Helicopter Transfer

Even though the day was rainy and the photos don't look nice, there's something interesting going on here. Usually the ships are pretty quiet out on the water, but today I heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter as the ship was passing. I kept looking into the cloudy sky, so it took me a minute to realize that the Coast Guard 'copter was on top of the ship.

Here a Coast Guard boat is following in their wake.

The pilot boat was alongside but hanging back.

The camera didn't want to focus at this distance, but there is someone in the doorway.

It looks like one guy is still in the door of the helicopter and another guy is on the pole (or whatever you call it; are they still called masts even on a ship like this?) of the ship.

Speaking of poles, the name of this ship is Pole.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Gorgeous Day

The day dawned spectacularly blue and balmy.

I took this one mainly to record the name of one more ship. This is the Jin Yue. Although I didn't get any further info, ships can usually be found online these days. By the way, on the left is the new, colorful cap to the railing improvements on the pilots' building.

The other end of the Jin Yue.

I thought I'd drive to Astoria Health Foods to pick up some NADH instead of walking, just because I was feeling so tired, but it seems everyone was visiting the coast on this beautiful day, and the parking spots were all taken. I ended up walking about as far as I would have anyway. It was a nice day to be out. This bench seems to be new. I'm noticing new benches and planters all over downtown Astoria.

My first thought was just to capture the old Art Deco tile in the unused entrance to the Astor Hotel ballroom on Commercial Street, then I noticed the strange "flower" growing the pot. Later I noticed the blue glove on the window ledge. Since they're working on the ballroom, and since people leave their trash in inappropriate places, there's no mystery or story at all, but simply visually I thought it was a kind of fun '30s-style mystery image. No?

This is no mystery, it's the front of Amazing Stories. See today's Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo.

I liked the way the light was playing on the curtains, but you have to click to enlarge in order to see the effect of the old glass.

Coming back, I was struck by the color of the center building, although it doesn't show as well in the photo. Still, I like the image.

This is the sign for Amazing Stories. I'll capture it someday it better light. I think it's one of Astoria's nicer business signs, and the Deco certainly goes with the building.

Here's another bench I hadn't noticed before.

I'm always a little surprised to see kayakers out. There's a kayak rental place on Pier 39, but it's not every day I see them on the water down here. I'm sure there will be more as the weather actually turns into summer.

Evening on the old Englund Marine building. I always love this view, and the pilings are so green right now.

This evening shadow of the deck railings above me always catches my attention, but it doesn't photograph very well. The lines are not sharp. Maybe someday I'll get it.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Jan 4, Astoria: Vessels in the Rain

The air was so filled with rain today that my camera didn't even want to focus. The pilot boat Arrow 2 is hard at work with its lights on.

Here the Carl Oldendorff rests at anchor in the Columbia River beyond the radio tower. My close-up was so fuzzy, I could barely make out the name of the ship, and I'm not sure which orange ship that is beyond Carl. It was interesting looking up the Carl Oldendorff online, because I was able to see the ship as it appeared on clearer days here in Astoria as well as in New Orleans, Portugal, and somewhere in northern Germany or one of the Scandinavian countries. I've seen in in the river before, but I don't have a photo posted.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Mysteries and reflections

In the comment section of my Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo blog, Vogon Poet of my adopted sister city, Livorno, asked which ships were in the reflecton below. Today (actually, the day of that photo, since I'm writing this on October 4) there were at least five big ships anchored in the river. The two on the left can be seen reflected in the windows of Baked Alaska's lounge (see next photo below). I took the picture above from Waterfront Park (14th Street Pier), so at this time, Baked Alaska was one block behind me. I didn't take close-ups of the ships today to get their names, but the third photo appears to show that the second from left is the (Something) Wind, rather than the similar-looking Bungo Spirit, which was on the river a few days later. I seem to remember seeing a ship by the name (Something) Wind (possibly Celestial Wind), so I think I have it right. It's hard to read in the distorted reflection. One of the mysteries to me is how the ships appear so large in the windows. They were not moved, since these first two photos were taken only five minutes apart. I've left the top photo large when you click on it, but it's impossible to read the names of the ships.

Leaving aside the explanation for the size of the reflections, I think the picture is simply lyrical. In fact, the mystery and distortion just enhance this effect. The photo below was taken from a different spot on the 14th Street Pier. It was taken 32 minutes after the photo in Baked Alaska's windows. I had wandered around town and again passed the pier on my way back. Below, the reflection is in the waterside windows of the U.S. Customs building.

