Chapter 55 - Time passes...

Time passes, and things change;
Wounds heal, but the scars remain.
Time passes, not the pain.

                                 Jack Seagrove

I enjoy creating haikus. It's an easy way of expressing myself that is, underneath, rather complex and difficult process in order to make a good one. 

What a great way, writing a new haiku, to start a new Chapter in the exciting saga of Smilin' Jack!! You never know what to expect when you ride shotgun with me.

Speaking of riding, I wasn't going anywhere until I did something about this...my iced over front windshield on the mini

It was a beautiful, but cold, morning that promised to keep its beauty for the day. It was too much for me to stay inside as the call of the road was too great. So with some quick thinking and just a little forethought, Carol and I were heading off to TWG for an all-day adventure.

You remember the TWG? The Talking Water Gardens? Well, we were headed back for Round Three. But first there was this little problem to take care of.

Doesn't happen often but when it does it's an annoying development. I took care of it quickly with the ice-scraper. But, doggone it, it was cold!

Hahaha, looking pretty smug, aren't I!?! I am because I had my ice-scraper handy AND it is the kind with the fur-lined glove so my dainty pinkies didn't get chilled.

I am, despite what you may think, "Da Man!!"

Pow!! Picked up Carol and we were off!

I take to the open road, 
Healthy, Free,
the world before me.

                     Walt Whitman

And the road holds surprising beauty. No, no, no!! Don't look at the photograph...look at the tall trees, the curving road leading to adventure, the clear skies and the bright sun. 

Can you see all that? Ah, now you see it. And the road holds a surprising beauty for those who wish to see it. 

Hooah!!

I saw this and rushed the shot...hence the slight blur.

But had I caught it, it might be an interesting picture. The Big Rig cresting the hill and commanding the road. I am learning to 'see' pictures and then take them. Not expertly but I am learning my eye and composition.

And, btw, I am having me some fun.

The Great Home of the Soul is the Road.

                                  D.H. Lawrence

Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.

                                        Mary Ritter Beard

The road calls and I answer.

                                                   Jack Seagrove

And, as always with any road trip here, I enjoy the scenery. I enjoy the view from the front seat of my car as the world speeds past.

To Albany, home of the TWG.

And a town worth exploring on its own, I think. Maybe another road trip would be in order just to ramble, explore, through this city.

The bridge in the distance spans the Willamette River; the river that divides, defines and feeds Oregon. From the Great Columbia River in Portland down south to the city of Springfield, this river defines the Valley and moves the life here

Sometimes all you need is good music and the open road.

                                    Jeremy McGilvrey

And I'll paraphrase that to, "Sometimes all you need is talk radio and the open road."

And we made it. And the day was beautiful. And the birds were out. And we were there, at the TWG. Everything was working right.

We were early, we were rested, we were ready for the day. And right away we spotted a Scrub Jay.

He even flew over to this nearby line and posed for me. Hahaha, I need the help. Thanks, Bud.

Are my pictures too dark? Seriously, I'd like your opinion. I tend towards saturated colors and darker scenes but I realize I might be slanting my pictures towards an imperfect ideal. Something appropriate for me but, possibly, not for the general audience. All two of you.

I think this is an interesting picture of a male Mallard but I worry that I have it too cold...dark. Whadya think? Should I lighten up a bit? It'd been nice if I could have moved right a little and not had the bushes in the picture.

Learning.

In this picture there's an American Coot in the upper left corner. In the middle is a female American Wigeon and the bottom one is a male American Wigeon.

We'll be seeing a lot of those Wigeons. They must have been a bunch of them flying through to other places who stopped here for a break and something to eat.

These are all hand-held pictures with the new camera, the Canon G3 X. I'm impressed. I am finally getting close to the clarity, the crispness, the sharpness I've been running after all these years.

Like in this picture of an male American Wigeon. 

Whaa...a Wigeon!?! 

Hahaha, the female version of the guy above. Thank goodness for Carol or I'd never have names for these guys.

But, regardless, it's a crisp picture. Not inspiring or beautiful but, doggone, pretty sharp.

