DarWinz-Doinz

If you're still visiting, here....?

2011-02-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have "abandoned" this site. I know there were a couple of family members that did visit the site but I got to feeling like I was just bragging about our very pleasant surroundings here in beautiful Oregon...that some viewers might be put off that I spoke only of our accumulations, etc.

I've begun a new site here on Blogger. I'll name it simply Winz-Journal.blogspot.com. It will be private access but I'll gladly invite any interested family member or personal friend to access it. My plan is for it to become my online memory of what has transpired in my life on a (so hopefully) daily basis. I've tried to maintain a journal many times in the past few years...have always abandoned my fitful starts. This time, I feel a much deeper sense of commitment...for some reason...that I'll never understand...

If you do visit my new journal site, PLEASE leave some sort of comment?

How do I say this....? ...feelin' dumpy, today...

2010-06-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

531 visitors and counting...
Nary a comment to be found, anywhere...
I dunno... Maybe this blog is a waste of time?

Maybe I'd better just go back to writing in my journal?
No inhibitions, there... Who cares if nobody reads my journal...
Somebody better tell me they care...real quick...or this blog just might be history!

As good as this year's flower crop in Florence, Oregon will get...

2010-05-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

The view from our front yard, looking West toward the ocean. (Left) Two blights in this picture: The dead limb hanging, for one. I'd cut it down but...it adds character? Second: A partial view of the condo's upper story, across the street. I also wanted to get this pic while the wild, native shrubbery in the background was in bloom... On the right is from our back yard, looking East. Domestic Rhodies in the foreground and native, "stemier", ferule pink ones in back. It's hard to make out, but our neighbor's (Townsends, great people!) roof-top is almost hidden from view in background. Our Iris, (left) have done better this year than last. We definitely have limitations of varieties that will do well in our damp, humid climate. Basically; Perennial tuber-rooted plants do well along with many bulbs...like Lillies, fer instance...

Florence receives anywhere from 75 to 90 inches of rain, per year, which is probably 8 or 9 times that of Central Utah.

One of several Rhodies in our front yard. Notice the pile of chips in the background? This is about the 6th or 7th, 10-wheel dump load that Lane County Road department has brought me (in exchange for my providing them with a dump location for fairly good topsoil they've cleaned from barrow-pits. County Road Foreman says they're always looking for places to dispose of it. I'll take it, guys!) We're filling in a "chasm" in our yard, beyond the chip pile... The "stuff" is better soil than the bare, scalped, sand-hill our house was first built on...

My present view through my office window, where I do all my "computin'". This Rhodie has the largest blooms any of them had....

Beautimus, huh? I really wish they'd stay in this stage longer than 2-3 weeks. The Rhodie (Rhododendron, you know) season is ending...drat! After this, we'll be waiting for the Lilly bulbs to spring forth, this fall...

This year's crop of black fur-balls?

2010-05-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

Last evening, around 5:30 PM, I was just returning home from grocery shopping. I was reaching for my keys to unlock our back door when I heard some rustling in the shrubbery about 40 feet away at the edge of our property.
I glanced that way and saw some bushes moving. Some 20 feet further away from this, I saw a small, black, furry critter that I first assumed to be our neighbor's wild, ferrule cat streaking up a tree. No...This was just a bit bigger than Kay's wild-eyed cat...and it only had a short, stubby tail!
The little, black fur-ball made it about 25 feet up that lodge-pole pine tree in a couple of seconds. As he stopped climbing and hesitated for a few seconds, I was running into the house for my camera.
I was afraid I'd miss getting his picture. I did. When I was back with the camera, he was gone. Drat!
I know there had to be two of these little bear cubs but I never saw the first...just the bushes rustling...
...Kind'a glad I never saw the mom, though...
...and I wasn't about to follow them into our surrounding never-never land...
...Mebbe, someday, I'll buy a machete so I can hack my way into the woods, out back?
...Mebbe I'd better not?
...What evil lurks in the dark, out there? The Shadow knows!

Panics-ville!

2010-04-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago, Dar (a late sleeper) came rushing from the bedroom very concerned that the vent fan in our adjoining bathroom was running amok! It had awakened her...
I found that, indeed, it was making a much louder than usual, intermittent noise that sounded for all the world that it had, indeed, gone berserk.
(I had been in the other end of the house.) Dar was very "concerned".
Nay, "distraught" would be a better word...

We couldn't find a way to shut it off!
Turning the switch had no effect!
The way it sounded, we both had visions of smoke soon emanating from the vent overhead!
I ran outside in the dark to check for smoke.
Nope... but I could really hear the noise from outside, too.

