Category: Meandering on the Way

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

M decided to get himself a take-out pizza for dinner. (Wed. is double stamp day!) So he called in his order and was told it would be ready in half an hour. He used that time to wash some lettuce and put together a salad. He already had a beer in the fridge. When he got to the pizza place his order wasn’t quite ready, so he paid and sat down to wait. Just a couple of minutes, they told him. The place wasn’t busy, just one person finishing in a booth and another who looked like he was also waiting for a take-out. And sure enough, after a few minutes a pizza came out of the oven and that other fellow got his pie. At this point things were looking pretty good for M. The next pizza out of the oven would surely be his! From where he was sitting the oven was partially visible, so as soon as it came out he would know. He could taste it already. Soon he saw the counterman turn and open the oven. M couldn’t see exactly what happened next but he heard a sort of muffled flopping sound and at the same time a strangled groan. He could see the counterman looking down at the floor. Not a good sign. M didn’t bother with denial or anger; he just went directly to despair. And then, perversely, a kind of joy. This had never happened to him before. It was a new experience…

Thursday, August 18, 2022

M is off on another overnight campout. He’s picked out a spot near the coast where the weather ought to be cooler. And yes, it’s another place, he thinks, to which tourists do not flock and for which locals have no use. As he nears his goal, he is struck by how different this forest is from the one in the Ochocos. The trees here are huge with an impenetrable understory of shrubs and berry bushes. The lush growth pushes in from both sides of the road, narrowing it considerably and threatening to scratch the sides of the new truck. The real problem, though, is that there is no place to park and pitch a tent. Just this endless, narrow one lane road. His map shows him a number of spur roads, but reality tells another story. In the end, though, he comes to something…

It looks like a nice grassy spot, but when he tries to drive tent pegs, M is soon reminded it’s really an old gravel road with just half an inch of soil on top. He ends up anchoring the tent by tying it off to a couple of logs he finds nearby. When he finishes he looks at the logs again. How did they get here? How is it that they are exactly the size this purpose requires? Someone has been here before.

When the sun went down, it got dark fast. M stayed in his chair for a while, musing in the gloom. It was very, very quiet, as it had been ever since he arrived. He could hear his heart pushing blood around and for a short time he could hear a roaring sound from the south that must have been wind in the trees. As it got darker that sound faded. Then, at 9:34, when it was really quite dark, suddenly a tree or large limb came crashing to the ground somewhere nearby, something heavy and partly rotten collapsing down to rest. 

Friday, August 19, 2022

Back in the Adirondacks, the annual “Cousins Week” reunion of the Chambers family is just winding up. As a final event, the family staged a re-enactment of an 1950’s photo of E, her parents and her three brothers. Some of the original participants are now departed, but Jesse, Tom and Henry–three younger members of the clan–graciously agreed to fill in for them. We regret not being able to show Henry’s handsome face, but his elegant handstand will go down in history. Photo credit to Anne, Henry’s mom, who has had years of experience dealing with the Chambers antics. Andrea and apprentice out-law Andy were also there to cheer them on.

In the afternoon brother John transported E from the lake down south to the Hillbilly Fun Park, where he handed her off to Mrs H, who had driven north to pick her up. Did they have ice cream cones while they were there, you ask? Oh yes. Stopping for ice cream on the way to and from the lake is a Chambers family tradition. From her childhood E remembers her mother insisting upon it even though it made her father grumpy. On this day many years later, our three overage youngsters broke the HFP house rules by sitting in a pavilion bearing a sign saying “FOR SEEING EYE DOGS ONLY.” No one seemed to mind.

