There was a Spot......

...on my camera. Or rather on all my photos. I feared it was on the CMOS (a mysterious internal portion) of the digital recording piece. But, on the off chance that it was something more simple, I cleaned all the available and relatively "safe" portions of the lens and mirror. Lo and behold, I do believe the spot may be gone!!

As an experiment I took a photo of my Christmas Cactus that has spontaneously bloomed in my bathroom. It was a purchase from last year at this time. My mother and grandmother always had these Zygocacti that required being placed into a dark closet at a certain time of the year, withdrawn at another time to be exposed to the winter light, at which time they bloomed for "Christmas." I have never pampered mine in this fashion and thus only occasionally have been rewarded with blooms. However, for a number of years after my mother passed on, I had her Zygocactus and it bloomed faithfully every year........for Thanksgiving! It seems I have accidentally acquired a relative of that plant! I gave this wonderful specimen no greater attention than to place it (him/her) in my rather cold bathroom window, water it and occasionally feed it (Orchid food) and look what I have! It is beautiful and I am enjoying the display.

I saw some other Zygocacti for sale just recently and I am wondering if the little bathroom window could hold more. Probably not, but it was a thought.

What Can I Say....?

I have been absent for over a month. It has not been an idle month at all. Fall is ending in this part of Oregon and Winter inches ever closer. With Winter comes the shorts days. Daylight savings time ended later this year but it always brings the reality that our winter days are very short. We arise in the dark and return home in the dark. Somehow our energy ebbs and we don't have the same ability to continue our productive hours as long as before. I guess we too are creatures of the Mother Earth just like bears. We tend to need more sleep this time of year just as the animals do. Of course, we are animals too!

Fall is a beautiful time here in the Pacific Northwest. As I drive to Cannon Beach by way of Hwy 30 I am inspired to stop along the way to snap a photo or two. Trojan Park is a favorite of mine and the trees were very beautiful as I passed by. I stopped to take a few pictures and have included one here. Some of the time this fall I have gone through Vernonia to Hwy 26 to reach the coast. That is a most beautiful drive and I have taken several photos there as well.

Last weekend, as Mike & I drove into town, there were Aminitas mushrooms in a yard on Sunset. Usually there are just one or two, but here were many. They are very beautiful and also very deadly! But, they make beautiful photos and here are two. The other photo is of Mike & Riley on the beach. What a surprise, lovely day we had on November 10th. It was supposed to rain and blow, but we had sunshine and calm. We allowed Riley a ride in the bed of my truck and a walk on the beach. I think we wore him out but not before I was able to snap this photo of Mike and Riley in the coming sunset. Riley was so tired that he stayed in my truck while we enjoyed happy hour at the Cookie Company with Cherri and Pete. Of course, I should mention that, when I introduced Cherri to Riley, he accepted her petting and then tried to bite her hand. Good grief!!! Now she will likely never walk up to Capper Mountain again.

Another Run

Sunday October 14th was the annual Great Columbia Crossing 10K Run. This is better known in Astoria/Cannon Beach as "The Bridge Run." I had never done this before but Jody Lampi, a member of our HTC team, suggested that I try it. 10K is not my thing, but, what the heck, so I did it. What a beautiful race this is! It begins on the Washington State side at Dismal Nitch, crosses the Megler Bridge continuing to end at Astoria High School. Elisha Garry, also a member of our Hood to Coast team, ran as well. She has won this race in the previous 3 years, but this year had run the Portland Marathon the previous Sunday. She ran that (her first marathon!) in 3:47!!!!! So, this year Elisha "only" took 3rd among the women with an average of 7:44 minute miles. So sad!!! Jody Lampi, who also had run the marathon ( in 4:11) ran and posted a 4th in her age category with an average of 8:06 minute miles! Great runners both of these ladies.

I managed to take just a few photos on this run. There were about 4000 runners and walkers in total. The day was perfect. It was cool but sunny and, thankfully, no wind. I think everyone was grateful for the conditions. Last year it rained for this race, but it was still well attended. Of course the best part is the clam chowder feed at the end! At Astoria High School everyone was given a bowl of delicious clam chowder, a roll, butter, salad if you liked and a drink. It was delicious!!! I don't know who makes the chowder, but it's quite possibly the best I have ever had!! I believe I will do this run again next year.

Yesterday, October 17th, was "the day" to register for the 2008 Hood to Coast race. I delivered the application to the St. Helens post office at 8:00am on my way to work. We can only think positive thoughts that we will, once again, be chosen to participate in next years relay. I will keep you posted.

