Blog Update Cancelled Due to Good Weather

see you nest week.

Spring!

The sun was out today so we headed up to Table Rocks to check out the spring flowers.
I have no idea what these are called. We plan to buy a book that comes highly recommended for the area. It is a called Wild Flowers of the Pacific Northwest, by Phyllis Gustafson.









The first coat of the stucco is on the house. They make a big mess but I am sure our contractor will be right on it.

The chimney is finished with the final coat. They do this so they can complete the roof. The idea being that no one goes back on the roof reducing the possibility of damage.

The color is call reindeer. It has a slight touch of green to it. We didn't know that reindeer were green but we have never seen a reindeer so how would we know?

The dry wall process continues. They are supposed to finish with it this week. The curved indentation above the fireplace is going away. It turns out our mantle would not work with it as it is designed. This is called a change order. It is what you try very hard to avoid when you are building a home.
See you next week!

Visitors, Stucco and Wallboard

Hello from sunny Southern Oregon!!!

At least that was the case for two days this week. Then a very wet storm blew in for the week end.

Today we had sun, hail storms, followed by a beautiful rainbow and then another cloudburst over the valley. This made it a great day to work on the property clearing brush and do clean up burning. M even got a burning treat today as she joined G on the slopes for a time.




They started the stucco process on the house this week. The first coat is called the 'brown coat.' Sometime after it dries and cracks, the final coat is applied, which has the color mixed in.









The total thickness is about 5/8."

This stuff is a gray muddy mess.














Meanwhile the dry wall hanging is underway. This is the kitchen. The half wall in the front of the photo is where the bar will be. You are looking down the hall towards the garage.

This stuff is a white dusty mess.





The messy house project was gratefully interrupted by a visit from Steve and Liz.

Here we are in the Jacksonville Hills. The spring flowers are just starting to come out.

Life is good isn't it?




You know times have changed when part of your social visit involves taking your blood pressure. Steve and Liz did fine.

M has her own blood pressure kit now, so if you come on down you can expect to be checked out if you are over 50 or not.









BTW - Happy Birthday Steve.

Don't let it get your goose! (This character was in our back yard and was making a lot of noise.)







Found this shot of Clem hiking on the Rogue River. It was too good to leave out. ( He is standing next to a manzanita bush hanging on a ledge on the Rogue.



One other late One other note to add: Gary got his picture on the Front page and the Sports page of the Mail Tribune last week. He happened to be standing at the turnaround when the first runner in the Pear Bottom race came by (note: it was not Michelle).

See you next week!

Pear Bottom 2006

What is Pear Bottom?









Not this.










Well, certainly not this.




















If you ask these two studsters...
























It's 10 pavement pounding miles of fun and the right to claim you finished the race in roughly 8.6 minutes miles.



OK, it's really called the Pear Blossom Run.

My thanks to the team.

Running buddy on left-Larry
Running coach on right-Tom

A party at Larry and Bonnie's house commenced in the evening with good food and beverage. Larry and Bonnie were gracious hosts and a merry time was had by all.

Next year we go for the brown dog award....

(don't ask)

Oh yea. We are still building a house but this was much more fun to talk about. See you next week when we will have more visitors to exploit!

April "Fool"

Never take your shirt off when someone nearby has a camera.

Another visitor has ventured south. Here is Tracy atop of Stein Butte Lookout, elevation 4,400 Ft.

This is a nice 9 mile hike above the Applegate Reservoir. Tracy is preparing for her Mt. Hood climb in June.

Applegate reservoir.

OK, the is shirt back on. Now how about that hat?

A very old Madrone tree! The original tree was either cut or burned but the stump continued to thrive.

A shorter hike to Lower Table Rocks is also nice. The spring flowers have not quite peaked so we hope to get up there in the next couple of weeks.

An abandoned air strip on Lower Table Rocks. We couldn't figure out why someone would want an air strip there. Michelle and Tracy didn't believe G when he said there was an old air strip at the top. It was a first for all of us.

The house progress continues to be slow. They are still working on the stucco. Tracy is thinking of a new career in the Stucco business. She always liked playing in the mud.















It's been pointed out to me that my resource incorrectly identified the bird photo in last weeks blog as a Sellar Jay. The correct name is is Gray Jay - Perisoreus canadensis. The gray jay is about ten inches in length. It is gray on top and grayish-white on its undersides. It has a white forehead and throat. It has a darker gray cap and nape and a short, dark bill.

The Stelller's jay, Cyanocitta stelleri has blue coloration with a distinctive crest. Stelller's Jay has darker underparts than the similarly crested Blue Jay. Other jays lack a crest and have different markings. Thanks to Michael for the correction and photo's (I hope there are no licensing rights!)

See you next week with highlights from the Pear Bottom race.