Fun Facts: Although a rather innocent looking duck, these Wigeon's have a spotted past. In the early 1900s, the American Wigeon earned the colloquial name, "poacher," owing to its aggressive and opportunistic habit of stealing food from other species of ducks, particularly diving ducks.

The last time we were here we couldn't stop seeing turtles. This time they were not to be seen except for this one, lone, solitary fellow here.

Any ideas on why? The weather was slightly cooler and the time of day was earlier. Should we expect to see more as the day grows longer? Still, I was happy to see this one guy, a Red-Eared Slider, at least. Catching the rays.

Fun Facts: I did not know this. This turtle, also known as the Red-Eared Terrapin (Go Maryland!!), is the most popular pet turtle in the United States and is also popular as a pet in the rest of the world. It has become, no surprise there, the most commonly traded turtle in the world.

It's usually native to the southern U.S. and northern Mexico but has become established in other places because of pet releases. It's become an invasive species in many areas where it outcompetes native species.

This might explain why we didn't see one on our first trip but now...whoa!! Did someone drop off their pet turtles here? Could be.

Ah, I know the name of this guy!! A Common Goldeneye. Still reminds me of that crazy Common Merganser. 

The Merganser would be up and down; pop down one place and who knows where he'll pop up again!! Haha, he was my photographic nemesis on the Cedar River in Renton. The rascal.

Some more Wigeons in the pond.

Carol thinks this is a female American Wigeon...and I ain't gonna argue. Sounds good to me. Except for the bill. The bill throws me a bit. Wigeons have a paler bill with a black tip. 

Still, I'll go with Carol on this. She's the expert.

Another pair of American Wigeons. Not a bad looking bird.

Another Wigeon. I have run into a pile of Wigeons. A large pile.

A sharp picture...and, carrying on that theme, these are all Wigeons, too.

A Great Egret. I can remember when we first moved out here and how excited we were to spot an egret. And now? Now it's like, "Oh, there's an egret (Yawn), over there."

Hahaha, they're beautiful birds, these Great Egrets, and I want to always be able to get excited about seeing them.

I like this one. The Ol' Mallard. Nothing spectacular about a Mallard...pretty common ducks.

But I like this picture of a Mallard in the shade, in his natural environment. And looking just a wee bit noble, too.

Fun Facts: There's a real reason for calling these guys "common" ducks. Mallards are pervasive. They breed throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa and have been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and South Africa. 

That's a lot of ground they're covering.

It wasn't terrible but it was cold enough. Still a great day for a walk. And look at that sky!! Clear and blue!!

And it's always fun taking a walk with Carol. She tolerates my photography antics.

Form and pattern. My Artsy-Fartsy side jumped up at this possibility. Not quite as interesting as it was when it appeared in my head.

It's part of the old lumber mill. It's a long, maybe 200 feet, narrow stretch of water formed by the concrete wall, you can see it in the foreground. Not natural but interesting. No birds in this small body of water.

They have several of these old, mature, Oak Trees. They create photo opportunities. Quite a lot of history surrounds this tree, I bet. 

This one leads, to the right in this picture, to a quartet of old Oaks. And, long ago, on our first visit to the TWG, that's where we walked to. 



And they were still there, standing guard as it were, over the Gardens and a memorial.

We were headed towards the memorial. It was easy enough to find as we went directly to it, and now I will call it Spencer's tree. 

I wanted to visit this memorial and so we wandered around until I found it again. Right where we last left it.

And we found his small plaque at the base of one of the trees. On our first trip there, when we went up to it and we saw that it was for a Marine who died serving our Country in Afghanistan.

Since that first visit, it's grown. How cool is this? It's grown in a very good way. 

I just think that he must have been one helluva guy to engender so much love and respect.

Carol and I are already planning on decorating a couple of rocks for this Memorial that we can leave on our next visit here.

Thank you for your service...and your sacrifice.

And then life moves on. And so do I. Remember the previous Artsy-Fartsy shot I took? The one with the rocks set on that artificial body of water...the one with the short concrete wall?

Here it is from the other side. And, me, still, trying to get Artsy-Fartsy.