M’s Friday started at 2:00 in the morning when he woke to hear a few tiny drops making gentle landings on the roof of the tent. Very few in number and just barely audible, you wouldn’t think they were loud enough to wake a person. M’s brain must have left a few cells on watch while the rest slipped into dreams. What to do, what to do? M lay in his sleeping bag for a while listening to the drops, realizing that he really should get up and put the fly on the tent and maybe put his chair under the truck…

The rain sounds continued all night and into the morning. When he got up, M saw that it wasn’t really rain at all, just fog off the ocean jettisoning tiny bits of itself as condensation now and again. He had no trouble cooking his breakfast and eating it out in the open. Kinda nice out there amid the big, damp trees.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

On Saturday the Andees left the lake and headed down towards the Albany airport to depart for home. On the way they stopped to see E and Mrs H, who were delighted to see them and served them a lunch of Harts’ pizza and homemade cake.

Back in Corvallis, the large and bulky air mattress found a buyer! Another $50 gets added to our vast hoard of cash. 

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Sunday was the big day for the reunion of The Ev–as E was known in college days–and her friend Botany. In between bouts of laughter, they polished off a fancy Greek lunch followed by American ice cream cones, then spent some time thinking of ways to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their friendship. Botany, aka The Plant, presented Ev with a copy of Michael Pollan’s book, The Botany of Desire, and kept another copy for herself. Although far apart, they will be able to enjoy the experience of reading it and comparing notes after each chapter. The day flew by.

Monday, August 22, 2022

Today E went to Saratoga to visit again with J & J. In order to gain entry to J’s senior residence, E needed a recent Covid test. When she arrived, they gave her a kit and told her to go back to her car to administer it, wait the required time, etc. Later in the day, she went to see her high school friend F for another happy reunion. 

Twenty-five hundred miles almost due west, M went to take the garbage out and found this…

Tuesday, August 22, 2022

M thought that the Porsche needed exercise, so in the morning he took it for a spin over to the coast. 

In the evening he drove the Mazda up to the Portland airport to pick up E. Her Delta flight was on time and we arrived back in Corvallis just before midnight. All four of the flights on this trip were on time and no luggage was lost. You know what they say: Ida y vuelta, vuele con Delta.

Saturday, August 6, 2022

E has already started packing for her Wednesday trip to New York. She has several places she wants to visit and communications are flying as she tries to finalize dates and places. M is planning a solo camping excursion closer to home. He’s not at the packing stage, but earlier this week he had a vision of packing, which revealed to him that he needs a new duffel. That arrived today. 

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Dinner with B and B at Momiji in North Albany. They’ve been busy as usual, with guests coming and going. Momiji is nice, and their menu has lots of photos to help you make sense of the sushi selection. E and M shared a large bottle of Kirin. Does everybody know that the Kirin logo was based on a long ago traveller’s description of a giraffe? Doesn’t look like a giraffe…

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

After spending an hour at the dentist, M went out to visit K and L and see about buying their old suitcase style solar panel. They don’t need it anymore since their new travel trailer has built-in panels on its roof. But will their old one work with M’s new Jackery battery pack? Initially it refused to cooperate, but M took it home anyway to fiddle with it.

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

M got the solar panel working by asking the Internet for advice and getting a simple answer right away. E finished packing, which was not simple but was very organized. Now she has to actually travel. There are all kinds of air travel horror stories going around. Airlines are cancelling 900 or 1,000 flights a day and apparently there are vast numbers of bags out wandering around trying to catch up with their owners. “Damn the torpedos,” says E, “I’m going to the lake.” Her first flight leaves Portland at 11:00 P.M. We put her on the Corvallis to Portland shuttle at 5:45. 

Thursday, August 11, 2022

M packed up the new duffel and threw it in the truck along with the refrigerator, battery pack and solar panel. He headed east toward the Maury Mountains. He’s just guessing, but he expects that the Maurys don’t attract many visitors. He also expects that his route will take him right past the Sisters bakery…

While M was still in range of a cell tower, E texted to say that she was safely ensconced at Mrs. H’s place in Glens Falls and eating cookies. Both her flights were on time and no luggage was lost. 

