Climate Change in Ashland

It's scary when our president tells us climate change is the most important thing in the world.  Beware cause it's more to fear than Muslims who want to kill us like they did in San Bernadino.  And behold,  SNOW in Ashland and more than we have seen at once in a long time!  (He's prophetic! Maybe we should listen to him after all)  It looks now,  like nearly 1 foot has fallen;  so much that most churches cancelled their services this morning and I doubt if any businesses were open at day break!  Most of the snow came from midnight with flurries till about 8am.  This is a boon for Mt. Ashland as they were hoping to open today!!!  However,  right now,  it may be difficult to get up there.  I've heard a few plows moving on Interstate 5 but nothing on our street and we're sure not going out,  not even for a walk!  Thought you would like the update.  We have enough food for a couple weeks.  We'll call if we run out!  We may go out later and make a small snow man or woman. (click on photo to enlarge)  Nature is beautiful when looking on and a snow like this reminds me of a favorite saying:                            

"The New Year reminds us of new fallen snow;  each step we take will always show."

Raindrops Keep Fallin on Texas

After 5 years of drought,  the rain came! and it came, and it came - then waited a week and it came again with high winds creating powerful high waves that lifted over twenty 2 X 10 pier planks that floated to shore downwind!  Roly and family walked and rescued most of the wayward slats!  As you can see,  the pier and boathouse was completely under water.  Blake and friends are standing in the front yard and carefully so or they'd suddenly be chest deep if stepping past the sea wall!  Since these photos,  they have continually lowered the lake again revealing the pier and making it possible to begin the repair process.  Maybe by summer,  the lake will again be where it should be and the downpour of 2015 will be forgotten!
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Oregon Daze

It was a quick trip to Portland when Fred and Gail called.  Not everyday we hear from Michigan family! And in Oregon to be only 300 miles away is like being next door!  We called Jana,  drove to her place, and let her drive us to Portland for an evening dinner with niece and nephew, including Dan's, Jaime & Adam!  We make reunions happen when ever we have a chance!  Maybe we have a larger role in making blessings happen, than we realize!

Then on to Portland again, five days later to be with Dan for a hip replacement!  And again the same format!  Drive to Jana's and let her drive us to Portland again!  We were all there to welcome Dan back to reality.  Naturally, he was somewhat groggy for most of the day but ready to enjoy some delicious hospital food!  Sheila and Jaime along with us managed to keep him awake and  you can see they even got him up for a walk just hours after the surgery!  Amazing!  He survived and I'm happy to say, he's doing well and to date is treating his new hip with tender loving care!  (Click on photo to enlarge)

Up The River Without A Boat

There is always a new adventure where ever you go, if you keep your eyes open!  And when your driving you forget to look around. . . naturally, keep your eyes on the road!  This geese scene didn't register until we were a mile past.  When I realized these geese were stranded and looking for a ride,  I pulled over, turned around and drove back hoping there would be a place along the highway to pull over to offer them a ride!  The Umpqua River can leave you high and dry or very wet!  When we offered them a ride,  they gave us a bewildered look probably wondering "Who do we think they are?" . . ."after all, it's much safer out here than it is up there."  25 years of traveling this route, we have never seen Canadian Geese watching the traffic go by.   (click on photo to enlarge)

Texas 2015 Continued

The final weekend in Texas with Roly & Candy,  Ashley, Zack, Alice & Annie joined us.  Note the two youngest great grandchildren,  Annie, who just arrived and Evan, Holly & Joe's youngest,  kept us entertained every awake moment!  It was fun being worn out but our only relief came at night and naptime! Blake with the Carp and Joel took care of the remaining time.

Meals were always a grand together time and after, games included everyone!  Zack, Joe, Dan, Ashley, Roly and Sheila illustrate the gang. We had lessons in water safety and the important use of life vests along with techniques of fishing.  We caught Carp, Gar, Large mouth Bass, Catfish, Strippers most of which were returned to the warm water.  But the ones we really wanted,  the illusive Hybrids,  avoided us the entire week!  Roly did his best with depth finders,  his unusual knowledge of the lake and even checking with guides he knew and found the guides were not having any luck either!  More than catching fish and playing and eating great food, was just being together!  We all know that family togetherness is the greatest thing in the world but we have to get together to realize it!  (Click on photo to enlarge)

The Heart of Texas

Roly & Candy's place in Texas gave us all a BIG welcome from super kitchen goodies every day to boating and swimming in bathtub warm lake water!  We were surrounded by fish but this time of year, the fish go deep and avoid all humans!  We couldn't find the bass, crappie or hybrid bass! Several Gar and Catfish make it in the boat along with a beautiful large mouth bass that got caught in a minnow net in shallow water! Even though the fish out smarted us,  we all thoroughly enjoyed lake tours, the sunsets and the excitement of fish nibbling our minnow bait.  Pictured in this segment are. Candy, Roly, Dan, Lori, Roly, Blake, Esther, Holly, Lori, Blake, Jaime, & Dan.  When you enjoy being together,  time seems to move faster. It's now been nearly one week since we're all back in Oregon but the great memories remain forever!
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Dear Cottage!

Our last trip to the coast, we parked in our usual place and to our surprise, the deer had taken over in our front yard and were not happy to see us!  It was a sun shiny day and the best place in the yard was in the shade of  our Hawthorne tree!  I carefully retrieved my camera and approached the fence to get some photos.  Even within 20 feet, they were not anxious to move.  I took the photos and opened the gate.  We really didn't want them there!  Now getting pretty close,  they decided to get up,  taking their sweet time!  Staring right at me,  I wasn't sure whether I should advance or retreat!  I gave a guttural  growl and both decided to move on out thru the back fence.  They did not come back while we were there but our neighbors have told us they come back regularly when we're gone.  But now instead of dog pooh,  you guessed it,  I have to take a can and trowel and clean up the territory!

