Gratitude and Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a fabulous Thanksgiving!  I am so grateful for each of you who choose to follow me on this journey.  You inspire me.  I hope your day is filled with abundance.  xoxoxo

 

Woman Working in the Woods

I left you hanging at the end of my last chapter in my Forest Project.   I finished the ‘Slash Pile Burn‘ part of it earlier this year, and have slowly brought firewood up to the house all summer.  I tried to haul 10 wagonloads per day up to the house, but pretty much stopped everything when working in the woods became a fire hazard.

Today I revved up my chain saw & commenced slicing all the longer branches. According to my DNR rep I can use it until 1pm.  In the heat of the day with risk of fire too great, I have plenty of other tasks.  The photo above is my make-shift holder for little branches where I sawed 4 to 5 at a time.  Cute little pile, isn’t it?  The previous photo shows a cool tool that holds a branch while sawing, but it only holds one at a time.  It’s a bit cumbersome to put the saw down while I reload.

When 1:00 rolls around, I turn off the saw and fill my wagon.

…and split some larger rounds.  Yep, I learned how to split wood this summer!

I may not get all these branches finished this year, but will do my best.

There are a couple of logs still lying around that I’ll tackle after I’m more adept at sawing.  I’ll have to saw them in place since I can’t even roll, much less lift these up to any tool or make-shift holders!

The best news of the day is my neighbor, inspired by my project cleared HIS property.  This makes it possible for me to get a truck down to the bottom of my property!  Yay, instead of hauling my little wagon uphill, I’m now hauling it a short distance downhill to the truck.  Truck gets loaded & I simply drive out ~ YAY!!  Of course, then I have to unload the truck and stack it, but that’s a story for another day.

 

Finding Frogs at Conboy Lake NWR

Sunday I headed up to Conboy Lake NWR in Glenwood to help search, count and mark Oregon Spotted Frog egg masses.  Here’s why:  “Refuge-wide surveys have been conducted on Conboy Lake NWR since 1998. In that time, the population has experienced significant declines. Oregon spotted frogs have declined range-wide as well and are gone from the majority of historic sites. As a result, the species is now federally listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We continue to monitor the population on the Refuge through egg mass surveys to help us make better management decisions and evaluate efforts we have previously made.”

Plus I like being on the refuge and I like the people I’ve met up there.  Here are a couple of Spotted Frogs, one with a reddish cast.  Aren’t they cute?!!

It was a beautiful blue-sky day that started with a misty morning over Conboy Lake.

Wearing waders, we headed out into the lake looking for egg masses.  What’s that you ask?  Let me show you!

They were mostly underwater, jelly-like clear’ish balls with a black dot in the middle of each and clustered together.

Oh look, another!  I did not find any, but the other volunteers found many.

The beautiful Mt. Adams always in our line of sight watched over us.

Just like a search and rescue line, we walked a grid, back and forth across the marshy lake.

I learned so much from Lisa, the refuge manager and her crew.

Here are some of the crew consulting.  Other refuge managers, biologists, volunteers…and me with my camera.

At each sighting we planted a flag with the number, date and amount then marked it on GPS.

The mist rose, we continued our march and I marveled at all I was learning through my many questions.

The egg masses with a black dot are stage One.

When the black dots change to ovals, they are stage two.

Not versed in all the stages, you know the end – they become FROGS!!

Every once in a while we’d stop to help a mass get back in the water.

If the mass was stuck on grass above the waterline it had to be gently released so the eggs stay in the water and survive.

A couple of times we’d find a mass that had to be moved to a wetter environment.

Then off we’d trudge, looking for the next egg mass.

A few frogs hid under the debris below the water’s surface.  See him?

Neither did I, but I saw this one!

This is a mass of Tree Frog eggs, not what we were looking for, but it was MY find!!  Having never seen them before, I think they looked farther along than the Spotted Frog egg masses.

Adding to my excitement we even SAW a tree frog!!

Back to work.

Oh no, we found a Bullfrog!

We found a high dry spot and grabbed some lunch under the sun.  It’s really hard to sit down when wearing waders.  I thought you’d want to know.

