Heat wave: One more day of searing sun before a slight cool down

Heat Wave

Another Exciting Yardwork Story

Some time in a long past decade, two trees that were growing alongside The Pavilion, gave up and died. For some unknown reason their trunks were cut down to around six feet and allowed to remain standing. That wasn't the end of the story for those trees. In fact they moved on to a new life. Of sorts. They became home to a hungry, fast growing ivy colony. The ivy flourished and thrived on the flesh of the dead trees. Over the years the ivy crept upwards, clinging to the wood and formed a huge dense bush that sprouted some little flowering buds that emerged every late summer. Long whip-like 'branches' grew from the top of the mass and hung down towards the ground, requiring a major trim at least twice each year. As the person who always did the trimming, I came to despise that stuff a little. Those tendrils were surprisingly thick and rubbery. They resisted electric shears and cutting through them with "loppers" was a time-consuming, tedious chore. In recent years I noticed that the dead trees hosting the ivy were beginning to lean towards the side of the house, being slowly pulled down by the weight of all of that parasitic vegetation. A few weeks ago there was a shower of thick, wet snow. It didn't stick around long but just long enough to assist the vine growth in pulling the dead trees down. The space along the side of the house became totally blocked off due to the huge cluster that had tipped over. Fortunately my neighbor-buddy Dale came by a few days later with his power winch and we were able to rip the dead trees out of the ground. The ivy fought back though. It had a death grip on the trees and the ground beneath. It took me a couple of more days of work which finally resulted in Dale's 25 foot flatbed trailer loaded to the limit with tree trunk sections and a massive tangle of vines that we hauled away to a landfill site that accepts large amounts of yard debris. Now there's a large open space between The Pavilion and the house next door. As much as I disliked the ivy, it did actually serve as sort of a "good neighbor fence" where it had been growing along the property line. So ironically, I kind of miss it now since for so long it had hid the neighbor's back porch, which with all the clutter isn't a pretty visual....

A Word Of Thanks...

A Different Kind Of UFO Report

This is a sad development for a couple of different reasons. In spite of being known for a lively and diverse music scene, Portland has a truly crappy selection of radio stations. -At least as far as the Rock n Roll music category goes. Now it just became a bit worse. It's true that one can't expect much from Corporate Radio, which is the norm these days. One can expect to hear the same songs played over and over again, sometimes hearing the same one replayed within an hour or two. Those redundant play-lists along with the massive amount of time taken up by commercials is what I loathe about Corporate Radio. I miss the old days when my favorite local stations were privately owned and operated. In this era of MP3s, satellite radio and internet podcasts, it would seem that there isn't as much interest in plain ol' music coming over the airwaves anymore. I do enjoy the convenience of being able to load my own play-lists on my computer or playing CDs, but at heart I'll always be a radio person. Even with the annoying commercials, I enjoy letting the radio station surprise me by what comes on next and letting the DJ handle the job of spinning the tracks, while I am involved with my own thing and not being tied down to my computer or a set of earphones. Whenever I'm driving, the radio is always a component of that activity. I'd go crazy without it. Now I will be deleting my most used car stereo preset. Yesterday my favorite FM rock station, 101 KUFO FM was killed off without any prior warning. Now it will serve as a conservative news station, hosting the likes of Glenn Beck and Lars Larson, a local blowhard/Rush Limbaugh wannabe. As if those gasbags weren't already getting enough airtime on the AM dial, now listeners will be treated to hearing their hateful pontifications in stereo. How nice. I'm already missing those repetitive play-lists. Another aspect I'll miss is discovering new artists that I might have otherwise never heard of. The other local rock station 92.3 KGON, plays a strictly "classic rock" format, that much of which I don't mind and even used to be really into, but it shares the same Corporate Radio stigma of badly lacking in variety. KGON has been around since I was a kid and used to be privately owned. Now I think of it as the "Official Tom Petty / ZZ Top Station." In a few hours of listening, you'll feel like you're stuck in a time loop spanning the 70s to the early-to-mid 80s. I can handle only so much of that. A DJ who once worked at KUFO, wrote a decent little epitaph for that station. Other (former) KUFO listeners have been voicing their displeasure over this abrupt termination. There are some examples to be found here and here. An online forum dedicated to Portland radio is discussing it here.

Screenshot from the former KUFO website

You'll be missed. For the most part.

Winter Redux

Indeed, it has returned for a spell.
Current temp here at The Pavilion: 23 F

As funnyman Dave Salesky, who also moonlights as KATU's meteorologist predicted:

"By early Friday morning it will be 21 degrees in Portland. The high temperature in the city for Friday will only be 35 degrees. The frigid temperatures will continue into Saturday. That day’s low will be 19 degrees and it will only reach 34 for a high. Friday’s expected low temperature will break the previous record of 23 degrees in 1969, and Saturday’s low temperature will break a 1962 record of 20 degrees."

