The Season Of The Witch

Thanks, Larue, for reminding me of this tune - and Emerson for finding the youtube.

Season Of The Witch - Al Kooper Steven Stills Mike Bloomfield.

Low Tide

This week we have had some very low tides. The only water visible in the bay in the picture up top is the water from creeks feeding it. The Oregonian had an article yesterday about the low tides - tis worth the read and I am looking forward to the even lower low tides in late June.

Sunny but breezy today. High was 77 but with gusts of 10 from the northwest, it felt chilly. Have started the fire in the stove to chase the chill (in addition to putting on a long sleeved shirt). A day spent not much but yet one wherein I felt like I got a lot done.

Tomorrow, I'm heading into town to pick up planter boxes, dirt, and other supplies. I'll leave the heavy stuff in the car for Saturday girls - the two teens I rent each Saturday do all the heavy lifting for me - bringing up wood along with household chores I have difficulty doing. The nursery plants seem to be acclimating well and I hope to plant them Saturday afternoon or Sunday.

Bullock

I think this is a Bullock's Oriole. Been coming by the feeder but flies off each time I try to take a picture of him. I am hoping that they get used to me being on the other side of the living room windows and don't startle so easily. I'm also trying to photograph one of the chestnut backed chickadees frequenting the feeder.


Lovely day here - another short sleeved tshirt kinda of day. Got into the 70's today and the weather dood promises more to come throughout the weekend. Traffic has quieted down on the road now the holiday has passed. I took this from down by the picnic tables - Token took time to smell the flowers.

Herbs and Blooms

Went to Waterfall Farms nursery yesterday and picked up some herbs and blooms. Got 3 geraniums - one the larger purple ya see in the picture up top and two smaller red ones in the white basket with the herbs. The reds are to go in pots by the back door and replace the reds the snow froze.

Picked up some basil, a lemon thyme, creeping rosemary - just the usual kitchen herb plants. I can't remember all the varieties right now and since it is drizzling, I'm not going out to look. They are currently in their nursery pots on the front deck where I took these pictures yesterday. Still have to get planter boxes and potting soil along with more plants.

Been overcast all day and now we have the drizzles. A comfy 57 outside and the cozy fire in the stove has inside an even comfy-er 71. The Cape is invisible - covered entirely with clouds. The spit is visible but probably won't be for long since fog is forecast - it too will fade into the mists. Weather dood said the sun will return tomorrow.

Memory

Susan Boyle - Memory (from Cats). She won the semi-final show this week with this song and will be appearing in the series finale next Saturday.

A fitting song for this Memorial Day 2009.

Lazy Summer Day

Truly a lovely day today at the peaceful retreat on the bay. Got up to 85 this afternoon - short sleeved tshirt weather. Token and Bailey spent most of the afternoon out on the deck. Token was soaking up the rays and Bailey was finding the most strategic place to stalk the birdfeeder hanging from its pole.


This American Goldfinch was checking out the feeder (and keeping an eye on Bailey).


This is the creek the birds I think are juvenile bald eagles soar up and down as it enters the bay. They catch the thermals, rising up and down while looking for their salmon dinner.

Kids At The Creek

Lovely day today. Got up to 78 this afternoon but as soon as the sun went behind the grove of cedars, temps started to drop quickly. Twas a day for lounging about on the sunny deck. Shortly after taking the picture of low tide up top, I heard laughter and saw these two kids running along side the creek, headed to the other side of the cedars.

Was good to hear and see laughing children. Tis a holiday weekend and the official start of the Oregon Coast Tourist season. Traffic dood on the local news tonight was showing footage of traffic headed west out of Portland. Lots of campers, motorcycles and vehicles towing boats in that footage. I'm far enough from the road that traffic isn't a bother. There is more traffic on the road - folks headed up to the cape for the holiday weekend.

Sunset Through The Trees

The sunset is still moving north and will continue to do so until the solstice. Late fall and winter, I could watch it set from the livng room but late winter/early spring it moved out of my sight to behind the large cedar tree on the north.

Another month to the solstice and even though the sun has set, it is still light enough to see outside at 9:30 at night. Moving 700 miles north certainly made a difference in the length of daylight in summer - back at the cabin, the sun went behind the mountain around 4 or 5pmish in the winter so I have not noticed much change in when it starts getting dark in winter here.