Texas Midnight Swim

After a busy 4th of July celebration at Roly's in Texas and all settled in for the night,  frantic calls went unheeded until Tyler was able to maneuver his cell phone and called from the dock to the house getting Candy and Roly's attention.  It sounded like Tyler was in trouble and needed immediate help!  Roly in his PJ's ran for the dock and found Tyler desperately hanging on to something extremely heavy on the other end of his fish line!  What ever it was got caught in the fish feeder at the end of the dock.  Realizing the problem,  Roly located near the feeder while Tyler held the line!  Carefully Roly worked the line until he was able to untangle whatever was attached.  It immediately took off for deep water!  Tyler was back in control again and wrestled with something huge for the next 15 minutes!  Finally,  they got this monster back to the dock where Roly was able to maneuver a large net over the head of this large shark!  They both could hardly lift this monster up onto the dock where Roly instructed Tyler to remove the hook before it got all tangled in the net!  To Roly's surprise,  there was no hook in it's mouth! The hook apparently was so lightly attached, it had come out as they wrestled the fish into the net.
What a catch and he then informed me that it was a Blue Catfish which as you can see was nearly 50 pounds!

Morels in Oregon

What a great time to reunite family!  Mushrooms came early this year and since we hunt at about 4500 ft. elevation,  we get all kinds of weather but poison oak does not grow at this elevation!!!  And we always hope we find morels when everyone gets here.  And, . . .this year was better than usual!  Roly & Candy came from Texas,  Dan, Sheila and Jaime came from Portland,  Jana from Eugene, and Lori Adam and I led the crew into the beautiful Oregon forest!  Mist and slight drizzle added to the adventure.  After about 4 hours and a tailgate lunch,  we accumulated 10 pounds of wonderful morels!  We had enough to pile them high on grilled hamburgers!  This is the best burger topper that I have ever tasted! This is soo tasty you don't need catsup or mustard!  We missed Paul and the grand kids who had other commitments.  Having all four of our kids and their spouses was  the best treat of all for Esther and I.  We thank God every day for our family!
(click on photo to enlarge)

Easter in Eugene

We spent a few days in Eugene with Jana's & Paul's family over Easter.  Saturday we enjoyed Derrick's first ball game.  It was a full day and a rain cloud slowly slipped by to the north giving us a great day for a ball game.  The remainder of the day was preparation for a full house for Easter Sunday.  Paul's family joined in providing a wonderful celebration with lots of traditional goodies!  The cloud from Saturday stuck around a dumped a bunch of snowy icy slush creating snow ball problems for too many minutes!  Fortunately,  none of the little kids or the big kids got hurt except for cooold hands!  This did not cool down the warm hearts that enjoyed the fun and  fellowship.  Thanks Jana and Paul for sharing your energy with us!

Easter in Texas

The first Easter for Evan and Annie!  What a way to surround the family with creation!  The variety of life,  unusual animals we don't see everyday add to everyone's excitement and anxiety!  Soft, cuddly bunny rabbits are at times scary!  Even though our little children won't remember this particular Sunday,  these experiences become a part of what we become  as adults. Look at yourself. . .and maybe you can detect the threads of childhood that have been woven together into what we have become as adults.  I hope you like what you see!  I for one, am thankful for the many great Easter experiences my parents,  Joy & Edgar, gave me.  Of course,  I don't remember them all but I can still feel them gratefully!  Never stop giving these great experiences!   (Click on photo to enlarge)

Major League Win!

Baseball spring training is happening
in Phoenix, Arizona.  Amanda & Adam
are getting into the game and if you
look at the photo closely,  the billboard
has Amanda winning the speed pitch
tryouts for the Atheletics.  She may get
drafted on the spot and be the first
female to play in the Major Leagues!

Congratulations, Amanda for being
the speedist pitcher in the stands!
Let us know when you get a contract!

Click on photo to enlarge.

Umpqua Mud

When it rains in Ashland this time of year, it usually snows on Mt. Ashland.  Our last trip to the coast was during our rainy season.  Our cottage back yard water level was so wet you couldn't walk thru it.  But the sun came out long enough to mow the front yard.

As we toured past the Umpqua Light House,  our favorite drive in Winchester Bay,  the ocean view was remarkable!  The triangle upper center, is an oyster bed.  The right leg of the triangle is the left bank of the Umpqua River which has it's beginning near Crater Lake.  The heavy rains always wash lots of mud down the river, into the ocean.  It was very noticeable to see the muddy river water embraced by the ocean.  The huge flow of mud pushed it's way far out into the Pacific Ocean leaving this large mushroom of mud surrounded by the deep turquoise ocean water.  Eventually,  the ocean will absorb this muck and dump the silt and sand back on our Oregon beaches.  And the cycle of nature continues.  You know,  everything is attached to everything!  (Click on photo to enlarge)

Ashland Animal Farm

As we gathered at Lori's place for Christmas, we had not expected at gathering of animals! A puppy, 3 cats and 5 ducklings with their protective mother!  At this mix, 2 grown Collie Dogs, grandma cat and our human family and you have lots to touch and talk about. Shawna shows us how!  It took us back to the Tuckey farm in Michigan!  Jana's family brought their new miniature Terrier;  Amanda brought 3 baby cats adopted out in Ashland,  and the ducks,  Oregon Ducks, freely received on Craig's List and now living with Amanda in California. To have a pup named after Mariota and Oregon Ducks living with us prior to the big game helped make Christmas an unusual experience this year.

Everything is quiet now and we're still recovering from being outplayed in the national championship.  But the great memories of this Christmas still shine brightly, especially in our living room!