Remember the movie the birds?

In the movie birds were every where, And in these shots they were also. Watching me, watching every move I made. The only difference was that to get rid of them I just had to open the door and let the dog out. But there were hundreds of them out there.

These are some pictures I took at my nephews house. The birds were there because it had started to warm up and the snow was melting. It would pool in and on the rocks and they were drinking it as fast as it melted.

U/S

And it is here

Yep that's right the day has been set!And now all we can do is wait.... What? No I'm not talking about the damn Superbowl.This is much bigger than that! On 2-12-09 the day I have been waiting for sense 7-10-08 will arrive. The last dentist appointment, I will have my final fit and be free to look beyond Bend for work. And I will have a new smile to boot. Yes I am HAPPY!

The snow and cold continue

These were taken yesterday, It didn't snow after this but it hasn't melted any either. The high I seen here yesterday was about 19. I did get one section replaced but the main part I don't think I will be able to do this week It will be getting to cold at night for the concrete to set. I still have a lot I can do around here even though its cold. I really don't mind the cold when I'm working in it, and my nephew is a great guy. He has made his uncle proud with the way he has turned out. Any of single gals out there this guy is a keeper!

Three shots in less than a minute

Oops, they are backwards, but this is how fast the clouds were moving in this morning. This is Pilot Butte, a lave dome that sits in side the city limits here in bend. The last shot here was the first and it was just such a temptation I had to snap it!

The weather out side is frightful

So this is what I woke up to, this has been a strange winter so far. temps below 0 and almost in to the sixty's? and now back in to the single digits tonight and tomorrow night. What will be next? Maybe weather in to the 70's and I can get a tan?

U/S

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

Did I mention I was WRONG, I know hard to believe but its true. My mother tried to take the blame (like I would let that happen even if it was true). But no it is all on me. I have lived in Oregon 90% of my life, I have been looking at these mountains all that time. But I had been looking at them from the other side most of that time. But when I posted the picture below the other day I wasn't sure just what mountain it was , and said so. Then my good blogging friend pointed out that I should post the name. So I sent the picture to my FATHER to have him put a positive I.D. to it. Well my mother the good soul that she is was the one who answered the question. Now I had my doubts, but being the good son I went over and put in that it was Mt. Jefferson. No one noticed my error, I could of kept my mouth shut and it would of caused a big ta do years later when MLS & HBL came up on vacation and were arrested for chocking some poor soul for calling it Mt.Washington (which it is) I would feel guilty bailing out MLS and leaving poor HBL there to fend for him self, but that's what he gets for trying to of her anyway. Mt. WASHINGTON, and JAG just so you know this mountain is not in Washington state OR Washington D.C. Its in OREGON!

U/S

Okay, ROCKS

I love rocks, I mean I have been picking them up as long as I can remember. How long is that you ask? well I remember when rocks were invented. That's how long. And yes that was before ice or snow!. So here it is. I picked this rock up today, if you click on it it will magically grow bigger and you will see why I like it so well. It just fascinates me the way the lines run through, and how many there really are. This rock is only about 1 inch by 1 1/2 inches and I couldn't get a very good picture of it that close. Out of 13 this is the only one that I really liked.

U/S

Frost only grows on the north side?

So no frost doesn't only grow on the north side of a tree, but then either does moss. But as you can see this day it was lacking a little on the south side. These are the pictures I took Sunday. That is all that need to be said..... ENJOY

Sometimes mother nature just doesn't need our help!

D/S

The pictures I promised

Now these shots are beautiful and when I took them was the same day as the three part story below. Tomorrow I will post some shots of how fast the weather has changed. I think you will like them. Okay, its Mt. Jefferson. Midlife slices just had to press the issue. (and she was right I should of made sure first) Bless her big heart anyway. I shall try harder to be more thorough in the future as she was quick to point out, I am the answer guy! Can't remember which Mountain this one is (we have a lot that can be seen from here)

This one is called 3 finger Jack. No really that is its name. If you look at it from the other side its looks like some one holding up three fingers side by side.

Still don't know its name but I'm sure my dad or one of my sisters will post a note and tell me or uh you.

This is part of the 3 sisters Mountains, one theory is that they were once just one mountain and that a major eruption blew the top off and left us this. It is thought that it would of dwarfed Everest. Its just a theory. But I do know that the south sister is swelling and I'm sure it will blow, maybe even in my life time (Great, the last one that went near here made a mess out of things and cost 57 people there life.)

