Ah. Today we got beautiful rain, over 2” but I won’t measure until the morning. It was another great day to read on the porch!
So cozy and dry
I was sorry to miss my horse lesson but we’ve rescheduled for tomorrow. Let’s hope tomorrow’s rain is not between 10-1 or at least not heavy. I can ride in light rain. The horses spent the day blissfully cool. Once it wasn’t raining hard, they were out enjoying the “low” temperatures.
I didn’t take horse pictures, so here’s another porch view.
I, too, appreciated having a day without drips of sweat in my eyes and sopping wet bras. I did try not wearing a bra, but the sweat running down to my wisdom belly was also unpleasant. I’m not gonna sit inside all day like a delicate creature, though. Knowing it will be more pleasant in a few weeks gives me hope.
Morning rain.
The other thing I liked about this respite from blazing hot sun is that sunsets are so pretty with clouds in the sky. I enjoyed today’s sunset by the pool while I watched nighthawks eliminating excess insects.
Spit the nighthawk.
I guess the best part about staying inside most of the day was that I got a lot of comforting reading done (Braiding Sweetgrass), got my August birds added up, crocheted almost all of the August section of the temperature blanket, and got my journal ready for September. What that really means is that I played with all my toys: books, colorful pens, paper, washi stickers, and oh yes, yarn! My indoor toys sometimes get neglected when I’m outside all the time.
Looking north at sunset. The bright light is just a reflection of the sun.
Trying to stay on an even keel these days is a challenge, isn’t it? No need to name all the reasons why, because you know the ones that affect us all, and we each have our own personal stresses, grief, and challenges.
Today was one of those days when the dam burst and I felt all the feelings. I needed to feel them so I could regroup. The Buddha reminds us that life is suffering, but he also shared ways to cope, grow, learn, and move on.
That’s what I’m reminding myself of today, as I processed warmongers, school shootings, friends’ loss of parents, and frightening political climate.
Trite but true: all things must pass.
Like these bluebirds and brown birds, I feel like. I don’t know which way to go, so I teeter in the middle.
Not much has been going on in poultry land these days. Only Connie has been laying, so we have an ample supply of very large eggs for our cooking.
There were two today.
I also realized it’s her birthday, or close to it, since Heather’s son has picked up his tiny poults for this year. She’s come a long way from her start in such a fancy environment!
Connie Gobbler, Age 1
That was the good news. As I was feeding the fowl, I heard an odd noise, like a branch scraping against the coop. When I checked it out, I realized it was Bianca, my only chicken who survived the Great Chicken Massacre a couple of years ago. She was breathing funny. I planned to check on her when I came back.
Bianca had neck tufts and not much comb. Her eggs were true blue, which was the name of her breed.
Anyway, I went to feed the horses. When I came back to turn the water off and pick up eggs, Bianca had collapsed. Now I’m all worried she got something contagious, so I am VERY disinfected now. I’m sad to lose her. I will keep a close eye on the others, who all seem fine so far. Of course, Bianca was all perky until today. She even got out a couple of days ago and was spritely running around.
She had really long claws.
She’d never been a big layer, and hadn’t produced eggs since last winter, so it might just have been her time. But she was my oldest. Sniff.
I think I’ve had enough death this month.
I exercised both Apache and Drew to cheer myself up. I think Vicki’s work with Drew is paying off—he did well in his ground work.
My tiny flock is even tinier.
I’ll be doing a lot of coop cleaning in coming days. I hope Cindy and Cathy don’t get too pestered by Clint now that the rooster to hen ratio is 1:2.
I can handle it.
Circle of life. Etc. Plus another senseless school shooting.
Today was lots of fun in the bird department, as lots of songbirds decided to let me see them. At last I truly believe that Orchard Orioles and Yelliwthroats live in my trees. There was also a Kestrel around all day.
So, I was in a meeting with no agenda (open office hours) with my three fellow Subject Matter Experts, and we were collaborating on various issues when one of us mentioned going for nature walks. That got me and another woman all excited about this ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora) she had seen earlier in the week, and we got into fruits we can forage in Oregon and Texas.
About ten minutes into our rapturous discussion of things we see in the woods, our more urban counterpart told us that she gave in and we’d converted her into looking more closely wherever she walks. I think we felt like we’d accomplished much more that just solving work issues today.