Next step: Turn off the circuit breaker?
This, too, didn't calm the silly beast...
Next, next step: Dial 911 before or after we smell smoke?
No...not yet...
Next, next, next step: Remove the switch plate and cut the wires to the fan.
Done. Still no effect!
Grab a ladder...pull the vent cover...no clue, here...
The blasted fan is sounding noisier and even raspier!
I just ran out of steps!It's finally Panics-ville!
I'm thinking telephone to get the fire department ready... We got a real serious electrical short going on here!

Whoa up, there, Nellie... Don't dial quite yet...
Dar's electric toothbrush on the ledge of the shower over there sure seems to be moving around more than it should...even with the bathroom shaking by now...
Sure enough. I pick it up and the noise quiets right down...but the thing's vibrating in my hand...
She says: "Oops...guess I forgot to plug it back in to it's base..."
(Grumble, grumble....mumble, mumble...I'll put the wiring to the fan switch back together come daylight...)

A few minutes later, we both sat down and had a real loud, still nervous laugh at ourselves...
T'weren't funny at the time, though...

Our latest "acquisition"

2010-04-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Meet "The Beast". Yeah, we know...we shouldn't have dunnit...durnit...

Ahhhh....Spring! (...at least a little less rain, nowadays...)

2010-04-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Some of the new Spring growth around the place, nowadays!
We did get a bit of hail, t'other day. Barely covered the ground. That was the closest we got to seeing snow all Winter...

Reckon 'most all the critters are still asleep from whatever Winter we had. Haven't seen anything scary all...this season...yet...

It's come down to this!!!

2010-03-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hey, Hon!
Can you pass me on out that there bottle that washed up on the beach?
(I reckon we better confess that, after we got ourselves booted out of the house we couldn't afford, we're reduced to livin' on the beach, here. T'ain't all that bad! In fact, it's a snap!...'till it rains... Winter has been a bit tough...)

Aahhh, the good life! No more bills!

I'll get around to finishing the place up a little better, someday...when some more wood drifts in...
Dar, over here is reminiscin' over what's left of our last humble abode, after the wind and waves near finished it off....

Now, here's a chunk of firewood! If I could figure how to get
it over to the shack, I'll bet it would burn for about a month!
Now, where did Dar get off to? We got work to do!

Tootin' my horn, here...

2010-03-10T23:14:00.000-08:00

(I just can't help myself....)

I reckon maintaining my two blogs (darwinz-doinz, here) and Hearts, Minds, Camera Lenses http://www.nielsonyahoos.blogspot.com/ just isn't enough?

This month, I've also created a third blog. It's: http://www.rhymers-attic.blogspot.com/. Can I interest you in checking it out? I'll be using that blog to exhibit some of my ol' buddy, "rhymers" works I've had on hand for years that I figger is somewhat better than my worst stuff. (notice my intended modesty?)

My, oh my! I'm going from bad to worse. I now have a 4th blog! http://www.no-isms.blogspot.com. This is where we'll post religious thoughts, essays...religious rhymin', etc. These are authored by my third alter-ego, "preacher"... (What can I say? You know my noggin' is always busy...even in senility...)

If the links in this post don't all work, I believe those on the right border, over ---> will?

Anyway: I invite those interested in checking these two new sites out and letting me know what you think? There's a spot on each entry for your comments...
Man!! I've got to get away from this keyboard...get outside and do a bunch of stuff that's being neglected....
(Shucks...what the heck? I can do that when it's not raining. Which may be like...never?)

(Dar's) "Handsome Hero"

2010-03-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

"This is my "Handsome Hero".

He is soooo Special! He's My everyday hero. I am so blessed!

(Editor's note:This is, most definitely Dar's entry, not mine. The Devil made her do it!)

We're having Guests visit or site! LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK?

2010-03-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

I notice, (from the guest counter I sneaked in on you over here on the right) that we're having visitors!

Would you please sign the guest register below the counter and leave any comment you may have?

We want, so much, to hear what you think of our "Doinz"?

Let it all hang out? (...If we know you, that is...I might help you feel better?)

At least say "Hi"?...Or leave a note about your own doinz?

Let me know if I can link to you?

We wish all those who care enough to check on us our very best! God Bless!!

PS: I'm gradually, grudgingly, (albeit gregariously) gratuitously gravitating towards receiving mail at rhymersr@hotmail.com. ...another more private way of contacting us...Would love to get a (respond-ible, positive) message from anyone!

Another of Dar's many talents.

2010-02-25T11:29:00.003-08:00

Here's a pic of a stained glass project that she put together when the family lived in Glendive, Montana. It was made for her daugher, Dawn, when the family moved into (Dawn's) new home in Park City. This piece occupies the entire window in their front door. Beautiful, huh? (From the pic it looks out of square. Nope. She just leaned it against a window for the shot...)

