Talk Thursday: Blogging?

Sadly, no I’ve not been blogging. It hasn’t been for the lack of desire, it has been for the lack of inspiration. Over two weeks ago I began a blog about looking back into Ducky’s family history… complete with pictures. It apparently is still in the draft stages.

Oh, crap. That was several weeks ago, because two weeks ago I took all the pictures for a blog about the Florence Home and Garden Show. Those pictures are still in my camera. Blog not written.

I bought this kewl secretary (Ashley and awesome) for a steal during the radio auction. I let it sit for a few weeks before deciding what to put into it. I opted for my china cocoa set that has been handed down from generation to generation. I photographed it for insurance purposes, because you know I really should do it and my china too. Ducky added his own touches to the display.

So WTF have I been doing with my time? Well let me tell you – I threw my back out. I worked in the garden. Tripped over the dog aka my black - can't be seen in the dark, 93 pound - speed bump and whacked my back more. It’s either that or I ruptured my spleen. Is your spleen towards the back in the left side? What ever it is it friggin’ hurts. Going to my chiropractor did not help. He did say no yoga. Frick. I have been watching a lot of the Housewives of this and that American burg. They make me feel really good about my boring, non-complicated, salt of the earth life. See I’ve been doing nothing, they have inspired me to nothingness. Hopeless. I need to get a life.

But really nothing has been going on. I’m dying to get out in my garden for more than two hours on a Saturday afternoon. I am itching to replace the plants that have died and do something better. I am not itching to pick up the courtyard pavers I laid two years ago and put them in correctly, but I will be doing that this summer. I even may possibly add a new paver style patio in our over grown, windy back yard.

I will leave your with a few pictures of my garden that I took today… which now means
The pictures from the Home and Garden Show are on my computer – I guess I need to be inspired to write another blog.

Sith,
Cele

Wood Chips

Oh dear bloggees, I am falling behind. I still owe you a Talk Thursday, but today…yes, the Monday after it’s time for the Oregon Chainsaw Sculpting Championships in Reedsport. An annual Father’s Day weekend event that Ducky and I never miss.

Officially one hundred and fifty years old on February 14th, Oregon celebrates her 150th birthday all year long. This year’s extreme art extravaganza focused on that sesquicentennial milestone.

The Oregon Chainsaw Sculpting Championships features around 20 chainsaw artist who travel the world competing in the Echo Cup Challenge. Chainsaw artist from not only across the States, but also Australia, England, Japan, Germany, and Sweden vie for the first leg’s points.

This year there were fewer moose, a lot of bears, and a few nautical themed pieces, like Oregon’s Cape Blanco (pronounced Blank-0) Lighthouse.

The majority of main event pieces in the competition drew from a series of Oregon’s historical points

A few whimsical pieces

And I think this is my favorite main event piece.

Each morning the carvers are challenged to a quick carve at 10:30. For forty five minutes they carve what ever the wood blank has told their artist eye is captured in side.

Each evening at 5:30 the pieces are auctioned off. It’s a win, win, win situation for the chainsaw artist, the buyers, and the Reedsport / Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce.
Father’s Day Weekend, next year, be there. Ducky and I will be.

Sith,
Cele

Random Things with photos

And oh look, it’s eleven. I decided to start doing Photo Friday to give me another inspiration for blogging each week. Well wouldn’t you know, they seem to always have topics I can't figure out. That is unless I shoot cars, car parts, and more cars. But because of Photo Friday it made me start carrying around my camera with me. Which lead to several pictures taken while I was out making sales calls last week in old town Florence.

I was able to spend a good portion of last Sunday working on my new cutting garden. It is slow going, the new solar fountain hasn’t been put into place, awaiting Ducky to make a pad to secure it against the wind and … thieves.

In the mean time Ducky’s Lily garden totally rocks. No lilies are blooming yet, that should happen in July and August, but the lupin are most beautimous. Pictures of those tomorrow. Today you get last weekend’s pictures of two of my three chain trees.

And my mother's wild iris to enjoy

Sith,
Cele

My Birdfeeder

Okay, just one of my birdfeeders, because the other should be called a bear feeder. A few weeks ago Fii had some great pictures of birds at her feeder. I remarked that it was just like the last one my dad and mom gave me (extremely amateur birdwatching was something we shared.)

The next morning I hear this knock, knock, or heavy peck, peck at my bird feeder and I am thinking, damn jays. But it wasn’t, a woodpecker was at my feeder. Wow, a woodpeck – I wasn’t certain but I thought it might have been a Hairy, which are fairly common around my woods. Before I can get my camera he is gone, no picture.

