HR last Wednesday

   Wednesday was another morning at Hounds Rest, the temporary shelter for greyhounds when they first arrive to our area.  The hope is that the vetting, exams, shots, and spay/neutering will go smoothly and the dogs will rapidly be adopted to their new forever loving home.
   As of Wednesday, the population at HR was 18.  Six females. and twelve males.  A very nice bunch of hounds.  They all have different personalities but all are hungry for love and attention.  'they lean into you, stick their heads against you to get petting.  It is both a rewarding and kinda sad experience .
    Here are a couple of pics.

This is Red, a very nice female, trying to get petted.

This is the boys side of the kennel.  Avis is in the nearest stall.The

Black Eyed Susans

How can you look at these without smiling?

Visit to Marquam Hill Ranch

A ride in the country on Saturday.  Following the Marion Farm Loop, a brochure describing local rural businesses.  Didn't hit every stop.  Some were closed due to the virus.  The highlight of the trip, though, was Marquam Hill Ranch, only about 10 miles from our house.  Randa and I spent about an hour listening to a young lady who has worked there since December and has learned a great deal.  Alpacas are easier to handle than Llamas, due to size and temperament, and better fleece .  Alpaca and Llamas do not have lanolin in their fleece so it is better and far more valuable.
Here are some photos I took.  It was a good day.

a Momma

a Cria (baby)

The Coast

Thursday Randa and I took a road trip to the coast.  Actually we were picking up blood from a ARC blood drive in Yachats, a quaint little town on the central coast.  We left home an hour or so early so that we would have time to enjoy the views of the Pacific.  The day was spectacular !  Bright sunshine, warm temps, little or no wind.  A "Chamber of Commerce" day.  A day that makes forget the windy, rainy days of winter,  although I personally love them too.  Here are some photos.

We drove over 300 miles that day, but it was well worth it.

Timberline Lodge part 2

As cool as Timberline is on the inside, the view from the outside is even better.


This photo was taken from an odd angle so it is not sinking into the ground.

A view from the inside

Mt Hood 11,235 ft

Mt Hood - Timberline Lodge part 1

Wednesday Randa and I drove out to Hounds Rest because the new dogs are there.  18 new Greyhounds.  With another volunteer we got them taken care of by 11:30.  Nice bunch of hounds.
   We had decided that while we were already east of Portland why not go further east and drive to Mt Hood.  It had been several years since we visited Timberline Lodge.  Timberline was constructed by the WPA and dedicated in September of 1937.  The WPA utilized quality artisans  in all areas.  Wood carvers, weavers for rugs and wall hangings, black smiths for the iron work. The interior is awesome.

This is the front door carving

Notice the size of these beams.  All carved and pegged.  Craftsmanship.

Very comfortable lobby.

This week with ARC

Two trips this week for ARC.  Both into Washington.  Monday was just a short distance north on I-5 (exit 16) in Ilani Casino.  We couldn't believe the number of cars in the parking lot.  Evidently it is doing very well even with CoVid 19.  The location on I-5 half-way between Portland and Olympia helps too.   Picked up 6 boxes at 7:30 and drove back south.
   Wednesday was a longer journey north.  To Aberdeen.   I-5 north to exit 88, then west on Hwy 12 for 40 miles.  Not knowing the traffic situation, we had left with plenty of time and arrived at the VFW hall where the blood drive was being held an hour early.  I checked in and we went to find food.  We returned at our scheduled pickup time (7:15) and they were packing up.  By 7:45 we had packed up, and gassed up and were on the road.  Smooth sailing most of the way.
    We were cruising south on I-5, Randa was drivng, in the fast lane and came upon a green Jeep Compass in the middle lane.  The car in front of us sped up, changed lanes all the way to the third lane, and slowed down until it was alongside the Jeep.  After a few minutes it took off down the road.  I was watching this maneuver and so I saw why the interest.  A silver gas nozzle was sticking out of the gas door on the right side of the Jeep.  It made me smile to think of what might have happened to get this end result.  How do you drive off without putting the nozzle back in the pump?  Did she not pay?  Did she get a receipt?   Was she on drugs or just stupid?

The Fourth

    Pretty Dull Day.  No parades.  No events.  No parties.  No fireworks. ---  Well, no professional fireworks.  However our neighborhood sounded like it was under attack last evening and lasting until after 10 pm.  Canby residents spent a lot of money at fireworks stores in Washington because there were many many large booms and bangs from everywhere around us.  We were going to take the boys for a walk about 10 pm but decided to wait until it quieted down. Finally, at 11 things were almost quiet.
   I have often said if I was going to shoot someone, the 4th would be the day to do it because no one would hear it or pay attention to it.  So beware of the 4th !

Learning

Still learning the new computer and the new and improved Windows 10.  Friday I spent over an hour online "chatting with a tech guy from Microsoft.  I upload photos from my phone to this computer.  Then highlight them and download to this blog.  Well as of Thursday, I started getting a error message saying that Blogspot did not accept the photo JFIF format.  JFIF ?  I had saved it in JPEG.  Or at least I thought I did.  So after "chatting for a while I found out that Windows 10 sometimes saves photos in the Jfif format ("They are both active formats, just some programs don't recognize the Jfif one.  " How do I fix this so it doesn't do this again?"  "It is an easy fix just create a (.txt.) file and copy the following  into that file. ')  He then typed a line of letters and symbols and slashes and some more instructions.   Easy huh?
    After looking at his response I my thought was "There's no way this is going to happen."  But Tai, the tech, chatted me through it.  So I am back on top.  :)

A Hydrangea from our yard.                                                      Salvia microphylla Kunth   Baby sage

it and " we constructed a patch to keep this from happening again.

Red Cross

   Keeping busy is important.  The American Red Cross is helping with that.  ARC gives us a chance to get out of the house while doing something that is good for the community.  We could go crazy and be on the road nearly every day, but we have set a limit of no more than two days per week.  This week we picked up at two blood drives.  Wednesday in Albany and yesterday in Salem.
   There are two options,  use your own vehicle or use one of Arc's rigs.  You have probably seen the white vans with the bright red cross on the them driving around your area.  The older ones are Dodge Caravans and the newer ones seem to be the Ram mine vans.  Not fancy, but functional.  Both of us are official Red Cross volunteers so either one of us can drive the ARC vehicles. 
    We use our Prius for the short runs and the ARC vehicles for long trips or trips that include two pickup locations.  Our last "double" turned out to be 11 boxes.  Too many for the Toyota.
    Next week we drive into Washington.  Ilani Casino in Ridgefield, WA about 30 miles up I-5 from Portland.  Wednesday is a long trip.   We have a 7:15  pm pickup at the VFW hall in Aberdeen, WA.
150 miles. 
    Trying to arrive at the locations "on time"  ( not too early, not too late) takes some planning.  If we take an ARC vehicle there is an hour drive into the ARC headquarters.  Then add the travel time to the location.  Route and time of day all figure in the time calculation.  Portland traffic and especially I-5 traffic can be frustrating.  I was 25 minutes late once because an traffic snarl on I-5 going through Wilsonville.  The blood drive crew were not happy waiting for me but they understood.
     So both deliveries next week involve driving north on I-5 in the afternoon.  Not Good!  Traveling to Washington requires crossing the Columbia River.  Lots of traffic.  Only two bridges.  Always a slow drive, but worse at commute times.  So we will have to figure that into the planning.  If there was only was a magic logarithm, like the tv shows always have.  I let you know how it goes.