Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Spook, Root Beer and One Tick



What a weekend!  After five months of battling snow, wind, heavy rain, wet feet and clothes, goose chases after phantom hoots that turned out to be a grouse and other challenges we finally, finally caught up with a Great Gray owl.  In fact, we found both a parent and its owlet.  We only had to travel about 260 miles east to a spot about half way in between Meecham and LaGrande to narrow the searching field.  We took the Spring Creek "road" to another numbered "road" which was little more than a dirt lane bouncing our way over dips, doodles and mud holes to find the five trees out of the thousands and thousands that we'd passed in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest.  We didn't see them the first day and my legs were wobbly the second day from climbing up and down a shallow draw several times over trying to find  all the nesting platforms.  We found two derelict ones-two at the Spook nesting site and one in tact at the Root Beer site-but couldn't find hide nor feather of the one at Spook that was supposedly housing a baby. We retreated to  LaGrande where I found a tick on Bobbie's head which she smashed on the table with her knife and then brushed it on the floor at Mt. Emily's Ale House.  The server looked mildly on as all I said was, "Tick."  She seemed to get it right away.  Then I got to battle with an annoying case of diarrhea the next morning which made me fast track it behind a few of those thousands of trees I mentioned above.  Nothing like the feel of mountain air on one's nether regions while maintaining a thigh shaking pose in the undergrowth.  All trials were soon forgotten as we made one more trip down the draw where Bobbie spotted the baby within 30 minutes.  Look carefully in the middle of the lower photo and you can see him.  Within seconds she spotted the parent owl a few trees to the left which you can see if you look in the middle of the upper photo.  We did silent high fives and screamed without making sounds for awhile and then settled in to watch the birds for about an hour and a half.  We heard the parent make a few comforting hoots to her baby and even found owl feathers.  We sneaked in as close as we dared so as not disturb them.  They were amazingly tolerant allowing us to set up photo bases in their area.  We did just about everything except climb the trees and pet them.  What magnificent creatures!  We paid them a respectful farewell and spent the rest of the day seeing other wildlife and stunning landscapes in the Todd Marsh Wildlife Refuge.  What a way to spend a vacation weekend.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Trying To Sleep

Sleeping presents a whole new perspective for those of us who are aging.  First, there's the element of partner disturbance.  Even in the best of relationships, someone is bound to awaken the other with snoring, weird dream restlessness, discomfort, frozen limb rescuing,  temperature sensitivity and even more oddball aspects of sleep behavior that prevent us from sleeping  like unconscious walruses the way we did when we were thirty.  We learn what sleep apnea is and take on the alien appearance of an ET sleeper with the addition of the C-PAP machine.  Don't assume this is an easy process.  A number of trips to the doctor and an interesting "sleep study" at the hospital are required before acquiring this impossibly ugly piece of night gear.  The adjustment period is long and fraught with anxiety and comments such as, "Adjust your mask!  You're making funny breathing sounds!"  Well, no kidding.   With the advent of the C-PAP, we have moved beyond the commuting bed stage and into the era of thinking about getting a new bed. The trip to Maui and the blissful nights of sleeping in the king size bed next to the soothing sound of the sea cinch it for us.  We'll get a new bed.  So we do.  I look forward to sleeping on the new extra firm mattress between new sheets and under a new lightweight summer comforter.  I won't bring up the number of trips it took to purchase just the right kind of bedding for this new bed other than to say that Pat is definitely not a satin sheet sort of guy.  And weren't we surprised when the new bed is way too hard (like a concrete slab, according to Pat).  So we make a "comfort exchange."  I am more than a little anxious about how we'll survive our first night on our new "plush firm" mattress. I hope this one does the trick because I've run out of ideas about sleeping well for older folks.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

"Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea"



The title describes exactly what I did this past week in Maui.  Everything ever said about Hawaii is absolutely true no matter how many times we visit.  From the bottom of the ocean at Ulua Beach where I swam with clouds of colorful fish to the top of Haleakala where I could almost see to Japan, I had vivid experience after vivid experience.  The water in the ocean was warm; the air on top of the mountain was cold and literally breathtaking.  The flowers that studded the edges of the paths at the Kula Botanical Gardens were like tropical jewels.  The small upcountry town of Makawao had some  intriguing art work and a cool tropical breeze.  Hilo Hattie and the ABC store had fun stuff to buy for souvies and Safeway was just a few blocks away where we bought stuff for our meals and enjoy the spectacular view from our lanai at the same time.  The little historical church and the lava beach at LaPerouse Beach at the south end of the island were two very vivid spiritual experiences.  Maui is indeed a place of vivid experiences.  But my favorite and most unforgettable time in Maui was bobbing in the ocean with the tropical sun above and the fish, turtles and coral below.  It's one of the times when I feel most one with the universe.