Meandering on the Way — March 26 to April 2

Tuesday, March 26th

E noticed today that a flicker has made a couple of largish holes in our back fence power pole. She wondered if the damage would compromise the pole’s structural integrity, so she called Pacific Power. Within half an hour a fellow turned up to assess the damage.

After taking a look, the technician’s first response was that the easiest solution would be a BB gun. E was not impressed. His next move was to say that the pole was not immediately at risk but that he would report it, adding that “They will probably put it on the B list.”

Wednesday, March 27th

We’ve had lots of rain lately, especially today. But E had an appointment to walk with her friend Asher, so off we went to the OSU forest and hiked up to Cronemiller Lake. Here’s what that looked like:

Thursday, March 28th

Better weather today, cloudy in the morning but clearing by noon. While M stayed home and did garden work, E went back to the forest and found this pretty little Calypso lily.

Friday, March 29th

The clear skies continue. Beautiful moon last night.

Around midday we listened to the game between Oregon State and Notre Dame in the NCAA round of sixteen. In a hard fought struggle, the OSU women defeated the Irish 70-65 and will advance to the Elite Eight. In their next game they will have the dubious honor of playing South Carolina, who are undefeated and heavily favored by almost everyone to win it all this year. So that should be fun.

For dinner we went to the Bombs Away Cafe, which has been part of the Corvallis restaurant scene since 1991. The original owner identified it as a “funky taqueria” featuring Southwestern cuisine. Once, in the mid nineties, M went for lunch and ordered the chef’s infamous “chicken wings chupacabra.” He said it was incredibly delicious and also the spiciest dish he ever had in his life, calling it a “life-changing experience.” He never forgot it and never ordered it again.

In the late 1990’s we went there a number of times for lunch or dinner, but then it changed hands, gradually morphing into a place that focused a little more on live music and drinks and a little less on food. It had been maybe twenty years since we’d been there. How did we like it? Well, for one thing, it seemed smaller. How did that happen? We found a few of the old recipes still on the menu. We tried the wet burritos and they were very good. These days Bombs Away claims to have the largest selection of tequilas in Corvallis, which may be true; but E’s pickle margarita was pretty bad–way too sweet, even for E. It’s interesting how sameness and difference collide when you go back like this.

Saturday, March 30th

Shutterfly sent us a reminder that 5 years ago today was the ANDEES’s wedding day. They must be mistaken. Surely it was only 2 or 3 years ago.

Sunday, March 31st

Playing in Albany, NY, the OSU women’s basketball team fell to #1 seed South Carolina, ending their NCAA Tournament run. The Beavers played well and trailed by only four points in the middle of the fourth quarter. But from then on SC made their shots and OSU didn’t. The final was 70-58.

On the happier side of things, we went over to Albany, OR and had a wonderful Easter dinner with B and B.

Tuesday, April 2nd

We’ve had several days of good weather and made use of it to get things done in the yard. E has expanded her front yard iris patch by digging up and moving some plants from out back. She’s also been weeding and making sure that the invasive blue flower things don’t choke out her Russian sage. M helped a little in the front, but put most of his effort into the rebuilding of Hummock #0, which had slowly been going to ruin over the last few years.

We didn’t have to do much work on Hummock #1; things just popped up by themselves like they’re supposed to. Flowering currant, dwarf iris and tulips are the early bloomers.