As the world turns...

Meet Lizzie and Jennie,  friends from Kent, England, and Vancouver, Washington, vacationing together on the Southern Oregon Coast, on the path to the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, Oregon. They came up a walking path as my husband and I were walking toward them, having a loud argument, as our eyes kept a look on the pavement, trying to avoid the ups and down of a foot path that was not too safe for older folks like us. I was complaining that the red paint indicating the uneven pavement did nothing to prevent falls. "I'd have to keep my eyes glued to the floor!" I was arguing, frustrated that nobody had thought about smoothing the path and throwing wood chips over it to soften the blow of a fall.

The ladies said hi, and "peace today", as they passed us. We apologized for our loudness. Their smiles never left their face; they bubbled a few remarks about going south after that walk, and we recommended they stop in Port Orford and eat at Redfish. We took each others' pictures. We teased them about their last election in Great Britain.

A world apart, they in matching red coats and bright smiles; we, still trying to find a path of mutual understanding after their arrival had stopped the arguing.

They were on their way to California.
We had left California to retire in Oregon.

We could have told them of all the treacherous road conditions they might encounter on their way down. But then, we would have spoiled their enthusiasm. We actually did spoil their enthusiasm when we mentioned they should stop at Cape Blanco where they might meet migrating whales . One of them was holding that thought as a surprise for the other.

Winter Storms

(before the storm)

We live at the far end of the contiguous United States, right by Cape Blanco, Oregon, USA. Here is where all Pacific storms land and gather force before heading east. We are addicted to weather news, and we heed their warnings each time.

A couple of days ago we got the first admonition:
Gale force winds anticipated at Cape Blanco Wednesday eve and Thursday morning.
Yes, indeed, I can assure everyone that the weather channel was correct.

Yesterday afternoon we did the last minute repairs.

At our age, just inserting a tube is a big deal.

Good thing. We have a flat roof, and if water piles at the top, the whole house will suffer.

We went to bed last night knowing we were safe.

Throughout the night, all that wind and creaking of trees and roof and windows kept us awake.

This is what's it like at nine in the morning on Thursday. We're still under a storm watch, remaining indoors and hoping our electricity doesn't go out. We use electricity for cooking and heating as well as communication and entertainment. Without electricity, we're back to the cave age.

(toward the end of the storm)

At this point, it's a dry storm, still able to disrupt utilities and down trees.)

In the next few hours we'll know what the damage is around the neighborhood.

Cape Signals.

Cape Blanco, Curry County, Oregon, United States, westernmost point on the contiguous United States.
We have arrived in the Far West. From here, we go across the Pacific to Asia.

Our terrain reminded pioneers of Scotland, Ireland. Many people settled here from those green places with hills and heather resembling their fathers' or mothers' homelands.  Fences were built for sheep out of gorse, a spiny bush that provided vegetation and color and a sure way to divide territory. From the sky, in spring and summer, the gorse appears as a blooming orange ribbon circling plots of land.

Now, cattle and sheep share the territory with cranberry bogs in low lands where water pools automatically and temperatures never reach above 70F.

The radio/weather signals on Cape Blanco have tracked hurricane force winds on a regular basis, year in and year out. The light in the lighthouse has been shining continuously for over a hundred years, warning mariners of cliffs and outcrops dotting the coast line.

It's no surprise that we have few days of fog here. Winds keep skies clear and the sun shining regularly.

Cape Blanco

A sense of place.

You are looking at Cape Blanco Lighthouse, at the tip of Cape Blanco, the westernmost tip of the contiguous states. We are in the Far West, and the myth about the West lives here still.

Around us are ranches, forests, cranberry bogs, pastures, and tiny towns, of which Port Orford and Langlois are the closest. The land is rugged. Only one highway, US 101 parallels the coast and connects California on the south, to Washington,  on the north.

We were the last frontier here in Oregon. The Oregon Trail moved people from the East to the West through many territories. We all have ancestors who came this way and settled here.  My husband's family started out in the Carolinas, and made its way west, landing in Utah first before settling in in Willocreek, Montana, and in Oregon and Washington.

My great Uncle Giuseppe arrived in San Francisco as a youth, to make his fortune in California during the gold rush. He settled in Fresno and Los Angeles, where I landed as a seventeen year old from Italy.
We were all drawn to the open land, the sense of adventure and opportunities that the West promised.

Right here and right now, our young people are moving away from their family ranches to seek their fortunes in big cities, East, North, South, to Europe, Asia. They'll join a fishing expedition in Alaska, go raise cattle in Utah, dig for oil in Louisiana. The West offered much, but it is still a wild place, full of natural beauty, but lacking in jobs and opportunities.

Retirees are moving to these small places. They are enchanted by the wild rivers, the spectacular ocean views, and the thundering sound of crushing waves. They are also amazed at how little this place has changed since it was first occupied as Fort Orford, a military outpost to protect ships and lumber workers as they loaded up and moved lumber down the Pacific to Eureka, and San Francisco.

We are still on the frontier, in a sense. We must be prepared to live without electricity for days after a major storm as the highway may be impassable, and no truck or car full of provisions can make deliveries or bring repairmen.

The last of 2010.

