April 29, Astoria: Gorgeous sunset tonight!

It's been pretty nice with the sun out, although it's still very cold for April. It looks nice, and I step out with "just" a sweatshirt and run back for my winter jacket, even on a day like this. The tree, by the way, is still firmly anchored horizontally in the pilings.

The little patch of garden is doing nicely. The columbine is blooming.

The ranunculus (red) and wallflower (yellow) are doing well, and the purple sage is looking good. The horsetails are also coming up. Technically, they're weeds, but I'll let them stay for a little while. I enjoy the green and they're such interesting ancient plants. There's something with a broad leaf that I should take out soon, some stray grass, and a few dandelions. I saw Jim pour vinegar over the dandelions around the edges of the building, and I was astonished. I'd never tried that (I have a whole litany of things I did try in a former life that didn't work, and another list of things I didn't try because I didn't want to poison the yard). Well, it worked! White vinegar for weeds! It's non-toxic, and it's cheap, too.

The clouds came and went today in a typical pattern of Astoria on an inconclusive day. I loved the shades and lines here, and I have a thing for peeling buildings when they look as cool as this does.

I worked late, as usual, and when the sky began to turn orange, I left for the gym with camera in hand. You never know what the sky will do. It had been raining, and everything was wet, but the clouds were thinning out. I took this from the Sixth Street Viewing Platform.

This was the view facing the other direction (up-river). Lovely colors.

I walked a little way down the River Walk and found this nice reflection before I turned back. I was planning to drive in the direction of the bridge anyway (just barely visible in the lower right of the reflection).

It was worthwhile. It was still and quiet, just a little damp from the rain, but not much. Only another photographer and a dog-walker were about on the River Walk behind the Holiday Inn Express.

Boats, baby, and a brand new President!

If anyone wonders why my blogs often start with ships and boats, it's because ships and boats are often the first things that catch my attention in the morning. It's still a novelty to wake up, look out the window, and see the variety of them every day. I don't know what kind of boat the smaller Hickson is or what it was doing, but it dashed left out of sight, and then came back headed toward the dock at the Maritime Museum.

Later in the morning, I dropped by to see my little grandtapir. He'd just had a bath and Laurel was folding clothes. I asked if he still cried and screamed during bathtime, but she said no, he's getting used to it. He looked so tiny and adorable propped up by himself on the bed. The light was good and I took a few pictures before I picked him up. It's surprising how close things have to be for babies this age to see them, and we had a good time looking into each other's eyes for awhile before he got sleepy. I could see he was really watching my eyes and following them. It was fun.

Teagan's been growing. He's put on some weight, which is good - about two pounds, I think, which puts him over 7 lbs. and less than 8. He changes fast, so I don't know the exact statistics. You can check out his mom's blog for more details. I can't believe I'm doing this. I never had much use for babies before unless they had fur, feathers, or a carapace, and especially if they had spots and stripes. Those were my criteria for interesting babies. I'm happy to see that Teagan is at least lounging amid stripes, even though he isn't wearing them. For the uninitiated, I will give you this explanatory link: really, shouldn't a baby look more like this one? (follow the link). . . .

Or this . . . I'm getting used to him :)

Hmmmmm. (Yeah?)

Not having television, and having the inauguration come in the middle of my work day, I missed it, so I thought I'd record the newsstand version of the historic event. It was kind of cool turning around outside the post office and being reminded that TODAY WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT! I feel lucky and happy to be seeing this historic day. Like so many, I feel optimistic and I look forward with anticipation to what I hope will be a very different next four years. At least he sounds intelligent when he talks, and I do like looking at Michelle. She wears watchable clothing. I like that!

I liked the simplicity of the "Daily A's" front page. Here's another one.

I was still in front of the post office, and the tree reflected in my car window looked photogenic. Ever since Marcela said she looked for reflections in photos, I've been paying more attention to them. You can hardly miss this one, but you know, I almost opened up the car door without even thinking about it.

Bend: Breakfast and clouds

I worked inside most of the day, so my time outside consisted mostly of breakfast in the morning and clouds at sunset. Both were teriffic. Above is a lighting fixture that looks like a snowball, or something like that. It was homey and comforting inside Nancy P's.

This is about what's left of the snow at the moment. Fun to have around, but not that pretty any more to look at.

Although mostly dry, it's chilly, so breakfast outside didn't seem to appealing. Inside all of the tables were full. One cleared out just at the moment we were ready for it. Perfect. And then I worked on web pages for the gift shop most of the day making changes, taking down sold-out items and adding bigger pictures to the page of wooden animal pens. I talked to Sue on the phone, but the connection was worse than usual. It was pouring buckets in Astoria, and she and Barbara both left early. It was already flooding in Naselle, where Barbara was headed.

