Thursday, November 10, 2022
The bathroom redo continues. The new floor covering was installed today.
Today’s Quiz
1. What type of floor covering is this?
A. Vinyl B. Linoleum C. Marmoleum D. Paramecium
2. Why do you think M and E chose this option?
A. It is an environmentally friendly product and does not off-gas.
B. It was the most economical.
C. It was recommended by their design consultants.
D. They wanted the flexibility of having thousands of cilia.
Monday, November 14
The vanity was installed today. Drawer pulls and countertop will come later.
Wednesday, November 16
We’ve been having beautiful fall weather this week. It’s been in the 20’s at night, but sunny and up into the 50’s in the afternoon. Today we took an afternoon walk in a part of the Finley National Refuge, near the town of Peoria. The blue line in the map below shows roughly the route of our walk. The last part of the walk is a wide path atop an old dike.
On our way back we spotted a skunk nosing around in the middle of a bare field, which seemed a little strange on such a bright afternoon. Also, on a power line that crossed the field, we noticed a lot of these:
Friday, November 18
In the morning we went up to Salem to sign up for TSA PreCheck. Beautiful day for a drive. Our final destination turned out to be a booth set up inside a Staples store next to the office furniture. The tiny booth was jammed with equipment: a fingerprint scanner, two screens, a photo backdrop, a high mounted camera and, of course, a credit card reader. Somewhere amongst it all, there was also a human, an efficient young fellow who had his routine down pat. The whole thing took maybe four minutes per person. It was a big Staples store and except for a steady stream of trusted traveller wannabes, it was mostly deserted. Kind of a strange scene.
As we came out of Staples, we remembered that there was a Panera nearby. And we needed a bear claw or something.
Saturday, November 19
In the morning we toured the site of the proposed Oak Creek Preserve, a 144 acre tract of farmland and oak forest just west of Corvallis. The tour was led by the head of the Greenbelt Land Trust, a local non-profit that was founded some 30 years ago by a group of visionaries who were concerned that encroaching development would eventually destroy the natural areas surrounding the city. Their vision was to be able to preserve enough land around the city to form a permanent band of green areas, hence the name “Greenbelt.”
The north edge of Corvallis borders the OSU Research Forest, so a wide green ‘belt” has long existed there. The local GLT began its work focused on the west side of the city. Along with various partners, they have already succeeded in preserving many hundreds of acres and have built and maintained multi-use access trails throughout the area. The area in red on the map below shows how the planned Oak Creek Preserve will complete what GLT calls a “corridor of trails and habitats.”
As their website puts it: With the purchase of this 144 acre property, we have a rare chance to acquire a final missing puzzle piece in the long-envisioned corridor of trails and habitats. We need your help to fund the acquisition and long term stewardship of this iconic site.
The next photo shows a portion of the tract as it looks now. The field in the lower left has had many agricultural uses over the last 150 years. Most recently, it has been used for grass seed production. The oak forest on the hillside above the field seems to have been relatively undisturbed, at least for the last 70-100 years.
This tour took place as part of a fundraising campaign to take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Greenbelt has had its eyes on this site for many years, but it seemed an impossible dream because the landowner had signed a purchase option agreement with a developer. As it happened, however, the developer was not able to pull together the needed resources. Soon after that option expired, GLT was able to secure a purchase option of its own and expects to close on the property in the spring of 2023.
The tour was inspiring, both because of the beautiful views and natural surroundings and also because of the energy and idealism of the Greenbelt staff. They quite literally walked the walk while they were talking the talk. The more we think about it, the more we are convinced that donating to this project is a very positive investment in the future.
I love the crunching of the leaves; they actually have their own “language”. 🌿
very nice!! can i be nosy and ask where you are travelling to to need tsa clearance?
and what are those things hanging that look like film reel holders??
We don’t have a clue what those odd hanging things are. We were hoping you’d know. WE saw four or five more of them hanging on the wires of the power line.
We are in the process of planning some travel. Destination TBA. –M