco and her crew including Karen from Island Wild Seafoods did an amazing job on the food, offering yummy tri-tip sandwiches, wahoo sandwiches, swordfish kabobs, shrimp cocktails, corn on the cob, and even s'mores toasted up with a blow torch. Those were fun, and yummy and gooey. The ...