Mudbowl 09

The new year is almost upon us, which for TW means the mudbowl. It looks like an excellent crop of mud this year with all the melted snow and recent rain.
Meet at Col. Summers Park, Noon, Jan. 1st.

Guest Post : ConspiraSteve : The Enemies List

*Please note the opinions and theories expressed by ConpiraSteve are not necessarily shared by the author of this blog*

The very need for such verifiably votive verbiage in these times would require invariable verbosity, would you not agree Dear Readers? Would you not even in the vicissitude variant that is verily upon us object to a verifiable villain in our midst? Or villains? ... I think not or so...Or Dear Readers has after November November that day of remember dulled our vexation of the venal and virulent vermin violating violently the vox populi???! Has our veneer of vicious virility been vanquished with one virtual virtuous vote? Mmmm... Makes you think does it not, Dear Reader?... I for one will not be vanquished by the vox populi of the now (irony aside)!! I will not veer. Dear Readers, I will vindicate the values of the virtuous and hold true the values of the vanquished!! The only vengeance I have is this verdict: Vendetta.

The Enemies List: Coming soon.

Arctic Blast!

Well I'm back in the modern world after 48 hours with no power. I'd like to say it was an ordeal but actually I kind of enjoyed it. The wood stove kept me plenty warm, between my cupboards and the generosity of Bill and Karen I stayed well fed, I enjoy reading by candlelight and thanks to Jetboil and my antique coffee grinder I stayed properly caffeinated. The lack of hot water was an issue at first but I found that if I rode the rollers until I started dripping sweat and fantasizing about making naked snow angels a cold shower was just the thing. All in all, good practice for the coming apocalypse.

NBA update

In the wake of a terrific Trailblazers win against the Suns tonight here's a joke from Steve Nash...

Poker Night?

Dabby wants to know if there is any interest in a poker night at the Compound the first Saturday of 2009, Jan. 3. This could be your one and only chance to see the Compound and the infamous Party Barn...let me know what you think in the comments.

snowday

Mace asked me to take pictures of the snow so Natty and I just took a walk around, I might try a little trail ride later in the afternoon.

There were coyote tracks on every trail in the woods but concentrated in makeout clearing, it looks like they had a party there. They walked across the ladder and pretty much every log, including some that were angled somewhat steeply and several feet off the ground.


I'm tempted to try it, but no.


This cat really gets around, it's tracks were everywhere.

CSI : The Woods
The scene of a struggle? It's hard to tell from this photo but on this otherwise pristine section of trail there was a spot here where dirt and leaves were thrown up on top of the snow, there were coyote tracks coming from one direction, cat tracks from another and bird tracks coming in from the side. Also there were two spots on the snow where it looked like a wing had swept across. No feathers or blood though and no marks of anything dragged away. Inconclusive.

The wild cherries are starting to form buds already.

Oh yeah, I was going to pull those hyacinth out and compost them last week...guess I'll have to wait awhile now. I trust my little koi are fine, it's over 4 ft. deep at the center, I can't imagine it's frozen that far down.

Natty likes the snow but what she REALLY likes is getting back inside and laying by the fire.

Note the one white whisker. Jaden thinks something frightened her, I think she's starting to get old.


Some of the rhododendrons aren't looking so good.

I thought it would be funny to get some small LED lights powered by batteries and put them on one of the Xmas trees. Maybe next year.

I got a little worried about the feral calico cat that's been hanging out in my woodshed so I made a little shelter. I hope it's utilized, I've been trying to lure it in but it's not having any part of that "kitty, kitty" thing. Of course Natty is a hindrance, chasing things that will run away is pretty much her raison d'etre, if you'll pardon my French.

A redtailed hawk takes flight at sunset. I had hoped to get closer before it took off, I'm not very stealthy.


Mace, Beefa, Spence and I (plus 3 dogs) did a super-mini-deathmarch to a ridge above Mirror Lake and spent the night at Mace's parent's cabin in Welches. Thanks Mace's parents!

Late in the evening.

Mace attempting to prove his theory that he could do pull ups hanging onto Beefa's sleeping arm without waking Beefa. Affirmed.

TWGG

Here's a little experiment. I made a TeamWreck Google Group. I thought this might be a more versatile space to discuss details of the next deathmarch or whatever else you like. For now it's set on web only (no emails) and restricted membership (you have to apply but everyone is welcome, unless you're a jerk).