A Golden Morning

Today was one of those golden mornings that, if you have any sensibilities at all, make you grateful to live in NW Oregon.

As I drive to work in the morning I usually listen to my radio, either to KINK or 105.9. Both stations were sounding like "blah, blah, blah" this morning, so I turned to 89.9 All Classical. Chopin's Violin Concerto #1 was playing. As I looked East (to my left) I saw a beautiful sunrise. Mt. Hood was silhouetted against an orange sky. There is very little opportunity to pull over, but when I arrived at Scappoose I made a U-Turn and parked. I could not resist the photo opportunity. I could not begin to capture the beauty of the moment but I have included here my feeble attempts.

As I continued toward Portland another very beautiful scene unfolded that was not attainable to my camera due to highway construction. The Multnomah channel was calm and reflective in the morning light. As I gained Sauvie Island bridge, not only were the golden Fall trees reflected in the still waters, but so was Mt. Hood. Oh, to have had the room to turn around and park!!! But, I took in the scene in my mind's camera and enjoyed the music to match as I drove. I doubt I will ever forget what I saw.

I have been here almost five years now and I still marvel at what I see on a daily basis. This must be one of the most beautiful places on earth. I feel so privileged to be living here. I enjoy my drive to work each day. That must be, I am sure, something that not everyone can boast. I truly appreciate the beauty here. I only wish I had the talent to record it accurately with my humble camera lens.

One Bird, Two Birds, How Many Birds???!!!

No photos tonight, just an update. At last look when I came in the door this evening I had three, possibly four little birdie tenants. Each has claimed his/her own little section of my rafters and watches me come & go through my front door. None of them have made a move to leave, even when I climbed up on the chair to see if that was a fourth little head I saw. I couldn't tell for sure, but I think it was.

It's surely a season of birds. The sound I heard coming in from my truck was the call of many, many geese flying overhead. I'm sorry it was dark and I wasn't able to see them, but I love the sound they make calling to one another as they fly. Thankfully the birds that chose my porch are not that big!

Avian Update

Sooooo, this evening, after I attended a really fun party at the office, drove home, fed the kitties and talked to Mike, I thought to check on my wee bird tenant. As I looked around the rafters on my porch I espied my bird and then....another bird! Hmmmmm. I think my birdie has invited a friend to stay the night. I cannot discern which of these is my "original" bird, but one is in the far right and one towards the left. I guess my porch roof is a good shelter for these feathered guests.

Perhaps you and I will grow bored of these avian updates, but for now it is fun to see how this will evolve. I wonder how many feathered guests I will collect for the winter. I suppose it may depend on my supply of birdseed and suet. For now I am enjoying the presence of the birds. I have never hosted these guests before. I love creatures and perhaps will enjoy continuing my avian hotel.

Wee Critter Still Here

Well, the jury is still out on what kind of bird my new resident is. Mike and I still think he/she could be an immature owl and Rachel is thinking it could be a fat house sparrow. But whatever it is, he/she returned this evening.

The bird has chosen the opposite corner of my porch roof this evening and is in the NW corner where it is even more protected from the elements. When I checked, at about 8:45pm, the little bird was active and aware. The NW corner seemed to be a nice refuge. Right now, at 10:40 the bird is quiet and resting. Perhaps I have a new "roofmate" for my porch. That would be fine with me, especially if this avian creature would do away with the ever larger spiders that seem to inhabit the upper regions of my porch roof. I know that many birds feed upon insects and that would be a great symbiosis as far as I am concerned. I am totally willing to feed and clean up after birds in exchange for the demise of the insect population explosion. Especially the arachnids!! They should live and be well outside, but they can't seem to stay outside.

I will update the residency of my bird as it happens. And I hope it continues to happen.

A Critter

Late this evening I went out to put a load of laundry in the wash. It was raining lightly and as I came back up my front steps I noticed a wee small face peering at me from under the eaves of my front porch. I looked closer-my porch light was on-but I couldn't tell if the face belonged to a small, fuzzy bird or to something that looked like a very furry hamster. Not wanting to disturb the little beast, I went for my camera with a telephoto lens. I figured that I could enlarge a photo and perhaps see what he/she was.

I have looked at the pictures and enlarged them. It is clearly a bird. I am wondering if it could possibly be a baby owl. We have owls across the street that I hear at different times of the year. What ever this is, it remains still on my porch. It seems to be awake and watch me when I come & go, but has made no attempt to move. I hope it is well and comfy and does not present a problem. It would be really cool if this was actually an owl. Perhaps someone at work or Mike will recognize the little face. I wonder what it would like to eat?

