A Sunny Day in January

This Saturday dawned sunny and clear. Though I normally like to sleep in on the weekend, I was out of bed like a shot as soon as I saw the sun. The day promised to be busy and varied. Mike was coming to my house for the weekend and I had plans to visit a Native American Pow Wow at the Sylvania Campus of PCC.
I did my usual house cleaning for Saturday, fed my kitties and even was able to open everything to do what I call an "air exchange" in the house. It feels so good to have fresh air circulate into the house in the winter and this day proved to be sunny and warm [read not freezing] enough to open both doors.

That done, I grabbed my camera and headed off to the Pow Wow. On the way down Hwy 30, I spied some "train art" that was really unusual. While I realize that what I term "train art" is really a form of vandalism, I am fascinated by some of what I see. I am always sorry that the folks who do this have no other venue for display of their talents. I would enjoy taking a period of time and just photographing what I see spray painted on the trains that I pass daily on my way too and from work. What I saw Saturday is included here. If you enlarge this picture [by double clicking on it] you can see the concentric rings in which it was created. It is an amazing picture. Someone is truly talented.

But speaking of amazing, the Pow Wow was amazing. I was unable to take photos of what I would have liked to record. It is forbidden to photograph the Grand Entrance of the Tribes. I have not been to an Indian event since I was about 12 years old. My family routinely attended the Indian Ceremonial Dances at Gallup, New Mexico when I was a child. I was never really allowed to run around with the other children, but I really enjoyed the event. Saturday, I was on my own and was able to talk with whom ever I encountered. Everyone was accepting, welcoming and friendly. I am nearly 1/2 Choctaw though I don't look particularly Native American. I found that many people, including the amazing dancers, also didn't look very "Indian." I had a great time, had a Fry Bread taco for lunch and made my way back to St. Helens.

Mike arrived soon after I did. He quickly repaired my front door latch that had been mostly non-functional for several months. When I asked if he would like to take a walk, the reply was a resounding "YES!". We like to walk down around the Marina and boat docks and that's where we went on this day. The sun was lovely, though the air was cold when we were in the shadows. We saw the requisite Cormorant on the pier pilings and the beautiful reflections in teh still water of the Marina. Out at the end of one of the private docks we encountered a gal sitting on the edge of the dock in the sun drinking what was quite surely her 3rd or 4th beer. She was affable and friendly and pointed out that, across the water, on Sand Island, there was an American Bald Eagle sitting in the trees. We could hear him/her calling. Sure enough, through my telephoto, was the eagle. It is still a thrill to see an eagle, even though they are far more common now than in years past.

Leaving docks, we saw the oddest little metal boat. It was old, tattered and well used, but obviously still in use. But what use is a mystery to us. It had, on the bow, an hydrolic lift of some sort. Perhaps it lifts float houses up for repair or maybe logs from the water. Cute little thing, but really different. Our final sight, before we hit the Plantation House for some libation, was what initially appeared to be live birds, but was a cast iron cut out. They were nicely silhouted against the evening light and I couldn't resist a final photo shot.