After lunch we found more eggs….

…and left more flags behind….

…recorded more information….

…and saw a few more frogs!!

Here’s a better view of this cute fella with a reddish cast.

By afternoon a thick swarm of bugs descended.

I suppose I could Photoshop the bugs out of this otherwise beautiful scene.

Or this one.

Oh look, another egg mass!

Lisa and her crew still seemed peppy as I ran out of steam and headed back towards shore.

Our ride seemed farther away than the distance I wanted my hefty backpack to stay on my body.  I took all my lenses, ‘just in case’.

I figured I could find some birds to photograph near the truck while Lisa’s crew continued working.

Alas I trudged too slowly and they caught up with me.

One last Spotted Frog, a baby that we found at our last stop of the day enroute back to refuge headquarters.

Thanks so much Lisa, for letting me come along to document and learn.  I had a great time, as usual a very fun day on the refuge!

Frozen Waterfalls

A long-time friend and I decided to take the scenic route into Portland on Friday for our ‘Girls Day Lunch Adventure’ and we were rewarded with a magical winter wonderland.

Our first stop was Horsetail Falls and it was spectacular.  The walkway was very icy but worth the risk of slipping to see the sparkly ice up close.

Icicles hung off all the cliffs and each of the big iconic waterfalls along the old highway majestically roared against icy canyon walls.

Our next stop was Multnomah Falls and it was stuffed with photographers.  We bundled up and walked up to the bridge but did not hike any of the trails beyond.

It was more of a fun girlfriend day out filled with laughter and memories along with a little awe, rather than a photographer’s holiday.  No tripod, no hiking boots, no rain gear just my camera and a semi-steady hand.

Our last stop was Latourell Falls and again we were mesmerized by sparkly white ice, the roar and majesty of these frozen waterfalls.

For scale, the red splash in the lower left corner in the photo above is another photographer who braved the icy trail.

We finished our drive through the Columbia River Gorge and had a lovely lunch in Troutdale, then decided we’ll have to make this outing a regular occurrence!

 

 

Early December Ice Storm on Burdoin

I can’t believe a month has gone by since my last post!

Where has time gone?

Where is my Rocking Chair – will sitting in one make time slow down?

I need more time.  More time to just breathe.

Life has been crazy busy and today I am forced into having that extra time to breathe.

And to catch up.

Because for the first time EVER I had to cancel my appearance at an art show.

Even if I COULD carry my heavy boxes of glass across the ice to my car…

…there’s no way my car will go UP my driveway.

If you were planning to shop for holiday gifts from me you can still see my work online.

You can click here for my Zibbet shop…..

…or you can click here for my Artfire shop.

If you want to see my work in person, go to Columbia Arts in Hood River…

…or Artisans Designs and Gallery in White Salmon.

Hood River Jewelers has a nice selection of my bowls….

J D Smith Jewelers in The Dalles has a selection of my jewelry….

…and don’t forget the Hood River Holiday Pop Up Gift Store at Gallery 301 in Hood River!

Back at ‘The Ranch”, there is half to one inch of ice covering everything.

That includes my car, trash barrel, mailbox, garden and driveway.

This morning I took my camera out to capture some of it.

In a way it was pretty … and I AM catching up … and even breathing today!

My bird sculptures are pretty in ice (made by Sherm Rouse).

At least I’ll be toasty ‘weather’ I get out or not!  Hope you enjoy our winter wonderland and don’t get ‘stuck’ anywhere.

A Sizzling Summer

I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 months since my last post!  This summer is flying by faster than ever and I am barely keeping up.  My garden is overrun… with weeds and deer.

My studio is working overtime catching up with orders. I’m having a run on recycled glass wall pocket vases at the moment ~ you can see the finished versions here.

