SILENCE

Sometimes silence can be my best friend.   One of the first things I do in the morning is turn the radio on to get the latest news and weather report.   After about an hour of hearing all the negative things humanity is inflicting upon it's self it's time to turn it off.    Just the sound of the wind, rain, birds and the frogs at night can be enough for me.   A trip to the city with all the traffic, construction, and other noises makes me just want to get back home ASAP.   

I will never forget when Celia and I were in Costco years ago when she was getting a hearing test when an older man left his hearing aids off to have them cleaned.   As he walked off to do some shopping he said out loud--SILENCE AT LAST!

BLACKOUT

Last night I was sitting in my chair reading on a stormy night.   About 7:30pm the light flickered and a few seconds later the lights were out.   It was pitch black as I sat in the chair knowing the flash light was on the table by the bed in the next room.   I don't recall such blackness, not a glow of light anywhere.   It was like having my eyes closed.   I slowly made my way toward the bedroom with arms stretched out feeling for furniture and the walls.  I made it to the bedroom door, then to the bed feeling my way to the bed side table where I turned on the flashlight.   After lighting some candles my neighbors called to ask if my power was out as they had lost power also.    Later we learned most of the northern portion of Douglas County was without power due to storm damage to the BPA transmission line to the north somewhere.    After receiving some text messages about the situation I retired to bed thinking how unprepared I am for a long term power outage; dirty diches in the kitchen, have not started the generator in the last year, camp stove somewhere in the shop and way too dark to deal with any of it on a stormy dark night.   My biggest fear--how would I ever make coffee in the morning?   At 9:30 the lights came back on and I could rest easy knowing I would not have to boil water on the wood stove in the morning for that precious cup of coffee.   

THE HOLIDAY FOG

 Lately the fog has been formidable.   The other night I was visiting with friends in Oakland.    It was about 9 pm when I started my way home through dense fog.   Oakland is a small town with most of its streets going north and south and east and west.    My intended route home was to take a street west turn north on old highway 99, cross the Calapooya Creek bridge and take the Green Valley Road home.   At this time of night there is never any traffic on this route so it is considered a safe drive.    Driving west in Oakland I somehow missed seeing the stop sign where I would turn north on highway 99 and ended up on a dead end gravel road near the railroad tracks.    While turning around I had the fear of getting stuck not knowing what the ground was like off of this little gravel road.   Miraculously I made it to highway 99 and it took a half hour to finally get home through the dense fog.   When I arrived home I discovered my black cat was on the roof .  I had left the ladder up on the deck to apply moss killer and the cat had climbed it but would not come back down without my assistance.   After putting gloves on and climbing the ladder I grabbed the cat and got her down without a catastrophe.   Felt like a survivor at the end of this day. 

FALL 2023

We are blessed with rain this week after a brutal hot dry summer.   It was last April when I received substantial rainfall for that month with 5.12 inches.   Since May 1 to date I have recorded only 2.19 inches.   Presently I'm 6.36 inches behind on annual rainfall of 42.31 inches.   

I always feel like a survivor after making it through the summer without getting burned out.   With the change in seasons comes the usual change in the daily chores and preparation for winter.   Yesterday I rolled up the many hoses around the house used to water plants and that provide water to the sprinklers on the roof  in case of a fire.   In the afternoon I cleaned out the chimney and today cleaned out the woodstove. The 500 gallon water tank that collects water from the shop roof was almost full so pumped that water up to the house tamk.   Only had to order two truck loads of water this summer.     

With El Nino in effect  there is a lower snowpack and lower rainfall predicted for the northwest.    Sometimes the opposite happens, like last year it was a La Nina and most the rain and snow went south into California when it was predicted to come to the northwest.    The Farmers Almanac predicts a hard winter.    I guess we will find out one way or the other.  

THE LAST DAY OF AUGUST 2023

Finally some rain on the last day of this dreaded month.   The only rainfall before today was during the thunderstorm on the night of the 24th with 0.15 of an inch.   This thunderstorm touched off many fires in  Douglas County, including the Tyee Ridge Complex of fires about 8 miles to the west of me.   The smoke from these fires has made the air quality unhealthy.  Even with the rain today there is still the smell of smoke.   I had the windows open this morning but had to close them as it seems the rain pushed the smoke into the house this afternoon.   Now the air purifier in running to clear out the smell from the house.   

