Monthly Archives: June 2023

The wooden shoe tulip festival

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Sunday, 30-Apr-2023

I’ve been hearing about the Wooden Shoe tulip festival since… well, pretty much since I first moved to Oregon. That whole time, I’ve loved the idea of going, strolling the rows, and enjoying the ridiculous colors. I’ve… kind of always wanted to go with a partner, so we can be all cutesy together… but you know. First things first. Gotta go.

This year, I came close to locking down both goals!

I wasn’t quite able to get both goals completed unfortunately, due to a bit of a mix-up in terms of temporal coordination, but I did get the chance to wander the fields and appreciate the ridiculous colors!

I came close to strolling and being cutesy too – Jess and I totally did, but we didn’t have much time to do so unfortunately… thanks to that previously mentioned temporal coordination mix-up.


Anyways the morning started great, we had a nice quick breakfast, and Jess raced off on her bike toward the festival. See, she was volunteering with a photography booth… specifically, a dog photography booth! Raising money for a nearby shelter, they’d take donations from folks in trade for a professional photoshoot – Jess had the enviable role of assisting with the pups, which I was super jealous of… but not quite jealous enough to get moving as early as she had to be.

Instead, I took my time in the morning, and caught up with her at the festival itself… unfortunately, with maybe 30min to spare before she had to head out to her next adventure of the day. Coordination issues, as I mentioned. But still, we used the time as best we could, and then she was off on the motorcycle and I was off to stroll the lanes and appreciate the sheer magnitude of colors, all backdropped against a gloriously moody sky.

A spring day on the rock at Ozone

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**Note this was posted on 06-July-2023, but is backdated to 12-June, so that it fits in with the correct timeline. Apologies!!**


29-Apr-2023


Holy crap it was hot.

Like… April, man… why was it hitting 90s? Global Warming my rear… this is Global boiling. Global blow-torching. Global “It’s getting too hot!”-ing!

Anyways Jess and I went climbing!

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Ozone, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect… but thankfully, Mountain Project was there to help guide us, and my memory wasn’t quite as bad as I was worried it might be. Minimal exploration was needed, and lots of great climbing was had!

I didn’t end up taking any pictures, since photography while climbing is a bit hard… I’m either climbing, or belaying, and neither option lends itself to free hands. If you’ll forgive the lack of photography, though, I do have a list of climbing that we rocked!

Simple and easy ones, I didn’t push too hard… though that final 10a was definitely an appreciated challenge! The rest were simple – stretching my muscles, letting Jess break back into outdoor climbing… it was a good day, in no uncertain terms.



Routes:
– Wellwisher, 5.6, Trad, Lead!
– The Beared Lady, 5.6, Mixed, Lead!
– Pippin, 5.6, Trad, Lead!
– Merry, 5.7, Sport, Lead!
– Prancing Pony, 5.7, Trad, Lead!
– Bag Ends, 5.7, Trad, Lead!
– Mirkwood, 5.10a, Top Rope!

A growing Garden

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April, 2023

I miss the garden I had at my previous house… but the past is the past. I don’t have a yard… but I do have a balcony, some planters, and the drive to let green things grow.

This year, I kept it simple. Hops, Peas, and flowers. Nothing special, nothing fancy. Minimal care, aside from watering and draping the hops across the overlook, and a lot of enjoyment and appreciation of the beauty and glory of growing things…



I’m always astounded at just how quickly some plants can grow. These hops, for example, seriously grow 3 or 4 inches a day… more, on the hot days that Wilsonville’s been having. I’m not quite a fan of 95+ degree days in April, but the hops sure as heck don’t seem to mind!

These two sets of photos were taken less than 3 weeks apart… seriously. It’s amazing!