Twas a sunny day and we got up to 78 outside. Tshirt weather instead of fleece. Spent the day putzing and trying to identify a large bird that was flying overhead - to no avail. It is the big smudge ya see in this picture

above the spit on the right. I had walked down by the firepit and picnic tables earlier this afternoon - this was taken from there. Doesn't have the white of an eagle. My downstairs neighbor, a state park ranger, came home shortly after I took this and she didn't know what it was either.

Changing Skies

Yesterday was overcast and cloudy but stayed in the 50's. Today has been pretty much the same - the skies did part for a wee bit this afternoon but quickly clouded back over as this band of showers moved ashore.

Weather dood says it will be like this for most of the week but with more sun each day. Clouds. Sunshine. Clouds. Sunshine. Should be mostly sunny for the Memorial Day weekend. I can't believe it is almost the end of May already.

This time last year, we were getting ready for Jennifer's wedding on the 31st. So much has changed since then - my cottage sold, Jen and Mike moved to Oregon, I moved to Oregon staying first at the vacation rental north of Newport and then in October, moved into the peaceful retreat by the bay. In February, my youngest daughter, Stephanie, moved from Utah to Oregon and temporarily moved in with me. In April, she moved to Portland and starts her summer job at Ben & Jerry's as a scooper later this week.

Last week, my mom and stepdad bought a house in Arizona, moved into it on Thursday, listed their Palm Desert house for sale Friday, and got an offer on it Saturday. They can't believe it sold in one day - last year they had it on the market for 7 months before pulling the listed because it did not sell.

So much has changed in the past year. Each one of the changes have felt right and have been for the better. I loved my little cottage by the creek in the redwoods but never felt the peace there that I feel here. I loved watching the occasional bird at the creek but here, there are eagles, swallows, geese, and dozens of other birds I have not identified yet. The redwoods have been replaced by cedars and the creek here is also a salmon run. If this place was a single story, it would be perfect. I learned not to look for perfect at the cottage - here I enjoy the benefits of imperfection.

Foggy

Foggy. Inland had wonderful weather with temps in the mid to high 70's. Portland is supposed to be just as lovely tomorrow. Here, however, was a different story.

Fog that did not burn off all day. Still, was warm (in the 50's) and it is still 55 outside at this late hour. A very soft day. A good day to stay in my jammies and putz around the house. I took plenty of breaks, spending plenty of time in front of the living room windows, watching the birds dancing on wisps of fog.

Did venture out for a wee bit - onto the deck. The blue flower is blooming in the flowerbed alongside the house - this was taken looking down on it and with lotsa zoom. Not sure what it is.


The rhoddy on the north side is full of blooms - it didn't lose as many as I thought it would in last week's wind storm. You can see the smaller rhoddy in front of it is not in bloom yet and get a peak at a third rhoddy to the right (also not in bloom yet).

S-A-T-

S-a-t-u-r-d-a-y Night - The Bay City Rollers (on tv in Japan 1983)

Birds And Sun

Tis a lovely day at the peaceful retreat on the bay. Token and I spent a great deal of time this afternoon out on the front deck, watching the barn swallows swope and dive and chase each other, their forked tails making them easily identifiable. When these two guys flew overhead in large lazy circles, all the smaller birds ducked for cover. They landed atop one of the large trees on the north side, unfortunately, with their backs facing me.



This little barn swallow didn't hide and maintained the lookout spot atop the roof ridge above my front door, sounding the alarm until after the eagles moved on.


Got up to 71 today, with white puffy clouds in the sky. The wind that has hung around the past few days has stilled. The only sounds are the birds and an occasional vehicle passing by - even the roar of the surf on the other side of the spit seems muted.

Spring Blooms

The big rhoddy off the front deck.


One of the apple trees.

Sunshine and showers today. Supposed to be clear skies and down into the 30's tonight. Good thing I have my helpers come every Saturday, bring up a week's worth of wood and do other chores. This week, after wood, I'm gonna have them tackle the eat-in kitchen floors. Showers forecast for the rest of the week but the Weather Dood says it will clear up and warm up this weekend. May even hit the 80's.

Token went to the doggie beauty shop today and immediately rolled around on the driveway when we got home. He has been unable, so far, to rub off the nice smell remaining from his shampoo.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mothers Day Mom. Here is one of your favorites:



Johnny Cash - Daddy Sang Bass/The Circle Won't Be Broken

Friday

The rising tide earlier this afternoon.