The clouds were so dark and massive against the bright evening sky when Lee and I went out to pick up his car from the body shop where it had been fixed after someone had knocked into it in a parking lot. It was warm coat weather, but not all that cold compared to what it has been here.

I'm always fascinated by lenticular clouds. They form over mountains and have the most wonderful smooth shapes. Sometimes they look like flying saucers. I liked the way this one floated above the dark, heavy clouds below. There's a deep, almost mystical darkness among the trees that counters the brightness of the sky. It's hard to describe. You almost have to crawl into the picture to feel it. Try blowing it up by clicking on it.

This cloud caught my attention. It was enticing. I asked Lee to stop the car. We'd just passed the best viewing spot, but, in socks and sandals, I scrambled up the soggy mud of the embankment near the railroad tracks only to find that trees were in the way. I scrambled down the other side onto the tracks and ran for a bit until there was a clearing and tried to get the best exposure I could. Four pre-teen boys came alongside on bikes, wondering why I was taking pictures of the sky. I told them I liked the colors and the shapes of the clouds and I would put them on my blog. They knew what that was, and we talked about how fast the clouds change, and about the beautiful colors. It tickled me that these kids seemed to relate. In a few years, I thought, they might have none of it. And then the boy in a green shirt who had reached me first said, "I saw a cloud one time that looked like a heart." This was nice. I didn't stay long, though, because I'd left Lee along the roadside when I'd quickly disappeared into the railroad culvert and I didn't want him to worry.

This lovely reflection in a puddle along the roadside was my reward for being out there on foot at this time of day.

Moon and pine. A nice ending for the day.

Or maybe this is the end. Taken from the parking lot where Lee got his car fixed.

NOTE (January 10, 2009): It seems that some of the most disturbing parts of the law that I'm ranting about below have been changed, but it remains to be seen what happens with the rest of it, and how much was actually changed, how much will be enforced, etc. I have not read the law yet, it's just what little I've heard on the news. Here goes:

OK now, totally changing the subject here - an unfortunate end to a post filled with pretty clouds. There's something I should be talking about because it was in the news today and will affect so, so many people, virually everyone. I don't want to say much until I learn more, but I spent a lot of time thinking about it after I'd read an article in the Bend Bulletin this morning. On February 10th, there will be a new, much stricter and probably very stupid law about testing children's products for lead. Of course kids should be protected from lead poisoning, who wouldn't agree to that? But from what I've heard so far, this law is so far over the top it's hard to believe. Is it true that EVERY product sold for use by a child 12 and under must be tested even though the manufacturing process INVOLVES NO USE OF LEAD? Are we kidding? As of February 10th, they have to test kiddie t-shirts and stuffed animals for lead? With new products, that's expensive and may kill certain types of small business, but the most pathetic waste will occur at the family and craftsperson level. As I understand it, this law will effectively prevent crafters from selling knitted sweaters and blankets for babies and children anywhere - such as on eBay - because it will be illegal to buy or sell clothing and toys that have not been tested or cannot be proven to have been tested for lead for the use of anyone under the age of 12. Who's going to pay to test individual items? Will this law take away major funding sources for charities who rely on donations of clothing for thrift shops and garage sales? I cannot think that the lawmakers would want this if they they had given the consequences a moment's thought. I read that only three US Senators had the courage to vote "No," and Obama abstained. I think I'm still in denial, hoping it's not really going to be that bad, that I've misunderstood it, or that it will go away. What about the many parents and grandparents who buy kids' clothing and toys at thrift shops and garage sales? What about the people who make a few bucks selling their used things at garage sales? What about flea markets? Will a parent really not be able to get a used sweatshirt for 50 cents or a dollar any more? Good god. Regular toy and clothing stores may fare better, because they buy from vendors who can test the products in lots - but prices, already high, will be forced to go up yet again. The provisions sound completely crazy. I'll find out more before I go on a real rant. I hope this is just a bad dream.

Radio tower on the water

It was a beautiful day, with the sky so intensely blue at about 11:30 in the morning. I was leaning on the rail of the back deck as I often do, and then I looked into the water. . . .

I don't remember ever seeing the tower reflected like this. Sometimes the river is fairly calm, but maybe not as much like glass as it was today. For whatever the reason, the conditions conspired to create a remarkable image. I'll watch for it again, but I honestly don't know that I've ever seen it like this. Note the bird flying into the photo in the air above me, also reflected in the water's calm surface. I have a couple of pix where the tower appears more tangled and they look interesting, but I liked this one with the bird.

The three photos were each taken one minute apart, so the day was not completely calm. I assume the cloud indicated a bit of a storm and rougher waters coming, but as I'm posting this in January, I don't remember :)