Visitors = Summer Fun!

 This week we had a convergence of five visitors, all friends of mine going back to the 70's.  Gabriel came up from Vallejo, coming over from Salem with Bob and Mary. Coming up the coast in their very well restored VW camper were Lon and Linda from Glen Ellen.  Linda and I were co-group leaders in the adolescent program at Napa State Hospital in 1973.  I met Gabriel earlier that year in Atascadero when he was visiting my neighbors there.  Mary was a rehab therapist on my ward, and Bob worked in the program as a psych tech like me.  Lon and Linda had been living in Bali, but when coming back last year to check on their house, became stranded by COVID restrictions and are still awaiting to return to their home in Bali.

From left to right: Mary, Lon, Gail with Daisy, Linda, Bob, and Gabriel

We were having a heat wave during the 3 day visit, so a trip to our favorite beach, Ocean Beach, was in order.  The temperature on the coast was about 30 degrees cooler than at our house 8 miles inland.

                       Bob, Linda, and Mary enjoying the refreshing air and coastal discoveries.

                                     Our turnaround point was this rock outcropping.

Cooling off in the river.  Bob D. got accolades for doing a full immersion in the deepest part of our swimming hole.

                                                                  

                                                                Happy hour, yeah!

The first night, we had a BBQ.  Gail was the hostess with the mostest, as she had prepared all the side dishes, planned the presentation, and a whole lot more.  I did my man job of watching the chicken grill on the BBQ.

                              Linda making friends with Daisy by offering her the new squirrel.

The second night, we grilled fresh wild caught salmon that Bob and Mary had brought.  After dinner, Gail prepared her famous flaming B-52 nightcaps.

                                                                        B-52's coming to life.

After the B-52's we turned out all the lights and had great viewing of the Perseid meteor shower.  We saw numerous meteors, some being extra bright and leaving trails.

Friday morning, and it was time to say goodbye.  Lon and Linda headed off towards the Olympic Peninsula, and Bob, Mary, and Gabriel headed back over to Salem.  

This past week has been a highlight of the summer along with Andria, the kids, and Nick visiting in June. It felt wonderful to be around old friends, share stories, and know they are doing well.  

Bob's Bionic Heart

 Last Wednesday morning, I found this waiting for me when I came to the table.  Thanks, Hon!  

Thursday morning we took off for Corvallis at 4:00 A.M.  I had my new pacemaker implanted, and we were back in the car for the 2 hour drive home by 1:00 P.M.  The staff were super, very caring, friendly, and experienced.  The routine ran like a well oiled machine.  

Below is my old pacemaker, which I asked for while I was "under the knife".  This little device had kept me alive for the past 8 years and 3 months.  Without it, I would have had no heartbeat.  

On Friday, the next day, we did a 5 mile hike at Enchanted Valley down by Florence.  What a difference a day makes! The ten days before yesterday, I had to stop and catch my breath and wait for the dizziness to subside just to get the mail at the end of  our driveway due to "Old Faithful" going into power save mode.

                                                       Purple Martins

Yesterday, I went with Wally and Jim down to Florence to look at and photograph the Purple Martins that have colonized numerous martin boxes that have been installed on pilings over the years.  Purple Martins are the largest species of swallow, and they are very social.

Some of the Purple Martin condos.

The adult males are a dark blue purple.  Females and immature males are the lighter birds.

I read that Native Americans in the distant past, and currently, hung gourds for the Purple Martins to nest in near their crops because these birds devour so many flying insects.  The Purple Martins in the eastern half of the U.S. nest only in boxes and gourds put up by people, and no longer nest in tree cavities.  A big reason for this is the introduction of House Sparrows and Starlings to North America. They occupy so many of the natural nest cavities.

Highway 101 goes over that bridge, with sand dunes behind.

It was a beautiful morning with great light and no wind.


                                                 Cardinal Meadowhawk

                                                           (Sympetrum illotum)

I photographed this dragonfly  at our fish pond using my macro lens.

                                                              Lynx rufus

                             This bobcat appeared below the house.  Catch some gophers, please!

                                                         Ardea herodias

  This Great Blue Heron was down at our Baboon Beach.  Please, stay away from our fish pond!

