squirt guns & birds

this is a fine synopsis of our sunday afternoon. eli took great delight in riding his tricycle around the back patio whilst shooting with his squirt gun, the trees, birds, flys, ants and anything else that moved. at times he would switch to a squirt bottle for its increased capacity. this meant, in short, more shooting time and less filling time. makes sense.













i also added 2 new species of birds to my yard list. this is quite a feat considering that my list is only at 19. i positively ID'd a pair of Cassin's Finches and a pair of Red-Winged Blackbirds. then there were many many of the blackbirds in conjunction with Brewer's. they attacked the feeders, scared the smaller birds away and ate until they were content or scared away themselves by larger birds overhead such as turkey vultures or hawks of some sort. i had previously thought that I'd seen the Cassin's Finch but now I know that I hadn't. they are a beautiful bird - both male & female. and the Red-Winged are awesome as well. their red wing bar with yellow spot below is really cool while they're in flight.

finally, the afternoon brought an acrobatic squirrel who leapt from our large ponderosa pine to the copper feeder. and there were even more birds - at one point I counted 7 species at one time. for the day, the tally was at 9 total species. what a blessing to live here and have such varied wildlife in my own backyard.

the coast in august

that's what it's called here in the NW. that reference being different than what most people in California call it - which is the beach. the differences are important i think. the main one for me being that the water is not as friendly here as it is down south. it's alive for one thing - there are sea monsters a'plenty out there. and the summer temps hover between 57 & 62 depending on current. by cali standards that is freezing - winter conditions for sure. the other points of contrast include space - there is a lot more of it here, weather - it's typically colder and more windy here, and geography - the coast has an untamed, wild feel - different than the populous beaches of socal. also, there is a vast array of beautiful, unique landmarks and coastal topographies here when compared to say, the beach in Huntington Beach, for example. granted, they have more consistent surf, but it's crowded with kooks and its major defining point is the unbroken row of homes that line the boardwalk, continually frowning down upon the sand and water. no me gusta. but the tall palm trees and warm, sunny afternoons with enjoyable surf make cali a sure spot for fun summer frolics.

Click here for a sampling of our time in lincoln & pacific cities in august.

those guys

the voice of reason

adventures with Pooh

potty feet

eli was standing in the corner. all of a sudden there was a shriek from his direction and then crying. in his distress from having been sent to the corner he had peed a little in his underwear. ok, a lot. but with a hurried admonition to make his way to the center of the room where his potty sat he scurried with wet feet ::snicker:: to his little throne and did his business. here he is enjoying his treat - an otter pop.

we are proud of him. this has been a traumatic change for him. i guess it is for most kids but i don't know other kids. i do know that eli would rather eat worms than use the potty. he's been quite attached to the convenience of the almighty diaper.

Mt. Bachelor

from the west - the meadow at Sparks Lake

grandpa & the boys

at the Deschutes County Fair

interruption

there was a fire here a few days ago. that night the power went out throughout our neighborhood. i got in to work the next day and my macintosh wouldn't boot. the power button would light up for a second and then fade. the fade was like the life going out of it. actually i think the life had already gone out of it. either way i knew it to be bad. i took the box to the local computer store and they wanted $125 to place it on the tech bench so that they could tell me what I already knew - that it was dead. i asked for an advice freebie and told him my symptoms. "For free" he told me that I was correct - the power supply was dead. He also told me that Apple no longer manufactures that power supply, that every 4 or 5 years their parts become obsolete as they upgrade their line with newer, faster, sleeker machines. i felt betrayed by Apple. but this guy had just saved me 125 dollars - i wanted to give him a hug. instead i bought a new Mac Pro with 3GB of memory and an extra terabyte of storage for all of my new and cooler projects that I was sure to be working on with such a powerful computer as this one. i also got the 23" HD screen - a small but welcome upgrade from my previous 22" SD monitor. but all of this great stuff carried a large price tag and i am hoping that my business insurance will kick down and be the carrier i thought it would be when i purchased the policy. so far i'm not so sure. that's why the dual 2.66Ghz, intel driven Mac Pro and large, beautiful monitor will remain in their boxes, ready for return, in case @$^#%* doesn't do what i heard them promise to do in the event of computer failure due to power surge - replace the darn thing.

july was fun

"And finally to Bend which seems a little like a heaven on earth. The evening skyline is one of the best... Any town which features “floating the river” as one of its main attractions on a summer afternoon has my vote. And the fact that as you float, you float right past the back door of the Gap makes you realize that this is a different kind of place. Here they use SUV’s to carry their kayaks, not to ensure that they have lane changing rights on the evening commute."

-as penned by Uncle Peter - Bend Visitor, Summer 2007


I made a slideshow for the month of July. You can watch it here.