Try Again with Photos

Tonight I will try once again to master this new website's format to download photos. So far, as you know, I am not happy. I am considering changing my focus from personal drivel to a political "rant" format that will not require pictures. After reading Mahmood Ahmadinajad's (President of Iraq) letter to president Bush I am convinced that most of us do not get enough "raw," uninterpreted news to even form a valid opinion. I highly recommend reading that letter in full.

So, on to the photos.

The first photo is one of a derelict Ferry Boat that is moored near Goble on Highway 30. We've always thought that this boat was totally abandoned, but it isn't! There is a little dirt road from Hwy 30 that accesses the area. I drove down that road and parked. There was actually a path to the rail tracks, a stairway over them and down the other side. I followed this until I realized that, attached to the ferry, was a neat and tidy float house and two run-about boats. Someone clearly lives there and takes care of that ferry. On the outside of the ferry (toward the river) a large barge is moored. I wonder if that person might one day restore the ferry. Anyway, I did not intrude but took some photos. It was really a very lovely scene.

The second one is of Riley in the rain. Nothing will do but that Riley wants to go for a walk. It was only lightly raining, but the wind was blowing. We got out just a little ways into the clear cut and he realized that there was wind. He turned to me with that guilt producing expression and I asked if he wanted to run down the road instead. He beat me by 100 yards down towards Robbie's. We ran down to Mike and Igraine's and turned back.

The third set of photos is of a double hemlock tree that succumbed to the horrendous winds at the coast. This tree was growing out of an old-growth stump. As you can see, the entire root-ball exited the earth leaving a very large hole! There are several small baby trees growing out of the old stump as well. I wonder if they will re-route their growth upwards again and survive. Mike had to cut the tops of the tree as they were in the neighbor's drive. It seems as if the wind is trying to forge a path through the trees from South to North at that portion of the yard. The newest clear cut has really altered the landscape. I'm sure it has changed what will survivie and what will eventually go away. Nature does prevail and seems especially vengeful when interferred with by man's meddeling.

A New Format & Address

Blogspot has succumbed to the bigger fish and been swallowed by GOOGLE. While I have always liked GOOGLE I do not like the fact that they have eaten Blogspot. I am having a hard time adapting to google's administration and format of my old, comfortable BLOG. I have tried posting several evenings and failed. My dear friend and mentor in this venture, Rachel, has not had the same problems, but she uses "Hello" (a Picasso product) to download her photos to this BLOG. I said goodbye to Hello because it interfered with my photography programs and wanted to open everything and I am very picky about my photos. Picasso and Hello are very plebeian programs for folks who don't have the "seho" to manage their own photo files and don't use Photoshop to open anything. As you can see, I am irritated with this development and will struggle only until I find an alternative or figure out the path. Perhaps there is anothe BLOG program that can absorb my HTML files and be a bit more user friendly. If any of you know of one please let me know. And don't suggest Myspace. That one is carreer suicide, in case you haven't noticed. Grrrrrrr! I am really unhappy with this.

One of The Reasons

One of the many reason I love Oregon is the beautiful color and changes of seasons. The pictures attached here were taken on my way to work yesterday morning. They are on Highway 30 across from Rocky Point Marina on the Multnomah Channel of the Columbia River. It was raining and the bark of the trees was black against the bright yellow of the leaves. The stricking difference and the contract from the evergreen fir trees is so very beautiful. I can barely drive some mornings for looking at the scenery. I must find a way to stop and photograph some of the scenes I see on the river further south towards Portland as well. The light and fog this time of year make very beautiful pictures against the river and the hills. Unfortunately the road is narrow and there are many trucks making their way to the Industrial area for commerce. The other thing that fascinates me is the "railraod art" on the sides of the rail cars. I know that it is essentially vandalism and very destructive, but some of it is so innovative and creative that I can't help but want to document it. That's the sort of thing that would make me want to work less and play more. Of course. if I didn't work I wouldn't have the $$ to support my "habit" of photography! The old rock and a hard place thing lives on.

Tonight I am sleepy and will leave the BLOG at this. Perhaps tomorrow I will have more. The rains have raised the level of the channel and the river and there are many wonderful scenes out there to photograph. Every season brings a wonder of things here and also the wonder that the next season will come again.

Cat in the Bag

Bringing things in from the car tonight included some stuff I brought home from Mike's in a Trader Joe's grocery bag. I placed the bag on my bed and took most everyting out. I had turned to retrieve the bag when Cuddles made a high, clean, "nothin-but-net" jump and neatly landed in the bag in a proper seated position. She clearly felt the pride of her accomplishment, as is evidenced by her smug expression in these pics. Just thought I'd share. Can you believe she's 12 years old!? She still loves to play paper bag games and will get in them and bat at anything available.
The weather at the coast this weekend was amazing! Sideways rain and 60mph winds were the order of each day. It's amazing that, in the four Fall/Winters that I have been here, that this is the first of the severe coastal wind & rain storms that I have experienced. We ventured out Saturday afternoon to listen to some Celtic music. Leaving the Cookie Company after the music and some delicious Tortilla Soup, we were totally soaked and dripping by the time we reached the truck. Although we were supposed to meet some friends later that evening, we didn't. Waaaaay too much rain!
Poor Riley is really freaked out by the wind. The basement has become his reluctant refuge for this storm. The wind and rain subsided just for a few hours on Sunday and the two of us went for a walk/run in the new clear-cut. I'm glad we got to do that, for the storm has returned full force and will last at least another 24-36 hours. I certainly hope that, next weekend, we can get in a couple of real runs. I think we both need it.
I hope to have some "weather" or at least fall photos for my next post. I really must learn to stop and pull over when I see something I'd like to shoot a picture of. Oregon is such a photogenic place and I actually live in a beautiful part of this state. Perhaps I will even carry my "big" camera with me for a while in addition to the little guy that has performed so well in skiing.
Thanksgiving is coming and I'd like to make my cranberry relish. I made an apple pie this weekend from apples from a co-worker's son's tree. It's probably the best apple pie I've ever made and I really believe it's because the apples were tree ripened and not "poisoned" by insectasides and other modern "aides" to ripening and preservation. Donna promises that we'll have even more apples next year from Doug's tree and I look forward to that tradition. We both cooked with those apples this weekend and she also thought her pies were the best she'd ever done. Hmmmmmm!?