As I’m sitting the next morning at my computer and I hear knock, knock, knock (definitely knocking.) I get excited, grab my camera, and run to snap a picture… and it isn’t a woodpecker, it isn’t a stellar jay, no it’s a flicker (cousin to the woodpecker and very, very common in my neighborhood.) My damn batteries are dead. Deader than a door nail. I take them out of my camera, put them in the charger, and then into my camera that night.

No more large birds on my finch feeder. Bummer dude.

Until today, when Ducky getting ready to rip sod out for my new cutting gardens excitedly tells me there’s a woodpecker at my birdfeeder. And a very indulgent one at that. She (I’m thinking) allowed me to walk fairly near to take her pictures.


Now I’m thinking she’s a Three Toed Woodpecker because of the laddering on her back and spots on her wings.

Sith,
Cele

Talk Thursday: The Seeker

Lyn Blossum is alive and well. I look forward to seeing how she uses her topic, because frankly I’m stumped. The seeker? Who? What? Why? Apparently always.

This week I have found myself – yes, seeking out one specific humming bird in the top of the Elm at work my truck is parked under a minimum five days a week. Hummingbirds are around all year long, although some species migrate, Rufous Hummingbirds do not. I first noted him Monday zzzinging, I couldn’t see him, because instead of looking in the tree I was looking everywhere else. Then as I sat in the main production studio, producing Harley’s afternoon show, I spied him perched upon a twig.

Now you ask yourself, “If she was producing out a radio show, what was she doing staring out the window?”

I wasn’t staring, I was zoning out. Why? Because if you don’t have to screen calls, producing a radio show is pretty boring. So there I sat, zoning out, waiting for the moment I was called upon to use my mighty trackball to deactivate the voicetrak, when I espied him. I couldn’t tell if he was a he, a she, a Rufous, or Anna’s Hummingbird. Yes, I do know it was a hummer, because well darn it, he hummed, and thummmmmed, and zzzzinged at me.

Tuesday morning, zoning out the window, there he is again. I’m still not sure what type, but I’m beginning to feel a developing friendship… you know that unrequited, from afar adoration?

I’m pretty certain he was watching me in my window Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday evening.

Thursday he was there, then dancing in the sky. A swooping, soaring bullet zipping through the sky creating sweeps and loops around another hummer.

This morning I was disheartened to see he was not perched in the Elm when I drove up. Several times I noticed I was staring at a vacant tree, no perky little hummer sat a top the elm, and then suddenly he was there. I ran out to grab the station’s camera, and he was gone. The little bugger must be camera shy, for every time I see him he’s gone by the time I return to snap a picture. So I snapped off crocus pictures in the mean while.

Oh, and yes he’s definitely a he and a Rufous, I wish I could get a picture of his beautiful iridescent flame orange throat.

Gracious I must be desperate for blog, this is the loosest interpretation of a topic I think I’ve ever done… But I got the picture.

Sith,
Cele

2008 Reedsport Chainsaw Sculpting Championships

This weekend, well, really starting Thursday, June 12th, was the Ninth Annual Chainsaw Sculpting Championships in Reedsport. The four day event is the first stop on the Echo Cup Challenge circuit. For me and Burp this is a must do event Ducky is suffereing a bad cold so didn't go with us this year, instead my mom went.


The talent comes from across the globe, this year there were several artist from England and Japan, one or two from Canada, Germany, Austraila, and of course many from the states.

This year's Championships carving theme was A Fish Tale. So the main carving pieces held some sort of a fish related theme. My favorites are the ones that weave in comical moose and




bear into the scene,


because really what is a chainsaw carving Championship without a flycasting moose, or a scuba diving bear?







Several carvers drew on real life charactures, from literature, and movies. A splendid sculture of the boy riding the water horse didn't photograph well enough to show you the detail.








A sculptor from Eureka, California captured this wonderful Neptune and a sea serpent.


I thought my mother was going to buy a bench at one point, it would look beautiful on her property. But she walked away without one. Now I am waiting to see if she will go back next year and make up for the one she didn't buy. This one has water fountains in the arm rest.

Overall Burp thought it was a good day, of course that is because it came with exceptionally good hot dogs.

Sith,
Cele

It's not the fence that makes good neighbors, it's the pet

Have you ever thought about your choice of pets? In hindsight? I have a pissy basset, he doesn’t bark at rose killing neighbors, no he just whines to get in to the house, to the treats, to shed everywhere. As Spring awakens, bringing out new flower blooms and new leaves budding on my bushes (well everything except my now dead climbing rose bush) I am questioning my choice of pets.

We just put in a hot tub, one we’ve been giving to each other for several anniversaries--past, present, and future. And damn, I’ve no concealing rose hedge to hid its position in my back yard. There will be no naked cavorting in the bubbly jets. There will be no carnal middle age lust, even in the dark witching hours of 3am, when only owls could see. Why, because my hot tub is open to all who wish to view my backyard (and my new room too) for neighboring backyards for at least a block.

