Sep 9, 2010 by Naomi.

The mid-Columbia shrub steppe region is dry and sometimes dusty but I like living here. There is the scent of dry sagebrush that is pungent and one of my favorite odors. However after a rain the smell of the wet sage sweetly permeates the air. The freshness is delightful as it is this morning with the cloud cover still dripping which postponed my morning walk. I think clouds were wetting the air all night. Dare I hope this is the onset of the fall wet season and it will last until the temperature falls and turns to snow? One can only hope. Meanwhile I will enjoy what is – the scent of sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata - isn’t that lovely name more fitting the attractive indigenous plant than being called a mere brush? Take a deep breath and enjoy!

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Sep 8, 2010 by Naomi.

Teeth cleaning accomplished I drove home and the promised rain fell. Before I got to Abbot St I had to turn the windshield wipers on fast to allow me a clear view of the street. What a wonderful reprieve I would have from sprinkler duty at the rate the rain fell. However that was not the case. Although there were puddles by the curb there was no evidence that my yard had been well doused. I nuked a Weight Watchers Salisbury steak, sat eating it in the sun porch and more rain fell. So I read some more. When the rain stopped I decided I could walk in the back yard. Rain came and went as the clouds passed over. The sun just begins to warm the earth and over passes another cloud and more rain. I hope that happens over and over. I will gladly postpone a walk for another day – or two – or more. Just sit back and consider answers to my childhood question: “Oh what’ll I do, oh what’ll I do, on a rain, rain, rainy day - when the old folks are away?” My imagination conjured pleasant things in those days of yore and so it does today. Except I am the only “old folk” here to appreciate this rainy day.

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Sep 8, 2010 by Naomi.

Another step in ongoing tooth care. I had an examination yesterday and Dr Barton found no damage from the chip I had previously. He could not find where the chip came from so assumed that an old filling was not in jeopardy. However I am due for a cleaning so that will be done at eleven this morning. I showered earlier and took care of unfinished business. After the dentist my day is free and I want to spend some time in my public library, browsing. I bought several paperbacks at the Bookworm and will try not to indulge in that again. Not only is it costly but now the books are mine and will gather dust unless I drop them off at Goodwill or in one case I put a damaged book in recycle. The rain forecast for today I think fell last night. I was sprinkled on the way home from the Heritage Day meeting but not by much. Even if there was a sprinkle it would not have been enough to satisfy plant thirst. I must remedy that today for my big trees. I enjoy sitting in the shade relaxing in a camp chair with a beer and liverwurst sandwich. So much for clean teeth.

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Sep 6, 2010 by Naomi.

Games I play on my laptop computer are limited to solitaire and mahjong. The fun part comes when I call up a new game. I remember how much time it takes to shuffle a deck of cards and set up a game of solitare. My Toshiba is a whiz. It asks me if I want to replay a game or get a new one. Other ways my PC is a whiz is with SpellCheck. A mere flick of a key at the top of a new article and my misspelled words are highlighted. I am given choices for correction. My dear little machine is not intelligent enough to notice words like “there” when it should be “their” or the other way around. I write many articles for my websites and I want them to come out right. Write? You get the idea. It was not so many years past that I had to use a dictionary to be sure I had the correct word. Even a Thesaurus was a last resort to make certain the word conveyed the meaning I wanted. Makes a big difference if a hero shouts, bellows, or whispers. A heroine can shriek, scream, or coo. But that’s too much energy to expend when I just want to play all by myself on a holiday. Bring up solitare and move the cards if possible. No spelling required.

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Sep 6, 2010 by Naomi.

Liverwurst tastes every bit as good smeared on 12-grain bread as it does on rye crackers. I appreciated that fact sitting in my sun room having lunch. My red-collared black cat slithered under the cedar fence into the yard near the tin shed in the same small crack through which she disappeared this morning when I scolded her over my first cup of coffee. Thinking she might be going to the spot I’ve found her resting at other times, I was very still. A squirrel chattered on the shop roof and came down the walnut tree searching at the base for a nut previously buried. The cat pounced and followed the teasing squirrel when it raced high into the tree. Too heavy to go to the end of the branch the cat retreated with great care. It was not a steep descent but went downhill enough to be worrisome for the usually confident feline. I almost sighed with relief when she gave up the pursuit and retreated behind the tin shed. Not the spectacle of a labor day parade but a drama nonetheless. Drenching the liverwurst flavor from my taste buds with orange juice, I am pleased with the wildlife viewing I experience without leaving the comfort of my sun room.

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Sep 6, 2010 by Naomi.

Although the sky has cleared the sunshine does not warm my backyard. At less than 60 degrees the temperature is invigorating and I step briskly around the piles of branches still waiting to be cut into manageable lengths to fit my yard waste bin. Little wood gnomes aren’t coming in the dark to do the job for me. The visiting black cat with red collar was up in the hazel brush outside the kitchen when I drank morning coffee. She is an early riser that appears to come from the west side of Wade’s house. When I scolded her she quickly pushed through a narrow opening under the cedar fence into the shelter belt. The odor of a skunk wafted in the air but see it I did not. I turned on the water to saturate the ground around the big trees to keep them happy. Makes me feel good to think they are. I am going to dress warmer for a morning walk if this cool weather continues. The calendar indicates that summer is over so prepare!

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Sep 6, 2010 by Naomi.

