Now I am back at school, after a wonderful and relaxing respite, and I'm trying to convince myself that everything's ok. The first half of the break is a bit of a blur. I went home wednesday the 21st and I think it was Thursday that I went on a rather extensive hike. Mom started out with me and we went to the usual stopping point - also a great viewpoint - on the logging road. Then she went back and I continued, eventually hiking down into the woods. I finally realized that if I'm wanting to look for antlers I may as well stick to the south end of the logging road and take advantage of the bridges below for the return trip rather than having to wrassle through the extensive and painful thicket. That darn brown house across the canal is annoying too. This is the third or fourth time I've gone way out of my way to avoid walking through their yard which involves pre-thicket wrasslin.' So all I found was a birthday themed mylar balloon on that outing, and it would prove to be the usual reward for my energy expenditures. After the exhausting thicket, I finally came out on the bank of the canal at that wonderful time of evening when the birds are making their final serene calls but when the sun is still out and warm. I waded across. I miss running around outside with nothing weighing my mind down.
I think I strained a muscle in my upper leg from that hike - I was still sore three days afterward. Not used to a several hours' worth of exercise!
Believe it was that night or the night before - we were sitting around the dinner table when we heard a faint knock on the door. Turns out some distant neighbors were walking their husky and returning from the canal when the dog came over to our place and attacked Pumice, our rooster. Much debate and squabbling followed with Tim's view on the event clashing with mom's and mine. We ended up having to euthanize the rooster from his injuries. He was promptly replaced by a new "guardian" for the hens.
I also made another antler hunting excursion/hike, forget which day. I found a relatively intact skull on the forest floor which I believe to be that of a weasel, and saw two deer. I combed an oak forested hillside which looked really promising as far as deer sign goes but found nothing. Still, a very enjoyable outing.
Attempted to get together with Jonathan on the day he said he had off..didn't work out until the next evening when we went to eat at The Crazy Pepper. Fun, but difficult to talk to him. .
My new camera had arrived and I wanted some one-on-one help. I wasn't happy with the way the photos I took inside were turning out and as I have realized I am easily frustrated by the learning process involved with the unknown. In fact, I believe the whole reason I'm usually unhappy is because I'm always trying to rush through life to get to something better (stable, manageable, familiar, less stress). I have to learn that life itself is a process and that I can't be rushing to get to something better all the time. Anway, back to the camera. I ended up going to see Uncle Scott and dad in the hopes that Scott would sit down with me and just play around with the camera a bit to help me out. That didn't happen, but dad and I did enjoy a nice walk and a bit of an old western on tv.
The next event that I remember was my east hills hike and antler hunt on the 26th. I got up there before noon and walked all over the familiar area. I saw a pileated woodpecker and heard an unusual drumming sound (a grouse?) I hadn't heard before but was unable to locate its source. I was hiking down one of the rather bare hillsides when I came upon a coyote - about 65 ft. down the hill from me. Its back was turned, looked like it was on the hunt, and I watched for a few seconds before leaning up against the hillside and quietly taking out my camera. Ears barely visible above the grass, I watched as it moved a ways down the draw. It finally picked up my movement and turned towards me, clearly attempting to decipher my identity (it took about 20 seconds before the critter realized it didn't want to stick around, during which I got a couple photos using the full zoom). Neat encounter. It's a rare opportunity to observe wildlife that hasn't seen you first and is going about its business normally. Returning to my car at the end of a five hour search, I found a Thomas the train mylar balloon.
The next day I went clothes shopping at thrift stores in the Hood in the morning which yielded five pairs of pants for Africa and two shirts for $18. Then mom and I met at home and took off on a hike. A tree across the road blocked our access to our usual point of entry to Surveyor's Ridge, so mum had the brilliant idea of getting to Oak Ridge via Bald Butte. So we parked at an obscure trailhead on Pine Mont, ascended Bald Butte (a steep muddy hike, did see a deer cross our path) and hiked to the next ridge over. Winds were basically hurricane force, there were still patches of snow up there, and I had a cold. We estimated it was a seven or eight mile trip to my jeep at the Oak Ridge trailhead. Wow. We really felt like we earned our dinner that night. But it was fun, and very memorable. Oh yeah. We found a balloon caught in a tree near the top of the butte.
Wednesday I met mom at Grandma's for a visit, then went out to Andrew's pizza by myself (sorta weird sitting at restaurant by oneself) and had delicious vegetarian pizza with pesto. Then I went to pick up Matt in Troutdale but his mom was running late. One of mom's clients, an experienced Africa traveler, called me to stress the importance of warm clothes, so I took the delay as a shopping opportunity and got a heavy fleece zip-up on sale at the outlet mall. Matt and I had a nice drive back.
The next thing I remember is taking dad out to dinner at the Mesquitery. Good red snapper. On Friday the 30th Matt, mom, and I went to look for antlers. Tried Fir Mtn. but ended up on Old Dalles Road. An unsuccessful outing once again, but gorgeous day. Lots of wildflowers. Matt and I made veggie stir fry with tofu and brown rice. Saturday we made hot cross buns, packed, watched Monsters (explanation to follow), ate at Brian's Pourhouse, and ate hot cross buns. Seared true cod fillet with green beans, feta mashed potatoes, and a sweet pepper sauce: INCREDIBLE.
