Minnesota in July

Vacation this summer was a visit to Tom's family in Rochester, Minnesota.I fell in love with the green rolling hills, open spaces, and gracious hospitality of Jennie, one of Tom's sisters. I've never seen water towers, and Jennie teased me relentlessly about how much one in particular reminded her of me. Jennie and Ron's house was completely open to us, and Ron took time off so we could see some of the sights. This is from the Plumber house in Rochester; the fellow built this in 1901, no expense spared. He was in associaiton with the Mayo brothers, helping to further the Mayo Clinic. When we weren't being tourists, we stayed home visiting, reading the local papers, running, napping, and in the evening we'd play an interesting game called hang your balls. It's a homemade game, with plans available on the internets, using PVC pipe, golf balls and cord. Very fun. Some folks were really good at it. Others of us just stood alongside and cheered really good plays. Our family drove to Wisconsin for a birthday/anniversary celebration for John and Cheri, at a beautiful lake about 4 hours from Rochester. We were given a lovely, quiet basement place with their neighbors, Diantha and Clyde. I felt so at home there, too. The lake allows for both fishing and skiing, offered at different times during the day, and John towed me on a ski around the lake while Tom spotted me. Very fun. We couldn't have asked for more perfect wheather, so perfect that I wondered why on earth would anyone want to leave there. I was quickly reminded about the rough winters. Yah. I like Southern Oregon winters. Much more mild.

Clam Beach Run

Chase and Wanda have fun in the surf while Tom runs the race and I try photographing him. The Coast Guard support crew carried me across Little River so that I could capture Tom running across.




They were great guys, wading in the water in wet suits. They even grabbed Chases' leash and guided him as he swam next to us.

Look what I'm doing now!

Brian and Colleen Gamble, Sweet Home, Oregon, 1960

Recently I found a photo of my brother and me posing on my Dad's folks' property in Sweet Home, Oregon. Grandma and Grandpa Gamble lived there until the Army Corps of Engineers purchased their 10 acre property about 1966 to put in the Green Peter Dam downstream from their house. Brian and I used to play in the hay field while Granda worked in his wood shop. Grandma spent her time in the kitchen, filling the cooking stove with wood and making applesauce from apples grown on the property. In the summer afternoons we'd swim in the Santiam River, which ran through the back of the property, making swimming holes by piling up the river rock. It was on this property that my Dad taught me to shoot a rifle. I started with an old BB gun, and then used a 30-30.The Army Corps of Engineers moved the old house north of the river; I've never found it, but Brian told me that he'd seen it in the late 80's while on a trip through Oregon. I'm still fond of hats, but I don't have anything like the one in the photo anymore...

Starting My Day

Morning came early, the coffee pot is now empty, and I'm playing with my new Nikon wireless remote. It's almost as good as having a friend over to take my photo; almost, but someone is definitely missing.

Applegate River Ranch

Slopes and Trails (the best singles activity group in the Rogue Valley) held its annual Leadership dinner at the Applegate River Ranch. Nestled in middle of the Applegate appellation, the trip getting there and back is lovely: rural, with gently sloping hillsides, vineyards, tasting rooms, and windy roads. Running late after a stop at Del Rio Winery on I-5 we had to hustle to make my 4 o'clock meeting. I was being chauffeured in a bright red Mazda Miata, and the driver politely asked: do you mind if I have a little fun? Of course not!!! What a blast that was. Absolutely thrilling. Even though this picture was taken an hour after the car was stopped, I can still see the excitement in my eyes from that joy ride.To find the Applegate Valley, check this little map. The ride back was more sedate after a filling dinner, and we actually had time to "stop and smell the flowers", well not really flowers...but, she was curious about the bright red car with a mooing woman hanging out of it. Besides, I like having a cow be the counterpoint to my own photo...

Custer State Park, South Dakota

Serendipity danced around us the day we drove into South Dakota. Not only was the state beautiful in her autumn colors, it was warm, with clear skies and fresh air. We arrived in the Black Hills National Forest, driving along almost deserted roads. On a suggestion from a rest area tourism station we went to Custer State Park where we might see some buffalo. What we didn't know was that the roundup was over, all the volunteers for the roundup had left, and that the buffalo were now in corrals settling down.