Nature brings us all together!
I guess that’s enough cheerful talk for the day, but I must interject that, even though rain was close again today, none fell, so Apache and I had a nice practice session and great time on the trail. I think he’s used to it now!
Since today was just fine (not too hot!) and I don’t want to come across too perky like I did yesterday, I’ll just answer this here question.
My name is Rhynchomitra recurva – I’m a leafhopper.
My name is Sue Ann. This is nothing new to evil internet scum. The internet has known my name since 1989, back in Usenet days.
Tell me more, says the finch.
Two-word given names are common in the southern USA, from where I and my ancestors of many generations hailed. Most of my dad’s sisters had them, Bettye Sue and Doris Ann were two of them. It appears that my parents were expecting a boy when I emerged from Mom’s twilight sleep. But there I was, including all my curly hair. They were going to name a boy Edwin (my father’s first name that he only used on official business) but they must have rejected Edwina (a name of a very funny older woman I once knew). I’m glad they saved it for my brother (Lee also had a brother named Edwin).
Look, corn. Someone lost their harvest. Nothing to do with names, except to say, “We call it maize.”
Anyway, I’m glad they eventually named me after the above-mentioned two of Dad’s sisters. Again, I’m relieved not to be Bettye Doris. Most of my life I liked my name other than a brief time I wanted to be Susanna. What I don’t like is the name Sue by itself. It’s fine for my friends named Sue (popular name of my generation), but I don’t like it for me. I don’t respond to it, and if someone calls me that, they go down a notch in my estimation. It’s like calling someone who goes by Will, Bill. So, if you ever meet me or send me a message, remember my two-word name.
Sue Ann means graceful lily according to name origins. So not me. I’m more sturdy, like this snow on the prairie plant.
You are always welcome to call me my alternate name, Suna, which I’ve had over half my life. Long story there.
We can do without that story.
No doubt I’ve told this particular story before, but I’m not up to scouring the archives to see. You can do it, of course. Feel free!
Alternative: look at the pretty morning sky.
Off I go, now, to come up with better topics and hope for rains.
I woke up this morning struggling with some of my “areas for improvement,” and I wasn’t feeling well at all. I’m grateful that I e trained myself to find the good around me, and after adding up all that fine energy, I ended the day with a smile on my face.
This heron caught something tasty in the middle of this pasture. That’s a good little thing.
I struggled a bit with what I was working on this morning, thinking it just wouldn’t do. But I went to lunch with my friends and ended up enjoying two new people, and chatting with them about their lives helped me out of a downward spiral. Another good little thing!
It was slightly cooler, so I enjoyed my morning bird walk without becoming soaked. Small win!
I went to a meeting after lunch and was able to brainstorm solutions to a problem and then got help on what I was working on. Just a little feedback and collaboration and I felt more confident. The collaboration and support we give each other in this job is gratifying!
The soapberry trees are blooming now and they smell great. Another small thing.
I sent my draft document to the person who’d requested it, and he liked it! I got quite happy about then. Plus I heard that (after much effort by me and my nurse-practitioner) my thyroid medication was approved by my health insurance, and I managed to figure out why I couldn’t enter my expenses from my trip and got that done! Win win win!
Green Heron preening. It was joined by ibises flying overhead today! Wow!
And to top off the list of small but good things, Vicki came over and we rode horses together. The weather was unbelievable for August, very pleasant with light cloud cover. Only the horses got all sweaty.
Ready to ride
Apache was in good form and practiced all his tasks very well. The best part for me was that because we went to the round pen so Vicki could ride Drew with some boundaries, Apache and I had lots of time to practice our walk-trot transitions. At some point I realized we were having a great time together. Drew was a challenge, but Vicki handled him very well. She is far more confident than I am on him.
I’m just in need of exercise. Yeah.
I could have ridden for hours in that lovely weather, but we ended at a successful point. I even practiced getting correct bends with Apache on the way back.
I’m kind of smart.
Oh, one more Apache story. Today I figured out why he was refusing to jump over the cavalettis. After he refused three times again today, I went over there and found a large Yellowjacket nest. He was trying to tell me! There was also a nest on the mounting block, and I eliminated both nests. Moral: listen to your horse.
