The Secret Life of Clematis

Clematis.  A flower, a vine, a celebration of spring and summer that on the face of it seems lovely, and pure, and innocent.  Little do you know…

The Mecca of Golf

Is there a Mecca for golf?  A place where, if you’ve studied, practiced, applied yourself and achieved even a modicum of proficiency, you can access the holiest of holies?  I’ve been there.

Panther Falls in a Creek

Oof!

The dirt road was a veritable minefield of potholes, craftily camouflaged in dappled midday shadows.  Trees lined the road, providing a source for that insidious shade, giving those potholes ninja stealth.  Driving down this minefield was akin to navigating an impassible obstacle course, where occasions of failure gave me thoughts of riding a bucking bronco, and dropping into the bigger craters evoked a guttural oof.

But what brought me to this kidney buster?

The Birds And The Bees

There comes a time in every person’s life that a certain discussion needs to be had, either as the presenter of certain life-affirming facts, or as the recipient.  While I suspect most of you gentle readers would consider yourselves well versed in these facts, perhaps today I can shed a new light upon them.

Yes, today we’re going to talk about the birds and the bees.

Sea of Lincoln

Most folks in the United States have heard of the Land of Lincoln, state motto of Illinois, where famed President Abe Lincoln had his roots.  But did you know there was a Sea of Lincoln?

Sauvie Island

Woof.

I know how he felt.  When you get a nice day in January in the Pacific Northwest, it’s not a time to be sitting on the couch.  It’s come on already, let’s go!

The 1 Percenters

We’ve all heard about the 1 percenters, usually in a less than flattering way.  The richest 1% hold 50% of the world’s wealth, and most have no interest in sharing it. Greedy bastards. But let’s be honest, wouldn’t you like to be part of the 1 percent, even for a day? I had that chance, last Monday.

How Hot Is It?

It’s so hot… farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs!

It’s so hot… I saw two trees fighting over a dog!

What do you do when it’s so hot that you wear your wrinkled clothes outside to use nature’s ironing board, but you still need to cook up dinner?

98, 99, 100. This is it!

100 posts. Somehow, despite the snail-like pace at which I write, this will be my 100th little essay, my 100th excuse to share a  picture or 10, my 100th effort to pitch content against the wall of the blogosphere to see what sticks.   What have I learned after all that rigmarole?

Abiqua Falls

THUMP! Thumpity thump, crash, thump thump.  The rock (or rocks?) continued to bound down the cliff I was hanging onto as the seconds rolled on, reminding me how far I had to fall should I lose footing with the other foot as well.  Once I found a new foothold to replace that sizable sounding rock I’d knocked free I looked around for my wife – she was somewhere below.