A New Ceiling Light

The top photo, and the one below it, was taken Feb 25, 2006. Note really ugly triple fixture on the ceiling and the now-replaced ceiling fan fixture. YUK!!!!

This is my new ceiling fan and light. Mke installed it yesterday and I just LOVE it! Also, you can see the difference with the wood stove in the living room as well.

In addition to the ceiling fan installation, Mike cut down the legs of an end table to be my new coffee table. It is small and square and looks so much better than the large beast my neighbor Bart and I removed. I'm not sure what I will do with the old table, but it is way too big for my little house.

I'm still learning to operate my wood stove without driving everyone out of the house with too much heat. It's very efficient and it's difficult to build a fire large enough to maintain and small enough to not overwhelm the area. Perhaps when the weather is colder outside that will be easier. I sure hope so. Right now, with the temperature only in the low 50s, I frequently need to open the front door.

Mike brought me shakes for kindling, wood for the stove and lumber scraps as well. We bought a little hatchet today for me to split the shakes in the bucket. I've tried it out and it is just perfect! I have an axe already for splitting larger logs. I'll need to do that since my little stove need smaller pieces to burn well. I am certain that I will be able to keep warm this winter even if the power goes out. From the way the little copper kettle on top of my stove simmers, I know I could cook on it too.

Wood Stove At Last!!

Finally, my wood stove is installed! After all the planning, the tile setting, grouting, the controversy with about the "outside air source" and what supplies I really needed, it only took the installers from 1:oopm to 3:40pm to cut a hole in my ceiling and roof and complete the entire process. They didn't even make enough of a mess for me to vacuum up. I did have to make a very fast trip to Kelso, Washington during the installation to pick up the legs to my stove. The bozos at Woodstove Warehouse didn't bother to give me that box when I received the stove. I certainly would NOT recommend that establishment to anyone! It's too bad, because the folks at Earth & Sun in Rainier are so very nice. Unfortunately, they are now owned by the "dark side" over in Kelso.

But my stove is beautiful and I have a fire burning in it as I write these words. It was a bit of a chore to get the first fire started but it's doing well now and actually warming my home. It will be fun to see where my cats decide to sleep in relation to the stove. Thus far, they have not discovered it, but it's not terribly cold tonight either.

Soon I will plan the mantle for behind the stove. I think that will be a nice finishing touch for the whole project. When I bought this house I was amazed that it was so close to what I had envisioned as the ideal home for myself. The only thing lacking was a wood stove. Now I have that as well. I am so fortunate!!! Sometimes I look around and cannot believe that this is really mine and that this is where I am. Wow!!

Since Kahneeta

After Kah-nee-ta we returned (reluctantly) to our "normal" lives. It was hard to want to do anything but sit in the sun and read a book. However, we managed to do a couple of things until Sept 13th when we went to Edgefield to see Etta James (pictured above) and BeeBee King. John and Bonnie were with us there as well. We had a wonderful evening of really great music, beer, food and fun. We should do this together more often!

Day after tomorrow (Thursday) my wood stove will be installed!! It seems like I have been waiting for this for a very long time. The tile is set, the grout is done and I am eager to have the stove in. When Mike & I split wood we seem to divide it into two types: Larger hunks for the big wood stove in Mike's house and smaller pieces for me. My wood stove is a Lopi (the brand-name) and far smaller than Mike's. After all, my house is only 720 sq. ft. So, we call the little pieces of wood "Lopi logs" and it comes home with me. I like that concept and have brought two small loads of wood home. I am totally willing to help split and load logs for both of us in order to have wood to burn. As I have said before, my father taught me that he (she) who chops his (her) own wood is twice warmed! I have a feeling that I will be many times warmed this, and coming, winters.

I have taken a photo of the empty hearth this evening. Soon it will have a stove. But my older daughter, Cathy, is not only an artist but a carpenter as well. She requested a photo before the stove went in. I have wanted a mantel behind my stove and she has suggested that I create a mantel of wood to match my oak floor. Additionally, she suggested that I frame the mantel with oak and carry the oak down the the top of the mantel and along side of the tile to the floor. This would tie the mantel to the wood floor. I really like her idea very much and plan to do this. I wish she were nearer to me so she could build it. Cathy has a great eye and she does wonderful work in wood and tile for her clients.

So, I eagerly await Thursday and the installation of my wood stove. Once again, I am off work for that day. I don't think I have worked a full week for over a month!

