September 28, 2012

We awoke in Erie, Pennsylvania.  As we ate our breakfast in the dining car we passed many vineyards.  One of our table mates told us they were wine grapes.  Somewhere in New York state it started to rain lightly.  It didn't last, but it continued to be cloudy.  The last part of the trip, along the Hudson River, was especially pretty.

As the sun was going down we passed under the George Washington Bridge.

We arrived at Penn Station in New York on time at 6:30 p.m.
Total miles this leg:  959.

From the station we walked a few blocks to our hotel.  Our room is on the 12th floor and faces the street.  From our window we can see the Empire State Building.

After dinner we decided to walk to Times Square.  It was fun, but somewhat overwhelming, with all the people.  So we returned to our room and went to bed.

September 27, 2012

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, now four hours late.  There's frost on the ground and the trees and lakes are lovely.  We crossed the Mississippi River at Grand Forks and continued to follow the river for miles.  The fall colors are spectacular.

We continued through Wisconsin and Illinois.  We arrived in Chicago three hours and twenty minutes late.  Total miles this leg:  2,255.

We grabbed a quick supper, then boarded the Lakeshore Limited. As first class passengers we were invited to board the train early for wine, cheese and fruit.  The train left at 9:30 p.m., just as we were getting ready for bed.

September 26, 2012

We awoke this morning in Whitefish, Montana.  It's a beautiful sunny morning.  We traveled through Glacier National Park.  The aspen trees are golden.

As the day went on, the clouds moved in and the scenery became bleak.

We arrived in Havre, Montana, around 1:00, a little early.  But right after that stop we started to lose time.  There had been a recent freight train derailment and there was a lot of track work, which slowed us down.  By evening we were three hours late.

Train Trip - September 25, 2012

We're setting out on a train trip around the country.  Our first leg is on the Empire Builder from Portland to Chicago.  We decided to see if we could do the entire trip without riding in a car.  So we took the Cherriots bus to the Salem bus terminal downtown, then walked to the train station, which was about a half mile away.  The plan was to take the Cascades, the commuter train, to Portland, but because of track work we ended up taking a bus to Portland instead.

We arrived in Portland with several hours to spare.  Total miles this leg: 52.

We did some walking around the city.  Portland has lots of brightly colored street cars.

We had lunch and then went to Powell's bookstore.

After tea in the Metropolitan Lounge in the station, we boarded the Empire Builder and left right on time at 4:45.  Because we were only half of the eventual Empire Builder (the other half is coming from Seattle) we did not have a dining car.  We were served a very nice cold supper. David had his wine ready.

Some time during the night we connected to the other part of the train in Spokane, so by morning we were able to have breakfast in the dining car.

Paddling - September 13, 2012

After Randy and Romana's visit, and hearing about their kayaking, we got all jazzed to go for a canoe paddle.  We don't own a canoe anymore, so we went to Devil's Lake in Lincoln City and rented one.  We had it for four hours, but we couldn't last more than two.  It's been a long time since we went canoeing, and our paddling muscles, not to mention our rear ends, were not up to the challenge.  But we still had fun. The weather was perfect, sunny and about 70 degrees.

We had hoped to see some interesting birds, but the only ducks we saw were mallards. 

We had lunch at McMenamins in Lincoln City, then went south to Depot Bay, hoping to see something interesting there. Again, no interesting birds, just gulls and cormorants.  But we did see several migrating whales. 

We continued south to Newport, then headed inland.  As we drove toward Corvallis, the temperature rose rapidly to 88 degrees. We stopped in Corvallis for tea and a pastry, then drove home.

We'll definitely try canoeing again, but now we know our limitations.

More Garden Space! - September 12, 2012

We decided that the arbor vitae hedge in the back yard really had to go.  It was serving no purpose, as the fence and another hedge on the other side provide all the privacy needed.  So we had it all taken out. 

Here's what it looked like with the hedge.

And here's the after photo.

I've gained about six feet of nice sunny space.  My plan is to put in several fruit trees, with other things growing between them. 

When the owner of the tree company came by we asked him about taking out the larger of the fir trees, which was casting a lot of shade on the vegetable area.  We had another fir for the birds, so we considered taking the big tree out.  He gave us an estimate, which we thought was very reasonable, we said o.k., and they started immediately to take it out!

Here's the yard with the big tree.

This shot shows the shade from it.

Taking the tree out was an amazing process.  They took out a section of the fence, where the lattice is in the above picture, and took pieces out that way.  The chipper was in the parking lot next door.  A couple of small plants got slightly damaged, but I think they'll be fine. 

Here are some shots of the work in progress.  Evan spiked his way up, cutting limbs as he went.

When he got near the top, he took the whole top section off and dropped it neatly on the ground.

Then he made his way back down, cutting chunks of the trunk.  We were happy to see he always cut above where he was hanging.   The last section came down with a thud.  We now have lots of chunks for firewood, which we've offered to our neighbor.

We've moved the tool shed and bins of miscellaneous garden stuff out to the newly cleared corner. 

Stand by for more photos as things get planted.

The Story of Timmy - August 9, 2012

I've mentioned the neighbor's cat, Timmy, before, but I haven't related his story.

A number of years ago, when our neighbor, Bill, lived south of town, he had an orange cat named Timmy.  One day Timmy failed to return home, and Bill assumed he had met an untimely end, perhaps at the hands of a predator.  Four years later, Bill got a phone call from a local vet.  He said, "We have your cat."  "I don't have a cat," said Bill.  The vet told him someone had found a cat, turned it in to the vet, and he had checked the chip in the cat and found Bill's name.  So Timmy was returned to his original owner.  No one knows where Timmy was during those four years.  He may have found a new home, or he may have been out on the loose.

During those four years, Bill had married and moved to the house next door to ours.  Now they have a dog and a new cat, a Siamese named Obie.  Apparently, Timmy doesn't like the dog or the cat, and doesn't much care for the new wife either.  So he refuses to go in the house except to eat.  When we moved into our house, he was spending most of his time in the front arborvitae hedge.  We eventually made friends with Timmy, and he seems to consider us his family.  Whenever one of us is outside, he is right there to keep us company.

Now that the front hedge is gone, Timmy has found some new places to sleep.  When it's cold he sleeps in the arborvitae hedge in the backyard.  We've just planted a couple of new trees near the house, and he seems to like them, especially now that we've put down nice soft mulch.

I recently put straw mulch in the vegetable garden, and he finds this to be comfortable as well.

But Timmy's all time favorite place to sleep is on 'his' chair on the deck in the shade.  He's really figured out how to get comfortable there.

Timmy almost never comes in the house, except for an occasional mad dash if we happen to leave the door open.  But as soon as he's inside, he quickly realizes his error and dashes out again.  He's pretty much left the birds alone, except for going after the occasional juvenile junco on the ground.  His primary prey is bees and other insects, which he eats if he catches them.

What's amazing is that Timmy doesn't seem to mind that we disappear for four months.  When we arrived home in April he was still here.  He probably wondered why no one had come out to refill his water dish, but otherwise everything was back to normal.

As far as we're concerned this is the best kind of pet to have.  Someone else feeds him and takes care of his medical needs.  We get all the love.