M was in Prineville at this point, where he stopped for gas. Yikes, guess what else stops at the Prineville Sinclair?

From Prineville M heads for Post, Oregon, which is said to be the geographical center of the state. There are no giant server barns in Post, and no cell service either. And in fact there are no actual residences. At one time, though, it appears that there was food::

From Post, M went up into the mountains and found an out of the way spot to set up camp. The solar panel worked like a charm, putting out enough current to run the refrigerator and re-charge the Jackery battery at the same time. Once the sun went down the battery took over and kept things going till dawn. With this system, a person could just hunker down there on the mountainside and run that little fridge forever. Of course that’s about all a person could do. No water, no bathroom, no cell service, not very many stars

Why not many stars? Well, the night of Aug. 11-12 was a little strange in that it never really got dark.

Saturday, August 13, 2022

M is home now and having a hard time putting away his camping stuff. There’s no room in the garage. He needs to clear some space for his new stuff by getting rid of some of his old stuff. He starts making Craigslist ads for a car cover, an air mattress, and a radio controlled tank. 

Sunday, August 14, 2022

E travelled with Mrs H to what they call the north country–the area not far from the Canadian border–to visit E’s aunt. She reports a wonderful visit with N, D and H in Malone, NY. Cousin H made the world’s most delicious cake in honor of her visit. One key to its success was an enhanced proportion of light fluffy sweet frosting.

After that, E and H also visited their long-time friend S, in Saranac Lake. 

Monday, August 15, 2022

E arrived at the hamlet of Huletts landing on Lake George today, just in time for a happy hour reunion at Baby Brother’s cabin. Niece M served sumptuous hors d’oeuvre on a century old tea wagon. Nephew J and his wife L were also there along with A&A. After a lovely time, E and the two A’s headed back to their rental cabin, which is down by the post office.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Lots of swimming today. A swam from BB’s dock all the way around 2 peninsulas back to her rental cabin. It was an hour’s swim, with Andy paddle boarding along beside her. E swam over to the dock at nephew T’s rental house, but there was no one there; so she started swimming back to BB’s dock, only to be overtaken by T in a kayak, who accompanied her the rest of the way. They sat on the dock and had a long catch up chat. Soon E noticed another figure swimming towards them. It turned out to be T’s 16-year-old son, H, who came to join them.

After all that exercise and chatting, E took an inspiring nap in the loft of BB’s new cottage. Here’s a photo of the view from the loft bed. In the background is the main house.

E committed a serious error by not texting her whereabouts to her daughter, who became worried and issued a silver alert to various family members, one of whom reported that E was safely napping on the loft bed.

E contritely walked home and upon arrival found best son-in-law in the kitchen preparing dinner. Not a bad day: family, food, swimming and beautiful scenery. Meanwhile, M’s Craigslist offensive has stalled. The tank went fast, but no action on the other things. 

Friday, July 22, 2022

M’s birthday! E made him a double chocolate sour cream bundt cake. She’s made it before and M loves it. E herself is less enthusiastic. She likes the chocolate chips that are baked in and also the richness that comes from adding the sour cream. But how, she asks, can anyone even think about a cake that doesn’t have any frosting at all? She ate a little to be polite. We had our friends D and S over to mark the occasion. We hadn’t had a chance to talk to them for a long time. Very nice.  

As for presents, M got just what he wanted. E gave him a refrigerator (!) and M gave himself a solar capable battery pack to run it. These are for his latest project: equipping himself for low rent truck camping. He figures he just needs one or two more things. A little folding or roll-up camp table would be nice. And he may end up getting solar panels to charge the battery pack. But those are down the road a bit. First he has to get a new truck. 

Monday, July 25, 2022

M sold his old truck to Carmax. We are both sorry to see it go. It was cute and tough. But its bed was too short to sleep in. Also, it’s color, alas, was controversial.  