What will September bring?  

CRICKETS AND THE WIND

August can be a real bummer of a month with hot dry weather, yellow jackets buzzing throughout the day and the threat of wildfires.   My biggest outdoor chore is watering plants and some have given up and died not so much for a lack of water, but just too hot.   Eating a hot dinner does not even appeal at the end of a hot day.  Sometimes a bowl of cereal is all that taste good.   After the sun has gone down and the cool evening air brings life back to my old body, I go outside and sit watching the wind blow through the trees with the sound of crickets bringing me comfort before retiring for the night.  

FIRE SEASON 2023

The grass is starting to turn brown and my rainfall for May was only 0.84 of an inch when the average for May is 2.58 inches.   The NWS reports a little over an inch of rain in Roseburg for May.  That has to be a record low, while last May of 2022, I received 4.58 inches which must have been a record high.   This all leads up to the beginning of fire season starting June 9th.   Already there has been the smell of smoke at times either from the Canadian fires or a fire west of Eugene.   There is even a small fire in the Layng Creek drainage on the Cottage Grove Ranger District, which was considered the asbestos forest when I worked there from 1988 to 1995.   The last measurable rainfall I recorded was for May 11th and there is nothing in the seven day forecast.    What will this fire season be like and can we survive until the Fall rains? 

HOT DAYS IN MAY

Had a high of 95 at my place yesterday and I'm sure I will beat that on this Mothers Day.   Falling behind on rainfall for May with only 0.84 of an inch so far.   Average for May is 2.58 inches and last year for May I received 4.58 inches.   Even April of last year with 5.92 inches was more than this April with 5.12 inches.   The average for April is 3.11 inches.   I did beat last years rainfall for March with 5.88 inches compared to 4.02 inches last year.   Average for March is 4.24 inches.   Another indicator of low rainfall this month is shorter grass as I'm in the process of cutting it as the heat and my old body permits.

With a strong El Nino forming in the Pacific this could be the Mother of all summers.  

Note:  Rainfall measurements are taken at my CoCoRaHS station OR-DG-22

Happy Mothers Day!

RAINFALL DATA FOR CURRENT WATER YEAR

 At my CoCoRaHS station (OR-DG-22) I have received 22.76 inches of rain from the start of this water year on 10/1/2022 to 2/28/2023.     The average for this time period is 28.57 inches giving me a deficit of 5.81 inches.   

CELIA AT THE CABIN

 This picture was taken on 2/5/2011 at the cabin where Celia did many of her paintings.   She was taking a break and enjoying her favorite can of beans.  My kind of woman!

CHRISTMAS 2022

It's that time of year to be jolly, get into the holiday spirit and overlook family dysfunctions.   In my old age I feel more like scourge this time of year, but getting gifts for the grandchildren saves me from total despair.   One habit I have taken up over the years of living here is to take a picture of the Christmas tree standing in the middle of Oakland, and sending it out by email to family and friends in place of Christmas cards.  Sure saves on postage and a good way to get a response from old friends and distant relatives scattered across the country.   

  

   Merry Christmas from Oakland, Oregon!

LIVING ALONE

 Living alone has its challenges and benefits.  Trying to keep order with the day to day chores can be more than one person can handle at times when living in a remote setting where there is a yard and house to maintain, a water collection system to operate during the wet season and keeping the place warm using firewood during the winter.   In addition,  there are 20 acres of forest land to take care of which provides an escape from some of the other not so enjoyable tasks.    A routine is important to keep loneness at bay, but there is always time to reflect back on what life was like when there was the two us here to share in the daily rituals of life.  In many ways there is still the two of us here.  

 Living alone is nothing new to me.   Except for times when my children lived with me in Eugene, I spent a good part of 14 years living alone before Celia and I took up with each other in 2000.   Over the 20 years we were married many habits and routines were developed and they are hard to break.   For now I do not see myself moving to some strange place as long as I'm in fairly good health and have the support of family and friends.   Who knows what tomorrow will bring?  One thing for sure, the price for love is grief.  

