The weather finally was warm and dry enough for Mike to come to St. Helens again..........at last. The snow and ice are mine to negotiate with my studded tires and intrepid mind set. Mike had built a beautiful mantle and side panels for my woodstove tile and he was able to install them this weekend. It finished off the tile like it had always been there. I need now to figure out what I want to put on the mantle and above it. It will be a challange becuase of the stove pipe in the middle. I am thinking that I would like two verticle photos on either side of the stove pipe, perhaps the ones I took of some old, gray shingles several years ago. The shingles would fit with the woodstove nicely.

Although Saturday began with sun, the middle of the day was cloudy and cold. The sun finally reappeared about 4pm. We took advantage of that and went for a walk. The marina was beautiful and the light was great. I had the "little" Canon that I use to ski, bike and run with. What a marvelous little camera that is. The photos included here are all with that little gem.

We found a trail up a hill by the far end of the marina that we had not noticed before. It is obviously a way to monitor the city sewer system, but it is also a wonderful place to watch the river, Sand Island and the traffic from the marina. Great view of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams as well. I think I'll probably include this little trail in my running path as well. Since I have committed myself to running the 5K of the Shamrock Run on March 16th, Id' better get going!

The Klondike resturant is, once again, what it used to be. The Mongolia Grill didn't make it here

(we are NOT the Pearl) . It is again a nice place to have a beer (cold and fresh) and great Fish and Chips. We enjoyed our dinner there and came home far too full.

Sunday dawned a sunny day as promised. We took a walk through the Clackstar Nature Trail at Scappoose Bay and watched folks fish, launch boats and Kayaks. I really want to kayak again. It looks so peaceful and quiet. Probably a great way to take photos too.

Our trip to Home Depot was fun and I now know what kind of a back door should replace the green monster that lives in my kitchen now. I swear that door is painted with automotive paint........something that Henry Ford may have used to paint his first cars. Or maybe John Deer's first tractor. Anyway, it's waaaaaaaay too green for me and way to shiny as well.

Great weekend!! This coming week I need to refine the portraits I have taken of all the Docs where I work. I'll put them on CDs for each and let them choose which photo they want. What an adventure that has been. But, more on that for a later BLOG.

Really Lazy Blogger!

I, admittedly, have been remiss in keeping my BLOG updated. I will attempt, over the next few days, to bring this missive up to date.

The Sauvie Island Bridge has been outdated and inadequate for a long time. Sauvie Island has many farms and much industry, the products of which need to be transported to the mainland and beyond. The old bridge was narrow and no longer had the structural strength to withstand the truck traffic necessary for commerce. A new bridge has been under construction since I have been in Oregon. The span for the new bridge was constructed here in Portland and designed by the same engineer that designed the large and lovely Fremont Bridge. The engineer reportedly was brought out of retirement to design this span. It was constructed on the waterfront near Terminal 2. A special, large barge was brought from Alaska to tow the span from T2 to Sauvie Island. Though the towing date was postponed 2-3 times due to weather, on December 28th the towing began at about 7:45am.

The day dawned cold and cloudy but without wind. I arose early, donned jeans, boots, a down jacket, hat, gloves, my camera and made my way to Cathedral Park beneath the St. Johns Bridge. This was, reportedly, the best venue for photographing this event. I was not present for the construction for any other of the beautiful bridges in this city and greatly wanted to be a part of this one. I entertained myself while waiting by taking other photos, one of which is displayed here, of the very, very beautiful St. Johns Bridge which has been deemed, even by it's designer, as the most beautiful bridge in the world. I must agree with that.

In any event, the new Sauvie Island span began it's journey down the Multnomah Channel at about 8:45, coming under the raised railroad bridge. Looking from a distance, we were all convinced that it could not possibly fit beneath. But fit it did and progressed down the river preceded by a fire boat, pulled by a large tug and pushed by two other tugs. Even the clearance under the height of the St. Johns bridge was awe inspiring to those of standing there on the boat docks at Cathedral Park.

I am so very glad that I was able to record this event. I arrived at work about 10am with mud nearly up to my knees on the (allowable for work) black jeans I wore. Thankfully, I had worn boots to photograph and had brought nice shoes for work. The "photo of the day", however, was the picture I took of the St. Johns Bridge through the trees as I awaited the "event" I came to document. You just never know when that one, special shot will present itself to be taken.

Broken Forests

Rain is not a stranger to Oregon, nor is wind. We expect and even welcome our winter rains. They bring the green, lush beauty we so treausre here. The winds have blown for eons in the Pacific Northwest and will continue long after we are all gone. But also all gone are too many of our forests to the insatiable, unsustainable greed of the logging industry. Clear cuts abound until our beautiful woods appear to have contracted a bad case of mange. The scabs appear unbroken except for the tender and fragile growth of newly planted and very young "tree farms." This winter our land and our people began to pay the price for this insatiable "need" to harvest our forests. The rain had nothing to stop its flow long enough to soak into the soil. It could do nothing but bring the loose mud down the slopes and into the towns and homes in its path. The wind had nothing to sway and slow its terrible force until that force broke the forest into little shards and pieces to fall sadly on the soil that had nurtered it and given it height and breadth. Our forests are broken along with our hearts as we look at the damage.

It will be many years before this damage will no longer be so obvious. Storms have always been a part of this land and they have always been destructive. A mentor of mine had a saying that applied to another subject, but I think it applies here as well. She used to say "It's not nice to mess with Mother Nature." I think we have messed with Mother Nature a little too much here. We need to rethink what our needs really are and not continue to destroy everything in our path.

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.