A wild hair part 3

Now I have taken the picture of the rock up close so it was time to take one from the trail above me. You Know up at the base of the cliff. So I walked (climb over rocks and boulders) toward the trail..... but as I neared the "Trail" I realised it wasn't at the base of the cliff, it was in fact on top of the cliff! I stopped and went through my options. A. I could try to make my way across this steep place to the trail I came (slid) down. B. Go back down to the bottom and make my way back to the trail that way. Or C. I could climb this 75 foot cliff with no ropes or a partner and shoes that have no tread left on them. So which one do you think I chose? Yep C all the way. I planed my path from where I was standing. I would get to the top on the left side of that big rock in the picture above. I was wrong! Now I have done this sort of climbing before but I was much younger and I hadn't taken a bad spill on my bike just days before. But hey I'm not that old yet ... right?. So I start up the cliff knowing that I need to make sure I don't get my self in a place that I can no longer go up, or down. This happens a lot with climbers and I was keeping that in mind as I went up. I made it oh about as high as as the second floor of a house when I realized "hey I can't make it up here" But there was this cool plant right in front of me, so I was hanging on with one hand and taking not one but three pictures of this plant. I then went almost all the way down before seeing another way up.

So I started up that way......... I got almost as far when it was clear that wasn't going to work either. So I went all the way down to the bottom of the cliff. Now I had been at this for at least 30 minutes by now and I'm still at the bottom. (I'm making good head way here!) So this time I looked a little harder and I seen what looked like a good spot, there was one part I wasn't sure of but I would know more as I got closer. Well as I got closer I realised that there was no way in hell I would get up and over that part, not without having a rope hanging down from above. (which there wasn't) So I started moving to my right a bit and I came to this one spot where I was up against this rock on my right hand side that was sticking out about 2 feet. I was about 35 or 40 feet up in the air. But as I looked around said rock I could see a way up. And this one looked really good. Not easy but do able. All I had to do was get around this damn rock. Now I know this sound wrong but it was the way it had to be done, I reached over and got a good grip with my left hand on the rock that was on my right. Then reached around the rock with my right and got a good grip with it. I had my feet on spots that seemed good so I let go with my left hand to swing around. As soon as my left hand let go so did my feet. I was hanging on in mid air by my right arm that was still hurting from my bike ordeal a few days before. Now I had also separated it about 4 years ago so that is what was giving me the real trouble. (yes I'm old) But damn it I'm not that old, just beat up some what. Anyway I'm hanging on by my sore arm for what seemed like for ever trying to get my footing are some place for my left hand to grab on to. Anything to relieve my right. It was really only 4 or 5 minutes but it sure felt like longer. I at one point reached for my phone, I have GPS location when I dial 911. So if I needed it they would be able to find me.... I was wrong again. I had no signal... DUH, I was in a canyon. I did get my footing and made it around this effing rock. I then started making good time up the rest of the cliff. I was just a few feet from the top when I hit one more obstacle. I had to just move about ten feet to the left and grab some brush and hoist myself up and over the top and I was there. I had mastered the cliff. I really felt good about making it up to the top. (the alternative kind of sucked ya know) But I got there and I looked down and snapped the picture below.

Then I snapped this picture of the rock in the river just as planed. It s at full zoom 12x baby so now you know how far it was! And now you know why I will never stop at a planters nut factory!

I snapped a few shots of the mountains that I will post on "Ken's blog" in a day or so, that turned out rather nice.

But here is the kicker! As T urned to walk back to my bike I looked down and not more than 15 feet from the bottom of the cliff there was a trail that ran straight back to the trail I used to come down the damn thing. And as I looked down this trial I seen the one I had gone down was only 200 yards from where I was standing! (Its okay I have laughed over this many times and am laughing now!) Anyway, The next time I get a wild hair, I'm pulling down my pants and cutting that sucker off right then and there!

D/S

A wild hair part 2

So I walked from my bike about a mile and a half. It was an easy walk and took no time at all. As I got to the canyon I stopped at the edge and looked down and seen an animal trail. I knew it was an animal trail because no human would ever try a trail that steep, errr well almost no human. I thought I would go part way down and see how bad it really was. And so starts the adventure. The picture below is the trail I went down, doesn't look to bad does it? Well let me tell you what. I am looking at it straight on. And it is straight up. That should of been a clue of how much fun I was about to have. This should give you a little better idea of what I had just came down....On my ass no less, I ended up sliding about 20 feet and losing my battery for my camera, so I had to walk (crawl) back up to the battery and get it. If it would of been one of those $5 batteries I would of left it. but this was a rechargeable and they are not cheap even at half price!

So I finally got to the bottom, and I found that the sun don't shine there either! As you will see in the next picture. The rocks are covered in frost. Now these are all lava, rough and sharp you can get a good grip on them with any shoe. Even my Nike's that are tread less now. But when they are covered with frost they are slick as snot! I was crawling and picking my way across them to get the picture that I wanted.

I wanted to get this rock that was in the middle of the river, it too was covered with frost but would make for a great shot I had to move to 3 different spots before I could get it just the way I wanted. And as you can see it was worth all the hassle...................

Then I seen another one that looked even better but I had trees in the way. So I crept and crawled to where I could get a shot of it without using the 12x zoom. I would then go up top to the trail and take one with the zoom to show you how close I really was to this rock...... Trust me it wasn't that cool and if this was what this post was about it would of never made it this far! Tomorrow I will post on the part you want to read...... I still can't believe it And I was there!