Breaking Bad Party and More

 It has been an interesting past week.  First, we had the pleasure of meeting two friendly seniors who are active in our areas of interest. Jim is heading up a big swallow nesting box project in the Yachats River Valley, and Wally is the head of the Yachats Trails Group.  They both paid us a visit and enjoyed a tour of our place.  I plan to help out on both their efforts.  

Then last Wednesday got a little dramatic.  I started hiking up a Forest Service road with Daisy, and  Gail was riding her bike in training for the ride around Crater Lake.  After about 50 feet or so of walking up hill, I became very dizzy and weak.  I stopped and recovered. I started again several times but the same result.  I had told Gail to go on ahead, that I would catch up.  I checked my pulse, and it seemed slower than my normal resting pulse of 60.  It wouldn't increase with physical effort.  I began to think something could be seriously wrong, so I drove back to the house and took my BP and pulse.  My pulse was 54-55 and blood pressure was high normal.  I felt no pain, or numbness.  Gail came home shortly, and we decided to go to the ER in Newport and not take chances.  When you arrive at the ER with a cardiac issue, you go to the front of the line.  So...  I had tests and was observed for 8 hours while they tried to figure out what was wrong.  A liter of IV fluids, chest X-ray, bloodwork, and finally they sent my pacemaker data to the manufacturer.  When I first got there, I had explained that I was pacemaker dependent, and that I was about to be scheduled for pacemaker and battery replacement, as my current battery was at the end of its useful life.  I asked that they contact my cardiologist to keep him in the loop.  Well it turned out that my pacemaker had gone to power save mode, reducing my pulse by 10%, and not allowing it to ramp up above the new resting pulse of 54 bpm.  Why I wasn't warned about this possibility is beyond me.  I could have been at the bottom of a canyon when this happened.  The good news is that I feel fine just shuffling around, and I get my new pacemaker this Thursday.  Then, I should be back to my old self.

Yesterday was a hoot.  Gail and I had our very own Breaking Bad party in celebration of watching the final episode.  This is the third time we have watched the whole series.  It's embarrassing how much we forget before watching again.  There is something fascinating about about the characters, like watching Walter White go from high school chemistry teacher to maestro crystal meth producer, and become a lying, murderous, cartel associate.  All the characters are intriguing.  Anyway, below are a few pics from yesterday.

Important disclaimer:  We have never used or condoned the use of methamphetamine.  Breaking Bad shows a very clear picture of the horrible results of its use, the despicable crime involved, and the effects on innocent people.

I think Gail has a thing for Jesse Pinkman.

Swallows In The Yard

Every year, so far, we have had a few nesting families of Tree Swallows and Violet-green Swallows.  Below is a sequence of a Tree Swallow feeding its young.  The whole sequence of 12 photos was taken in high speed continuous mode in just 1.1 seconds.  Both parents feed the young a diet of insects they catch while swooping around the sky.  I had to put a couple extra pieces of plywood over the top of their box for shade.  They survived the 111 degree  day we had on June 27 !  Only the baby sticking his head out the furthest seemed to be getting fed over the 90 minutes or so I was watching.  

Bandits Strike!

As I was shaving one morning this week, these two banditos popped up outside the bathroom window.

Trip To Champoeg

A couple weeks ago, we reserved a cabin at Champoeg State Heritage Area on the Willamette River between Salem and Portland.  We took Daisy, kind of as an experiment to see how she would do.  This area was the site of Oregon's first provisional state government in 1843, however the town of 200 was washed away in a great flood in 1861.  The high water mark of that flood is unbelievably high above the normal water level!  The park is a combination of ecological preserve, history, and recreation.  It was very clean and quiet while we were there during the week.

Restored barn.

Pioneer garden , barn in back.

Our cabin.  We had a lovely evening walk along a paved trail that followed the river for several miles.

Heat Wave 

The weekend of June 26 -27 was a scorcher.  We spent most of the afternoon on Sunday in the river.

The temperature reached 111 degrees at the house, with high humidity.  Most folks don't have air conditioning around here because it's hardly needed - normally.

Yard Shots

Oregon Iris  (Iris tenax)

                 A gopher, one of the many critters who share our garden and like to hear me curse.