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

We went shopping in Salem today. E went to REI and Macy’s and got some summer cloths on sale. M went to a used car dealer (the horror! the horror!) and bought a new truck. It’s just like his last truck, but one year newer. Features include a more efficient engine, a longer bed, and less red paint. 

Friday, July 29, 2022

Daytime highs have been in the upper nineties all week. We do our plant watering and truck dealing in the early morning. We walk mostly in the evening. 

Saturday, July 30, 2022

We went on a guided butterfly and moth walk today. The event was sponsored by the Luckiamute Watershed Council and took place at a property owned by one the Council board members. What a lovely place! The ranch consists of 240 acres, much of it forested in Douglas fir, western red cedar, hemlock and valley pine. There are two streams and two largish ponds. There are also scattered open areas of various sizes that provide good habitat for butterfly and moth species. The landowners have been working with a lepidopterist and are in the process of creating some additional open spaces so as to create a ‘butterfly corridor’ across one end of the site. 

The owners originally purchased the property as a timber investment, but soon began to appreciate it for its beauty and decided to live there. They built themselves a house with wonderful views and a big fish pond not far away. They also began giving attention to restoring the overall ecosystem of the site. Helped out by a couple of restoration grants, they first removed many acres of Himalayan blackberries and other invasive species and then replanted with natives. Another ongoing process involves the protection and expansion a small area of oak savannah. They believe that the savannah had once been much larger, but had suffered from Douglas fir encroachment that was encouraged by the forestry practices of previous owners.

The butterfly and moth walk started with a group of sixteen or so nature lovers sitting in the shade listening to Dana, an OSU lepidopterist, who gave us a basic introduction to the field. Dana then passed out butterfly nets to those who would have them and Dave, one of the land owners, took us on a walk to a part of the property where butterflies are common. As we started out, several of the group couldn’t wait to get into action and ran off into a field, nets flying. Others held back, thinking quite correctly that the really nice netting spots were a little farther along “You’ll see a lot of those later!” Dana called out to them as the rest of the group continued along the dirt road. 

It was a lovely walk. People who caught things in their nets could take them to Dana to be identified, whereas people who were more interested in flora could ask Dave questions about how the area had been restored and what remained to be done. Everyone, though, sooner or later came round to the idea that Dana was a true master of the butterfly net. He’s a strong man with quick reflexes and thousands of hours of practice. His net moves faster than the eye can see. Whew. 

Sunday, July 31, 2022

J and B came over this evening, along with retired hairdresser and bon vivant C. E made a Pavlova merengue with fresh berries and whipped cream. Our guests brought champagne. Delicious. We also took a turn about the yard to see what was thriving and what was not. We had our last sips of champagne outside on the patio, in the welcome cool of the evening.

Monday, August 1, 2022

M performed emergency surgery in the garden this morning. Last evening our friend B had noticed a trailing plant with white flowers in our newly expanded Hummock #1. Oh dear, said he, that’s bindweed. It turns out that bindweed (Convolvus arvensis) is a very obnoxious invader that is known and feared all over the world. It spreads quickly, strangling other plants as it goes. It is difficult to eradicate since it grows both from seeds and from roots. We don’t know where ours came from, but it was probably from a contaminated bag of mulch or potting soil. M has dug up what we could see, but it had already seeded some. We could be in for a long struggle. Or not.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

E had a dental appointment this morning and was once again amazed at how pleasant the experience was. It began with the dental chair, so comfortable, so supportive. She felt like a leaf bobbing in the wind. The dentist himself is always so competent and uplifting. It’s true that there were no free cupcakes in the waiting room due to ongoing COVID constraints…but a lot of places have cupcakes. Not many places make you feel better when you leave than when you came in. 

