Over and into the River

Initial river exploration

Getting brave!

But not that brave...

Today was our first full day of dogsitting.  Poor Patton had to spend some time alone as we spent time getting some chores done in town.  So, when we got home, we hiked out to the Columbia, and found a good access area.  At first he was a bit shy of the water, just checking it out with his nose, then putting a paw or two in.  Before long, he was walking along the edge.  Then he started getting a bit deeper - and finally, he headed out for a log.  The waves chased him back in, but not before he got chest deep.  Then he chased up and down the edge of the water, having a great time.  And we, his grandparents, had a great time, too.  I don't think he noticed the geese, ducks and eagles overhead - but we did.  Maybe eventually he will, too...

Overhead eagle...a juvenile

February 15, 2013 - A Visit from Our Granddog

Checking out the back yard

There must be something interesting here...

Ahhh!  The nose in the back acreage!

Our granddog, Patton, will be visiting us for five days.  He's a four month old chocolate lab, that was found near the fire station where my son works.  He now has a stable home, and after an evening with him, I can attest to his good character, common sense, and complete obedience.  O.K., the latter, not so much...but the kids are doing a great job with him, and he's quite responsive to commands. (And treats.)

 

Yet another beautiful day in February.  I love it when we have a string of days like this...time to get into the garden and get to work!  This weekend, weather permitting, we'll get some of the initial work done.  I look forward to seeing how the puppy responds to the rototiller.  So far, he's been interested, but not disturbed, by mechanical noises.  Now I just have to teach him not to chew on the roses.  If the deer can leave them alone, surely he can!

February 14, 2013 - Valentines all over!

Deer print in the garden

Barn owl in the rafters

Yet another sunset

Today was a most interesting day, photographically.  I thought I was going to publish photos of all the deer comings and goings out back in the grove.  We've got game trails, spots where they have bedded down for the night (indeed, maybe more "bedded down" areas in the grass than not) and we've got lots of new tracks. 

 

As I headed back into the house, I heard a few soft "thuds" over by the shop.  I went to look, and here was a barn owl, caught in the netted area under the shop overhang.  I have no idea how he got in - most small birds never make it in.  But however he found his way in, he was having no luck finding his way out.  So...I ripped out some of the carefully placed netting, so he could get loose.  Sigh...my husband spent a lot of time on that netting! 

 

But we couldn't leave a barn owl caught - especially when you get a good look at that heart-shaped face.  Hmmm - the deer print is heart-shaped, too.  God provided the valentines today, and topped it off with another beautiful sunset.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

February 13, 2013 - Ash Wednesday

Golden glow at sunset

Altar for Ash Wednesday

Marked as a learning diciple

Today is Ash Wednesday - the day we remember both our mortality (ashes to ashes, dust to dust) and the day we remember our call to discipleship (Repent, and believe the Gospel.)  It is, for me, a day of extreme beauty, richness, and possibility.  Extreme, because of what we are called to - a life that follows Jesus, even as far as the cross, reconciling with one another and with God through Jesus.  The richness is in the symbolism (our mortality and God's promise of immortality through the gift of the Gospel) which itself leads to repentance.  The possibility is in a life made new through that gospel.

 

For anyone who has read this who has not yet understood that my appreciation in the created order is also - indeed is primarily - an appreciation of the One who created all - you are now in on that secret.  I revel in being a part of the created order, made on the day when God declared all things to be "very good."  I also repent, and in repenting, or turning from my self-centered yearnings and strivings, find myself facing Calvary with Jesus.  I don't expect to be crucified - but I do expect that much that is precious to me will be revealed to be of little worth.  Thus, I will need to repent yet again, turn, and follow the One who leads me on level paths, through difficulties and joys, through weakness and strength.  Today, a day of repentance, thus becomes a day of joy and beauty. 

February 11, 2013 - As Things Begin to Sprout...

The first crocus in bloom

Tulips begin to sprout

A new rose bud

Yet another beautiful sunset over the river

Today I spent most of the afternoon outside, puttering in the garden.  Actually, it was a burn day, so I gathered up all the tumbleweed I could get my hands on and got the burn pile started - raspberry clippings, dried debris from the garden, corn stalks, etc.  It's a chore I enjoy - though chasing the tumbleweed and wrestling it out of the fenceline isn't top on my list of things to do...

 

So much is beginning to sprout.  There are tulips and daffodils coming up everywhere!  The trees are all pushing new buds, and the walnut trees were actually dripping sap from the cuts I made last week. 

 

And yet another gorgeous sunset.  (There was one last night, too.)  Are we having more of them this year, or am I just noticing them more?  I have no idea - but I also have no recollection of this much beauty, this persistently present over the river during the winter.  It has been a delight!

February 10, 2013 - Along the Wahluke Slope

Wahluke Slope slide

Juvenile bald eagle

Willows along the slope

Red winged blackbird

Today my husband and I took a drive along the Hanford Reach - the last free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River.  We drove down from the north, and went into the Wahluke Slope region.  Much of this area is typical for eastern Washington - arid lands, with sagebrush, bunchgrass, and few trees.  But there are a number of ponds near the edge of the river, and springs that come out of the hills.  (Some are the result of years of irrigation.)  So, the willows, the marsh birds, lots of ducks and geese, several egrets and cormorants, and at least two bald eagles.  And the red winged blackbirds, which love the cattails and the reeds, and sing all day this time of year. 

 

I think the contrasts are what captivated me most today.  The dry, chalk hills against the vivid blue sky.  The shocking yellow of the willows, counterposed against the faint green of cheat grass on our brown hills.  And the bright colors of the blackbird against the brown and blown cattails.  It was a beautiful drive, on a beautiful day.  

February 9, 2013 - In the Garden at Last!

Yet another beautiful sunset over the Columbia

Later, from the deck

I spent over three hours in the garden this afternoon, pruning raspberries and cutting back old asparagus fern.  The first crocus bloomed today...and no, I didn't have the camera in the garden and wasn't inclined to go get it.  (I was getting far too much done!)  I discovered that the ground out there is the best thing my foot has felt since it got broken...just soft enough to allow movement and just firm enough to be stable.  Three plus hours on my feet wasn't at all difficult, much to my amazement.  And being in the garden, working, is always my goal for February.  Soon it'll be time to till up a few of the garden beds, and begin planting things that can be seeded early in the season.  I always look forward to that.  The rows of garlic have sprouted (indeed, one bed of them sprouted out before winter began) and I look forward to seeing a few more crocuses in the next few days.  Just the yellow ones, right now...but the purples won't be that far behind.  I've seen tulips and daffodils beginning to grow, as well, and the peonies have new buds at ground level.  Oh, how I love February!  And listening to the redwing blackbirds...I could do that all day!  (Not all beauty is visual, after all.)