This coming weekend brings the Race for the Cure 5K race. I will run the Women's 5K in the early AM and then, as I did last year, walk the 5K with Janine's Team at 9:30. October 14th will be the "Great Columbia Crossing" 10K across the Megler Bridge in Astoria. I will run that for the first time with Jody Lampi. She is a member of my Hood to Coast team. This will be her "recovery run" from the Portland Marathon! That will be the only reason she could possibly run at my slower pace. But I am looking forward to running a 10K for the first time in many years. I think I need to keep signing up for races so I keep up my training all year long. Eric wants to beat our 2005 time in the HTC in 2008 so I need to be a little faster next year. Good grief!! I just turned 63 and I am still training??!! I am very grateful that I can still do this and enjoy it very much. I hope I can keep this up for many years to come!!!!!

Sunshine at Last

In search of some real summer and sun we went to Kah-nee-ta for a few days. The weather report was ambiguous at best, telling us that our last day there might be the only one with some real summer temperatures. But, once again, the forecast was inaccurate, to sat the least.

Our very first afternoon there was wonderful and warm and the rest of our time followed suit. We could not have asked for a more perfect week. We read books, floated in the pool, swam when the mood struck us, hiked and I ran each morning. In general, we had a perfect vacation. We were both loath to end it on Friday morning. We took a hike that day up to Raven's Roost that almost cost us a late check-out. But, as our luck would have it, there was a shuttle waiting at the lodge to transport us back to the Village in time make our check out time. Even then, we packed and spent another 2 hours at the pool.

I have included photos here of some of our scenes. The pool, of course, is obvious. The pool is fed by 110 degree natural hot springs that flow in one end and out the other. As a result, there is a minimum of chlorine in the water and it is very warm. No problem just diving in or floating around. The water slide is a ton of fun, but for some reason I didn't get there this year. Next year for sure. Raven's Roost is the high point of the bluff you see in the photos and also where you see me sitting looking out over the valley below. If you look carefully you can see where we stay in the village as well as Broken Top mountain in the distance with snow still present. The hike up there is a good one and quite steep. We took a short-cut this year in order to accomplish it before we left. Of course, we missed the trail coming back down and ended up where we didn't want to be. But then, there was that magical shuttle awaiting us when we arrived. We do have the best luck! The scenes of the river are on the Warm Springs River along the road where I like run. The river was very full this year due to the frequent rains and more beautiful than ever beacuse of this. I took photos of the reflections one morning on my run and met a creature that I didn't indentify at first. Thanks to my description, Mike identified it as a Nutria. Apparently, I stepped on the entrance to his/her tunnel or disturbed it sleeping. At any rate, my feet and his/her body were entagled for a few moments. I'm not sure which of us were more startled, but the creature made it's way unharmed again toward the shore as I watched in utter amazement.

This is a place we love to come and will no doubt continue to visit through the years. Mike introduced this area to me several years ago and I just love it. It is only 4 hours from Portland and a totally different climate and world.

Just An Essay

From time to time I give myself "assignments" in photography. I have done landscapes, cropping in as far as I can, water, time-lapse photos, fireworks, perspective, several different things. But tonight something else occurred to me.

My mother was a school teacher. She taught for over 30 years. Her favorite, and longest tenure, was teaching U.S. History. I had enough U.S. History to last a lifetime (I thought), but now I am grateful for having been exposed to it. But the other thing she really enjoyed teaching was Art. I think she was a frustrated artist. Her brother, my uncle Ken, was a very gifted water colorist and her youngest brother ( my uncle Ivan) was a terrifically gifted musician. My mother tried watercolor, as well as other media, but was, at best, a mediocre artist and was only a technically competent pianist. Thus, I think she felt she wasn't an "artist" of any kind.

But mother's photographic skills were excellent. I don't believe she ever recognized that photography was an art. She used slide film, the chosen medium of her day. She had one camera for color film and the other for black and white. Though she loved perspective shots, some of her more favorite subjects were clouds. Her "excuse" for photographing clouds was that she taught art and her students needed to see how clouds really looked in nature. Personally, I think she just loved clouds. When she passed away in 1972, I inherited her cameras along with her passion (and apparently) her ability as a photographer.

As I relaxed on my deck late today, I looked up to the sky, mostly to see what the weather might bring for the coming evening. The clouds were stringy and illuminated by the rapidly waning sun. Beautiful patterns emerged with the high winds making me think of clouds that mother would have photographed for her students to study. I suddenly realized that the "students" were only an excuse for her to take pictures of something that she probably enjoyed immensely and never ever thought that it could simply be "art" to take pictures of them. I ran for my camera and snapped away. I don't know how or where I will use these photos. I think I will most likely print one or two in large format and frame them. Perhaps someone else will gain insight from them as I have today.