Sunset at Cape Blanco, westernmost point in the continental USA, bidding you all a good last night of 2010.

May your Tomorrow be a new beginning: productive, thoughtful, caring.

Happy 2011!

Tax cuts and a contemporary Christmas Carol.

(I took this picture of my Hubby looking at Cape Blanco Lighthouse just this morning, during our walk on these rocky shores I've come to love. The lighthouse is situated at Cape Blanco, the westernmost tip of the contiguous United States-for the geography geeks out there.)


There are certain stories that guide us, year after year, lighthouses, like the Cape Blanco Lighthouse pictured above, a government built structure, still operating on Cape Blanco, to keep ships from crashing on the rocky shores.

If you have been following the news, you've caught the new Scrooge Story: Let the Rich keep their tax cuts, or nothing will happen in Congress.

Today, on Hardball with Chris Matthew, Matt Kimble from Freedomwors said: "...unemployement benefit is junk... The trouble with unemployment and economic stagnation... is a spending problem..."

I'm just a pensioner. Both my pension and my Medicare benefits were part of my wage package through a lifetime of work. Talking about eleminating these programs because they are costly, is an ethical and moral problem, the one Mister Scrooge had to deal with.

 To balance the budget on the backs of seniors and people on unemployement is an ethical problem, when Wall Street and millionaires insist on keeping their bonuses and being rescued when things go bump in the night.

Greed is governing right now!
A lighthouse only for those with big yachts!


"Less Government" is a code phrase for get rid of all programs, all regs, all things that make good govenment, including unemployement benefits. It's a code phrase for, every man to himself. Women and children and unemployed cost are rocking the boat, will make us drown. 

What is a nation to do?

Let's keep the Lighthouses, the regulations, the programs that give people a lifeline. In a Democracy, we have a moral imperative to save everyone in a storm, and to give education and protections to prevent crashing on the shores.

Then, let's have a conversation on how to become the great nation we think we are, the nation that shone like a lighthouse to the world at war, to the world in poverty. Let's have our conversation on how we can afford to do all the things we need to do, in a smart way, in a fair way, even in a humane way, Right now is the time to start. Right now, for Christmas.

A walk in the park.

We took a walk in the park this weekend, at Cape Blanco, where the Sixes River meets the Pacific Ocean. All around us the forested hills, pines bent from the strong winds, grass as tall as deer, the river meandering slowly to its end.

Our aim was to walk along a path by the river. We had taken this path before, and we knew it took us to the ocean. A quarter mile into our walk, the footpath disappeared. The spring grasses had invaded the path and erased all signs. That didn't stop us. It should have.

We kept going, pushing through among blackberry brambles, sharp edged sea-grass, pollen-laden rye grass. When our steps pushed our pulse-rate, when our sneezing and scratching could not be ignored, we changed direction and returned to the car, noticing Canadian geese enjoying their day on the water. I hope you can see them with a bit of enlargement.

We'll have to return and finish our walk as soon as the park rangers weed-whack the path.

You see, sometimes nature is a bit daunting.

A schedule of a life.

Wednesday: My Backyard.

Now that I put my life back on a schedule of sorts, remember, how Mondays are about Governance, Tuesdays are Education, Wednesdays are Our backyard....and so on......

I'm bound to follow this menu because you're coming in with expectations; and as a teacher, I must deliver what is on the weekly planner. Not that following a plan is always a good thing...

My front yard and back yard are in Port Orford, Oregon, the oldest town site on the Oregon coast, and the westernmost point in the contiguous United States. Contiguous, in this instance, means the forty-eight states. Cape Blanco, with its lighthouse and majestic vistas is ready for whale-watching ,next week. I will get out, and catch me a whale of a tail to show you.

Since my shoulder problem, for new people dropping by, my shoulder froze in place with much fanfare and excruciating pain. The MRI identified the problem as Bursitis, and today is my first physical therapy session. So, I'm still on heavy medications, am bothered by sleep deprivation and lack of comfortable movement, and look forward to a time when I can use both arms. I can still type this post; and that, amici miei, is a very good thing, indeed.

Now, I will leave you to enjoy your backyard. I plan on packing my new digital camera and carrying it everywhere. From authorblog, I'm getting very good tutorials on how to take pictures; with practice and determination, I'll begin to record pictorially. Most of the other pictures on this blog are mine; but they came from a phone camera. Not bad, if you ask my opinion. Not bad.

In life, though, we can teach each other in this open university called Blog land. Not only it is open twenty four hours a day, but it is also free. What? Yes. Like air, and good will: FREE. People like David at authorblog, a profession photojournalist who gives us a great deal of his personal time with hints and suggestions, walking us through the technical aspects of setting up and shooting as though we were picking fruit at a farmer's market, people like him make this adventure so much fun to pursue at leisure.

I'm off to Bandon, a town up the highway, home of my clinic and Bandon Dunes. If you google Bandon Dunes and Pacific Trails, you'll find that these are outstanding golf resorts, world class, designed like the original golf links in Scotland. They are worth every penny, I hear.

Perhaps, hubby and I will stop by and have lunch at the Dunes, and enjoy the same vistas as the players who have to dish out $300 or so to play one round. I'll do this research willingly. Besides, a good meal is worth its weight and calories in gold.