Tiger Lillies

Tiger Lillies at the Fish Hatchery

Estate Sale

Went to an estate sale on Friday.  It was a "guy sale".  The sale of household items was the previous week-end.  Some of the items on sale at this event were two drill presses, two band saws, two chop saws, one planer, one belt sander.  Plus loads of tools and other equipment.   

Here are two cool pieces.  One runs.  The other does not. 

Sweet Peas

The edge of Robins Island are lined with Blackberries and flowers.  Sweet peas are some of them.

Wake up

Yesterday morning I woke up with a start.  I heard Randa say, "If you want to leave at 9 today, you better get up."  I was awake just just like that.  We were driving into Canby that morning for an appointment with Randa's doctor.  Only she never said that.  She was fast asleep.  I woke her to ask why she yelled at me.  Her sleepy reply was, "I was asleep.  I never said anything.  You just woke me up. 
      It seemed very real to me.  And funny too.

Lampreys

Lampreys are very old fish that are native to the Columbia River.  They are parasitic and attach themselves to fish for a while and then move on.  They hatch in freshwater swim out to sea for years and then return to rivers to breed.   This herd is them piled together resting up to resume their journey upstream.

A close up of their mouths.  An interesting mosaic, don't you think?

Bonneville Hatchery

Visited the Bonneville Hatchery yesterday.  We have been here a month and this is the first time we have visited the hatchery.  We had a free day yesterday so decided it was time.  Walked around the grounds.  Visited the various ponds.  Enjoyed the many beautiful flowers.  Said hi to Herman the Sturgeon.  

Tug in Lock

This is a very large group of barges (lashed together) being pushed through the locks.   It is a very tight fit ( like a few feet clearance on each side.  The tug comes out slowly and the operator used his thrusters to get the bow of the barges to start moving starboard.  (to the right).  Another 10 minutes and he will be chugging, full speed, down the river heading for Portland. 

Shipping

This is one of the mega-barges that use the Bonneville Locks.  There is just a couple of feet of clearance on either side. The lock is 675 ft long and 86 ft wide.   Adding 60 ft of water to reach the upper water level requires 28 million gallons.  It takes only 9 minutes to acvomaccom this.  Do the math.  It's pretty incredible.

Flowers of Bonneville

Sweet Peas growing at the edges of Robins Island.

Purple

In my neighborhood.

Morning view

The rainy, cloudy weather has passed, at least for a while, and the sun is going to be visible for a while.  Hooray!!  High 80s today and low 90 for the next two days.   The 90 degree temps are a bit unusual for the Pacific Northwest.  I just overheard a conversation and the person was going to cancel her 9am golf  date because of the temperature forecast.  🤔

Enjoy summer.😎

Flower

More beauty on Robins Island.

Tremors

Scary, huh?    Actually a Pacific Lamprey

Memorial Day at the Dam

It was busy, busy weekend.  We worked Saturday thru Monday.  Lots of visitors.  Families.  LARGE Families  I would watch these "troops" file through the front door.  3 and 4 generations.  It was fun to see.  The Columbia Gorge is beautiful, interesting place.  Full of waterfalls, trails. campgrounds, rivers, fish hatcheries and, of course, dams.  Several days of adventure can be had for little or no money.  A great place to visit and explore.

Greenery