We had K(R) and L over for dinner. E made paella. Yum. For desert the guests brought strawberry pie. They have a connection to a family that has ever-bearing strawberry plants. Pretty tasty. K and L are going to Portugal in October, with travel arrangements being made by their son C. That sounds pretty good. Also of interest, K has a spare solar panel he wouldn’t mind parting with. Ah…. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Highs only in the 80’s these days. Much nicer than last week. We hiked up Bald Hill today and when we got back to the car E noticed some bindweed in the parking area. We looked around. Oh no! There’s more of it along there! ‘Hello, 911? There is a plant emergency at Bald Hill Park.’

Monday, July 4, 2022

We went to a party in Salem yesterday and ran into one of Becca’s college friends. She and E had met briefly when Becca died, but they hadn’t seen each other since then and neither of them recognized the other. Becca’s friend is 47 now and has a sixteen year old daughter. When Becca died E invited her friends to take what they might want from among the things in her apartment. Michelle still has the moon and stars blanket that she took that day.

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

It’s time for the Oddball Plant Quiz! Can you identify these two? They don’t have much in common. One of them is mostly of interest to humans; the other is of interest to butterflies.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

We have raspberry freezer jam! It hasn’t been easy. First there was the great pectin shortage of 2021 and now we find that 2022 has not been a good year for our local raspberries. They’re hard to find and expensive. But E was not to be denied.

Friday, July 8, 2022

We got in the Porsche today and headed for the Washington Square Mall up in Portland. Our main purpose was to get a sample bonbon from See’s Candy. Other than that, M wanted to order some prescription sunglasses at Warby Parker and E had three stops in mind–Soma, Macy’s and Lulu Lemon. Success all around. Nice mall…and pretty busy on this Friday in July. On the way home we stopped in McMinnville for dinner. They had blocked off part of the historic district and we were able to stroll down 3rd Street and check out the scene. We went to McMenamin’s and ate outside.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

B and B came over for dinner. E made onion pie. One of the B’s friends took him fishing for sturgeon in the lower reaches of the Columbia. He caught (and released) three. In Oregon and Washington there are just a few ‘keeper’ days per year for sturgeon, and his day wasn’t one of them. Even on keeper days, the limit is one fish and there is a “slot” regulation that states that only fish of a certain size (44 to 50 inches) can be kept. All other days and all other sizes are catch and release. Barbless hooks are required. 

The sturgeon species is said to be about 200 million years old, which means that sturgeon roamed the seas when dinosaurs roamed the earth. There have been a number of reports of very large sturgeon that have been caught in the Columbia River. The largest are reported to be over eleven feet long, are estimated to weigh over 500 pounds, and are thought to be over 100 years old. It is legal to catch these fish in both the US and Canada, but they cannot be removed from the water and thus can never be officially weighed and measured.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

M took the truck up into the mountains above Green Peter Reservoir. He was interested in a backpacking trail we had taken some twenty years ago to get into the Middle Santiam Wilderness. Did it still exist? It was missing from the newest edition of our favorite trail guide. Taking along his trusty 1990 paper map, he went looking for it. Did he find it? Of course not. But he saw some pretty sights and had a chance to go up some pretty sketchy roads. He found the road where the trail used to be, but found no sign of the trail itself. Instead he continued upward on Road 1142, which was pretty much abandoned. Tree branches were growing in from the sides and in places there was just enough room to get through without scratching the paint–hopefully. Then came the place that looked like it definitely would scratch the paint. M paused, then got out and spent some time clearing away the offending branches. Then he set off again up the hill. But alas, just twenty yards further on there were a couple of washing machine sized boulders blocking the road. Oops. He won’t be clearing those away. The new problem was how to turn around. The nearest good place was a long way back, maybe quarter of a mile? Too far to go in reverse. M had to make do with a not so good place. Good thing M’s truck is smallish.  

