From Black Swan to Snow

OK PC, here is my attempt at an update. Too much has happened since June 20th to even begin to list it all. Suffice it to say that working forty plus hours a week, carrying 8 units at PSU and pretending that I also have a life has precluded any attempt at blogging. Last Saturday was the clinic Christmas party. Last year I skipped out to study for Statistics finals and have been given so much cr** about it all year that I decided I'd best attend this year. Thankfully, midday on Saturday my good friend Lana, with whom I work, invited me to come to her new abode in Vancouver and drive into Portland with her. We did that and actually had a great time. I stayed the night on her couch. The next morning, looking out at her Columbia River view and over a beautiful pond, we spied a huge black swan. I tried for a photo from her balcony and was unsuccessful. On the way to breakfast I suggested that we cross over the little foot bridge to visit the swan. He was indeed beautiful, very large and greatly pissed off that we were so close to him. If not for a small wire fence, I'm sure we would still be running from that swan. I now know exactly what "puffed up" and "ruffled tail feathers" mean. We later learned, and also saw, that Mr. Angry Swan has a mate and a cygnet. He was merely protecting his family. What a beautiful bird!

Driving home from Vancouver Sunday morning, the rain was torrential. The further up Highway 30 towards home I drove, the heavier the rain was. There is a waterfall on Hwy 30 just across from the weigh station at Rocky Point Marina. Even in the summertime there is a trickle mostly hidden by trees. But all winter the falls reflects the amount of rain, growing and shrinking accordingly. Last Sunday was about the largest I have seen this falls. I watch it every day going to and coming home from work. I stopped in the rain and snapped a photo. The light wasn't good and I was soaked. One day it would be fun to see where this falls emerges. Along the basalt cliffs for about a mile along the road there are 6 or 7 little falls. This is by far the largest.

After a stressful week at work, I was ready to "run away" to Cannon Beach. Of course, the moment I made that decision, the weather forecasters predicted snow. This time I actually was hoping to get snowed in. There is no snow here at the coast, but getting here was another matter. The moment I traveled 2 miles west of St. Helens I was into the snow. It made the trip slower and a little more adventurous than usual, but I did stop several times to take pictures. The two photos here were taken from the View Point on Hwy 26. I thoroughly enjoyed my drive. Somewhere between St. Helens and Vernonia I rummaged around in my CDs and found a Eugene Ormandy Philadelphia Philharmonic recording of Strauss Waltzes and waltzed my way to Mike's. I never realized waltzes could be such good driving music, but it was perfect for the snow.

School starts again on January 3rd. I don't know how much time I will have left over for blogging again. I have two Psych classes again, one in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and one in Native American Psychology & Healing Arts. I'm actually looking forward to both classes. The CBT class is a known as is the Proff. The other class is an unknown, but I am eager to see what it wll be.