UFOs Over Washington

It's been many years since I used to faithfully listen to Art Bell, just about every night...

Back then I held a night job as a field rep/courier for a local convenience store chain and the radio in my company car was my best friend. It was during that time when I discovered "Coast-To-Coast AM With Art Bell". His live radio program started every weeknight at 11:00 PM. By that hour, I was racking up the miles, burned out on listening to music and ready for something different to keep me alert behind the wheel. Art Bell never failed to be entertaining --and even informative. By informative, I mean he always began his program with a summary of current events in the news. That is, usually anything that was politically provocative or just plain unsettling. Art had a penchant for scary stories. His voice had a subdued intensity, a tone that seemed to convey impending doom mixed with equal parts dry sarcasm and solemn exasperation. The rest of his radio program included taking un-screened calls from listeners all over the USA. Politics were a major subject of discussion, which frequently led to chats of Black Helicopters and general topics involving any number of government conspiracies or cover-ups. Back in those days, the internet was rapidly becoming available in average homes. This added a new dimension to the program, as Art's callers often said things like: "It's true, cuz I read all about it on the internet!" Many callers frequently expressed fear of a UN takeover, "New World Order," and/or the coming collapse of civilization due to the Y2K scare. Understandably, many people considered a lot of Art's listeners and callers to be of the "Tinfoil Hat Wearing Crowd," but damn, that stuff was often quite entertaining. Listening to Art Bell, late at night while driving my company car on back country roads, the soft glow from the dashboard created a sort of 'creepy story around the campfire effect.' I definitely enjoyed it when Art covered spooky, paranormal topics. Apparently this worked well for him, as his program moved away from politics and became almost totally devoted to the "Tinfoil Hat" material.

I won't go into the rest of Art Bell's history, as anyone can read about him elsewhere. I did get to meet him once (really nice guy in person) and I still miss his radio presence, since his most recent retirement.

The following article and video addresses something that Art Bell fans would likely be very interested in. I know quite well that it's easy to perpetrate a UFO hoax that even the local media will cover. Nowadays, RC Toys like miniature planes and helicopters outfitted with lights could easily make aerial spectacles, especially at night, that could appear as totally unworldly. I'm sure not ruling that out in this case, but what really interests me much more than the blurry video, is the comment by Ms Patterson, about "Four fighter jets went screaming overhead" (presumably) into the airspace of the UFO and when later questioned by local media, the AFB denied scrambling any fighters that night. Huh?? You guys either launched some jets that night... or not. Maybe Ms Patterson hallucinated that part, or in her elder years, enjoys making up stories to the local media?

Sounds like an X-File to me, Scully. ;-)

In the embedded video, you also get 2 UFO stories for the price of 1. The first story is about a UFO (Unidentified Falling Object.)

**One thing that continues to irritate me a lot is the snickering, guffawing of most media talking-heads, whenever this sort of story is aired. Imagine if they (news anchors) were allowed to emote their own feelings so freely on any other stories they cover? (Okay, so that happens daily on "Fox News.") It's for this very reason I'd bet more honest people don't come forward with their own accounts of things that don't make easy sense to the mainstream media.

For what it's worth, the talking heads on KATU were (as far as I know) the only local station to cover this story. Good job. However, they made themselves look foolish with their closing buffoonery. With Weatherman Dave Salesky leaning down into his hand, doing a nasally E.T. impression, the story wrap-up was so painfully predictable.


Residents see Flying Saucer over Vancouver Washington




**Update! It WAS another RC toy hoax; in this case, a radio controlled helicopter!

Dueling Chainsaws

Yesterday a final milestone of progress with an ongoing project, was reached here at The Pavilion.

I'm happy to report 99% of the remaining timber from the pine tree(s) cutting of 2010, was carved up and hauled away. Although the final completion of the job took longer than I'd envisioned (almost a year in the works) I was able to help a neighbor friend (Dale) out who needed some firewood and do so without the hassle and expense of renting a wood splitter. I had also farmed out some of the wood to another nice guy (Stan) who came by again yesterday with his chainsaw and splitting maul, to help get it all done. Also another neighbor friend (Dustin) came by with his quad, which was so instrumental in towing the wood-laden trailer out of the back yard. We worked from early morning until late afternoon, taking advantage of the mostly sunny weather. All that remains are 3-4 wood wedges that Dale couldn't have possibly squeezed into his trailer, one large stump base that is slated to be cut into "souvenir disks" and a couple of rather huge piles of sawdust that I will continue gathering up.