So, I remembered this show from childhood, just its intro, in which a family of creepy looking monster-esque beings are sitting around their TV. Turns out dad remembered it and he said it was still on tv on this new channel called Chiller. Well, what do you know, we have Chiller at home. Matt and I found the intro on YouTube prior to actually watching it. The show itself is ridiculous. Very fun to figure out old memories though!
The End.
I think I strained a muscle in my upper leg from that hike - I was still sore three days afterward. Not used to a several hours' worth of exercise!
Believe it was that night or the night before - we were sitting around the dinner table when we heard a faint knock on the door. Turns out some distant neighbors were walking their husky and returning from the canal when the dog came over to our place and attacked Pumice, our rooster. Much debate and squabbling followed with Tim's view on the event clashing with mom's and mine. We ended up having to euthanize the rooster from his injuries. He was promptly replaced by a new "guardian" for the hens.
I also made another antler hunting excursion/hike, forget which day. I found a relatively intact skull on the forest floor which I believe to be that of a weasel, and saw two deer. I combed an oak forested hillside which looked really promising as far as deer sign goes but found nothing. Still, a very enjoyable outing.
Attempted to get together with Jonathan on the day he said he had off..didn't work out until the next evening when we went to eat at The Crazy Pepper. Fun, but difficult to talk to him. .
My new camera had arrived and I wanted some one-on-one help. I wasn't happy with the way the photos I took inside were turning out and as I have realized I am easily frustrated by the learning process involved with the unknown. In fact, I believe the whole reason I'm usually unhappy is because I'm always trying to rush through life to get to something better (stable, manageable, familiar, less stress). I have to learn that life itself is a process and that I can't be rushing to get to something better all the time. Anway, back to the camera. I ended up going to see Uncle Scott and dad in the hopes that Scott would sit down with me and just play around with the camera a bit to help me out. That didn't happen, but dad and I did enjoy a nice walk and a bit of an old western on tv.
The next event that I remember was my east hills hike and antler hunt on the 26th. I got up there before noon and walked all over the familiar area. I saw a pileated woodpecker and heard an unusual drumming sound (a grouse?) I hadn't heard before but was unable to locate its source. I was hiking down one of the rather bare hillsides when I came upon a coyote - about 65 ft. down the hill from me. Its back was turned, looked like it was on the hunt, and I watched for a few seconds before leaning up against the hillside and quietly taking out my camera. Ears barely visible above the grass, I watched as it moved a ways down the draw. It finally picked up my movement and turned towards me, clearly attempting to decipher my identity (it took about 20 seconds before the critter realized it didn't want to stick around, during which I got a couple photos using the full zoom). Neat encounter. It's a rare opportunity to observe wildlife that hasn't seen you first and is going about its business normally. Returning to my car at the end of a five hour search, I found a Thomas the train mylar balloon.
The next day I went clothes shopping at thrift stores in the Hood in the morning which yielded five pairs of pants for Africa and two shirts for $18. Then mom and I met at home and took off on a hike. A tree across the road blocked our access to our usual point of entry to Surveyor's Ridge, so mum had the brilliant idea of getting to Oak Ridge via Bald Butte. So we parked at an obscure trailhead on Pine Mont, ascended Bald Butte (a steep muddy hike, did see a deer cross our path) and hiked to the next ridge over. Winds were basically hurricane force, there were still patches of snow up there, and I had a cold. We estimated it was a seven or eight mile trip to my jeep at the Oak Ridge trailhead. Wow. We really felt like we earned our dinner that night. But it was fun, and very memorable. Oh yeah. We found a balloon caught in a tree near the top of the butte.
Wednesday I met mom at Grandma's for a visit, then went out to Andrew's pizza by myself (sorta weird sitting at restaurant by oneself) and had delicious vegetarian pizza with pesto. Then I went to pick up Matt in Troutdale but his mom was running late. One of mom's clients, an experienced Africa traveler, called me to stress the importance of warm clothes, so I took the delay as a shopping opportunity and got a heavy fleece zip-up on sale at the outlet mall. Matt and I had a nice drive back.
The next thing I remember is taking dad out to dinner at the Mesquitery. Good red snapper. On Friday the 30th Matt, mom, and I went to look for antlers. Tried Fir Mtn. but ended up on Old Dalles Road. An unsuccessful outing once again, but gorgeous day. Lots of wildflowers. Matt and I made veggie stir fry with tofu and brown rice. Saturday we made hot cross buns, packed, watched Monsters (explanation to follow), ate at Brian's Pourhouse, and ate hot cross buns. Seared true cod fillet with green beans, feta mashed potatoes, and a sweet pepper sauce: INCREDIBLE.
So, I remembered this show from childhood, just its intro, in which a family of creepy looking monster-esque beings are sitting around their TV. Turns out dad remembered it and he said it was still on tv on this new channel called Chiller. Well, what do you know, we have Chiller at home. Matt and I found the intro on YouTube prior to actually watching it. The show itself is ridiculous. Very fun to figure out old memories though!
The End.
1 Comments:
At 12:11 AM ,
Becky said...
Whoa I feel like I remember that scene, too...
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