Waterworld

Well, we certainly volunteered for some significant experiences in a very short period of time! We have now been initiated into the beautiful autumns of the Pacific Northwest, but also COLD winter weather, the worst snowstorm in Oregon history, and the worst flooding since 1996. And now we're realizing just what "spring cleaning" really means - we have erosion damage to repair and lots of downed trees and broken branches to remove.

Our normally pristine river is again flowing within its confines, although they are different than before the flood. With the impasses of felled trees and the force of the water, it carved new paths for itself and is twice as wide in places as before. We even have islands of trees and rock in its path. What an angry torrent of muddy rolling waters it became, with such force that huge trees and logs were carried along the current like matchsticks, and the freight-train roar was all permeating as we watched the water encroaching closer and closer to our yard. I just couldn't bear to get pictures this time!!

Quote for the day, from John Greenleaf Whittier, thanks to Cheryl Beller.......

No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope or fear;
But grateful take the good I find,
The best of now and here.

Well, now the flood waters have receded and the rain has stopped for a few days (?) - in fact the weatherman predicts magnificent weather for Wednesday (which basically means no rain, no fog, no floods and temperatures above 45). It's now time to get out of the house. We are happy about this, but not as much as the dogs >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>






Did someone say "stir crazy"?
Of course the cats wish THEY
could have equal time outside.......


(Hey, would you look at the size of those birds? And so close......)


- because sometimes the best seats in the house are taken.


Okay, in the category of "too good to resist" - just a few more pictures:


































On a personal note: A reporter for the local newspaper is running a story on us concerning our new businesses in this area - basketball instruction, jewelry making, pet portraits and grief recovery. Here is their picture for the article (no picture of Ronn - I think he ducked out of the interview early:)



I'm now making jewelry specifically for Valentine's Day and will have pictures in about a week. If you're looking for something to wear with a special outfit or need a gift for someone at that time, let me know..........

Eagles

Wow - what a sight! We had two bald eagles in our tree overlooking the pasture today. Unfortunately, they chose a very overcast, grey morning to make their appearance - that happened as well with the elk (I wonder if they did this on purpose?!). So this is the best this amateur photographer could do. I'm now shopping for a new camera with a telephoto lens!!
Our flooding waters from last week receded but now the weather has warmed up and a new rain storm has come in from the Pacific and our water is higher than it was before - so the entire western part of the state is under a flood watch for the next 2-3 days. Well, from hurricane insurance to flood insurance............
And for those of you in the sunny South, I have transitioned from flip flops and open-toed sandals to boots. I now have 5 pairs (count 'em!) and looking for one more! There are knee high ranch work boots, weather proof boots for going into town, leather jeans boots, cowboy boots, knee high moccasins, boots for dressier occasions, .........................
I am having difficulty finding a really warm hat, however - I think they're more interested around here in keeping their feet warm instead of their heads!
I woke this morning to find our pond completely thawed for the first time since the winter weather started, and within about 2 hours we had a duck appear again - then 2, then 3!!
It was so nice to see them again, since the ducks and heron have been gone with all the ice and snow. How did they know it was thawed? I will try to show the video at the end of this post - there were two mallards and one female, and even though there were only 3 ducks in the entire pond, the two males kept up their territorial spats. Just like boys and girls - fighting over the female!!
For those of you who like to bake, I have a great pumpkin loaf recipe, courtesy of one of my favorite website/blogs that I read (edensbouquet.com). It will even appeal to those non-pumpkin eaters, I think:

Pumpkin Loaf
5 eggs
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 (3 oz) boxes of vanilla pudding mix (cook and serve, not instant)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together flour, sugar, vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add pumpkin, vegetable oil and eggs. Pour into greased pans and bake at 325 degrees for 75-80 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.

Well, my jewelry blog site is now updated with nearly all the jewelry I have done, and soon the web site will be completed. To see the results, go to handcraftedjewelrybycj.blogspot.com.

Flood

Thank you to all who recently expressed concern for our safety . We can report that, as of now, we and our belongings made it through the most recent meltdown. With the unusual, record-making snowfall and continuing rain and snowfall this December, we experienced some raging waters as the temperatures started to rise.
Small waterways collect water from the hills and mountains and join the Clatskanie River, which flows through town and out to the Columbia River. We aren't at the beginning or end of this but rather somewhere in the middle. The river flows through our property, and creeks flow behind the pond, through a culvert under the driveway, and join the river on the other side. We documented the changes and have some comparisons for you from the autumn (when we arrived), through the snowfall and floods.

From this (our backyard)....
















To this.....



And this.....


And this.....



From this (our pond).....

















And this....

















To this....


From this (the river under our driveway)....

















To this.....


To this.....


And this.....



From this (the culvert draining the creek)....

















To this.....


And this.....



From this (our little waterfall in the creek).....















To this....


To this (no separation between creek and pond).....


From this (picture from the creek with pond behind it)....

















To this....


To this (no separation from creek to pond).....