Lookin' Out My Backdoor - 12/27/07

A Dozen Things I am Thankful For

1) The view out my my back door. The ability to live out-of-town away from the noise and traffic.

2) Animals and all of the things they give us. I am happy not to live in Ingrid Newkirk's ideal world.

 

3) Julie, the first Cardigan. Who says "I'm still here!" each morning.

 

4) Healthy, well-fed puppies. In fact, puppies! 5) The good friends that the dogs have connected me with.

6) Computers, which allow us to be able to afford to live out of town, have puppies, and to communicate with our friends. 7) Google, which puts all of the world's knowledge at my fingertips. 8- My fingertips. Having one which doesn't work perfectly anymore - no thanks to dogs - makes you appreciate the others. 9) My eyes. Some people are aural in nature, others are visual. I have learned over the years that my brain is wired such that I am a visual person. The spoken word can go right past me (ask Tom). 10) My day-job. Sometimes. Or at least for my 401(k) may it live long and prosper, and the generous boss to help it do so. 11) Digital cameras, for making it easier to preserve and share memories.

12) For Oregon and for living here. I love living in a state and region with both some of the most spectacular and unspoiled coastline in the world . . .

 

and for equally spectacular mountains and desert.

Storm Chasers

We tried to go to the South Jetty, but our travel plans were somewhat compromised. I believe the reports of 85 mph winds. The Hammond/Warrenton area had downed trees and power lines everywhere. Most of the pictures are on Kathy's camera so I'll see if I can get them later. I was driving white-knuckled while she documented the drive. The high point - or was that low point - came while we were crossing the Youngs Bay Bridge between Warrenton and Astoria. We thought it would be a good idea to get pictures of the breakers on the bay. Kathy rolled down the car window to get a better shot. I saw it coming and tried to say "Be Careful!" but somehow all that came out was "CUH!" before a wave came up over the bridge, into the car window, and right into Kathy's face. She (and camera and car) were drenched. After crossing the big bridge at Astoria, 101 follows the north bank of the Columbia for a few miles. The waves were crashing over the road, but we were smart enough to keep the windows rolled up that time. The rest of the drive to Seattle was equally wind-blown. But can you believe it? The weather cleared up and we got not a drop of rain at the game.

View of city from Qwest Field.

The game was fun, especially as the final score was Seahawks 24, 49ers zip. The "fan watching" is even more fun than the game, IMO.

The Coast Route

A few pictures from today.

 

Bull elk outside of Reedsport.

 

Beach at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. There was a fantastic rolling surf today.

Umpqua Lighthouse.

Beach at Newport. What a beautiful day.

Kites on beach, downtown Lincoln City.

We ended up in Seaside tonight. Yes, that town that I called a "circus" in August. While still touristy and perhaps prematurely decorated for the holiday season, it is ever so much better in November. We had a lovely seafood dinner with a bottle of wine in a nearly deserted downtown restaurant.

Trick or Treat

Just another day at the office . . .

I have a new appreciation for the women of Islam. Yes, I did keep it on all day. We only had one copier salesman come in who didn't recognize a burkha when he saw one (!) Kathy and Melanie explained to him what a burkha is, as I was not permitted to speak to a strange man.

 

Kathy as the Klown. "It Floats . . ."

 

Melanie as a big game hunter. Wait a minute, Melanie is a big game hunter.

The Commute in Red and Gold

While we're all sitting around waiting for puppies, I thought that I'd share some fall pictures I made while driving on Monday. Some of you living in less colorful areas of the country might enjoy a taste of autumn.

Monday morning, on Table Rock Road.

The road passes between the two table rocks, called mesas elsewhere. Upper Table Rock is "up river" - that would be the Rogue. Lower Table Rock is "down river".

Coming home in the rain Monday evening.

And this was made in front of the neighbor's house on our road. That's our sheep shed you can see with the double door in the distance. Spring and fall are wonderful times of year here, the times that just can't be beat.

Good Thing We're Not Sailors

A spectacular fall morning.

Fall Comes to Southern Oregon

Canada Geese at sunset:

Cedar Waxwings congregate:

Not quite time for the leaf blower, but it's coming.

Hell Week

. . .but I just realized that Monday is a holiday. The first labor day of many where I won't be helping to put on a dog show. May is a much better month for dog shows. Yesterday it was 103 in Medford. Can't you just imagine a dog show in a ball field when it's 103? The weather did make for a spectacular rainbow last night as the sun was setting. It encompassed the entire span of the sky so we were only able to capture it in pieces.  

Astoria 08/17/07-08/18/07

Did I mention how much I liked Astoria?

 

View of the bridge and across the Columbia from the parking lot at the Astoria Column.

I could sit for days watching ships and boats navigate up and down the river. Tom took the pictures below at Warrenton.

Seabound Russian trawler.

And he takes the greatest bird pictures.

Cape Disappointment 08/16/07-08/17/07

Time to subject everyone to another day of vacation photos. The first stop after dropping Alice off at SeaTac was Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington. We had a campsite on the lake and it only rained at night. The campsite was a little open for my taste, therefore leading to too many children visiting the dogs. But it was still a pretty spot.

View of the Cape Disappointment lighthouse from the state park.

NOAA ship Rainier off the north bar.

Cape Disappointment is the end of the "Voyage of Discovery". It took us a little longer than it did Lewis and Clark. We left St Louis in May of 2004 and it took us until August of 2007 to arrive at the mouth of the Columbia. Life and jobs kept interfering.

 

Monument in the state park commemorating the end of the journey.

Two views of the lighthouse from the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.

We spent quite a while watching pelicans and cormorants fishing at the base of the cliff.

Terrific picture above credited to Tom Brown pelicans. The same flock would circle again and again.

Nesting cormorants.

 

Me enjoying the ocean breeze and the sun. Panorama of the mouth of the Columbia by Tom.