The first Monday in September is set aside as a holiday. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Because of a fear of conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. By June 28 of 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. The day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. Parks and back yards abound in barbecues and games for families and communities. TV and bar parties celebrate the opening games of football leagues with friendly (or not so friendly) competition among viewers criticizing plays which may succeed or fail. I am not a fan of football so my TV is blank against what I view as a desperate sport in which men injure knees and spines that in the past seriously or partially debilitated them for life. Modern players are padded on shoulders and knees which does not always prevent injuries if one eats the turf under a ton of the opposite team in a tackle. I am not going to drive in search of a parade. I intend to enjoy the day contemplating the years I labored. I celebrate because I am no longer compelled to labor any day if I so choose.

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Sep 4, 2010 by Naomi.

Although I closed my eyes while resting my forehead on my folded forearms, try as I might I could not sleep. Rest, yes. But sleep, no. A full stomach only stimulated synapses and thoughts jumped around wildly. What’s the difference between birds and mammals? I am asking brain wise. Visually feathers are obvious when comparing two legged critters. And just as obvious is the head size which would lead one to expect smaller brains would think less and expect less from the rest of the anatomy. Studies are being done to determine if that is really the case. Sure, animals react in much the same manner when confronting danger – fight or flight, whichever seems more practical upon immediate impression of the danger faced. There are complex measurements made quickly because there is more than size of the danger. What about the quality of danger? Death? Desperate injury? Slight wounds? Humiliation? Pride? Individuals make instant decisions taking all those degrees into consideration. Even within the mammalian spectrum animals make the decisions according to their experiences. Can we extrapolate the same about birds? Some birds mate for life. Couples stay together and raise offspring until one or the other dies. Others mate for a season to share parenting. Still others join only for copulation. In all cases the end result is continuation of the species providing the offspring survive to reproduce as well. These are the gamut of thoughts that run through my mind in less than the time it takes to type one sentence,. So what? I have to do the job I came here for. I now make a big decision. Since I cannot get into the Internet from McNary Ed Center. I put random thoughts aside because visitors have not flocked in for education. I close up computer, lock the doors and go home.

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Sep 4, 2010 by Naomi.

At the present time we, the USFW staff and volunteers, at the McNary National Wildlife Refuge have no idea if visitors stop on weekends and I am spending this Saturday to gather statistics. One couple stopped in because the Refuge was on their list of places to visit just off US-12. They were pleased with what they found here and I encouraged them to stop at the Whitman Mission. They could tour the museum and hear the story of the missionary who mis-used the Indians and was later massacred because of her abuse. The day is clear and the temperature was 77 F at nine am when I came to work. I assume it is somewhat warmer now although a very light breeze ripples the water toward the north side. It is a very pleasant day to enjoy the outdoors. Double crested cormorants perch on the logs to preen and dry their feathers after diving for lunch. California gulls preen also. I do not see them flying about. American coots sit upon the water and suddenly disappear to surface some distance away. I can follow their underwater direction by the surface current they cause in their movements. A large fish surfaced for an instant and I watched the wake of its dorsal fin and it did not come up again. White-crowned sparrows feed on and below the hanging feeder at the edge of the native plant area. I can see birds in the phragmites but not clearly enough for identification. From past observations I assume they are March wrens. Western painted turtles are basking on one log to warm their reptilian bodies in the summer sun. House-finches and Goldfinches are vying for perches on the hanging feeders. White cabbage moths flit among the sunflowers. A dragonfly searches valiantly for a mate to consummate its one purpose of its short life time. Hornets and wasps float around me on the deck. I’m happy that I do not emit the pheromones that attract them. Nor do I seem to be in their way to welcome a stinger as I once did in the base of a weed I was about to pull. That instant gave me a big fat lip I reported on at the time. My dark blue vest absorbed the noonday sun and I happily retreated into the Center. I could very easily settle in for a nap – without my lunch yet! At 1 Pm I had 10 and one half oz Fred Meyer vegetable beef soup. Hot and very filling. More of my green plums. I lay my head on my arms on desk in office. A little nap?

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Sep 3, 2010 by Naomi.

Men and dogs were made for each other. Actually according to a great deal of research there appears to be an eternal connection between people and dogs. In a way dogs evolved from wolves but not directly. Jon Franklin looked deeply into the relationship and it seems that wolves split in their genetic development early in evolution. One line split off and became attached to people and began to depend on the folks they followed more or less becoming genetically altered. In looking at evolution dogs and humans clicked somehow and for a time each species lost some brain size. From there on man and dog “grew up” together. Only in the last few thousand years have the species been engineered for the variety of breeds listed in present day kennel clubs. Humankind learned from the monk who played with sweet peas how to gerrymander the four-legged predator into the gentle companion for its two-legged protector. Men and dogs were made for each other. Actually according to a great deal of research there appears to be an eternal connection between people and dogs. In a way dogs evolved from wolves but not directly. Jon Franklin looked deeply into the relationship and it seems that wolves split in their genetic development early in evolution. One line split off and became attached to people and began to depend on the folks they followed more or less becoming genetically altered. In looking at evolution dogs and humans clicked somehow and for a time each species lost some brain size. From there on man and dog “grew up” together. Only in the last few thousand years have the species been engineered for the variety of breeds listed in present day kennel clubs. Humankind learned from the monk who played with sweet peas how to gerrymander the four-legged predator into the gentle companion for its two-legged protector.

For the full tale of a real puppy go to salmonriver.com and Just Curious by Mike Sherer.

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