4 of the apple trees and on the lower left, one of the old rhoddys off the kitchen deck.

Glorious day today - full of sunshine and the wind is not blowing. Surprised me when I looked over at the weather gauge and saw that it was 71 outside. A day spent watching birds chase other birds, listening to the chirps and ka-a-a-a's. Was buzzed by a hummingbird - all in all, a very pleasant day at the peaceful retreat on the bay.

Clouds and Bloom

Overcast and breezy today - high of 57 and even now, right after a rain band swept through, it is 50. Before the latest rain band, the sun broke through some of the clouds and I was able to snap a few pictures. Darn breeze made it hard to hold the camera still. One of these days, I'm going to get a camera tripod.

The rhoddy is blooming and smells fantabulous with a heavy perfume the wind blows away. There are a couple of eagle nests, one in the tallest tree on the other side of the fish hatchery cove and I think there may be one in the big cedar that frames the right side of many of my photographs. The apple trees are in full bloom and there is a lot of new growth on the roses. There are buds on some plants that I have not identified yet.

I'm sneezing, blowing my nose, and think I have a slight cold. Either that or I am allergic to something blooming now. I like to think it is a cold.

Geese

Late afternoon yesterday, I heard a loud honking outside. Looked out my living room window and saw two geese walking on the mudflats (low tide), cross the creek and then follow the shore to the north. I snapped a few pictures of them. They were honking back and forth, raising quite a ruckus.

Winds been blowing hard and it was pouring down rain until a couple hours ago so I did not get to take a photo of the starting to bloom rhododendron (rhoddy) by the front deck. I think it is going to be spectacular - the scent is quite strong and perfumes the air. Of course, this wind has me hunkered down inside with the doors and windows closed. Can't wait for the wind to die down so I can walk out and take a good look. Wind is still gusting hard and should ease by morning and then pick up again in the afternoon - hopefully not as strong as Monday. Tuesday, the car is going in for an oil change and I need to pick up some coffee beans.

Rain being blown against the windows now. Still have bands of showers passing through. I need to get off my tushkie and buy a forking weather station I can set up here. That way I'll know precisely how hard the wind is blowing, how much rain I've gotten, etc. Been looking online - am thinking maybe about an Oregon Scientific, wireless with base station that hooks into the computer. I can then have my own Weather Underground site.

Now that my POD is in Portland, I can start to make a few runs to the pod-house and pack some stuff into my car. I put some stuff I knew I knew I would need near the front door. Am starting to think about where I can put stuff - my cookbooks(!), the coffee table, my desk, etc

The fire has kept it toasty tonight - am thankful to Gary my wood guy for stacking a bunch inside for me earlier this week and then topping off the stack when he delivered the other half of the cord Saturday. Not having to do the stairs these past few days has helped my fake knee calm down nicely. I've enjoyed doing nothing, magnificently.

Blustery

Tis a blustery day today. A series of spring storms will have us like this all week. Not as cold as a winter storm - was still 57 outside last nite at midnight - but only hit 54 today. Overcast, with bands of rain that blow through, and the winds have the old place creaking like a ship on a stormy sea.

Am having occasional sun breaks this afternoon - but the sunhine only lasts for a few moments before the clouds cover it back up. These second picture was taken immediately after the first - they show how quickly the day changes.

One Piece At A Time

Johnny Cash - One Piece At A Time.

The BratMobile is now officially an Oregon car. My duplicate pink slip (title) finally arrived from CA DMV so I took it to ODOT (Oregon DMV) this afteroon. The lady there was ever so helpful - she filled out all the paperwork, told me where to sign, and even put the tabs on both plates for me. Bonus points: my registration is good for 2 years! Was not required to get a smog check either nor any of that back and forth the CA DMV puts ya through. All I have to do is find a pointy headed screwdriver so I can take off the CA plates and put on the Oregon ones.

Guess I am officially an Oregonian now. My POD is in Portland at the Pod warehouse. My Oregon drivers license is good for 8 years and the car license for 2. I even have an Oregon cell phone number now.

Sunshine all day and we hit 71 before it clouded over. Smells like rain. I hung up my new squirrel proof (and bigger bird proof) birdfeeder on the front deck, filled it with goodies, and have been enjoying watching the smaller birds for a change. It is identical to the one I had in Boulder Creek - I gave that one to the cabin's new owner as a housewarming present.