With all of that wood out of the way now, I can begin focusing on the regular yard maintenance that needs so much attention every spring. Mowing the lawn at least, will be easier though, not having to weave around all of the trunk sections and hopefully now those insidious blackberry vines won't be getting such a toehold. I truly loathe those things, in all their nasty evolutionary perfection. Once in a great while I have the satisfaction of ripping them out of the soil, roots and all, but all too often they just break off an inch or so beneath the surface, soon to emerge again with renewed, vigorous intent. Quite possibly they share a chuckle with the Holly Bushes and Ivy Vines, my other sworn chlorophyll-based enemies with whom I do annual battles.

Chapter 2011

2010... all but gone

The passing of a decade doesn't feel the same in this, the 21st century.

I recall New Years Eves of the past, like 1979-to-1980 and 1989-to-1990, which seemed like huge and exciting milestones at the time. Something about those years with numbers beginning with 19 made 12-31 feel monumental. The countdown to the new millennium - and a new pair of preceding digits. Now that we're here in this century, ("the aughts") the end of a decade feels quite undramatic. The celebration of it seems even a tad superfluous. Why is that? Yeah, so we had some new distractions like iPads, Teabaggers, The BP Oil Geyser, Lady Gaga, Haiti and WikiLeaks, understandably 2010 wasn't a very pleasant year for a whole lot of people. In my opinion, 2010 won't be missed much and may even earn a place in history as being a remarkably depressing end-note to the first decade of the 21st century.

The local/home environment that I'm taking care of, known as "The Pavilion," has witnessed an interesting year as well. It began with D.T. overseeing the removal of the two massive pine trees on the property (previous pictures) and the subsequently huge job of cutting, disposing of and storing all of the timber the tree service laborers had left behind. At the time of this writing, I can finally say that most of the timber has been spoken for, although there remains a lot of cutting, stacking and storing to do. The tree removal is still the biggest (ongoing) 2010 story here.

Ponderso limbs finally gone!

Given that this winter is likely to be wilder than usual, I'm very grateful in knowing that there are two less potentially destructive problems to worry about...

Seasons Greetings!

From The Pavilion Guard - In Port Townsend, Washington

Rare and Destructive Oregon Tornado

Luckily a safe distance away from The Pavilion, outside of Salem:

Tornado cuts a path 5 miles long across Oregon

Photos, video and extended coverage of the Aumsville tornado

Early Taste Of Winter

I'm glad I had already winterized The Pavilion this year. The foundation vents are sealed and the plumbing is insulated. Just a week ago, even while cutting firewood, none of that seemed at all necessary yet.

Then And Now

Just A Summer Update With Pictures

Recently our good neighbor buddy Dale enlisted the help of a cohort, who owns a much needed Hydraulic Log Splitter. An uncommonly wet spring and early summer led to a late start in dealing with the wood from the now deceased, massive pine trees that were previously felled, here at The Pavilion. As of this entry, those trees (their remnants anyway) are still having the last word. Even with the aid of the splitter, it's extremely slow going, due to schedules and the sheer size of the job itself. After one full day and trailer load worth of splitting, the trunk sections from the Ponderosa are still dominating that side of the front yard - and we have barely started on the pine rounds in the back yard! It may very well take the rest of this year to get the job done, but we're making progress. Here are some scenes featuring Dale and his friend Dick (in the yellow shirt) who was so cool to share his gadget with us. Don't miss the exciting video at the bottom!

Before & After

This less-than-effective morphing video below, shows the major difference without the trees. All that remains is a deliberately left behind, standing section of Ponderosa trunk - and lots of potential firewood on the ground... An immense project in itself.

Here are some assorted shots, illustrating the removal process and the ballsy skills of the tree cutter. Definitely not a job for an acrophobic.

Goodbye Old Friends...

With D.T. here visiting on-leave, the decision was finalized to remove the two 100 + ft Pine trees, due to their inherent risk to The Pavilion and other nearby properties. Yesterday, it occurred to me that along with other absurd remarks one never hears like: "Hand me that piano," I can't recall the last time someone said: "Oh, it looks so much nicer now, without those trees there."

Here are some shots of the morbidly interesting 'euthanization' process, up to where the tree 'specialists' left off on Sunday. They should be done with the Pine today and then commence work on the Ponderosa.

(Click images to enlarge)

Happy New Year From The Pavillion Guard

Snow Arrives At The Pavillion

Related Stories:

Portland Tribune

KOIN.COM

Transit Agencies Struggle To Keep Up

Across The Miles

God Jul, Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings and Happy Festivus!

From Port Townsend, Washington