My “neighbor” (doesn’t that word carry a connotation of friendliness and respect?) has no shrubbery (especially not mine) in his backyard. Nada. And his front yard is dead except two Rhodies and he’s pulling one of them out. No, he has one tree and gravel. I shit you not, ¾ gravel for all to see. Quite a tidy (and stark) backyard. Nope, no neighborliness there, nor here. So I am considering my next pet.

A Velociraptor! (I had to ask how to spell it, but I know what they can do.)

I would buy it a yellow bow, to remind me and my “neighbor” of the roses that won’t bloom this May. Maybe a light lavender tether to remind him of the wisteria he should think twice about touching. After I have fed him well on gumpy Hawaiin rejects, I could lend out my Velociraptor for house sitting, it would cut down the volume of vaction break ins, vandalism, and geez—graffiti (although I tend to enjoy the graffiti I see on the sides of the trains in Mapleton.) But think of the city walls, public buildings, and billboard it would save if I lent out my yellow bowed Velociraptor. I like that word, Velociraptor.

So keep me in mind while you’re on your next safari through the want ads or on vacation.

Wanted: 1 male (they’re more territorial) Velociraptor. Yellow bow optional.

Sith,
Cele

Sketch copyright: Edyta Felcyn My Jurassic

Sowing the Seeds of Love, or at least one excuse for my absence from this space

I have been sadly missing from Blogdom. Oh I’ve been flitting around reading all my favorite blogs. I’ve even added a new blog or three to my reading list, some really good ones. But writing down my thoughts, endeavors, rants, and rages…nada. Passing along some new pics. Nix.Nein.Nuthin’.
Why? I’ve been blessed with several good books to critique, and when I’m critiquing that is where the majority of my free time is spend, devouring good and yummy new words that I am sure you someday will get to read.

But sometimes even the most devoted of critiquers has to play or create. Or better yet both! Remember, that path I showed you back in July?

Don’t laugh, it’s still not done. I’m slow and have been putting in just a few rows of pavers a week. That way the cost doesn’t keep me from buying fresh fruit (I already gave up red meat.) Now I’m a few rows…or so…from the finished product. It was less but Ducky liked it so much he wants to extended it about eight feet or so to the forest.


I’m so excited. What began as an inspiration brought on by projects from Sideon and garden pictures from Sacred has become a vision to me. So I have slowly dug my way through the yard and made a lumpy walk way.

A few Sunday’s ago Ducky helped me peeled out all the dead sod from the south side of the walk. I bought some tumbled blue stone to begin a path to my bird feeder (I hope the bear appreciates it.) Began planting Corsican mint around the stones. Bought my first Rubeckia (I hope this one lives), and a little shrub for some winter colour, called a Mirror plant.

Well you say, that won’t make a garden? Nope it won’t. Because my glorious plans are for a Lily garden. Ducky loves lillies. So I have bought 24 lillies so far. Spring and summer blooming, from white to red, pink to orange with a yellow or two thrown in for good measure. Hollyhock will back them. A few bearded Iris are already planted. Then I will throw in Russell Lupin, Gay Feathers, Snap dragons, Nasturtium, a trellis of Morning Glories, and lavender for color fronted by tulips in the winter/spring, and petunias in the summer and autumn.

I am so excited. I have mixed the summer and spring bulbs together so each clump will bloom in both seasons. There are only a few more feet of tulips to plant. I want some new solar garden lights.


And last weekend I went out and bought a small cement bench for the west side of the garden near the birdfeeder. Okay, I’m a sucker for dragons – cute dragons, and this one had a broken arm, so I had to have him.


Now if it was just spring. Things grow sooooo slow.
Sith,
Cele

The Berries are especially good this year

Wednesday morning as I walked out to my truck I stared up at the blue sky and throught what a glorious September day. It had lightly rained the night before, so I’d not had to water. My fuchsias were happy, petunias perky, and my begonia estatic.

As I pulled out of the parking space in front of my house I noticed a line of purple bird blobp!s across the hood of my truck and up the wind shield. They were really hard to miss. Blackberry or huckleberry? And no time for the car wash.

While backing around the corner and shifting into first I noticed a big purple blobp! in the middle of my lawn. Zuzu moves back into her space, I get out and determine that bears no long shit in the woods….OH NO, THEY GO IN THE MIDDLE OF MY YARD.

Big purple blobp!s

When I came home that night it was to find Ducky and Gambler (our neighbor from across the street) congregated in the middle of the lawn searching for Bear Bells amidst the huge purple blobp! Ya, gotta wonder.