As we walked along a bit further, we passed this memorial. I think this one is new, I don't remember seeing it the previous times I was here.

But it's a cool memorial for a solid soldier.

We also want to leave two decorated rocks here, too.

Thanks for your service and for living a good life.

As we were walking on, a flight of Northern Pintail Ducks came overhead. I know I suck at catching a reasonable picture of birds in flight but I gave it a go. I am game for the challenge.

And, as long as I don't try to zoom in too close, I can, sometimes, capture a shot. Course, focusing is a different story. Hahaha, baby steps, Man, baby steps.

And while we were watching, this guy showed up!!

I know, I know, it's a sad little picture. A lot wrong with it but, regardless, it's a picture of an eagle!! And that forgives a lot of sins. It's a picture of an eagle ... in flight!!

'Nuff said.

Around this time, we decided to take a break for some food. Carol had brought all the makings for a meatloaf (homemade, Mmmmmmm) sandwich and so we set off across the parking lot to the park next door, Simpson Park.

Carol sat right down on the ground and whipped up a couple of delish sandwiches which we enjoyed during a quiet lunch alongside one of the water features in the park. Another remnant of the old saw mill. Watching the ducks and enjoying the quiet.

And then we walked the trail. For us it wasn't much of a trail. The trail just ran out for about a mile then turned on itself and came back. On our left, in this picture, is the Willamette River and on our right are the two holding ponds, First Lake and Second Lake. And not much in between.

We went a bit over a quarter of a mile and then decided to head back to the TWG. More picture opportunities there.

And, this time, boys and girls, I decided to do something I rarely ever do!! I decided to use that fancy-dancy tripod I bought a while ago.

And, yeah, it was a bit more difficult to use than my normal mode of shooting. You know, the kind where I see, I point, I shoot. Now I had to see, position the tripod, wrestle around with rotating the head of the tripod just so, and then shoot.

But I persisted and caught these Mallards.

And, while I was getting started this one decided she'd had enough sitting and came on over to join me.

No, she wasn't surrendering. I don't think so, anyway.

OK, back to Wigeons, again.

But even with the limitations of the tripod I got the picture. Conversely, with the advantages of the tripod I was able to get some very clear (read: sharp) pictures.

But I needed birds willing to sit and rest on a branch for a bit. Not like those flighty little Chickadees. Nope, I needed a lot more cooperation and I got it from this Scrub Jay.

And I like the sharpness of these pictures. I may be getting, marginally, better.

OK, so I had been shooting away. I was ready to move on so we picked up everything and started heading south on the trail when Carol, as she is wont to do, struck up a conversation with a gentleman walking towards us.

He asked what we'd been shooting, yada, yada, yada small talk. And then he asked if we'd seen the Cinnamon Teal? Hahaha, silly human, the Teal was one of the reasons we had come back so soon to the TWG and, no, we hadn't seen him that day.

So he told us that he'd seen him...just follow this trail north, cross the dirt road, keep along the fence and we'd be able to see him.

And, more or less, we did.

And we did see the Teal.

He and the Frau were way out on the north end of the TWG. And we got to see him again. 

My goal was to get a better picture of this fine fellow than I had gotten on the last outing.

And I think I did. 

Woo-Hoo!! Success!!

Mission accomplished!! And since both Carol and I were beginning to feel the weight of our years, we decided to quit on a high note and head on back to the Mini.

But not two hundred feet along the trail, Carol spotted this little guy, an Anna's Hummingbird, taking a breather.

Wham-Bam!! I had my tripod set and fiddled with all the doodads and got a picture. Actually, I got about 20 or so pictures. When a hummingbird lights, he sticks around for a while resting. And presenting me with great picture opportunities.

My regret? I took all those pics and then Carol suggested I move over and try and get him from the semi-front. Duh!! Yeah, of course!! Why didn't I think of that!! Hahaha, mobility!! What a unique concept!! So I moved and as soon as I set the tripod down and began fiddling with the doodads, this guy took off.

Ah, life. Sometimes it hurts when you kick me.

Final bird of the day.