I've left this photo large, so if you click on it, you can barely make out the name of the ship on the left. The various shipping lines send quite a few different ships through the river. They look similar until you pay attention to the details. Hopefully, I'm going to find more time soon to keep my personal blog up to date. I do love noting the identities of the vessels that move up and down the river, and sometimes stay for a few days.

Sept 6, Astoria: Wet

I wonder how many people will show up for the last Sunday Market of the year today? It could happen. After the squall, the sun came out and people are walking the streets again, although the weather man shows T-storms and rain all day. On the river, the colors are indescribable, where you get the clouds, dark background, green water glowing in the sun highlighting a buoy, a stretch of the river, the green bridge. And then it changes in the blink of an eye. It should be interesting for viewers, but maybe not so for those having to set up tents with all their carefully hand-made or homegrown products . . . and keep them from getting wet or blowing away!

This photo shows a bit of the river walk outside of the Animal Store facing east toward the Maritime Museum, Custard King, and the park where I was bitten by fleas.

Aug 26, Astoria: A hazy heron morning on the river

Amazing. It's wonderful to be greeted first thing in the morning by a sight like this. It's rather unusual, too. Although there are quite a few herons on the river, they don't usually fly into my little bay beneath the radio tower. I think this is the second one I've seen this month, but before that it had been quite some time.

Why do they always look like they want to get back at you for something you did? I knew this heron wouldn't be staying long, so I took its photo as quickly and quietly as possible through the mud-splashed window.

I was right. I figured that this is about what I'd see when the heron caught any movement through the window.

I've tried so many times to get the brilliant yellow-gold of the wood chips, and they usually turn out gray. The light was better this time. I love the way they look in the green barges, although I always think about all the trees it took to make them.

Here's the pilot boat Arrow 2 alongside the Belle Nautica. I'll seriously miss mornings like this if I ever have to move.

July 26, Astoria: Flowers on 14th Street

One of my favorite street corners in Astoria has nothing much on it except these flowers, and old tree, and a funky old metal railing. I love this corner. I walk past it often, and I enjoy that fact that someone bothers to plant the flowers. Or maybe they re-seed each year, but I expect they originally came from a package. As I write this in September, the flowers are gone. Their memory remains, though, in this quickly-snapped photo. And, I look forward to seeing them next year!

For more flower photos, please check out Floral Friday :)

June 30, Astoria: Brilliant . . .

It goes so fast. I looked out the window at just the right time . . . and then the ship came by.

June 19: Cruise ship "The World" glides past Astoria

Luckily, I heard from my neighbor that the ship was due within the half hour, gliding downriver from Portland. I hadn't seen it on the day it went up. Not only is The World huge (also, bright, shiny, and beautiful), but it's unlike most cruise ships in that these are not staterooms, but condos. The berths come in several sizes, and they are owned, not rented for the trip. Some people live here year-round, and others use it as a second home. The ship sails the world, and wouldn't it be nice to be onboard? I think so!

Dulcye Taylor's photos on Facebook give you some idea of how big this ship is compared to the normal big ships we see. You may have to be a Facebook member to get this link.

June 14, Astoria: Estate sale at the "oldest dwelling in Astoria"

Today Lee and I dropped by an estate sale. For me, the most interesting thing was the house itself, which is one of the most historic in town. Here are a few pictures of the outside, and here is the inside, both from my other blog, Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo.

Spinal replacement on the Astoria Column - in through the head!

They brought a big crane in this morning, and now they've taken the top of the crown off the Astoria Column. The goal is to replace the spiral staircase that goes from the bottom up to the white landing platform that you can see here. First, they remove the top of the column, then they take out the old spiral staircase, then drop in the new one. It sounds like quite an operation. Something like spinal replacement through the top of the head! There are workers on the platform now, looking like black ants. If you click on the photo, you can see the ball or something like that at the end of the chain or rope just at the top of what's left of the top of the column. Built in 1926, the column stands 125 feet tall - so you can imagine what the crane must look like from close up! I'll post a picture when I get one.

A notice from the Chamber of Commerce said that the base of the column would not be completely cordoned off, and it would be possible to view the process. I appreciate that they know we want to see this! I'm not sure how far they let cars up the road at the moment. They said at least some of the parking would be unavailable, so maybe the're still letting cars up the road. At the very least, I should be able park a few blocks from start of the road that leads in and walk up near the crane after work. Sometimes I walk up from here, but it's sultry and enervating, and I think I'll drive part way. I took this with a long lens. It's really quite a long way up from the river.

There's a full view of the column here. Just scroll past the trees and such.

Is half a carp better than none?