I’d not noticed the two bags of tulips I’d not gotten to plant last weekend had been drug out from behind the hydrangea pot next to the front door and left in the middle of the flagstone. Apparently tulip bulbs were not to his taste (lucky me.) I put them back behind the pot, next to the front door and there they have remained.

Despite rain at night, watering my lawn, and gusty winds the bear blobp! is still in the middle of the lawn, soon to transform itself in to a ring of the greenest grass. Now if I could get it to just poop evenly on the really brown spots.

Sith,
Cele

Once Upon A Time...

I was driving down Highway 101 Tuesday morning on my way to the post office and happen to notice a guy on a Sting Ray bike waiting for the light to change. Now that in itself this pretty strange, I mean, who in this day and age rides a Sting Ray bike? It begs a chain of variable questions. I mean really he had to be 25 years old if a day. He was wearing fake leather and had a 36 inch bar chainsaw perched on his shoulder.

Only in Oregon.

Okay, maybe in Washington State. But not in LA. I’m thinking a guy riding a Sting Ray bike wielding a chainsaw would get little attention in LA unless he was cutting down an old growth Sago Palm. It could possibly happen in Texas, but the leather would be real.
NYC? I hardly think, what he was going to chop down the tree in Rockefeller Center? Get real.

Now it must be asked, just where did he think he was going, riding west (within one mile of the ocean) on a prehistoric bike, with a chainsaw? That’s a wee bit of over kill for trimming firewood.

When most people (aka those living outside of the Pacific Northwest, Upper Midwest, or Northeastern portion of the country) imagine in their mind’s eye a logger, they imagine some lumbering oaf, in tattered red and black plaid (kind of Al Borlan with out the nice beard,) who tracks mud and pine needles all over their mommies’ floor (could you imagine Al Borlan tracking anything in on a clean floor?) Most people are expecting the hard working, hard playing lot that they are. Most would never expect to find a chainsaw artist.

The magnificence that can come out of a chainsaw is incredible. From a hulking piece of Sitka Spruce, the beginnings





Give a chainsaw artist a goal and watch the chips fly and the magic come alive

Give a chainsaw artist a goal and watch the chips fly and the magic come alive







This year the Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Championship theme was Once Upon A Time…


Give 50 people a theme and you get 45 different concepts

Since I began going to the Chainsaw Carving Championships I have been in love with the incredible works. But last year I fell in love with the moose.

All year long I’ve wanted a moose. I’ve been eyeing these moose for three years. Last year as we walked back to the truck talking about the works of chainsaw art we’d seen I decided I

wanted a moose. A moose is kind of like men (or snowflakes) each one is different, so choosing is…well for someone as undecided as I am…difficult

So I went with the one with the most ‘tude dude.

The Bear Necessitites

I have this great story I love to tell about the bear at my bird feeder. The story happens at approximately midnight several years ago. I was just disconnecting from the internet, when I noticed a knock at my window.

No seriously a knock.

My pills must have been kicking in (menopause is not conducive to sleep) because I thought it was a bird hitting my window. Right Cele, mid night bird. Well okay a bat.

Right Cele, window, bat. It must have been a rabid bat with bad sonar. But then I noticed my birdfeeder swinging from the eaves and what seems to be that bat passing the window again. So I stood up looked out the window into the face of a bear. A bear, seemingly non-pluss, at my intrusion into his midnight munchies - he immediately went back to taking swings at my birdfeeder with his big bear paw, totally ignoring me. Now I am the center of my universe and I happen to love the silly little bird feeder I made (at my father's instruction) for the Chickedees.

So I rapped at the window with my knuckles. Yeah that stopped the bear for a whole nano second, before he turned back around to continue batting practice with my birdfeeder. So I rapped on the window again, gaining said bear's attention, and growled. I have no idea what on God's green earth induced me to growl, well really roar (because my throat fuckin' hurt after that) but I did. Said bear quit batting practice for the night and left.

I love telling that story, but try to resist including my midnight roaring.





This morning I'm sitting right here, cosy in my typing chair morning cup of coffee in hand, towel on head, when I look over and see. You got it. A Bear. Feeding at the bird feeder my dad built me. I love this bird feeder. I've seen evening grossbeak (oh my god they are beautiful,) Oregon Junco, Brown Headed Cowbirds, Stellar Jays, Red House Finch, Varied Thrush, Towhees, a variety of sparrows and wrens. And that is only the beginning. I love to watch birds, and it is a big thing I share with my dad. So to see this bear - again - at my beloved bird feeder was a... wait for it...

A Treat.

Then I slowly opened the door (which is loud - but he was intent) and snapped two or three more pictures.

Well, shit, then I boldly walked out on to my deck and just snapped away.

Did I mention Non-pluss?

I finally had to beat on my fence with a wooden stake to make him leave....

very slowly...

somewhat sadly...

because there were still sunflower seeds left to be et.