Friday, October 21, 2005

Trip to Astoria #3


Along the beautiful Columbia River Valley downstream from Portland, so different from the Gorge.

posted by Mique @ 12:07 PM 0 comments

Trip to Astoria #2


From the public pier in Astoria, looking out at the bridge over to Washington and at the Pacific Ocean.

posted by Mique @ 12:06 PM 0 comments

Astoria Trip #1


Scary house seen along route 30 west of Portland. Happy (?) Haloween!

posted by Mique @ 12:05 PM 0 comments

News from Tualatin

New from Tualatin
 
Well, we're getting prepared for the trek back to Colorado, alas.  We've reserved a trailer, arranged for hlep packing it, got our mail forwarding set up, and bought extra Kleenex for last-minute weeping.
 
Karen and I took a little spin up to Astoria, the town at the extreme north-west corner of Oregon where the Columbia meets the Pacific.  Some pictures are sent in separate e-mails (no new Ben this time.)  We also saw the world's most hauntedest-looking house and did a little neighborhood-shopping in Vancouver (Washington, not British Columbia), just across the river from Portland.  Seems as if it's no further from anything else in Portland than some parts of Portland are (or Tualatin, certainly), and that you get a lot more house for your money.  Tough commute, though, if you have to cross the river every day.
 
The Columbia River Valley west of Portland is beautiful this time of the year, with Fall leaves in various states of color, and a fine crisp air or cozy foggy-drippiness.  We're giving serious thought to moving here, but nothing's simple, and the mood of Fall mirrors our feelings on leaving from our prolonged visit with the Kunzes.
 
We had some terrific seafood in Astoria, and saw several nice houses for sale in Vancouver, so I would count the day a huge success.  We arrived home in Tualatin saddle-sore, getting our butts in shape for the long haul home to Colorado Springs.
 
Love you all!
 
M.

posted by Mique @ 12:03 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ben Photo


Latest pix of Benjamin.

posted by Mique @ 12:10 PM 0 comments

Ben Photo (2/3)


Latest Pix of Benjamin.

posted by Mique @ 12:09 PM 0 comments

Ben Photo (1/3)


Latest Pix of Benjamin

posted by Mique @ 12:07 PM 0 comments

News from Tualatin

News from Tualatin
 
I mentioned last time that we were having lunch with Morgan last Friday, and thereafter were going to go up into Washington (just across the Columbia River) to see sandhill cranes.
 
We had a nice lunch with Morgan and Ben.  We asked Morgan whether there was anything we could do in the way of housework for them, but she said the only thing was that some of the light bulbs needed replaced.  The Kunze's house is a century old, and like most houses of that day, has pretty high ceilings (10'), rather than the eight feet that is typical nowadays.  So, replacing bulbs in a ceiling fixture is not a task taken "lightly."
 
I found their little step-stool, and put replacement bulbs in the pockets of my jeans.  While I was up on the stool stretching to reach the fixture to remove the outer globe, my pants fell down around my ankles.  Now I'm in a fix ... pants down around my ankles, partially-loosened glass fixture in my hands, unable to finish the task (the bulbs are in my pockets, you'll recall), and unable to descend from the ladder.
 
I had no choice but to call for help, to my chagrin.  The ladies couldn't help but laugh (me, too, further complicating my fix), but they graciously assisted me to retain my balance while I finished loosening the globe and handed me the replacement bulb.  That done, I was able to pull up my pants and move to the next room.  Just don't let anybody know, or I'll be embarrassed.
 
Ben's looking great!  (pictures by separate e-mail)  He's gaining so much weight and length that he looks like a totally different kid.  He's already outgrown some of his onesies!  It may be hard for his parents to believe it, but he's beginning to get his days and nights turned around a little bit to match the sun, so we get to see more of him awake when we're there, which is fun.
 
We had a great time at the bird-watch.  The Wildlife Reserve we visited has a little two-or-three-mile self-guided drive that we took before our accompanied field trip.  The area is unlike anything I'm familiar with ... river-bottom marshlands, with lots of pools and sand bars for ducks and various wading birds, as well as more familiar raptors (hawks, kestrils, owls, and harriers).
 
When we finally set out on our trek to the duck blind (is it crane blind in this case?), we saw a little snake in the grass and a tiny green frog with a red racing stripe.  We're not in Colorado any more.
 
We were in a make-shift blind off shore of a side-channel of the Columbia River on Bachelor Island from about 4:30 to after 7:00, by which time it is quite dark here.  We saw literally hundreds of ducks on the river, with thousands more flying up river for the evening.  Also thousands of cackling geese (an actual species) winging their way somewhere.  We saw only about 80 to 100 sandhill cranes, mixed in with a handfull of white egrets and several blue herons.
 
The folks we were with included three National Wildlife Officers and a dozen or so more serious birders, with much more serious scopes and binoculars, which they generously shared.  Finally, though, no amount of magnification could make up for the simple lack of light.  We got rained on a little (which we were prepared for!), and generally had a great time.  However ...
 
Saturday, Karen got a cold, and we had to postpone our Sunday dinner with the Kunzes to keep her away from Ben.  We were gonna have pizza and some cake on behalf of my birthday, but have postponed that to this coming weekend.  Karen's fine (it was just the sniffles, really), and we stopped by for lunch and a visit yesterday to see Ben ... oh, and his mom, too.
 
More later!
 
Love you guys ... look for some pictures soon.
 
M.

posted by Mique @ 11:51 AM 0 comments