PHOTO GALLERY 2025

Libby has always loved birds... she's done some organized bird watching and always likes to visit aviaries and bird santuaries as we travel about. We were watching Grant's Getaways on the local NBC station. The weekly segments and programs feature themes such as fishing, urban hiking, surfing, geocaching, whale watching, kayaking, and rafting. Television personality Grant McOmie takes you. He had a segment which featured a fellow named Dennis Frame a woodworker from Forest Grove, OR who builds exquisite handcrafted little bird resorts in his home workshop. So on Sunday afternoon we drove the hour out to Forest Grove to see him and purchased this cool little anniversary (March 19) gift for Libby.

After we left Dennis Frame's house, we drove into downtown Forest Grove, Oregon where stands this HUGE Giant Sequoia on the corner of Pacific Avenue and B street. According to the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy this tree is the Oregon State Co-Champion. The girth of the tree, measured at a height of 1.40 m, is 9.96 m. Its height is around 21.34 m

From Forest Grove we drove over to Hillsboro on our way back to Hwy 26 which takes us back to Portland. There is a small grove of Giant Sequoias in front of the Washington County Courthouse in downtown Hillsboro. Not as massive as the one above in Forest Grove, but still mighty impressive. I have always been considered a large fellow but these monsters dwarf little old me as I am standing in the middle of the walkway out front.

This plaque is anchored outside the 1873 Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro, OR explaining the history when these trees were planted as 3 year old seedlings in 1880 and are now more than 150' in height and 30' in circumference.

We are pleased to report that on Aptil 14, we have arrived back down at Fern Ridge Shores on west side of Fern Ridge Lake, Oregon just west of Eugene. The lake is almost full for the season and should get there by end of the month, as the Army Corps allows it to fill gradually. The marinas are open and we'll be launching the boats very soon. Looking forward to another great sailing season at Fern Ridge Lake. We plan to be here all summer until the lake closes again October 1.

When I purchased our beautiful battery powered British Racing Green 2017 EZ-GO golf cart last year, I factored in the reality that it would need a new set of batteries. Batteries for a 48v cart are no small item. It has six 8v batteries and these can run up to $2000 for a set of wet cell batteries. AGM (glass mat) batteries cost wice that. Lithium Ion batteries can be substituted and are a bit cheaper nowadays, but older systems are not compatible with lithium ion and then there are the worries of fires. So we stuck with wet cell lead acid batteries. Pictured is the old bank of Trojan batteries... and I replaced them with the same Trojan batteries today. I ordered them from Golf Cart Geeks for for $1400 and they were delivered yesterday. I installed them today, April 21, reusing the same Trojan Hydrolink watering system.

Today, Thursday Aptil 24, we got in an excellent day of sailing on Fern ridge Lake... winds in the 10-12 range, sunny skies and temps in the upper 60's. A great start to the 2025 sailing season. The lake levels are up at the maximum (full pool) so we're looking forward to a full 6 month season... hopefully lots of time on the water. Still a little chilly so I have my flannel shirt on... but bright sun, nonetheless, so I have my sunglasses with attached nose shield in place. Too many years of unprotected exposure on the old schnozzola so I have to protect it every time we go out on the boat. The full brim helps as well.

Our young eagles are growing everyday, rapidly developing from chicks to real eagles. As mentioned before, young eagles are called fledglings once they leave the nest for the first time. which happens around 10-13 weeks of age. We have been watching Gizmo and Sunny since they were first hatched in early March, so as of now at April 29 they are now 9 weeks old and are practicing their skills every day, as they stand at the edge of their nest and flap their wings in mock flight. It won't be long before they take flight for real. probably in the next couple weeks. I feel like these two are my Godchildren so I look in on them every day. The video footage gives us the ability to back up the time line up to 24 hours or so, and thus I hope to be able to catch one or both flying off for the first time. That will be my next post.

Today, May 6, we had Manny with Affordable Mobile RV Repairs out to handle a number of chores for us on the Vilano 5th wheel... servicing the A/C units on the roof, servicing the leveling jacks and slide mechanisms, etc etc. This is his pickup and trailer in the driveway with the inset showing him up on the roof of the Vilano.