It was a treat to see this guy. In the light we weren't (when I say 'we' here I mean Carol) sure who this little guy was but we were hoping for this...

A Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

We had been looking for a Sora, a wading bird, but we didn't find him. Another trip, eh!?! But, even though I didn't get any pictures (they're too fast) we did get to see a boatload of Tree Swallows, too.

And that was a great end to a great day. It was an enjoyable ride back to LCO. Good day, good food, and good fun.

Zap!!

This is Sharon. Sharon volunteers at the Friends of the Library where Carol and I met her. Sharon is a mosaic artist. Sharon asked me to help her enter into an Art Contest.

Recently she decided to enter a contest which required a picture of the artist and the pieces of art be submitted for preliminary consideration. So she asked me if I would come and shoot the pictures for her. And I did.

Sharon is an artist with eclectic tastes. She does mosaics and her home reflect that.

One of the two pieces she is submitting, Mr. Polka.

And the other. Don't know the name for this one. She wanted shots of the overall piece and then close-ups to show the texture and media used to achieve the final effect.

It was an interesting exercise. I tried, first, to have her suggest poses and settings and then I just moved her and the pieces around and tried different approaches. Evidently she was satisfied with the results. She's asked me back to picture the final version of Mr. Polka. Hahahaha, I thought he was already done.

Sharon has several of her pieces on display in government buildings around the city.

BAM!!

Time for another of my trademark shifting of gears in my narrative. From Art to Cars, stay up with me!!

I've been thinking about this for a long time. I would worry every time I got into the Mini whether or not it would start. It's 10 years old now and I worried about the this or the that breaking down. Plus, I was kinda looking for a change and I was thinking sedan this time.

So after I got a firm offer of $4000 from Amy for the Mini, I began to seriously consider buying/leasing a car. I remember how dependable the Kia had been that we had bought for Amy so on a trip into Salem I stopped by the Kia dealership.

It was a long day with a lot of hemming and hawing on my part but at the end of the day I'd signed a lease for a new 2017 Optima LX Hybrid.

Here I am getting a very cursory orientation from Mike, the agent who leased me the car. Hahaha, I'm still trying to figure out how to get the heat on. There's a lot of gadgets and gee-gaws on this thing. 

But I did it. Then immediately regretted it. I got the price I wanted, $250 a month for two years but I also got the weebies for adding a debt onto my monthly plate. I'll definitely have to curb my discretionary spending a bit, a couple hundred, each month. It's a huge change and, unfortunately, I'm not as easy with change as I once was.

And then came the self-doubt. Was it the right thing to do!?! That and other demons came and visited with me for the week after. They're still with me but they're slowly fading. Slowly. Very slowly.

First trip in the new car was out to McMinnville to drop off Carol for some house-sitting for Kent and Kathy. But Kent had a change in his work schedule and didn't need Carol to be there for the chickens, etc., so we just visited for a bit and then hit the road back to LCO.

When I'd leased the Optima, I had to leave the Mini there at the dealership. So the day after I brought the Optima home, I was headed back to the dealership to pick up the Mini and bring her home. 

I wrangled a ride to Salem with Don Thomas. When he fell and broke his hip a year and a half ago, I had him stay at my place for over a week so I could make sure he could recover enough to be on his own. Plus I pick him up for a lot of Scout Activities...he doesn't like driving at night. 

And so he didn't hesitate to say yes to my request. He was, I think, happy to be able to return a favor. So off we went. To say thank-you in a small way, I took him and Carol to Carl's Jr for lunch before I picked up the Mini.



I'm smiling but I am being eaten up inside by my doubts and worries. Hahaha, and I felt like I was betraying the Mini, my faithful companion who really did a yeoman's job for the 10 years I drove her.



The new car is driving OK. I'm sure it will get better as I learn how to effectively use it. Still a lot of gray areas for me.

In order to get a $400 discount from the dealer, I had to show a copy of an Honorable Discharge or a DD-214. Strangely enough a retired military ID card to prove honorable military service wasn't sufficient enough for them. So I brought my Discharge from the Marines. Hahaha, I brought out the Old Guns for this one.