A Sunday Morning Run on the Pacific Crest Trail

Chase and I went for a fun run in the Greensprings on Sunday morning. Before the day heated up, we trotted north along a single lane trail, green and lush from a cooler than usual summer. Chase, good dog that he is, scouts the trail ahead of me, returning often to check on my progress. We ran out about 45 minutes, returning to the Burb to wait a bit for Llama, Wonder, Jewels and Licks. They ran 12 miles, starting from Pilot Rock. The plan was to have a yummy breakfast at the newly opened Greensprings Restaurant, having just read of their recent reopening. Unfortunately, it was a trainwreck, and the next time we'll have to bring a pick a nick basket!

Chase Rides on the Bikepath!

The Bear Creek Greenway Bikepath is finally complete! Chase and I rode to the Grange Co-Op for some garden items, and he's getting more comfortable in the trailer all of the time. Stopping off at the dog park for an exhausting romp makes the ride even better. Chase's top speed is 26 miles per hour in the trailer. That was before reading the fine print in the manual that told me not to exceed 10. Doh. The trailer pulled straight and true even though we were way past the do not exceed speed.

My Favorite Hash of the Year

I love to get ready for the costume hashes, and the Red Dress is my favorite. Here's a trio: Tasty Pasties, Mail, and Droopy Shooter. We posed under a few trees, catching a dry spell between spring cloudbursts. What fun!

Turkeys, Chickens and Morning Glories

Before building the final chicken coop, I hired my neighbor Dennis to install a gutter. Instead of a downspout I wanted a chain, finding a beautiful copper chain with small catch basins at the local grange co-op. The morning glories have climbed up them, almost obscuring them from sight. Next year I'll plant many more varieties along the 4 x 4 posts to make some shade and add color. I'm loving the activity that the hens and toms create, and the fresh eggs are simply delicious, relatively free, and homegrown!


The chicken on the left is a New Hampshire Red, and I'm not sure what kind the one on the right is, but her name is Henny. She's my favorite hen, mostly because she's friendly and pretty. She went through a few weeks of not walking on her feet, acting like they were sore. I packed her from feed to water until the biggest tom began holding her down and picking on her head. I grabbed some wire and made a kind of creep feeder to keep the two turkeys out of the coop area and Henny made a full recovery.
I've had four turkeys this spring and summer, with three of them failing because of a rapid weight gain and underdeveloped leg joints.
So I'm happy to say that one fine fellow is growing quite quickly with strong legs, however, next weekend I'll have to do the deed, to render and freeze another turkey. Up close the turkeys look pre-historic, with their bright red wattles, blue heads and slithering snood. The snood is quite active, retracting quickly for who knows what reason. I think they are pretty happy in their huge home, with clean food and water and shade from the summer heat. I've been getting 3 eggs every other day from my 5 hens. After the morning hours have passed I let the hens forage around the back yard, eating bugs and stray grass. They are happy to come back into their own yard about an hour before dusk, to get a last drink and nibble before settling in for the night.

50th Birthday & 500th Ashland Hash

Sherpa and I celebrate our April birthdays two days apart, and for the last two years we've co-hared our birthday hashes. This years hash was momentous not just because everyone showed up in formal attire, for our birthdays, but that our kennel that Sherpa started in the 1980's celebrated its 500th run. We had quite the celebration with lots of food, two kegs, champagne, wine, and a rock band, the Rogue Suspects. We ran out of beer (almost 90 folks came!)danced until we were tired, then most folks pitched in to clean up, even in our formal wear.

Free Chick Day at the Co-Op

Since moving to Medford in 1996 to attend Southern Oregon University, I'd wanted to make my yard more productive, more edible. The lawn went that summer, replaced with roses and seasonal vegetables. That was all that I could do considering the work/school thing and a limited number of hours available in a day. Chickens were high on my list, and after a brief period where Medford didn't allow chickens in the city, some kind soul petitioned city hall and won back the right to have hens within the city limits. I don't know if this is what they really had in mind, but they are sure cute at a few days old. Joy had the idea to set them in tea cups, so I brought down the fine china I'd received as a child from Maude, my English babysitter, and plunked down two chicks. They are almost a month old now, and are flying around in the coop that Tom remodeled from an old garden shed.

Returning to Central Oregon

Broken Top, left;
The Three Sisters: Faith, Hope, Charity, right

At least once a year, sometimes twice, I go to Central Oregon. I used to live there, fourteen years ago, but now I rent my places out, so its more work related. But that doesn't make it any easier to leave there after a visit. The drive over takes five hours from Medford, but my place on Riley Creek still tugs at my heartstrings. Some places just do that to ya. In the spring the place is full of sound and rich in green color with a sky so blue, so untouchably far away, and air, sweet and clear. In the winter the cold is dry and tolerable if you are in the sun. Lovely sun, 320 days a year.


