About Me

Hi - And Welcome to Pleasures of the North West!  My name is Helen Fern and my family and I arrived in Oregon on New Year's Eve of 1990.  It was cold and there were snowflakes spitting from the sky.  Coming from Southern California, to us, it was snowing!!  We soon learned the difference between snow flurries and snow!

 Through the years we have come to love this place - it's wild abundance, like mushrooms and fish; and the simple beauty of the rivers and waterfalls.  We've even learned to love the rain!  (I was told in Oregon you don't tan, you rust).

 I live in the upper Willamette Valley with my husband and four very spoiled cats.  We thrive on a quarter acre of trees and "controlled overgrowth" that serves as our yard and our refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I can't see myself living anywhere else.  And I want to share with you the beauty I have discovered in this part of the country - and I hope you'll find some new things that excite you as well. It's a pleasure to be here and I'm so glad you've stopped by to check things out here!  Stick around for a bit, and come back soon!