Corvallis - Fitton Green and downtown

My we've had a busy fun day and its only 3pm!  Haven't even gotten to the salmon dinner yet…

Carolyn, Theo and I started the day with a nice leisurely walk through beautiful mountain meadows with mountain vistas in the Fitton Green natural area.  And Theo got off to a good start with a slow drive through the forest - he digs 15 mph… "Why can't you drive this slowly all the time, Mom?"  He even stuck his nose out the window:

I wonder how long it would take to cross the country at 15 mph?

The walk was beautiful:

I set up my little cell phone tripod on a bench and set the timer, and when I ran back to join Carolyn and Theo in the photo, my hat blew off and Theo got excited - the photo ended up much better than the posed one we got later!  The sun was bright, so we are a little dark in the photo, but I still love it.  It looks like all three of us are laughing!

(Notice the pretty periwinkle blue cashmere sweater I'm wearing - my favorite color - Aunt Helen gave it to me.)

We came down the hill and drove the 15-minutes back to Corvallis and Carolyn showed us the downtown.  Wednesday is market day, so we got some fresh organic veggies.  All of the shops are local - the town does not allow chains.  Pretty cool…  Here's a little cutie pie that was in the market - very excited about cherries!

I asked her mom if I could take the photo - "Yes, but thanks for asking."  ...then I showed it to her on my phone and asked her if she wanted me to send her an email of it.  "No, that's ok."  Duh, I realized later they were Mennonites.   So glad she let me take the photo.  

There was a young poet at her great-grandmother's typewriter with a sign that she would write a poem on a subject you give her.  I asked her to write a poem about Theo.  She pet him and looked into his eyes.  She told us to come back in a half hour…  We went and had lunch at the local Brewery "Block 15" and then went back.  She did a wonderful job!  Here's a close-up of the poem part, she asked me to add Theo's paw print to it, I wasn't too successful, but you get the idea.

Hmmm, I see now that the type is really tiny.  Here's the poem:

     "Sweet sniffs knowing licks, awake great joy within Theo's friends. Adventuresome curiosity leads his cute pathful paws parading softly in the dune grass.  Instinctually attuned to all around him, anticipating events even before they come to pass.  Leaving an owned smile lasting all day.

   Theo reads character like we read a book.  Leaps over a fast moving brook, oh yes, he has took my heart into third gear.  Eager to cheer up even a baby deer."

Here's the whole page.   I love it!

When she was done and handed it to me, I asked her if she usually signed them.  Oh yes!  "I write these poems and then I forget to sign them."  Her name is Renae K. Nichols.

Corvallis has a fun quirky charm.  I like it.  Lots of artistic people and beautiful gardens.  You can see their pride in the town.  Even the trash cans have flowers and art!  Here's one with geraniums and a tile mosaic.

And the riverfront walkway had little plaques along it with fun quotes:

(Perhaps there is no line…)

Theo wasn't too impressed with this bronze work of art:

Carolyn was trying to nudge him over into the photo with her knee and he was leaning into her and saying "No way I'm going near that petrified dog!  He can keep his water…"   Too funny!

Even the bike racks got artsy!  The knitting people have "yarn bombs" and knit fun stuff on public structures.