On May 10 we got out sailing again after being gone for more than a week while Libby flew to San Diego to visit the grandkids and then attend her 50th high school reunion in L.A. Today was only our second day on the water for the season, but we're looking forward to many more as head towards summer. Winds were light so we were under full sail and pretty relaxed.

While on the water we were treated to some seaplane training maneuvers with a vintage military seaplane practicing on the lake. He landed on the water and took off several times while we were out there and one time he passed pretty close off our bow! You can see the pontoons on the ends of the wings.

In a major step toward restful sleep to enable more enjoyable summers in Veneta, today, May 13, my new bed was delivered... a Purple Mattress and Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Ergo 3.0 Adjustable Base. This will replace my half of our kingsize bed space in our Vilano 5th Wheel. Libby's half is a standard luxury twin mattress recut to fit the remaining space. This complements our splitking adjustable bed with the black Beautyrest mattresses which we have at home in Vancouver.

Here we are down by the marina at our RV Park. Lib and the dogs posed for a photo lakeside. Whenever we go down to the boat, we ride down in the golf cart. It really isn't very far to walk, but the electric golf cart is convenient and fun.

Two days ago Sunny's little sister, Gizmo, fledged and we have been looking in occasionally on the eagle cam. Four days earlier Sunny fledged... now it's little Gizzie's turn. She soared to a nearby tree, where she spent the night, and next morning daddy Shadow brought her some fresh trout for breakfast. A lot of this is captured here on this cute edited video. ENJOY! This morning I checked in early and both sisters were in the nest at dawn and at 1:00 pm the eagle cam wide shot had them side by side in a nearby tree together. Here we are (left) mid afternoon back in the nest together having a late fish lunch brought in by Jackie. Very heartwarming!

This screenshot of our beloved eagle family was taken this morning 6/12 about 7:00 am. Both parents joined the two girls in a treetop near their nest. This marked the very first time I have seen the whole eagle family together outside the nest. The young girls are learning the necessary skills to survive on their own in the wild... and eventually maybe become parents themselves. They are spending their days learning their environment as they soar around the immediate area and perch in the tree tops. That's proud parents Jackie and Shadow, and the two beautiful girls, Sunny and Gizmo, now about 14 or 15 weeks old.

Today all across the United States there were more than 2000 "No Kings" rallies held, organized by Indivisible. In Eugene, just east of us here at the lake, an estimated 10,000 people turned out... in a city with a population less than 180,000! Even here in tiny little downtown Veneta there was a sizable turnout at the main corner of Hwy 126 and Territorial Hwy - the protesters are lined up around the corner and down Hwy 126. People are NOT happy with some of the contentious policies of this administration and the resistance is growing rapidly. As we drove through the intersection, I shot a 15 second video posted here

Here's a very regal depiction of our two pups rendered by AI. Riley looks like a little prince, but at heart he is just a little dirtball.. Click to see the little boy after a fun digging event, paying the price and getting a bath before he can have free run in the house again.

As noted in the travelogue, we are home the first part of July as both sons Pat and Tim afre visiting with their families. This includes grand children Ollie and Emery... and Pat's new daughter Lulu, just 4 months old now. Here we are all sitting around the table at an informal restaurant. The inset is little Emery who was off on the play structure when this photo was taken

And here I am in my recliner with baby Lulu. What a treat to finally have a little girl. Now I have a strong motivator to live another decade and see this little doll turn into a young lady.

As noted on the travelogue, our travels and sailing life came to an abrupt halt on June 14 when I was stricken with an acute gallbladder attack. Sharp pains in my upper right abdominal area, dark brown urine, nausea, chills, sharp increase in blood pressure, etc. A visit to the emergency room on Thursday told the story, along with a decidedly jaundiced look. They kept me in the hospital a couple days, but after an MRI indicated a gallstone had likely passed thru the bile duct finally, they sent me home. This is a true wakeup call for me... serious diet changes are warranted. I need to lose at least 10% of my body weight. I have tried many times in recent years but lacked sufficient motivation to follow thru, I guess. This is the motivation I needed! And as of July 25, as I show signs of improvement, we may be able to head back down to the lake next week