I’m glad I paid attention today! Those were so many fine little things.
Then it got very hot, over 100°F. Suddenly a small but mighty storm blew in. It really blew.
Here it comes, blowing that tree around.
Winds came up and I watched dust and bits of harvest debris flying around. The horses were in a tizzy. I flew around in the heavy winds until the lightning got close and I sensibly went onto the porch.
The scary clouds
Luckily it was just a severe thunderstorm and not a tornado cell. Lee and I watched it blow through, with sideways rain and spectacular lightning. It turned out the people across the road were doing the same thing on their porch!
Cozy, since the rain was blowing away from the windows.
We only got .08” of rain, but that’s better than nothing.
Cows huddled against the trees.
Once the storm passed, the temperature went down 15° and it was lovely.
All good
I went for a nice walk and enjoyed watching swallows and nighthawks catching bugs around sunset. A wonderful surprise was seeing a nighthawk sitting on an electric wire in front of our house. You rarely get to see a perched nightjar.
Nighthawk on a wire
I ended up seeing or hearing 53 bird species today. Looks like some early migration is happening. We are getting some warblers and quite a few sandpipers. It’s good to have them to distract me from other sudden storms that blow in out of the blue!
This, too, will pass. Note overturned chair!
Tell the people you appreciate how much they mean to you.
What did you do today? As you can guess from the title of this blog entry I did at least two things. Both were fun.
I also looked at some flowers. This is Sida ciliaris or bracted fanpetals.
First thing this morning, neighbor Vicki and I went to College Station to a fun Horseman’s Market Fay hosted by the Brazos Valley Driving and Riding Club. This is like a giant garage sale of horse stuff. I had no idea there were so many moldy saddles and bridles, not to mention very used halters, bits, and blankets. But I also saw some beautiful used tack and true treasures.
Each of us saw people we knew (yes, I know a couple horse people, too) and even found a woman who lives in Ben Arnold and knows where we live due to Vicki’s sheep and matching pony.
We did find treasures of our own. I got a baseball cap that says Cowboy Hat, a horse thermometer, a come-along string (green), a funny shirt, and a bunch of hoof picks with silver accents that I will donate to Tarrin for show prizes.
They list for $12 and I got them for $3.
The most fun thing I got was a really pretty leather breast collar with silver accents and black-and-white leather detail. I just loved how it was elegant but not gaudy. It will go with Apache’s saddle.
The whole thing. Pretty concho on the front. AccentUp closeIt cleaned up well.
If you don’t know what this is, it is decorative and also keeps the saddle from slipping when climbing steep hills. If I’m able to replace one hook on it, I’ll show it to you on Apache.
I couldn’t find a good photo so I had to AI one.
After we had each found our horse equipment treasures, Vicki took me to see border collies doing herding trials. This was in a nice arena with air conditioning and lots of large bags of wool. I think she said they also grade wool there.
Wool behind the dog handlers.
I met some of Vicki’s herding dog friends and had a great time watching the dogs staring at the sheep.
And moving them
The reason we glared at the sheep is that they were pretty weird. They spent most of their lives so far eating grass under solar farms. It’s a good gig. Lots of shade.
Sheep all facing the exit
The problem is that they didn’t know much about anything except eating grass. They didn’t realize they were supposed to be intimidated by dogs, so once they were let out, they just stared back at the gate they came out of, not paying attention to the dogs. Occasionally one would stomp its hooves.
This dog got the sheep to run
Many of the dog/human pairs just gave up, but a few of them got those sheep going in the right circles, separated one from the group, and got them all into a pen. That was really impressive.
This dog watched intently from the stands.
I hope I get to go to more of these in the future. I’m very impressed by the hard work both the dogs and humans have to do to move the sheep!
Nothing exciting like that at home! Just moving slowly
I relaxed most of the rest of the day, which featured suffocating heat. You can get overheated so easily!
It’s true, and the interesting stranger at the Portland Airport agrees. I had things to write about yesterday and plans to work on a blog on my way home. That didn’t happen, and it’s not a bad thing, because I was talking to interesting people, as I did the whole time I was in suburban Portland.
Look, kids, it’s Mount Hood! I did my sightseeing from the plane.
