Visiting Cousins

 

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.

 

Have we just not noticed or is this the year of Eagles? We seem to see so many of them. Perhaps, we just didn’t notice so much before or didn’t realize they were really eagles. Obviously this is a place where food is plentiful. After all the mighty Columbia and many lakes in the area can provide a never ending supply of fish for the birds.  There is even an eagle’s nest along I-5 on one of the tall light posts.   We had seen the nest before but didn’t know what birds called it home. The other day we saw an adult eagle carrying what looked like a small fish in its talons to the nest.  Terry spotted it first. It was a awesome sight.  Where was my camera?  Well, it was in my purse where it belonged.

Next we noticed two nests on piers sticking up where the Columbia River runs adjacent to the roadway.  We saw the white heads of the eagle in the nest.  Again, it was awesome.

What else have we done?  Well, we’ve also been busy bringing in more bark dust, adding concrete between our pavers and digging up weeds.  We were hoping to have the backhoe rig to dig out a level parking area in front this week but with our luck they’ll schedule it when we’re gone and we won’t be here to see what they do.

We get more four-legged visitors at the little cabin than two-legged ones. Several bucks usually stop by in the morning hours. Then we get the does off and on at all hours of the day They swing by for a handout. Our stock of wet cob is full and Terry likes to feed them. These deer usually stay in the compounds of the area. They are protected and folks here put out feed year round. It keeps them safe and coming back. Terry likes to help as he certainly gets a kick out of doing it.

 

There are two Camping Worlds in the Portland area and we occasionally make a trip to get another gadget or two from them that we can’t possibly live without.  On our way to visit the one east of Portland we stopped  to visit my 93 year old aunt. I no longer try to make those daily visits  but still try to stop by and visit often.  She is doing so much better and her hip is healing beautifully.

~~  Pretty good for a 93-year old and she doesn’t even dye her hair!

Just as we were heading out the following day we got a call from cousin Shelley.  Several of you have met Shelley in Arizona.  She now lives in the Seattle area … hoping to find a different job and move back to the Southwest …. again.  Shelley was on her way to visit Aunt Jenny.  Our timing was perfect and we met in town at a little restaurant for brunch.

Shelley and the deer weren’t the only visitors we had.  My cousins Judy and Larry spent Friday with us.  Many times they bring their little camper and hang around for a while.  However, this time they were also getting packed and ready for the trip north.  They’re a lot of fun.  We usually go for walks, eat a lot and talk a lot more.  Many times we get out the card deck and play a few card games. Friday was no exception.  We did all of those things.

~~ Shelley

Judy knows how much they love apples so she brought a bunch.

Larry is cutting up apples so Judy can feed the deer.

It was another beautiful day.  We sat outside until we got too warm and then sat inside played spades and snacked until we went on a walk towards Meditation Point.  It’s a beautiful place on a very steep hill. 

Beautiful place to meditate.

No way .. absolutely no way were we going beyond that fence!

I just can’t get enough of scenes like this.  I have hundreds of pictures of the lake, of the mountain of the deer and even of all the birds.  Aren’t you glad I don’t post them?

This morning has definitely been a tough one for the internet.  I left my computer in the motorhome and so am struggling with Terry's.  Internet is as slow as it as ever been and that's probably because it's a Saturday and everyone and their brother are around the lake using their smartphones to access the internet.  Aaargh!  Some blogs I can read and others not so much.  I'm sure learning what makes a blog hard to pull up when the connection is very rotten.  I'm glad this blog had already been written and uploaded or it never would have been published.  Notice how it changes though when you preview it and when you publish it.  I sure hope when I hit that Publish Post button that it lines up okay because it would take forever on a day like this to correct.  

My brother is in the hospital in Portland so that's where we're heading off to. 

.‘Tis life on the road.