Since the first day of summer I’ve traveled to Conboy National Wildlife Refuge often to find Sand Hill Cranes, Elk, Otters, Waterfowl and any wildlife that presents itself to me…

I’ve learned to use LightRoom for my photo processing and management; celebrated my sweet girl Treasure‘s 7th BirthDay and my BFF’s 60th!  I’ve had lunch, dinner, coffee and wine with friends over the last 7 weeks…

…I’ve had brush removed from my property for fire protection by a 6 man crew that knocked it out in three days!  We seem to have wildfires near us every summer now.  This wildfire is almost out At Rowena Oregon, across the Columbia River From Lyle WA where I watch eagles and osprey.

I went on a very fun multi-generational family vacation across Western Washington exploring only a fraction of what my state has to offer, including a ride up the Space Needle for the first time and a drive on the beach at Long Beach!

I continue to check on several families of Osprey along the Columbia River.  The babies have grown up so fast.  I was shocked at the rate of growth in the 10 days that I missed while in Alaska.

Yes, I was in Alaska teaching for Half Moon Creek for the 4th time.  My 4th visit to Alaska was magical and deserves a post…no, several posts just to show you how beautiful Alaska is and how much fun we had.

I have volunteered for Columbia Arts, managed my way through the relaunch of my sales site, Zibbet…

…and formed new friendships with a new hiking group while traversing Bird Creek Meadows!

In short, I have not been able to make myself sit at the computer while the sun shines and I can play outside!  I’ll try to get my Alaska Adventure up soon for you to dream up your own Alaskan Adventure.  It’s one of those places that I wish everyone could experience.  I am already working on getting back there!

Happy Mother’s Day ~ To an Inspirational Woman

Photo montage in honor of strong women who push the next generation forward.  Yes, it’s ok to be pushy, bossy, and strong.  Happy Mother’s Day to all women who encourage, empower, inspire and lead the way.

My mom was in the navy, became a deputy sheriff and was among the first women working the streets in patrol.  She taught self defense for women; oversaw and encouraged incarcerated women learning a trade; and was one of two women and scores of men involved in the raid at Spahn Ranch that ultimately put the ‘Manson family’ behind bars.  She later put herself through college and trained at the FBI academy through LASD.  She referred to all these accomplishments as “A feather in my cap”.

She taught me independence, honesty and determination among many other things.  She showed me how to savor a book and how to clean a house (neither of which I have time for at the moment).  When young we played her records over and over, memorizing the tunes that she liked to dance to – Elvis, Marty Robbins, The Platters, Everly Brothers, Chubby Checkers, Sarah Vaughan, Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, The Brothers Four …  Although she laments she didn’t do enough, what a rich childhood she gave me.  I wouldn’t be who I am if she had done anything differently.  Thanks Mom.  I love you.

 

An Anniversary of Sorts

I’ve been barely breathing this last year without even realizing it.  One week from today, December 11th is the anniversary of the Clackamas_Town_Center_shooting.  I was there.  Or I should say I was almost there.  There but for the grace of God. Spirit. Guardian Angel.  My own intuition.  I was exiting the mall as the shooter began spraying bullets where I had stood three minutes before.

This is what I posted on my Facebook page:  “I cannot believe how lucky I am. Missed the Clackamas shooting by 5 minutes if that! If I had gone into the Made in OR store & browsed like I wanted to, instead of racing to Sports Authority for gift cards I would’ve been locked in! Feeling goose-bumpy……..”

Almost a year later I’m beginning to realize how my life has changed because of that event.  At the time it was nothing more than a near miss – I was too busy to give it further thought.  I didn’t think I was affected…yet I was…and still am. Not taking anything for granted.  No longer planning my life a year in advance for show & teaching schedules. Not wasting time on things that don’t matter. Lately my thoughts have bubbled to the surface and I’m acknowledging how it altered my life.

When I walked into the food court that day I had a prickly fearful feeling that I wanted to get out of there. As I looked at two employees talking in front of their counter I had a strange thought that one of them could have a gun. I shook it off as a weird unwelcome thought, but it was all I could do to make myself go to the restroom so I could get out of there sooner rather than later. On my way out of the food court I started towards ‘Made in Oregon’, a regular stop for me but that nagging voice in my head insisted I keep moving forward with my Christmas shopping. GET OUT OF HERE is what reverberated in my head. “Don’t dally, get across the street to Sports Authority and finish your shopping”. GO HOME is what I wanted to do.