As many wise folks have pointed out before me, everyone has a story to tell. They also say it’s hard to feel animosity towards people when you can see what you have in common and know what they’ve been through. For example, one of my Uber drivers was forced to flee Peru, but he’s made a good life here. All the Uber drivers I had on my trip were interesting and taught me things, so I’m glad I had the chance to ride so often. I had some really fun times explaining that Texas isn’t all bad. One guy was shocked I managed to live in a small town and not be a Christian Fascist (or whatever they’re called these days).
This mountain had a smoke ring! My friend Alice thinks it’s Mount Jefferson.
The people I talked to at my workplace were also a fun bunch. Portland seems to be crawling with musicians! And many people had horses or once did. It was fun hanging out with young parents and learning how they do things today. Lots of creativity and/or multi-generational households to handle child care.
More sky sightseeing
I had an oddly frank and open conversation about life with a random punk rocker disguised as a businessman in the airport, as I mentioned above. He was a bit scattered, in a good way, and we found we had much in common. That’s what brought me back to everyone being interesting if you talk to them. So I just continued being friendly and talked to a fellow worried about his large dog traveling in the cargo hold, and I made the flight attendant so happy by asking her about her beautiful silver bracelet she was wearing, which happened to be made by a Hawaiian artist. The flight attendant was beaming as she told me how much she loved it.
I was a busy bee!
Sweet stories from random people keep me hoping we can pull our society back together. Humans are not all mean and hateful like the media so often says they are.
Encouraging photo of a Japanese maple
Enough of that. I did want to share that I got to see some Oregon plants and hear some birds yesterday by taking a lunch walk. I found an area where there’s a big effort being made to restore native plants, on property the company I consult for seems to own. The plants were surrounded by two things. One was the ever-present wild blackberries. I ate a lot, since there weren’t right on the roadside and covered with automotive residues.
Bonus thistle seed
The other thing I saw were rows of gnarled old trees, which look like they’d been cut down to stumps but we’re trying to come back, fighting through ivy and berries. I couldn’t tell what they were, but I figured they were something that was once harvested. When I finally got to upload photos to iNaturalist, it turned out they were hazelnut trees! Before Tualatin got industrialized, it must have grown nuts. Cool.
Sprouting from the roots
There was also a small forest remnant next to the offices, with a short path running through it. I enjoyed seeing the ferns, evergreens, and native maples (among others).
Ivy was everywhere Cabbage whiteAlso everywhere was Queen Anne’s laceSword fernLady fern or another oneSomeone buried a little creature. Not sure what this texture isThat’s a burl on the tree. Woodpecker or insect holes
After seeing a California Jay, another new one on my list, I felt satisfied that I’d seen at least a little nature. Then my ride to the airport, a really nice man very much like me, took us through downtown to save time, so I got a bonus tour. Yay for avoiding the crowded interstate!
Pinecones in progress
There, I’m caught up, back with my animals and humans, and ready for what’s next. After some sleep!
I’m sure there are birds in this state, but I have not been able to put myself into places where birds are. Still, by wandering around the hotel this morning and searching for a neighborhood after work, I found a few, plus a new one, Vaux’s Swift.
Mostly I heard Lesser Goldfinches, Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches, and Crows. Not the plethora I’d hoped for, but I haven’t made it to any nature sights in Oregon and probably won’t since I leave tomorrow and it will be rainy. Oh well! I did see some plants!
This apple tree was bending down from its beautiful crop.
There are wild blackberries everywhere. I guess I’d never go hungry this time of year.
So beautiful and juicy.
I did enjoy looking around at big trees and colorful flowers, though I’m in a noisy area both at work and where I’m staying. Good thing this wasn’t a sight/seeing trip!
A daisyAn elmA mapleA cherry?Shadewort-not nativeVery blue hydrangea
The work part of the day was great, and there was a fun lunch with the people from the company I contract for. They gave us all nice, soft sweatshirts, too. The people part of this visit has been just great. It’s so empowering to work with people who feel like they’re working as a team to make interesting cutting-edge things.
I do need to go home and tell Drew to treat Vicki better, so I’m looking forward to getting on that plane tomorrow afternoon!
Citizens of Beaverton loved my shirt. I hesitate to wear it at home. Well, everyone has their opinions.
The Hermits' Rest 