Defeated by Road 1142, M took a little tour of Road 1152, where he found a place to have lunch near a small stream.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Today is the first day of our trip Leavenworth, Washington. We got up early and were on the road by 7:30. By 8:45 we were nearing Portland and traffic on I-5 slowed to a crawl. Sigh. By the time we got into the city, things were better; but then we took a wrong turn trying to get out of town. A tough morning so far. We did get onto I-84 eventually and drove up into the Columbia Gorge. At Cascade Locks we crossed over the Bridge of the Gods and continued up the river on the Washington side where it’s quieter.

We had a windy picnic at a small rest area about 40 miles up river. 

In the early afternoon we left the gorge and turned north on U.S. 97. This took us past Goldendale and later through the Yakima Nation and on to Ellensburg. From there the route was dry and empty but quite spectacular. 

We arrived at Leavenworth around 4:00 in the afternoon. It’s a tourist town nestled in a pretty mountain valley on the east side of the Cascades. The central part of town has exclusively Bavarian (or possibly faux Bavarian) architecture and lots of Bavarian food. For dinner on Wednesday we had käsespatzel, red cabbage, and Bavarian goulash at a cellar restaurant called Andreas Keller. Also big glasses of German beer. A little heavy? Uh…yeah. Good though, especially that cabbage.

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Here’s where we stayed in Leavenworth:

Oh wait. Sorry, wrong Leavenworth. This accommodation is in Leavenworth, Kansas, which was named for Henry Leavenworth, a 19th century army officer. Leavenworth, Washington was named after Charles Leavenworth, a 19th century land speculator. We have heard, though, that Charles Leavenworth and Henry Leavenworth were brothers! Or was it cousins? Second cousins? Second cousins once removed? Something like that. Maybe. Frankly, it’s a little unclear. Our research has confirmed, however, that the two men did indeed have the same last name.

Anyway, here’s are some pictures from Charlie’s town as it is today:

Our biggest challenge for the day was to take an e-bike tour of the area. We hadn’t been on bicycles of any kind for quite a few years and on an e-bike never. Turns out they are pretty fun. Coco, our very efficient tour leader, helped everybody get familiar with the bikes before we started. The tour route covered  sixteen miles and included two longish uphill stretches. We ended up saddle sore, but happy to have dared do something new without ending up in the ditch. 

After our longish bike ride we retired to the comfort of the big Jacuzzi tub in our room. We were staying in a room called Dream Suite 4 booked through the Obertal Inn. It was very large and very comfortably furnished, with an almost complete kitchen and a dining table in a bay window overlooking the main street of Bavarialand. Workout followed by shower followed by Jacuzzi. Very good. For dinner we got take-out bratwurst from München Haus–one meat and one veg–plus carrots and celery brought from Oregon. Also wine. Enough with the beer already. 

Friday, July 15, 2022

Today we hiked on the Tumwater Pipeline Trail, getting up early so as to avoid the hot part of the day. The Tumwater Pipeline was a penstock, taking water from the Wenatchee River and carrying it two miles down the river to a generating plant. The story of the pipeline begins in 1893, when the Great Northern Railroad built a line across the Cascades, finally completing their direct link between Seattle and St. Paul, Minnesota. The line crossed the mountains at a place called Stevens Pass at an altitude of 4,055 feet. It was an impressive feat of engineering, but because of the steepness of the terrain, it was a slow and complicated process to get a train across it, especially in the winter. To make things easier, the railroad decided it needed a tunnel. Accordingly, a 2.7 mile tunnel was completed in 1900. But the tunnel was unventilated and the smoke from the steam locomotives sometimes built up to toxic levels. To address this new problem, the railroad wanted to use electric locomotives to move trains through the tunnel. But that required building a power plant of some kind. 

The railroad decided to build a hydropower station on the Wenatchee River near the town of Leavenworth. Four miles up river from the town, a diversion dam fed water into a large pipeline. The water flowed down the pipeline to a generator station, where it drove three turbines to produce electricity. When it was completed in 1909, it was the second largest hydropower station in the U.S., the largest being the Westinghouse Niagara Power Station. In 1927 the railroad changed the route of the line, bypassing Leavenworth. At that time the power station was sold to a local utility company. 