Riley Creek, springtime

If it weren't for the isolation and loneliness, living 30 miles east of Prineville, Oregon, at 4600 feet, would be wonderful, and more people would do it. Prineville? It's a small town of about 7300, 45 miles east of Bend. Draw an X from corner to corner of Oregon and most likely the intersection will be right about Prineville. So, I just visit, and when I leave my favorite house I cry. I used to ride my horse out the gate and into the Ochoco National Forest. I'd gather watercress from McGinnis Creek, and pick wild flowers from the field up the draw. I started running just after my divorce on the logging roads and game trails that lace through trees, brush, across creeks. Simply lovely.


I went to Prineville to do a move out inspection, and for the first time I got to stay in one of my units. Built in 1940, this duplex is smack in the middle of Prineville, and I just love the knotty pine walls in the living room, hall and bedroom.

Shirley gave me her blow up double bed, politely reminding me that I was just about 50 and should not be sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag.
The kitchen needed a good cleaning and new paint, so I spent a few days doing that.





My friend, JC, came over one night to keep me company. Very nice. I'm the world's messiest painter, my coveralls have a bit of every color I've ever painted on them. I have also learned to put my hair in a shower cap, just to keep it from dipping into the paint pot. This trip I TSP'd the walls and ceiling, primed them with an oil based primer, and painted the walls and trim girlie colors in light yellow and peach. Girly.

Springtime Flowers from my Garden

Here is a collage of my flowers in the early spring. This year my flowers were so pretty, but when it came time for my tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers to bloom and grow I suffered horrible crop failure! I'm now composting with the help of useable garbage from four of my neighbors. The fall leaves, old straw bales, llama pellets, and grass clipping are going to soak into my yard all winter, with the hope that in the spring I have an enviable and productive garden in my front. We won't discuss the backyard yet.

Bitwixt Birthdays Hash

Have you visited the link I have to the right for Ashland Hash House Harriers yet? If not, find some time to browse there, Wonder will have more photos of this hash posted when the write up is submitted. Sherpa, who celebrated his birthday on the 10th, and I, who celebrated my birthday on the 8th, co-hared the last Sunday hash on the day between our birthdays - hence the name, Betwixt Birthdays Hash. We had so much fun planning this. Not being a strong runner I needed some brilliant strategy to keep from being caught by the hounds.

So, we made a very nice trap for them at Fire Station 3 on the corner of Highland and Siskiyou. Here is just a small example of the fun the hashers had there. After getting that bright red fire truck all shiney the hounds ran further east though a cemetary, over a cyclone fence, and back to what I'd heard described at the On-In as "the best beer stop ever".
It really would have been more of a surprise just exactly where "the best beer stop ever" was, in my opinion, if Baggy hadn't been sitting outside of it when all the Ashland folks drove past Paradise Footwear. And, a special thanks to Tom, owner of Paradise Footwear, for being such a gracious host and accommodating the wine and beer and the load of runners trotting into his shop. I wish that I could have been enjoying a glass of wine at the beer stop, too, but I had to scoot back to my place to prepare for the On-In. I served chili, corn bread, salad, and Sherpa made a very yummy spice birthday cake. After eating our fill, Back Door Banger became a dj and we danced until the sun went down. That is Hot Karl dancing with my mannequin, and even the shy Llama managed a couple of moves with me on my hardwood dance floor. Ah, what a night!

Hannibal.

Hello Everybody, it's me, ChaseManDog. Momb is letting me used her computer so that I can post a picture and appeal to you for sympathy. Momb bought me this mask, which FOTHER TOM has nicknamed "the Hannibal" after Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. It is comfortable enough, but it really makes it hard to eat those nice little treats that the neighbors cats leave in my Mombs dirt gardens. I hope that you can tell from the expression on my face that I'm not fond of this, but it is the only way that I can be outside during the day and give Momb kisses in the night. I love my Momb, even when I wear this thing on my face.

Can you pass 8th grade math?

I'm going to rely on this fun test for you instead of posting something more personal. Here I've proudly displayed my results...

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

instead of making a REAL post. Click on the link just above and have fun.