So isn't that a cool frozen rock? Just wait you wont be sorry you are doing this!

D/S

A wild hair part 1

This is what the weather has been like the whole week. I thought I would give one more try at getting the view from the canyon in winter time. As you can see NO snow. All the pictures you will be seeing were taken today, although it will take I'm thinking 3 maybe 4 post to get this story told. Trust me this will all be true. Not even I could make this one up! So anyway, you know about what happened on my last try from reading my other blogs. What you haven't read them? for shame on you! Then you will be in the dark, hurry go and read them and come back. I will still be here when your done. Okay, well I'm still sore from that day but the weather is so good I just couldn't help but give it another try. (key word is try but that will come later) So as you see warm, I mean I had a lite jacket on and was over heating warm! Now do you see ant snow here? Or any snow here by this little guy?

But yet her is snow/ice on the same trail as in the post you just went and read on my other blog. And remember it has been 50 and 60 here all week, and you seen the hill in the first shot.

This is where the snow belongs in weather like we have been having. But I really wanted to get the pictures from the canyon so I locked my bike up at the park and walked. Over the next few post I will be sharing those pictures while telling you why I labeled this post "A wild hair" So please stay tuned, you wont believe what went on!

D/S

Its a MALE day today

Hello, Grandpa? I miss you love you bye, bye. Going fishin' with my dad. He's the best fisher man in the world.

He's not so tough dad!

Thanks for the day dad I had a good time.

Now this is what a father son day should be, its what they were when I was that age and I have some real good memories from it and so will my grandson.

D/S

Thump...........thump...thump...........thump.....

Thump.............thump ...... thump........thump ....thump, thump.
(doc) Nurse remove the crash cart from the room.
(nurse) Yes Dr., Do you think it will survive?
(doc) Its out of our hands now nurse.
(nurse) Is there nothing more you can do?
(doc getting red in the face and with anger in his voice) Damn it nurse I'm a Doctor not a blog reader, I can't do it all!
(nurse) I know Dr. I just hate it when we lose a blog, can't we do anything to help it out?
(doc) Well there is one thing we can try, we can tell these readers how to play and how to find this blog.
(nurse looks at the Dr. with dreamy eyes and says) I knew you could think of something. Please tell them.
(doc) Okay nurse I will tell them but I can't force them to read it.
(nurse) I know you will do your best and that will be enough.
(doc) First you have to find this blog there are 2 ways for you to do this, one you can go to http://www.ken-askmewhy.blogspot.com/ Or you can go to the blog roll to the right and just click on "Ask me why" and it will send you there and all you have to do is add it to your favorites.

(nurse) now tell them how to play the game, I love the way you tell it.

(doc) Calm down nurse your giving me a head ache. Yes how to play the game. Ken will ask a question and you answer it in the comment section, Or you can go to the comment section and ask him a question , just don't think you will get a straight answer from him on this blog. If you want a straight answer e-mail it to him at k1960g@gmail.com he will try to answer it for you there. He may also use that question in his blog but it is a personal type of question he will either not use your name or will not do it at all on the blog, He cares for his readers.

Then there is this "Who knew" thing-a-ma-bob, That is a strange one he will inform you of something he has discovered that he thinks is strange, you the readers can also add a who knew in the comment section.
The only way this blog will survive is with you playing along, other wise it will die a slow and painful death.

U/S

Some shots from 2009

Oregon grape, But trust me you don't want to eat them!

Cedar wax wings, a very pretty bird with a beautiful song!

Okay, here is some good news!

I don't like to have negative things on my blog so I haven't talked about this before, but now that I have some good news I will post it.

My mother has been fighting cancer for about 10 years, in may she was informed that she had yet another cancer. This one is a very nasty type and is very rare. I mean that if you put 2 million people with cancer in a group 1 might have this cancer. The out look is not good when you have this one. The started her on a drug to try to slow it down, the drug is DDT. That's right the insecticide that killed all the bald eagles back in the 60's and 70's. Just doesn't make sense giving poison to kill cancer? And something that can cause cancer to boot! But that is what they did. And guess what, It seems to be working. The tumors have stopped growing and they are so small that they could not stick them with a needle to do test on them!. She has been released for the next year and they are reducing the amount of drugs she has to take. So if there was ever a reason to do a happy dance this is it,And I'm a dancing away!

So true, so true!

Snow! and I mean there was some there by golly

It was so hard to get this deer to hold still so I could take its picture, but I love a challenge

Okay I will try to get these right. the one up front is Ella she is the mother of the other two labs.

The one to left is Daisy, she needs lots of love. The one to the right you have met before that is Madison, She is the life of the party and is always ready for a walk. Then the short hair he is named Steely, he is a great one to take bird hunting. He will hold a point tell he falls over from cramps. lol