While the power station continued to produce electricity well into the 1960’s, the town of Leavenworth nearly disappeared after the railroad line moved. It remained moribund from 1927 until the late 1960’s/early 1970’s when it reinvented itself as–yes, you guessed it–a Bavarian themed tourist town. 

The hike starts at the bridge and then follows the path of the pipeline up the far side of the river. Very little of the actual pipeline remains. Records show that it was eight feet in diameter and was made of wood lathes bound with a steel wire mesh. It must have been quite a sight. 

After the hike we moved on to our next major goal: a visit to the Bavarian Bäkerei. The Leavenworth BB is one of those bakeries that really isn’t open all that much, especially not when you want it to be. But we had studied the matter and we were pretty sure that now, mid morning on a Friday, we would almost surely find success. And so it was. First we found our primary targets: two generous pieces of apple strudel. (How could apple strudel not happen if you put a Bavarian town into the largest apple growing region in the world?) Then M got himself an éclair, which he ate almost immediately. We saved the strudel for later. 

By then it was time to leave Bavaria and head back to Oregon, where we planned to stay the night in The Dalles. Before leaving Bavaria, we couldn’t help but take one last look around…

Later in the day, as we were driving south through the middle of Washington, we found ourselves low on gas just as we were crossed into the Yakima Nation. Oh serendipitous day! Turns out that gas on the rez is forty cents a gallon cheaper than it is anywhere else. E says that we should always come here when we need gas.

We got to The Dalles at around 4:00 and checked into a Shiloh Inn. We’d booked a room with one queen bed and that’s what we got. The only odd thing was that there was a large empty space where another queen bed had once been. The padded headboard was still attached to the wall. Did management move the bed or did a previous guest walk off with it? In any case, the Shiloh was okay, partly because there was a great outdoor pool with plenty of clean towels. E was very happy.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Breakfast at the Shiloh was a study in contrasts: terrible coffee and good strudel. Then we zipped down to Portland, paid a visit to the Bridgeport mall, and got back to Corvallis at a reasonable hour. It’s amazing what you can do with proper nutrition. 

Name Changes! You may not feel ready for any more earthshaking changes in the world right now. But these are easy ones–we hope. Because After the Purge is now After the Plague, and the Pandemic/Endemic Diary is now Eve and Michael’s Meandering on the Way Diary. 

And speaking of the word “meander,” we remember the time when we were on a long bus ride in Turkey. Along the way we caught several glimpses of a river called the Büyük Menderes. We later learned that the ancient Greeks called it the Miandros. Greek travelers who saw it were struck by its extremely winding nature. Back in Greece, people started using the word figuratively, to describe anything that moved indirectly or aimlessly. Eventually this usage came into English as the word meander. About ten years ago a fellow named Jeremy Seal decided to float down the Büyük Menderes in an inflatable canoe. He’s written a book about the experience and also posted a slideshow.

Saturday, June 11, 2022

Rain off and on today. What a difference from Nevada. Our yard is spiraling out of control. Cocker Spaniel sized plants are turning into St. Bernards.

Sunday, June 12, 2022

Cloudy and damp, but only raining a tiny bit. M mowed the lawn, front and back. Including time out for a necessary nap, it took him all day.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

We went into the forest today and hiked the Vineyard Mountain Trail. We saw tons of wild iris, way more than we had seen in previous years. We used to be happy if we saw a dozen in a season; we saw many dozens just today. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

E went for a tour of a native plant nursery run by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. On her way home she took a side road so as to go past Sarah Helmick State Park. Near the park she came to a stop. A mother skunk was shepherding five tiny babies across the road. The process kept the mother skunk very busy, as she had to keep circling them to keep them together. The crossing was slow, but it looked to E as if they were going to make it.