Hagg Lake Run

Which was more fun: the race or McMenamins? For all of us - BOTH. Tom, Dana and I left Ashland on Friday without our dogs to head for Forest Grove and an ultra training run at Hagg Lake. The evening before the race we all clustered around the table for a group "before" shot. We dined and stayed at the McMenamins Grand Lodge, a lovingly restored building from the 1920's which originally housed those Masons and their relatives who were in need. The facility is lovely and comfortable, but for the noise! Some of those high energy folks even imbibed until the wee hours - how do they do it? We managed to get in a full nights rest, those who ran got muddy, and those who missed their dogs made new dog friends and hunted for the perfect latte. After the race we all celebrated our safe return with hot baths, long showers, a huge meal and a deep rest before driving back to Ashland.

Siskiyou Outback Trail Runs

Although I can't run long distances anymore, I do enjoy getting out in nature in Southern Oregon. One way that I do that is by going on long runs, but walking instead of running. I like to take my camera, but it's sometimes too big for a brisk, long hike. I'd really like to have a Nikon Coolpix, one that is smaller than my D70s, so that I can do point and shoots along the trail. Here's a photo of my walking friend, Sally, feeding my ever beggin dog, Chase.
Sally and I have hiked along the Applegate Lake Reservoir, then up and over Collier trail, a trail that had us exposed to some very snowy and windy conditions one blustery day. That was the day I didn't take my camera and really wish that I had. We were both soaked to our bones, and were not properly dressed for the serving of weather that spit its nasty, cold wetness on us. Brrrrrrr. This Saturday we'll be doing a Fat Ass run, and I'm going to be out there in the wilds with my camera and boyfriend as we celebrate Our One Year Dating Anniversary. I just checked the weather and it will be partly cloudy. Simply a perfect day for a walk in the woods, with a cold beer waiting for us at the end.

Trinidad, California, January 15, 2006

Tom and I drove to his old stomping grounds on Saturday morning to visit friends and pick up 80 crabs for the Crab Hash. Chase and Wanda rode in the back. The plan was to visit with Greta and Chris (Chris works on the Jumpin Jack) and Kathy. The winter storms weren't kind, with roads slipping away and trees falling across power lines and roads. The first place we actually stopped was Kathy's shop, seemingly the hub of the clan. His longtime friend, Dale, stopped by, Danny brought some beer, Davis was working on some plumbing...it was old home week within 5 minutes of our arrival. Chris had secured our crab so all we had to do in the wee hours of the next day was to transfer it to our container. We made a quick potluck from stuff we bought at Murphy's, had some good chat and went our ways for the evening. Greta and I went to a sweat lodge and got back about 9:30. I love going over there because I feel so welcome. In the morning Tom and I hit the dock grabbed our crab and made for home. We'd gotten such an early start that we had time to let the dogs romp on Wilson Creek Beach, and at Point Saint George near Crescent Beach. We even stopped by this old party house Tom used to frequent in the early 70's. The dogs had so much fun being dogs. Here's Chase in the surf, and you can barely pick out Wanda's nose on the other side of the wave. Chase found the most natural dog toy in this kelp horn.I think this was the first time that both Chase and I were happy that he was being a real dog.

Ladies Who Dine, Appetizers and Wine

An evening of elegance in the middle of a dreary December. Good food, good wine, good gossip, all in the company of wonderful women. What didn't we talk about? Among this group of friends. Gayle and I brought our cameras, we mounted mine on her huge, sturdy, tripod. Then we got out the remote control. Patricia kept it the longest. She had so much power ...she'd make us laugh at her jokes then push the button while we'd laugh with our jaws hanging open. What a lovely and fun evening.

Chase and Wanda Visit Santa

But who had more fun? Nothing better than a good sit on Santa's lap, and best of all this was a benefit for the Humane Society of Jackson County.

The Ladies Who Dine at Myra's

Just four of us met at Myra's for wonderful conversation and delicious food. Myra outdid herself with appetizers and the main course, salmon. Ooooh, all that garlic makes my mouth water right now. Shirley brought the wine, I brought green beans and Gayle brought pumpkin pie with a special treatment of pralined nuts on the bottom crust.Yummy. What talent sat at that table. And yack! We got to know each other so much better; we realize there are more similiarities than there are differences. The dogs, Dude and Hilde, played until they, well, OK, until Dude konked out - Hilde barking him awake to play some more. How does Gayle keep up with that dog? Next Ladies Who Dine will meet at Shirley's to enjoy her newly tiled fireplace.

A Quiet Saturday Night

It is a dark and stormy night, I'm alone in the house. Rain thumps on the roof. Such a soothing, rhythmic, background noise. Huge drops fall from the trees and knock on my roof, dripping from the shingles onto the cold glass, little droplets stand against the cold, black windows. I'm glad I have a heavy blanket and a dog to snuggle up with.