THE DUST WILL WAIT

A quick trip to Portland, OR and then headed home.  We travel east on I-84 and pass through the Cascade Mountains via the Columbia River Gorge.  Our trip takes four hours or more depending on how often we stop.  Once we passed through the mountains and could see the weather to the east I was infatuated by the storm and snapped a few photos through the windshield.  For two hours we chased and occasionally crossed paths with small squalls that lagged behind.  We caught up with the main cloud formation at dusk in the valley we call home.  As always I wonder why I didn't take the time to pull over and make an artistic attempt to focus.  As beautiful as this storm presented, it reminded me that there are many who have been dealing with some very frightening weather in their own valleys.  My hearts go out to them.

 Another month has rolled around and an opportunity to post a new photo for the First of the Month .   This photo meme is hosted by Jan @ Murrieta 365. The  goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month.    It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your  focus is, is fine.  It can even be a record of where you are each First  of the Month.  My theme is my three grandchildren, Zbub, Mizelle, and Dinkum.  It is called: Watch them grow! A couple of notes about this photo.  Dinkum decided he was going to be in a bad Moo'd.  That is a 3 1/2 year old's perogative, I guess. The photo was taken at a dairy farm that milks thousands of cows.    Z-Bub, the 5  1/2 year old was a bit shocked.  Maybe he hadn't realized how the milk actually gets into the carton at the store.   He said, "Grandma, I'm never going to drink milk aga...

It is a good weekend when you get to see all the grandchildren -- except one. Here is grandpa at the head of the table.  He is presiding over lunch in Clackamas Town Center at The Old Spaghetti Factory .  It was a great meal with Karmyn, The Caboose, David, Jammin', Buttercup, Curlymop, and Amanda.  I ate my entire serving of vegetable lasagna. Back home, I got this photo of Mizelle, Red-headed Girl, Jennifer, and Goober Evalina.    These are the sugar and spice girls, of course.  The little sticks and stone boys didn't want to be in grandmas photo plans,  no matter how we tired to shake them down. Missed seeing the absent 15 years old grandson.  Teenagers!

Leavenworth Washington is a small village that has “reinvented” itself as the place to visit to get into the spirit of the season.  I was enchanted by this magnificent Percheron, Jackson, that took Santa on a tour and was also available for tourist’s rental as well. One hundred years ago there were lots of horses and wagons still carrying the majority of people on their journeys to and from town, as well as handling the freight and agricultural demands. My mama told me about riding to school on a buckboard behind a horse called Old Nell.  Grandma would take rocks heated on the old wood stove and place them in rags around mama and her siblings feet to keep them warm. Her other memories of the ride include a loud and effusive burst of gas escaping from the old mare every couple of clip clops.  Mama said that one day on the way to school she herself was guilty of a small aromatic ester.  Even in her early 70s my mama would blush when s...

Here it is, the end of October and the Fuchsia on my patio continues to provide some color and some distraction from the other things of the world.  Will it be tonight that the frost nips it away? There is a beautiful dogwood tree several blocks away that has various colors of green, yellow and red.  Will I'll remember to take my camera next time I drive past? We're having some cool rainy fall days.  I noticed that leaves on the driveway left behind their shape in silhouette after I swept them into the dust bin.  I wonder how long the stain will remain? Tomorrow is Halloween and the only decorating on my porch has been done by the hungry spiders.  Oh! And the birds have done a little splattering, too.  I wonder how many little creatures will grace our doorway tomorrow night? Trick or treat? (I am hoping for treat, how about you?)

Saturday morning was perfect for a long brisk walk. As we were enjoying the path,  WR pointed out this fuzzy little Wooly Worm toodling across. You are supposed to be able to forecast the extremes of winter by this little fellows coat.  (Or is she a girl?) I was pleased to find these instructions at ehow.com .  (I'm thinking I may not bother to dig into the storage area for my snow tires.) Step 1 Look for wooly worms under rocks and inside hollow logs. Step 2 Examine the wooly worm, paying attention to its bands of colors. The wooly worm will curl into a ball when touched or threatened. When they crawl, they can crawl very quickly! Step 3 Wooly worm forecasters say that the size of the brown band of color will tell you what kind of winter is coming. Legend says that the thinner the brownish red bands, the harsher the winter will be. If the wooly worm is mostly brownish red in the middle, winter will be mild. St...