Friday, June 17, 2022

A somber day today. In the morning E spoke to a longtime friend, who revealed that she had just gotten a cancer diagnosis–a bad one. And in the afternoon E went to the funeral of another friend, someone that she had known since her early days in Corvallis. Either you die, we say to ourselves, or you watch your friends die. Some choice. E says that there were a number of children at the funeral. The young ones so cute, the older ones so handsome…

Sunday, June 19, 2022

We went back to the Luckiamute State Natural Area today. This time we wanted to take the trail that goes east toward the confluence of the Willamette and South Santiam rivers. The first half of the hike was easy. It went along the edge of a field, much of it covered with wild flowers. The bees were going crazy over the yellow and white ones

The last part of the hike went through a riverside forest. That was a little harder. In some places the trail was flooded and we had to detour through the brush.

Finally we came to the place where the rivers come together. It turns out that just before the Santiam flows into the Willamette it splits into two channels. Here’s a Google Maps satellite view. 

The arrow in the satellite photo shows where we got to today. Below is a photo that E took from that spot. She’s looking across the Willamette to where the smaller of the Santiam channels comes in.

You may notice that there appear to be sandy beaches in the satellite photo. There are no such beaches in E’s picture. That’s because the river levels were much higher today than they were when the satellite took its picture. We’re imagining that the amount of water passing by here today must be more than what flows through all the rivers in northern Nevada in a week. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

For the last week or so we’ve had a long stretch of clouds with cool, damp weather. And now–just when the calendar says it’s summer–suddenly it is summer. Sunny and warm today, with more of the same in the forecast. 

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

What a year it has been for flowers! And what a year for weeds! Mornings are still cool–nice conditions for working outside. E is heroically thinning the good apple tree, M is working on the watering network, and both of us are weeding. We are not used to the heat though, so even though it’s only in the 80’s, we spend the afternoons resting inside. 

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Tertulia this morning with R and J. They’ve just come back from a trip to San Francisco, during which 1) they had the catalytic converter stolen from their Prius while it was parked at a motel, and 2) they attended two performances of the San Francisco Opera. One of the operas was Don Giovanni and the other was a modern work inspired by (gasp!) The Dream of the Red Chamber. They loved Don Giovanni; they weren’t so sure about the other.

The Dream of the Red Chamber, a.k.a. The Story of the Stone, is a vast and immensely popular 18th century Chinese novel, one that M wrote about extensively in the very early years of this blog. To see his description of the novel, click here, here and here. The same material–with fewer typos–is also included in The Last Bookshelf.

After coffee, it was time for more yard maintenance. M mowed and weeded. E weeded, fought the mite wars, and planted a new Russian sage. Then, after a suitable period of rest, we went to Ba’s Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. Delicious. Still a fairly limited menu, but all very good. And, finally, they have their beer/wine license. M had a pFriem pilsner.

Sunday, June 26, 2022

A memorial gathering was held today for E’s friend and yoga teacher Susan Meyer. E helped plan the event and had spent part of Friday helping clean up the venue, an old schoolhouse out in the country. She also made biscotti for the crowd, using a recipe that Susan had given her. When teaching yoga Susan often used to read poems at the beginning and end of each class. At the gathering E read two of them: When I Am Among the Trees by Mary Oliver and Unfolding Bud by Naoshi Koriyama. 

So, that was one thing. Closer to home, today was also Becca’s birthday. She would have been 47. A number of E’s friends and relatives called or sent messages to let her know they were thinking of her. Late in the evening, E and M shared a small piece of chocolate cake to mark the occasion. 

Monday, June 27, 2022

Another very warm day, downright hot. We did our weekly shopping and a few chores outside. M has started a painting project in the garage. Everything was pretty normal–right up until about 4:00 PM, at which point E started on a rhubarb pie. It’s in the oven now and the aroma is wafting down the hall toward the study. Salad and pie is the menu for tonight’s dinner…

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Clematis are out in force.

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