A lot of things turn up along the river, and they're not all pretty, but they're usually interesting. I was looking over the deck and I saw this part of a fish, about 14 inches long. With the huge scales and the barbel, I thought it might be a carp, but I asked Lee what he thought and he wrote:

"Not much left of this carp. Carp is considered a trash fish by Americans but is a delicacy in the rest of the world. They were brought over by the Germans. . . . When I was in Nepal, at Lake Pokara, some fisherman were bringing the king a large one they had caught for him in his lake. It has lots of little bristles attached to its bones. My mom knew how to prepare carp by boiling it and adding a gelatin, some carrots and celery and making what she thought was a treat. I hated it but enjoyed
catching carp in the sloughs around Astoria. They are slow moving but large."

Perhaps a sea lion didn't consider it trash. I wonder how it didn't get finished? But the crabs will have a field day later on. The water was kind of an icky color at that point, reflecting the overcast sky. But it changes color all day long, and it's usually pretty nice. By the way, this is the first carp I've seen here in the river. But then, I'm not out on boats very much.

May 30, Astoria: Ships, Logs, and Love on the Prairie (I revive a writing project and start a new blog)

I'm always interested in the different-looking ships that come by. This one belongs to a German company called BBC Chartering. It has nothing to do with the broadcasting company, but it is fitted with super-heavy-duty cranes for lifting super-heavy cargo that can't be broken down into smaller packets that could be lifted by lighter-duty cranes. The parts are for wind turbines assembled in Denmark. (Thanks for the info, Lee!)

A close-up. The cranes and cargo are both squeaky-clean looking. And look how flat the water is. It's been like this for a few days.

Here's anaother pic of the flat water. I enjoy the patterns the water makes as it slips over the foundation of the radio tower in different conditions.

It's lucky for us that the water HAS been flat, because the monster log is still here at the foot of the deck.

Another pic with the shadow of the catwalk.

It was 9:02 p.m. when I took this photo. I love the way the river reflects the sky so late into the evening when it's clear. I had grabbed the pike pole and once again tried to shove that sucker into the current, but it headed for the dual obstacles of the tower and a piling, and in awhile floated back to us. The current was pretty lazy anyway. I couldn't get it to grab.

I've been thinking about how to re-start my Hudson-Joy writing/history/biography project in a new direction, and I've finally figured it out - at least enough to start. I believe that what I need to do is the part that most interests me right now anyway. It makes sense from many angles. See the new blog for details!

I joined City Daily Photo

I've been posting a new photo of Astoria on my Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo blog each day now since April 23. The picture above is the one I posted yesterday. Today's photo isn't as pretty. I discovered the City Daily Photo blogging community recently and was attracted immediately. Looking at some random pix or going to familiar ones is a fun way to take a virtual world tour for a few minutes every day. Since I like blogging, I signed on to do a daily blog post about Astoria. I'd been following the Paris Daily Photo for awhile and I didn't know he had developed it into a worldwide community until April. Now Lee has joined with Bend, Oregon, Daily Photo and Sergio with Bogota Daily Photo.

On our trip to New York (not posted yet) we even met one of the bloggers from NYC, who was a very nice guy and added to the fun of the trip. On that trip I also met a wonderful woman I'd gotten to know on Facebook.

May 15, Astoria's Doughboy Monument: Finding an angle

In the center of this photo is Astoria's Doughby Monument. I like the photo with its nice-looking historic houses, but there's one problem - you can barely see the doughboy. I'd decided to use this monument for the ShutterDay photomeme on my other blog, Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo. And then I ran into the complications. You can see those below, and you can read my thoughts about the monument itself on the Astoria Daily Photo blog.

The closest I could get to making the background disappear was lying on the grass in front of the monument. Actually, it was so bright out, I didn't see the one wire or the edge of the lamp until I downloaded the picture.

Here he is in close-up.

I really like the expressive legs and feet with their vintage boots and the snarl of barbed wire - a nice touch by the artist.

This angle might have been interesting if not for the power lines. And of course, there is no longer a river view here.

Impossible. Here the doughboy looks like an urban street fighter.

Eeesh. Way too cluttered, but you can see the massive curve of the Astoria-Megler Bridge and also the access to the restroom housed in the monument. This is thoughtful. There are a few public bathrooms around town if you know where to look for them, but not a lot.

Also impossible.

Here's a photo showing the plaque. I was going to leave it large so you could read it, but I spaced out and sized it. You can read the text here on my other blog. Just scroll down.

I thought I'd include the commemorative bench. Click here for further info on the monument.

The doughboy may be one of Astoria's two free-standing public statues, but I'll keep my eye out for more.

Does your town have public sculpture?