Labor Day Weekend at Home

This "holiday" seems to be turning into a traditional weekend of "labor" at home. This is good. We have had very little Summer this year. A day or two of sun and then several days of rain has been the program. The past two days have actually seemed like summer and I have taken advantage of them to work in my yard. The garden has thrived with all the rain with the occasional sun. I have many tomatoes and peppers. The onions and garlic have been harvested along with the purple potatoes. I will grow more potatoes next year. They were very tasty and quite plentiful for the amount I planted.

I placed bird feeders on my front porch early this Spring. As a result, I have sunflowers near my front porch. I can't seem to grow them on purpose however hard I try. But my "accidental" sunflowers have been beautiful for two years running now. I think I will stop trying and just put the bird feeders where ever I want to have sunflowers.

There is a small creek off of Old Portland Road called McCormick Creek. I cross it each time I travel toward Hwy 30 to go to work or to the store. As I return each day I have a view southward on this creek that is very pretty. Today I finally stopped and walked along the creek on Boise Cascade property to try and get some photos. It was hard to get near the creek as there are several feet of slope covered with blackberries. I did get a few shots and have shared one here. What a lovely sight that I am privileged to see every day. The blackberries were huge and tasty as well!

Tomorrow I have plans to grout the tile for my woodstove and to put another few gallons of snow-roof on my shop. I found some medium grey grout at Home Depot. It is called Delorean Grey. I wonder if many people even remember what a Delorean Gery is??!! I do and I think it is going to be just the right shade for my tile. As for the Snow Roof, I hope it keeps my shop roof from leaking so badly again this year. At $90 a bucket I could soon pay for a torch-down roof, which I most likely will eventually need to do.

My wood stove is to be installed on September 20th. That should be plenty of time to beat the cold weather. I am excited to get it in at last. I can barley believe that I will be the proud owner of a wood stove! My life has changed so very much in the past 5 years. I just love how it is now. I can't imagine living any other way.

Hood to Coast 2007

We did it again! Four Decades Running finished the Hood to Coast Relay Race for the 3rd year in a row. This was possibly the best team yet. Although we missed the time for 2005 by 19 minutes, our team was strong and everyone got along famously. At this time, everyone on the team wants to run again next year. Van #2 was awesome, posting an average time for 197 miles of 7:45 minute miles! The average time for the team as a whole was 8:45. That is undoubtedly due to the elderly anchor.....that would be me. Even at that, I posted a personal best on my first leg and felt very strong. After feeling so crummy last year it was a real gift to feel so good this time. I pulled a muscle in my left calf during Leg 13 (my 2nd leg) but finished anyway and ran my 3rd leg 7 hours later with a minimum of pain.

Eric, Cathy & Hettie ran really, really well. Hettie was great, running her 3rd leg after being sick for several hours! I felt compelled to finish the race since Eric says the first time I can't finish the HTC will be the last time I run it. Apparently Hettie overhear this and felt she, too, needed to finish the race. Of course she is far younger than I and Eric's admonition could not possibly apply to her. But, never-the-less, she took it seriously. We will, I suppose, try to gain entry to this race once again next year. The registration is October 17th of this year. There is no guarantee to entry, as it is a postmark lottery. But we'll hope for the best.

Not Summer

I was right to work outside yesterday. Today was not summer! It has drizzled all day.




It was a good day to re-set my tile. I lifted up all the loose tiles. It seemed the further towards the front of the pattern I went the looser the tiles were. There were only one or two in the back and only the top 1 & 1/2 rows on the wall had to be re-stuck. Weird! I like the pre-mixed adhesive though. I found it was easier to "butter" the backs of the tiles and set them than to try to spread it on the cement board. Getting the bottom row to stay in place and not slide down behind the floor was a real challenge. As you can see from the photos, kitchen knives came to the rescue. I'm reluctant to remove them now and will probably leave them there a few days! My cat, Mellow, seemed not to be bothered at all by all the pounding of tiles and scraping of adhesive. HE slept through the whole thing!




The wood stove is out of my truck! Bart, my across the street neighbor, asked to borrow my extension ladder to remove Edna's "dish" from her roof. It must be returned for a refund. As he passed my front door to return the ladder he casually remarked "Oh, by the way, I took your wood stove out of your truck. It's in the carport." I have no idea how he did it all alone! I thought sure I'd be driving it to work and back tomorrow in order to bring a furniture dolly home with me. Wow! What great neighbors he and Lori are.




Perhaps we'll have another day or two of summer this coming week! I'm sure looking forward to Kahneeta!