A Christmas Wish

Reindeer Meatballs.

Seriously.

Another Pavilion Makeover

The buzzing of chainsaws yesterday marked the end of a couple of old Pavilion fixtures. Two huge cherry trees which had grown from *this* side of the property line, through the fence and leaned back over onto this property, finally met their demise. Apparently the next door neighbor got sick of them too and chose to spend the bucks to get rid of them. Having observed the wild growth of these trees over the last several years, I learned that cherry trees are very aggressive. They're like weeds of the tree world. They aren't content to enjoy a relatively solitary existence, like their other fruit-bearing cousins. This breed of cherry tree was constantly trying to send up new sprouts all over the place. Apparently they have an extensive root system that creeps up everywhere, seeking a new foothold. Now that they're gone, there's a beautiful view of the sky which hasn't been seen here for a long time. Those trees will be missed ..mostly by local birds and raccoons.

The October Country - Needle Storm

It's already that time of year again...

On The Morning Of This Day

On the morning of this day, six years ago, my dad finally passed on after a long struggle with Alzheimer's.

As was intended in my post about Dad last year, this entry is not just intended to commemorate his departure, so much as it is about remembering him and his accomplishments. He was a true engineer. Whenever I'm up against a technical problem, I always ask myself: "What would Dad have done to remedy this?" Although I don't possess a knowledge-base remotely close to his, I can often work through things just by imagining how he might have approached a particular situation. One talent I will always give him immense credit for, is how if he was up against something beyond his experience, he wouldn't hesitate to find a book on the subject, or pick up the phone. He loathed beginning any project in a half-assed way. That very principle often frustrated me in my years of.. 'youthful impatience' but various experiences since then have led me to appreciate that way of thinking. - Yep!

Another remarkable thing my dad was known for, was his ability to improvise with materials on hand. To this I must add though, he normally wouldn't ever improvise if doing so would compromise the overall reliability of the finished project. In fact, due to this stubborn ethic, there were many times where his improvisations became actual improvements on whatever the thing was supposed to be or do. He had a gift for looking at a constructed object or device and somehow know what its tolerances were. If dad ever said: "That's a piece of junk not worth fixing," he was always right, ..but very often he was able to fashion a superior replacement part for a broken device. (See last year's post.) Stuff that Dad fixed never seemed to need further repairs; at least involving his previous workmanship. If a little hand-milled aluminum ring did the trick, that one component would most certainly outlive the integrity of the rest of the gadget.

It's true that my dad wasn't a major "people person," but his most oft repeated advice about dealing with people was: "If they don't want to (insert situation) hire you / deal with you / refund your money / etc, then you have to.. POUND THE TABLE!" Of course I know he didn't mean that literally. In fact, Dad preferred to avoid personal and business-related confrontations as much as possible. I believe that was his own way of saying "The squeaky wheel gets the oil" - or whatever. His unique way of expressing that lives on among us in his family and others who knew him. It has even become a bit of inside joke of ours, yet the wisdom behind the message applies just as much today as ever. In this world of so many digital phone menus and faceless transactions, it's all too easy to get lost or trampled over in the background static. Sometimes you just have to.. pound the table!

I haven't forgotten that, Dad.

If anyone wants to add a comment to this or about Dad in general, just click on the blue "Comments" link right below this sentence.

The Phoenix Has Landed!

Recognizing the achievement and the ingenious people who made it happen...


When I look at those JPL geeks hugging, high-fiving each other and crying, I think about how incredible it is when people come together like that over something truly noble. It's not about political victories, who won the latest sports game or who is presently ahead in one of the numerous mind-sucking "reality TV shows." Exploration is what defines humans. Gathering knowledge in hopes of answering those eternal questions about why we're here and if we're alone in the universe.

They made their way to the outer rim of the dreaming dead city in the light of the racing twin moons. Their shadows, under them, were double shadows. They did not breathe, or seemed not to, perhaps, for several minutes. They were waiting for something to stir in the dead city, some gray form to rise, some ancient ancestral shape to come galloping across the vacant sea bottom on an ancient, armored steed of impossible lineage, of unbelievable derivation.

--"And the Moon Be Still as Bright"
(The Martian Chronicles) --Ray Bradbury

In Honor Of A Pavilion Guard

Last Monday was a sad one here at The Pavilion.

Recently "Mike The Cat" had been experiencing a lot of visible pain while trying to eat.

Based on a medical exam from last week, it was believed that he had an abscessed tooth that needed attention. Meanwhile, I fed him a diet of baby food and/or a tuna fish 'gruel' that I blended up in a food processor. Monday morning I brought Mike to the vet for what was supposed to be fairly "routine" oral surgery.

Mike was sedated for the procedure and then while under general anesthesia, his heart stopped and he couldn't be revived. The vet called just a couple of hours after I dropped him off, to tell me what had happened. To her credit, she sounded genuinely sad and regretful.

Next month, Mike would have been around for 10 years. He was still very lively and robust. I never doubted he had at least a few more good years left, so this was a shock. I'm having a surprisingly rough time with it. I keep expecting to see Mike in all of the usual places around the house; greeting me on the front porch or scratching to get into the office room. I know this sense of displacement is how I'll be feeling for some while to come. Now I understand what people say about how losing a pet can hurt like losing a (human) family member.

