The Towhee
December 21, 2016
The Towhee Needles of sleet fell all throughout the night And the towhee pecks at the hardened crust, Seeking the moist carpet of leaves below. But it is too deep. Only the memory Of his … More The Towhee
Tag: nature
Pictures At An Exhibition
December 7, 2016
I saunter along Hood River’s waterfront, raising my hand to greet other codgers and dog walkers. Silently, we share the companionship of fortitude. They, like me, are determined to exercise. It’s a commitment undeterred by dreary weather as Oregon transitions from autumn to winter. I do dreary quite well. My recovery from cancer related pneumonia motivates … More Pictures At An Exhibition
National Parks
August 27, 2016
Recently, just prior to my “close call” with pneumonia, my wife and I traveled to Olympic National Park in Washington State. Two friends from Seattle joined us for the trip. We stayed together at Lake Crescent Lodge, which is located just inside the east boundary of the park. Our history with national parks is long and … More National Parks
Picking Blueberries
July 9, 2016
Recently, my wife and I visited a U-pick blueberry farm in the upper Hood River Valley. Our son and granddaughter joined us to help with the harvest. Upon arrival, mourning doves crooned in the surrounding forest. A smear of clouds waltzed across the summer sky. An acre of mature bushes, loaded with ripe fruit, beckoned. … More Picking Blueberries
Buying Time
May 14, 2016
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” Omar Khayyam Morning: I wash dishes. In front of me, through a window opening to the east, I watch a nuthatch spiral up the trunk of our lilac bush. Rays of sunlight pierce the trembling leaves, and the bird’s eyes wink like sequins. Later, I’d … More Buying Time
The University of Cancer, Part 3
April 5, 2016
I tried to get ahead of spring in late January. I prepped my flower beds with bags of topsoil. I stirred the mucky surface saturated with winter rain. Then, I got sick. One acute upper respiratory infection after another slowed me down. These, paired with a harsh treatment regimen for my cancer, made yard work difficult. Spring … More The University of Cancer, Part 3
Cabin Fever
February 1, 2016
Recently, I walked along Hood River’s waterfront. The path I take is 3.5 miles out and back. The fresh air acts as an antidote to the cabin fever that persists during Oregon’s winter months. The Port Commission has patiently developed this resource over the last three decades. Another decade of fine tuning should bring the … More Cabin Fever
Simber, Fruit Loops, and Frankie
September 8, 2015
San Francisco is my hometown. My brother Tom and his wife Karen, still live there above Golden Gate Park. Their house perches against the slope of Mount Sutro Forest. Wild animals of this urban wilderness cruise through their backyard. Parrots, skunks, opossum, and a coyote or two make their home in the dense woods. The … More Simber, Fruit Loops, and Frankie
Wildfire
August 18, 2015
In the mid-summer of 2015 when all of Oregon seemed to be on fire, the view from our home of the mountains was to the north in Washington, beyond the border of the rolling Columbia River. There, above the peaks of the barren foothills, a plume of smoke from a wildfire in the Indian Heaven … More Wildfire
Silver Falls
August 10, 2015
We were late before we started. The pecking of my wife’s hiking poles on gravel tick-tocked away the time in Silver Falls State Park. We’d chosen to rent a cabin there for a mid-summer’s getaway. Our creaky bodies appreciate day hikes as opposed to backpacking, an activity for which our future is behind us. So, … More Silver Falls
Good Blood, Bad Blood 