UP HILL

Gary doesn't want to walk up hill to the rose garden this morning, especially with bears. (Probably just one black bear, but three sightings so far in Forest Park... not anywhere near the area we walk.) Climate change seems to be foremost in the news everywhere in the world but in our country. Recent heat …

HEARTS & CORDWOOD

Gary is filling the gap in his woodpile he so carefully straightened and vacuumed. He used to object if I called our cords of firewood "his" but no more. He has never allowed anyone to help him cut, clean, stack, or rearrange that pile. Photos follow. Back to from, left to right: rough quartz, basalt, …

GARY’S WOODPILE

I should have got a photo. I caught Gary vacuuming his woodpile. Somewhere in this photo is a hummingbird feeding off the rhododendron that began blooming a week or so ago. I can only spot it because I compared my photo to the view and spotted the smudge. We've had snow since, but the hummingbird …

NEXT?

Gary and I are working on our future. Eventually the upkeep and isolation of the Arch Cape house will be too much. Our sons do not seem attached to the coast—oh, they say they miss it, but they seldom come out to visit. Once a year, or twice. They lead busy lives. That means we’ll …

GOOD NEWS

Our granddaughter had her second heart surgery this morning. It went well. Minimally invasive and she may go home this afternoon. Incredible. This photo shows a trapezoid, but is in a rectangular frame I already had, photographed at an angle to avoid most of the glare on the glass. The crying bird appliqué is by …

SNOW

Snow days, eagles, red snapper (warning: the fish is dead), and symptoms I am old in no particular order. Our local eagle pair were high up above the beach in a spruce the other day. We heard them first and had to search. They were agitated, probably about what turned out to be a beached …

DISTANCE

Sometimes I lie to myself. For example, I promised myself a short run yesterday morning. I held out a single-mile run like a carrot. When I began running north, I was running straight into a 40mph wind and it was cold. The tide was going out and I repeated, "Just one mile." I didn't need …

THE MEAL

My baking began on Monday with four loaves of cranberry bread and a chevré cheesecake (that last only because the goat cheese needed to be used and I wanted to strain Greek yogurt for whey to use in pie crusts. On Tuesday, I roasted Delicata squash for Gary's "pumpkin" pie. (I have made pies with …

ON THE FENCE

An internet friend announced on her blog that she has decided not to send holiday cards this year. Her habit was to send nearly 100 cards. Receiving about 20 in return last year has forced her to confront what seems a lack of interest. I am wondering about the same thing. Oden and Onika, brother …

WHAT I SAW

Thanksgiving, holiday memories, oystercatchers, Pilgrims, and my Thankful story about a small child. Sea lions, and giving thanks. Among my earliest memories are holiday visits to my grandparents' home on the western edge of Portland, Oregon. The house where my mother grew up was a huge Dutch colonial fronted by a quarter (half?) acre of …