Author: boolie

Damp and Moldy Dreams. But Still, Hope Remains.

Damn and moldy wishes attached to the Wishing Tree

I took this picture in December to reflect my mood after a national election I still can’t wrap my head around. After a wet fall the wishes attached to the Wishing Tree were damp and moldy and fading, dreams dashed. But then I got home and read the messages and I could see the hope that couldn’t be repressed, the light that would not yield to the darkness.

Some people break my heart, others heal it.

I wish for poems like sparklers or even night constellation fireworks. Kisses. I wish for love kisses.

I wish my sister gets everything she truly deserves. She is my everything. Please!

I wish I could live here so I could see my daughter every day!

I wish to level up!

I wish I wood have a dog

Spelling is not important at the Wishing Tree. You need hope, and hope I will cling to.

First Hike

Upper Latourell Falls

I spent this lovely spring morning on my first hike of the Latourell Falls loop in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge. I wasn’t familiar with this waterfall even though it isn’t far from the others I visit as the trailhead is past where I normally turn off to go back to Portland. They featured the waterfall during an episode of Oregon Field Guide on Oregon Public Broadcasting and I was hooked when they showed the lichens and basalt of the main falls, so I had some fun photographing them this morning with my 100-400 lens. I then took the loop up to Upper Latourell Falls (shown here) before heading back down to the main falls. The return loop takes you down to the base of the falls where a group of photographers was huddled with their tripods around a small bridge. I didn’t stop for pictures and just admired the view instead, I’ll head there first on my next visit.

An absolutely lovely morning, I don’t know how I missed out on this hike having been in Oregon for 20 years now but I’ll be back soon. I’m always a little nervous about new hikes in the Gorge as some of them I can’t do because of my fear of heights, but this one was easy (I’d give it a 2 out of 10 on the Boolie Utter Panic Index). There is an optional loop that takes you onto a little outcropping above the main falls, which I would rate a 10 out of 10, but you don’t have to go anywhere near it if you don’t want to (and I didn’t).

Public Service Announcement

Our tortoiseshell cat Trixie sleeps on towels in the linen closet

Experts warn that as the weather warms, look before you reach into dark places like woodpiles or linen closets, as dangerous creatures may have crept in to sleep in the safety and comfort of these secluded areas.

I Blame You, Boolie

A bald eagle sits on a mound as the rain pours down at Rest Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

This bald eagle seems to be looking accusingly at me as the rain pours down at Rest Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cool and wet spring morning after a cool and wet (and occasionally snowy) winter. Fair enough, I do love the rain and get a little cranky when it’s been sunny too many days in a row (such as today, as we enter another heat wave in May. May! It’s still spring!).

This is another picture where I took 4K video at the same time and the video gives a different feel to the photo and the moment it freezes in time. You can really see the rain hitting the water (and hear it hitting the car) in the video, as well as the current pushing the water past the eagle’s feet. And perhaps most importantly you can see that the eagle almost never looks in my direction, it was much more concerned about what was happening in the marsh, which is as it should be.

But in the photo, it’s gaze is fixed on me forever.