The “Local” Moai

I have always been fascinated with rocks of any kind. Being raised in New England, huge boulders deposited by retreating glaciers are a common sight. Our back yard had several that were larger than a VW Bug; we frequently used them for hiding places while playing hid and seek. So in every sense of the word, I was raised among the rocks.

So you might wonder why I became a forester as opposed to say a stone mason. Well, I also loved trees and fire; as a forester I was able to work with both. Fortunately, a career in forestry also gave me the opportunity to hike and climb on rocks of monstrous proportions, so in a sense I had the best of both worlds.

If I had a bucket list, it certainly would include a trip to the Easter Islands to hike among the giant Moai. The pictures I have seen of them are absolutely breathtaking but a picture only goes so far; there is no substitute for being there!

More Hidden Treasures

These images are a few more "hidden treasures" from my abandoned Pullman rail car project . The more I review the entire collection, it makes me wonder if I should offer them to the local psychologists as an alternative for ink blots. Maybe I could derive a few dollars to reinvest at our local Starbucks.

The eye of the bat

The walking bat

The old warrior

Finding Hidden Treasures

This past summer during my daily bike ride, I would frequently pass this old Pullman rail car. In its day, this car would have been the pride of the rail line, but now it's little more than a pile of rusting metal and rotting wood. In many ways the old car has become an eye sore; most folks pass by and likely just ignore it.

One morning while passing by as the sun lit up the car's side I noticed the most incredible designs that were formed by the peeling paint. I returned several days later with camera and tripod and spent a good deal of time photographing the "mystical beings" that were formed by the paint and rust. Over the course of the next month, I returned to photograph each side of the car and made a couple of hundred images. Over the last few weeks, I edit the number of images down to a couple of dozen have choose the following as two of my favorite "mystical beasts".

Ugly Betty sitting in all here glory

The ice dancers

The archer slaying the two-headed beast

Lurking In The Shadows

I have always been interested in photography; if my memory is correct, I received my first camera in 1965. At the time, I was the proud owner of a Kodak Instamatic ; the thing was build as solid as a brick. That's a good thing because the camera got dropped a lot! The quality of the pictures it produced were also reasonably good considering there was nothing to adjust; just frame and shoot. It's been a long time since life was ever that simple!

I have always been interested in black and white images, especially those with have areas of shadows or reflections. To me, the shadows or reflections add a sense of mystery or intrigue to the photo. In a sense, they are like a bonus, adding an "economic stimulus" so to speak to the photo.

I was headed home last week when I spotted the shadow cast by a sign onto the side of a church in my neighborhood. Over the past twenty-five years I have passed by this church countless times but it never has appeared so intriguing as on this afternoon.

Meals-On-Wheels

Meals-On-Wheels may sound like the name of the latest fast food restaurant, but in reality, it's far from it. Astoria, like many communities nationwide has a program (meals-on-wheels) which delivers a hot meal to residents who are housebound. Typically, those served by the program are elderly and often have limited contact with the world outside of their front door.

During the snowy days in late December, I had the honor on several occasions to assist with the daily deliveries. My job was relatively simple, arrive at the center's kitchen at 9:30 AM, load the 40 to 50 hot meals into coolers, and then stow the coolers in the delivery vehicle. As the assistant, all that is necessary is a strong back and a weak mind. Fortunately, the vehicle driver has been making daily deliveries for a number of years so he knows where to go without aid of map, compass, or GPS. Once the vehicle is loaded, you just follow the driver's cues.

Once started, the process is simple and repeated until all meals are delivered; cross check the individual name and address with the list and be sure if they are a diabetic they get a white bag. I have never looked inside of one, but apparently the diabetic's "goodie bag" is different. I presume that the difference has to do with the type of dessert served, but that's only a guess on my part.

The delivery process seldom takes much more than two hours so it's not a big time commitment. On the other hand, the rewards are priceless! At nearly every stop, you are greeted by someone whose smile of gratitude is truly genuine!

The meals-on-wheels organization also insists that when you volunteer, you must take a meal home with you for your personal enjoyment. After my first time out, I arrived back at the center to find that all the volunteer lunch were marked with your name as shown in the photo. The row of lunch bags marked with each individual's name instantly sent me back to my elementary school days; believe me, that's a long trip!

Baby It's Cold Out There

After nearly four weeks of snow, rain, flooding, and endless cloudy days, the skies finally cleared and the sun returned big time. Despite the sunshine, it's still January and that frequently means cold temperatures. Saturday morning it was a chilly 38 degrees but with the east wind howling, the wind chill made it feel more like 29 degrees.

My mission for the day was to host visitors on the Lightship for two hours and hopefully not freeze to death in the process. When I arrived to "assume command" of the boat so to speak, I checked to be sure that the heater was functioning at full throttle. Since the outside temperature was still brutal, I figured that few if any visitors would venture out from the warmth of the museum. Just as I got settled and was defrosting my frozen bones over the heater, I notice a few hardy souls approaching. The standard procedure is to greet visitors as they hit the deck and to share a little of Lightship's history. My picture of the ship's ensign might give you an indication of how strong the wind was blowing at this point.

Where as the wind was howling and quickly chilled one to the bone, I decided on a new greeting protocol for the day. I simply welcomed visitors into the ship to enjoy the warmth. No one complained and I noticed that most stayed well beyond the typical ten minute visit. I wonder why?

Storm Light and Clouds

If you ever want to experience rapidly changing weather and the opportunities it offers, venture to the Oregon coast during the months of winter or spring. One moment you can be pelted by hail stones and rain that are driven horizontally by the wind. If you brave the onslaught and patiently wait, you might be treated to a brief parting of the clouds as one squall passes and another approaches. In between the squalls, you might luck out and experience "storm light", a brief period when the sky is rich with both color and excitement.

A few weeks ago during a period of stormy weather, I recalled several lines from a 1960s song:

I've looked at clouds from both sides now

From up and down, and still somehow

It's cloud illusions I recall

I really don't know clouds at all

Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell

With those lyrics swirling in my head, I grabbed the camera and headed for the beach to see if it was actually possible to see both sides of a cloud. The three images below were taken within an hour and hopefully give you an idea of what I saw and experienced.

A few minutes of "storm light" as a squall approached from the southwest

The storm pelting the windshield of my truck

Looking to the northeast as the squall passed. Hopefully we are seeing the back side of the cloud