April: Sauvie island and what it's like to work again.

We took a drive out to Sauvie Island on Easter. It was sunny hot for Portland standards and we thoroughly enjoyed driving around the island. Much of Sauvie Island is used for farming, but another large portion is left alone for the birds who migrate or are regular inhabitants. It was beautiful and I can't wait to get back with a fishing pole and a sketchbook.

We saw 12 large Osprey and about 8 adult and juvenile Bald Eagles, not to mention all the red tailed hawks, egrets, ducks, sharp shinned hawks and more. There are large nests all over the island and since the trees are just getting their foliage they are very easy to spy.

Z. has always wanted to live on a houseboat, we seriously considered it when we were looking for places before we moved, but figured the cats would probably hate it.

 Seeing Mt. St Helens  and Mt hood on a clear day is amazing. Every time we get a good view I get choked up, something about it makes me feel like I've come home to the mother land. Exactly where I was supposed to be all along. When I was a kid my mom told me that I was born the day after Mt. St. Helens erupted and that while in the hospital she watched it on the news in her room. I'm not sure if that  was a reason she was so fascinated with volcanoes and geology, or if she was always interested in that stuff, but we grew up learning a lot about volcanoes and mountains as kids and were always very curious and fascinated by them as well. Mt. St. Helens is definitely a part of my personal mythology.

Only Z. could pull this trick; photographing through the binoculars! We saw so many birds thanks to the binoculars.

That's me, weekend adventurer! sneakers? check! lightweight skirt? check! Day pack packed how my pop taught me? check! Grandpas gardening hat? absolutely! Trusty binocs? of course! This road was blocked to cars so we hiked in and it lead us to Sturgeon Lake, which was so calm it gave Z. the willies, it had stony shores with bare trees kind of like something out of Harry Potter.

Back at the homestead this lovely tulip finally bloomed this weekend too, I suppose they couldn't resist the warm spell. Look at that black purply center. We have four more of these now along with some bright red ones too.

Guess who was our little easter bunny? We haven't mowed the lawn since last October and it's nice to see the trails that the cats and raccoons carve out.

Nothing much is happening in the studio.  My paper drum project didn't get selected for the St. Louis Art Museum and now I'm kind of torn between finishing it or just letting go of all the pieces I've been collecting for it. I'll let it sit for now.