Death March Update

Bjorn writes in :

"So the death march is friday feb 20 through sunday feb 22nd. We had to get the cabin for friday and saturday in order to reserve it, saturday only wasn't an option. We will have to figure out if some are going friday night, and some saturday, or all saturday or what. Regardless I have some feats of strength in mind and the cabin is reserved."

more photos

I remembered to carry my camera as I walked around with Natty today.

The camelias are about to bloom.

The hybrid apple had a productive year. I like to think I finally pruned it correctly but it may have been a coincidence.

I don't recall the name of this purple item but it sure stands out in the winter garden.

Edible raspberries on Nov. 28, weird.

The annex, phase one workparty coming up soon.

The over/under needs a little work. Dabby and I agree on the solution : shore up the sides with wood, rebar, logs, etc and add lots more dirt.

Still life with fungus and feathers. I'm not sure what type of bird once posessed these feathers but it met a violent end. They were scattered everywhere.

This is the beginning of a new trail. I blazed it with a machete a few weeks ago and then Dabby, Jaden and I roughed it in last weekend. These photos aren't very descriptive but the trail goes both ways around this oak...

then down a little drop and into a tight bermed corner leading into a straight section with some dirt ramps built over logs.

Snowberries

Anyone know the name of this little tree with bright orange fruit? Or maybe those are flowers?

photo update

I almost forgot I had a camera.

View from my bathroom window. Sometimes I pretend I'm in Tuscany.

Crazy light at sunset.

Natty in the orchard.

Baby beefa makes my list of top ten toddlers. She's hilarious and so polite!

Dabby finally realized his long talked about dream of bacon wrapped bacon. In this case rare flank steak wrapped in bacon marinated in honey wrapped in bacon marinated in black pepper. 

I found this photo buried on the memory card. One sunny afternoon this spring the phone would not ring at Magpie. I was working with Meghan, Dee and A.J. One of us suggested that we should call off work and have a cookie party instead. We had a quick nextel poll : who makes the best cookie in central Portland? The answers : the Pearl, Pearl, Pearl Bakery, Pearl. So we went there. 

Rip City, baby.

Another glorious Blazer win tonight.
I admit I woke up in a lousy mood today and it only got worse as the day went on, but despite having to watch the game on the internets, in a tiny 4 inch window (fuck you, Comcast) by the start of the 4th quarter I was pumping the French techno and having a dance party with Natty. Victory is sweeter than prozac.

Capsule Reviews!

The Wire, season 5
Somehow I forgot to watch the last season of the greatest TV show ever.
I want more. The wrap up was solid, though, and I was glad to see a few characters turned out OK. Now I can catch up with Heaven and Here.


Ironman
Let me say first of all that I'm glad Robert Downey Jr. is finally a big movie star, he's earned it. Jaden talked this film up so much that I might have been a little underwhelmed. I did have problems seeing Jeff Bridges as a super villain, he'll always be The Dude to me. I think the final 10 seconds were my favorite part. "I am Ironman", and cue the Black Sabbath. Awesome.

Snowflake Ritz
As you well know Ritz is the official snack of Team Wreck. I was stunned when I saw this new product on the endcap of my local Roth's. So stunned that I purchased a box. It turned out to be just like normal Ritz but each cracker was 5% smaller. Seems like a ripoff unless you really love snowflakes, then it might be a deal.


Twin Peaks season one
My DVR has been catching this and I had forgotten how great it is. Nadine's silent drape runners, Albert the forensics expert, Audrey's dance at the diner, Cooper's dreams and of course Leland/Bob, super creepy!
"I've got good news, that gum you like is going to come back in style."

30 Rock
The Kid told me I should watch this and he was right. Funny!

Wow, not only does Sherman Alexie post on my favorite Trailblazers forum but two of his 21 points concern corndogs! We have so much in common!

Beefa's Kickball Challenge is a go for next Saturday, rain or shine. Followed by the TW holiday party at Mace and Junko's. It'll be a day to remember.

Rev. Phil writes in with more updates from the Bikeporn tour of the West.

Mmmm....Cheese Lover's Napkins....

Is this turning into a basketball blog? I hope not, I need to diversify my interests...

Garbage time all-stars

For those (like me) who love basketball, comics and snarkiness this is a rich vein.

Conservation in the hood

Oregon White Oak, "Messenger Oak"
Quercus garryana

Location: Heritage Mall, Geary Street and 14th Avenue SE, Albany, Oregon

B&K pointed out this great news for our neighborhood. I like vineyards but I love oak woodlands.

Swap Meet

This is always a good one. If anyone wants to meet up before I'll be at Joe's Cellar around 9:45.