 

THE DUMP

The other day I made a trip to the Oakland transfer station or as many of us call it "The Dump".  My memories drift back to my younger days growing up in Willows, California in the 1950's and 60's.   We used to load up the old pick up truck and make the drive to the county dump once or twice a month.   The dump was a series of pits where the county had dug up gravel over the years to rock and pave the many miles of county roads.  Afterwards the gravel pits, maybe an acre or two in size and 40 to 50 feet deep were used as a place to dump trash.   As we would back up to the edge of the pit along with other county residents we could see all kinds of debris thrown in the pit, including tires, appliances, furniture and God knows what else in addition to household garbage.   Fires smoldered in the pit as a toxic smell of smoke was in the air.  There was a man that looked like he had been raised in the pit that started the fires and rummaged through the debris.   He was small man in dirty clothes and with very dark skin.  There was a shack off to the side where I always thought he lived.   Not sure if he was paid by the county or what?   There were no fees for dumping there and nobody ever questioned us on what we were putting in the pit.   

Some time in the late 1970's open pit burning was banned nationwide and landfills came into existence.  The word recycling was not part of our vocabulary until the 1980's.  

THE DEER ENCOUNTER

 This morning while working on a trail up to the pump house a deer ran by me so fast I did not realize it until it had gone by me.    All I saw was the flash of the deer just a few inches from me.   The deer was being chased by another deer and I believe it did not see me until the last second.    At the speed that deer was going I don't think I would have survived the blow if it had run into me.   It was my lucky day and I still have a hard time thinking about how close it was.

2022 WATER YEAR (WY) SUMMARY

For the 2022 WY ending 9/30/22, there was 39.70 inches recorded at my CoCoRaHS station OR-DG-22 at an elevation of 915 feet.  The average is 42 inches.   The lowest rainfall recorded in the 16 years of living here was 32 inches in WY 2014 and the highest was 61 inches on WY 2017. 

THE END OF AUGUST 2022

We have finally come to the end of another forgetful August feeling neglected that the annual tradition of smoke filled skies would pass us by.   But, last night the haze and smoke moved into the valleys of the Umpqua making our summer complete.    How long it will last is anybody's guess depending on when the Fall rains return.     

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

So far this summer we have been spared any smoke, fire threats and record temperatures compared to the last few summers, but anything could still happen over the next two months before the Fall rains arrive.  108 is the highest temperature I have recorded here this summer.  Not as bad as 115 near the end of June last summer.   Last major rainfall was June 13th with 0.65 of inch at my place and only a few drops since then.  August is not my favorite month with hot afternoons preventing me from doing any outdoor work.  The sound of crickets at night is encouraging, a sign of change.   Fall can't get here fast enough for me.  

GETTING OUT ON THE LAND

When all else fails and the weather permits, I grab a tool, such as loppers, a hoe or pruning saw and go into the woods.   There is always invasive plants to cut, trails to clear or trees to prune.    There is only the sound of the wind and birds rustling in the brush.  My thoughts are about the here and now, and time seems to stop.    It is good treatment for depression, anxiety and loneliness during this time of transition.  If there is a need to talk to my neighbors all I have to do is walk down the road with a shovel to clean culverts and debris from the drainage ditches, and soon somebody will drive by, stop and talk.  When the sun starts setting or the rain drops start falling, I make my way back to the house, throw a log in the stove, feed the cats, heat up some swill for dinner and call it a day.  It sure beats going to town, getting exposed to the Covid or flu virus, or spending money on something I can live without.    

THE BIRDS and the BEES

 No, not those birds and bees.  The is about the real birds and bees, sorry.   This time of year the air is filled with birds and bees.    As I get distracted from what I should be doing, which is not hard to do, I wander off to watch all the bees in the flowering trees.  All kinds of bees, small black ones, white ones, multi colored ones and many honey bees.   Even the Mason bees are coming out of their nest boxes.  

The birds start singing as soon as the sun appears in the morning.  The Stellar Jays sit in an oak tree by the house in the early morning and talk to one another before they go off to harass other birds.  Even the buzzards are back.

Maybe a story another day about the other Birds and the Bees, the ones most of us learned about in the public library when we got distracted from our studies by those books in the reproductive health section.  

SPRING 2021

With the changing of the seasons comes all the spring projects.   Darn, I never finished all the winter projects.   Spring house cleaning should be priority one, but I doubt that will get the attention it deserves.  There is painting to do, gardening, pruning, firewood to split for next winter, grass to cut, preparing for fire season and the dreaded summer ahead.     

I forgot, time to get the hammock out where I can retreat and think of all that needs to be done.