Another weekend on the road.  The sign said Welcome to Orofino , Idaho. It was the 62nd Logging Show and the Clearwater County Fair. The time was well spent and the hours on the road were worth it. My favorite competition was the Springboard Chop.  The contenders chop an unusual angle into a pole and push a pointed flat board into the cut.  They then climb onto the board, which bounces precariously like a diving board, and proceed to chop another place for another board until they reach the top.  Once there, they balance and chop off a smaller attached and secured log . I also enjoyed watching the muscles flex and spasm as they were pushed to their maximum abilities throughout the day.  Some of these men participated in every contest. This fellow was last in his time trial. ( They called each group a "flight.")  I was compelled to capture the moment;  exhausted, he turned and sat on his finished product while his chest heaved.  None...

Not a DUCK! from pamela on Vimeo . Just got back from a 4 day road trip that included the beautiful Washington State coastline. I'm POOPED.

Snake River, July 25

We went to the Portland Yard & Patio Show last weekend. It is always so much fun to see what you know you shouldn't spend any money on this year. Karmyn 's family spent the afternoon there with us enjoying the lovely displays that the local nurseries and landscapers prepared. Before we walked out into the rainy evening I took Buttercup into the ladies restroom. We needed to deal with that before catching the MAX back to where we'd parked,. "You go into this stall and go potty," I told Buttercup, "and I am going into this one. " "Stay there until I tell you to open the door." I added that bit of information for her so she wouldn't wander out without me. "Okay, " she replied, and locked herself in. I'd just settled in when I heard her yell out very loud. "Grandma !!" she called me. "Yes, I'm here." I replied without hesitation, worried that something had frightened her . "You see that gree...

All Aboard from pamela on Vimeo . (recorded with Canon Power Shot digital camera by Shaky Puddin') Make tracks to other Wordless Wednesdays here!

Nekked Lizard Adventures is hosting todays Fun Monday. There are two Nekked Lizards, so I'm assuming they are co-hosting. They gave us an assignment with some parameters: FIVE PICTURES - FIVE WORDS PER PICTURE. I guess they wanted less jabberwocky. Well I'm ready to shut up and go 5 x5. Are you? A favorite place to walk! The sky reveals a raptor. The brush conceals the deer. Gopher snakes enjoy the sun. And I enjoy it all! Please sign up to join the fun. Or, just pop over to the hosts blog to find all the participating links. I know the Nekked Lizards will welcome you. One more Fiver: They are not really nekked.

Today would be perfect for doing some yard clean up. The sun is shining and I would much rather be outside than in. Neighbor Bill is turning dirt and adding compost to his garden. The packed dirt in my shoe tread reveals that I was over there discussing potatoes, strawberries, and daffodils earlier this morning . I am enchanted by the blossoms on his Hazelnut trees. My own daffodil and hyacinth bulbs have been called by the sunshine. Notice that I am not as punctual as Bill when it comes to cleaning fall and winter debris from my flower bed. We leave many of our plants as forage and habitat for the small birds that make their winter home in our neighborhood. I'll get my rake and wheel barrow out next weekend. Maybe. Instead of spring cleanup, this afternoon I'm going to drive 45 minutes to a wild life refuge where 70% of the migrating ducks and geese stop to rest and recoup. Last week I saw eight bald eagles perching majestically in trees amidst the wetlands...

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So many apples and pears. So little time. (40 apple varieties, 10 pear) One sign claimed that an apple brushed your teeth better than toothpaste. This one suggests the aroma is as lovely as french perfume. Mmmmmm! My little grand pumpkins painted some of these little grand pumpkins. High Apple Pie in the Sky

We saw this interesting traveling Fish store on Saturday when we we made a six- hour drive for Buttercup's belated birthday party.

Sunday proved to be the perfect day for us to choose the long road home. It took us about an hour longer in travel time. Chinook Pass was gorgeous. The clouds lifted and the majestic mountain posed in white chiffon, blue silk, and green velvet. She towers over 14,400 feet. Driving up the Western slope. The pass reaches its summit at 5,432 feet. A view from the first east side curve. The cars on the highway look like ants.