Truth be known, I was never much of a cat person before I became responsible for Mike, as expressed in this little online tribute I wrote about him, nine years ago:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A brief word about cats.. and "Mike The Cat"

I never truly disliked cats per say.. But as an admittedly biased dog person, I have previously viewed cats as being generally useless, often annoying and somewhat over-rated as a (supposedly) domesticated species. ..However, after getting stuck with "Mike," I've come to reconsider my take on the little bastards.

Mike is definitely possessed of a distinct personality that goes beyond his inherently clever instincts to dispose of his own bodily wastes and thin out the local bird population.

Like any intuitive room-mate, he cracks me up when I need it, or respects my space accordingly ..He clearly lets me know if I'm intruding on his territory!

He has also demonstrated being an eerily accurate gauge of human character. - Apparently better than I am at times.

Mike tends to avoid close contact with new human acquaintances until he is comfortable with their nature and overall intentions. (Possibly a wise idea, eh?) There is no mistaking if Mike approves of someone, but if he maintains a permanent distance, it's likely proven later to be for a good reason."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Those who also knew this funny old cat in person all agree that Mike was a unique character, as evident in the numerous sympathy messages I have received.

He is and will always be seriously missed here at The Pavilion.

Rest easy buddy and thank you for being my friend.

"Auntie Em, it's a Twister!"

Yesterday, there was considerable "tornadic activity" right across the Columbia river, in Hazel Dell, Washington. That's just a stone-toss away from The Pavilion. Although there was significant property damage, fortunately there were no injuries, unlike the tornado that struck the same area in 1972, and killed six people. According to weather records, tornadoes are very rare around here but this region actually does experience an average of two "funnel clouds" per year but we rarely hear about them as usually no damage results. What's interesting to me is (having personal, albeit a child's recollection of the '72 tornado in WA, and other touch-downs in recent years) is that when they do hit and cause noteworthy damage, it's always right across the river on the Washington side. Is that coincidence? Some slight variation of temperatures and/or geography at work? Maybe tornadoes have a vendetta against people who live in the Vancouver, Washington area... My dad used to bitch about Washington drivers. Lately I hear/read people referring to Vancouver as "Vantucky," which probably isn't intended as a compliment... In any case, Southern Washington (Vancouver & Hazel Dell to be precise) seems to be the Pacific Northwest's answer to Tornado Alley.

Hello 2008

As it's still January 1st in the time-space coordinates of The Pavilion...














HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hurricane Force Winds and LOTS of Rain

For the most part, the storm made good on it's potential, with the NW coastline being hardest hit by the winds. Peak gusts along the Oregon coast were recorded at 129 MPH leaving widespread power outages with whole towns cut off by flooding and downed trees across roads.










Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski declared a state of emergency because of the wind and flood damage. Although the inner regions were spared most of the wind's fury during this go-round, the sudden rise in temperature combined with massive amounts of rainfall caused mudslides and flood stages in numerous areas. Many roads are now impassible. Even a 20 mile section of the I-5 near Chehalis, WA is totally closed at this time.










Check out the links below providing a remote overview of the 'catastrophe'.. with updates, photos and video:


State Of Emergency Declared In Oregon

Hurricane-Force Winds

High Winds, Rain Cause Major Problems

Floodwaters Submerge Roads, Isolate Towns

Landmark Sitka Spruce Succumbs To High Winds

Amtrak Service Shut Down


Here at The Pavilion, the grounds are very wet. Fortunately that's the full extent of the storm's effects. Whew!

It's That Season Again

The weather 'experts' are prognosticating yet another terrible wind storm; one which supposedly could rival some of the worst wind storms of the past. As I write this, there are actually two individual, predicted tempests that could wreak havoc; almost certainly along the Oregon coast and quite possibly all the way into the Willamette Valley. The first one is expected to arrive some time this morning (Sunday, December 2nd) and the next one later this evening, possibly stronger than today's and going into tomorrow morning (Monday, December 3rd.) Most long-time area residents know to consider these over-hyped predictions of late with appropriate skepticism.. but we also know that the Pacific Northwest is capable of producing some memorable weather events once in a while. As I write this, local conditions are still mellow. Calm as can be for that matter. We'll see what happens -or not.

Happy Thanksgiving 2007

Giving Thanks. -At least before the mass hysteria which these days passes for Christmas sets in..

Happy Halloween and/or Samhain!!

The truly scary thing is how fast this year went by..

Still-Frames of Autumn

I wanted to present some images of autumn at The Pavilion, for my cousin D.T. who is currently located in a harsh place. I could never fully know what his present environment entails, but hopefully I can share with him here, a peaceful visual of his home that awaits him. Dealing with the fallen leaves and Ponderosa needles each year can be a slight bitch, but God knows it's an easy responsibility compared to what so many others have to shoulder.

Fall arrives at The Pavilion:























































































Yep, R.H. had another successful hunt. I just
don't care for the way it stares back at me.

Summer of '07 Round-Up

Offered here for your viewing pleasure are a few images (and comments) depicting thus far, some events from summer of 2007 at and around The Pavilion...

A memorable sunset over Nehalem Bay

A frisky deer at Nehalem Bay State Park

The Big Clean-Up and some other stuff

As indicated in previous posts, The Pavilion requires no small amount of yard maintenance on a yearly basis. In early July, R.H. and I along with the help of his old friend Rad, took on the task of gathering and hauling three truck-loads worth of plant debris that had accumulated beneath one of the trees in the back yard, along with various odds and ends from other foliage in different locations. The following is a "before & after" visualization of that little project...

Quite a difference eh?

Moments following the end of July 4th festivities, as seen from Milwaukie

What cats do when it gets hot. They take long siestas