Honestly, I was feeling more than a little bit morose plus I had a heavy dose of melancholy thrown in, too. I was feeling lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut as I made the last trip in the Mini from Salem back to LCO.



A few errands that only the mini could do and then...



...parked in the driveway to wait for June when Michelle and the girls will pick her up for her next adventure...with Amy.

Hahaha, I do like this ol' car. She was a mechanical marvel for me.

Ah, time passes and things change. And, Brother, change doesn't wait nor does it much care.

Ka-Pow!!

Another lightening fast change!!

After pouting for awhile, I eventually found myself volunteering to help pick up flags on President's Day with Mike Raines. 

His doggone truck is so high up off the ground I really needed a fork lift to get up into it. So, considering the fact that I would have had to get in and out of that beast about 70 or so times, we wisely decided that I would drive Mike's truck while he did all the grunt work. Good choice!!

I brought the camera as I always do and caught this shot of Mike while we were picking up the flag at the Inn at the Spanish Head.

Mike has a Ram Truck and you can see we were getting quite a load of flags there in the back. Plus, I sorta snuck in a self-portrait, too.

 The South Route, the one we had, is the largest route and, possibly, the most dangerous to drive. That 101 is always busy and a lot of the people driving that road are idiots. Solid, 100% Idiots.

Here's Mike making a pick up at the Taft IGA.

And part of the sunset as I waiting while Mike picked up the flags by Schooner Creek.

I like the idea of always carrying a camera with me wherever I go. It's handy and you never know when you'll be presented with a photo op. We even saw a couple eagles over the Siletz Bay but they were too high up and far away for me to get a good shot of.

But we did our civic and club duty and picked up the flags.

Zoooooooom...

(Something has to help you make the transition from one theme to another.)

The girls, Amy and Michelle, are going to take me on a motor trip along the Mother Road, Main Street, USA, Route 66 for my birthday this year.

Hooah!!

Yeah, we'll be driving from Chicago to Santa Monica, one end to the other. I'm trying to plan places to stop and stay now.

I was only interested in driving it from Tulsa into San Bernardino but the girls want to drive the whole Route. So guess what we'll be doing.

Hahaha, you got it. It should be interesting. A lot to see and do. Riding the Old Route 66. Not quite the same as when I last did it as a wee squeaker way back in the late 50s and early 60s.

Zinnnnnnnnnng....

 I thought I'd take Carol out for a Valentine's Dinner to just celebrate being alive. I gave her a choice between Ace's Bar and Grill or the Old Oregon and she chose Ace's.

A short story to lead up to the dinner is in order now. You see, that day we'd done our shopping and bought a collapsible wagon for the Cub Scouts to use camping and Carol was eager to give it to Hannah, the Cubmaster. 

Carol called Hanna and told her about it and arranged for her to come over that evening. When I came over to pick up Carol, Hannah and April, her close friend, were there about the wagon and Carol's sewing machine.

One thing led to another and we invited them to join us. They had dropped their kids off at a church function and had a couple hours to spare and so they accepted and, POW, we were all at Ace's and waiting for our meals. And so I took this shot.

Hahahaha, always have a camera ready! You never know when you'll be presented with a picture opportunity.

We take photos as a return ticket to a moment that is otherwise gone.

                                                                                                         Anonymous

We had some really good and loud laughs and an enjoyable meal all made possible by the good company.

And so, there we are; Living the Law of Life.

Change is inevitable and with change comes pain, discomfort, disappointment, joy, happiness and new challenges. And change, she comes at you like a semi barreling down a country road. Change is an irresistible force that must be reckoned with.

Now we're here, at the end of another blog. The good news is I've pretty much shaken off the engulfing inertia and the lugubrious cafard I've been in. Pretty much although strong traces still linger to visit with me in the dark hours of the morning.

But I've changed. Subtly. Permanently.  However subtle, though, the change is there, and it is staying. And I am having some difficulty adjusting to it. I've caused myself to have to rethink my spending habits at the very least and so now I'm on to a new chapter. New adventures. New experiences.

Woo, Woo!! What will life bring?

Let's go and find out, shall we!?!