As I drove home after my last purchases and heard what happened on the radio, I started shaking so hard I had to pull over. I looked at my receipts and discovered I’d exited Clackamas Town Center about the same time a shooter began his rampage. I didn’t know how lucky I was to acknowledge my intuition and left a disaster unscathed. Mostly unscathed.  I still feel a little shaky thinking about it, but I think I’m beginning to process it.

I’ve always had a joyful spirit, but now even more so.  Looking forward to seeing where new adventures take me.

I hesitate to hit the ‘publish’ button for this post, yet feel compelled to share this as part of my catharsis.  Here goes….

Miracles DO Happen

Two months ago I wrote about my friend who was in a horrific motorcycle accident and life-flighted to a trauma hospital in Portland.  A cancer survivor, she has once again proven to be an inspiration for friends and family.  Today, after a month in ICU, a stint in a rehab facility and then a stay at an assisted living facility, she is HOME.  Not just home, but home with all her casts removed, using a cane and walker to amble about and the wheelchair ditched.

Her wonderful husband rarely left her side during this long ordeal, even to sleep.  Having never been in a trauma unit, to say I was shocked at Kathy’s condition that first week is an understatement. Not wanting to bring any negative energy into her room, I held back my panic and tears while stroking her hand and simply repeated a mantra, “everyone loves you”.   That was all I could do on that day while her broken body filled with tubes and surrounded with monitors lay comatose.

Last week I drove her to a couple doctor appointments, went out to lunch and we even had a couple of side ‘stops’ for a fun ‘girls day out’!  Her bubbly effervescence is so contagious it is no wonder I love this friend!

A few of you asked me how to purchase her work.  Now that she’s home she has re-opened her Artfire studio, Kathryn Watne Enamels.   She’s getting back to work and plans to be in her studio in plenty of time for the Gorge Artists Studio Tour and at least one Christmas show that we’ll do together at MCMC in The Dalles.

Check out her shop, visit her Facebook Page and give her a ‘like’.  Follow her Blog and show some blog love with a comment.  Wherever you choose to visit or get to know her better, give her a BIG Welcome Home!!

Helping a Favorite Friend

Early this month I was on a roll, getting things done, adding to my on-line shop, getting commissions out the door.  Then one of my favorite friends was in a horrific accident and all my attention went to her:  http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2013/jul/13/local-artist-hospitalized-after-motorcycle-acciden/   We had just finished a meeting for an August art show and as we stood on the corner chatting afterwards, I remember thinking how cute Kathy looked in her motorcycle leathers & helmet.  Everything changed less than an hour later.

I’m watering her garden along with other friends; and gathered some photos of our ‘Glass Girls’ and other mutual friends to paste on her hospital wall so no matter where she looks, she’ll see someone who loves her. It doesn’t feel like enough.  Kathy has many friends that are thinking of ways to help, to show our love and support.

Along with many other artists, I’m donating my work for upcoming fundraisers and I don’t know if that’ll be enough. Last night I decided to give 20% of my sales towards Kathy’s fund. If you’ve been thinking about buying a gift of glass or something for your home; notecards or photograph prints on metal or canvas, you’ll also be contributing to Kathy’s fund and I thank you in advance!  http://www.zibbet.com/SteiderStudios  No, this is not a plug to get you to buy something….I’m simply looking at any possible way to help my friend & her family.

Kathy is one of those people who everyone loves. She’s full of life, energy and effervescence. She sits on many committees with me. I’ve been her student & she’s been mine. She is a sports enthusiast, skiing and snowboarding during winter months & windsurfing in summer. I could go on and on about her but I think you get the idea. She smiles at everyone and they can’t help but smile back. She radiates positivity.

If you can send a prayer or positive energy with healthy vibes, they’d be appreciated.

If you’re in the Columbia River Gorge, watch for announcements of opportunities to help.

I don’t know when Kathy will be back at work, but perhaps the best way to show support later will be to purchase her enamel jewelry, wall art and switch plates.