We're setting up a glass work area in the new shop. With a talent like this, Dar has to keep practicing it! She has another, undoubtedly equally beautiful piece (a sunflower project) that's still wrapped in cardboard that I haven't even seen yet. She says it needs repairs... Housework, and the promise of warmer temperatures has given us both Spring jitters... C'mon, Spring!

About being of service...

2010-02-20T08:59:00.002-08:00

We've gotten about half-way through applying for membership in the Florence Elks Lodge, in an effort to find a service organization to become involved in. They are principally a "diner's club" with exercise facilities, pool tables, bingo tournaments, etc. They do place emphasis on disabled veterans, supporting Boy Scouts and handicapped children projects. We've placed this on hold while we check out other options...too

We're also checking out involvement in the Florence Senior Citizen's organization. Participating in their lunch gatherings maybe once a week, their short trips, and being of service in the new facility under construction may be a bit more to our liking. There may be more opportunities to be of service with them than Elks... We have been invited to a meeting with their committee Monday, to see if we can find a "service" slot for ourselves. (even if it's just washing dishes...and they don't assess annual dues...)

This, along with involvement in the Florence Ward, and our own travel plans will be enough, we think...

Meet some very good friends of ours

2010-02-13T05:23:00.001-08:00

Here's Chick and Bette Baker, who live in Florence and are members of the Florence ward. They were about the first that went out of their way to welcome us here a year ago. They've wanted to show us their favorite eatery, the Adobe Restaurant which is right on the beach. That's the ocean about 50 feet away, through the window, in Yachats (that's "yah-hots"), which is a nice drive 23 miles North, up the coast-line. We ventured up there on Feb 10th. Great time, guys! Sorry for the dark pic...blame the dad-gummed camera...or the simple-minded button pusher...

Spring! ...in February??

2010-02-03T16:40:00.001-08:00

Sure is a wonderment to this ol' dry-lander, how much "thangs is diffrunt hyar in Ory-gun!"

The top, left pic is of a red, flowering Quince bush. Silly thing is starting to put on a bunch of red blooms and green buds, already. (On Feb 1st) On the right, above, is a mixed up shrub of some unknown variety, that has looked like this all Winter!! Luv-it!!!

Yes, we do get a bunch of rain! Almost every day, this time of year. The temperatures are very moderate. Overnite is around 45-50. Daytime only goes up less than 10 degrees. One of the few bad things is moss...everywhere! It's just starting to show on the siding of our house. It started on our back step, facing East, in the pic.

The light green shrub with pink flowers has been at it all winter. I have no idea what it's callled.... (Clue me in, you horticulturists out there, ok?)

The Rhododendrons, for which Florence is famous, bloom from about March through mid-April, as I recall from last Spring...which is about when we arrived here. After blooming, they set on the second set of buds which you see atop the stems in this pic. We'll just wait for them to burst out in bloom then post the pic's, here. I really thought these would lose all their leaves in the Winter-time. ...fooled me...

Yup; we love Oregon! Don't miss the snow, a'tall. Could use jist a tich more days of good, ol' sunshine, though... All in all, we'll take it!!!

Friend?...or foe? (Naw, just a doe)

2010-01-18T10:47:00.001-08:00

I happened to notice this little gal as I was wasting time at our TV, this morning. Dar and I have opposing views about how she should be welcomed... The least I wanted to settle for was a huge, silver salute firecracker to discourage her from coming back! Of course, Dar rejected the notion...

The pic on the right illustrates why I can do without these critters in our yard! Dar's response was that she'd only eat a little bit. But what if she has friends that would destroy this year's shrubbery? I yelled and made wierd noises. (you know how offensive I can be) This li'l gal was totally "non-plussed" (not impressed) by my wierd sounds... She was about 10 feet from the corner of our house and I was on our front step. ...Arrogant little filly just sauntered a few feet away and went back to munching!! (Now where did I leave my deer rifle? Mumble--mumble...somebuddy's dang-nabbed pet, she was...)

I think I'd rather have a bear visit us...if this gets to be a habit... at least they'll amble off if'n I bellers at 'em....

A dangerous home-wrecker

2010-01-06T08:25:00.001-08:00

Avoid this game!

"Connect 4" will become an obsession. It will occupy way, too much of your time! It will destroy the otherwise peaceful aura of your home. It will cause frayed tempers, loss of self esteem, and vindictive name-calling.

The box proclaims that it's designed for ages 6+. Don't let that fool you! If it causes 70 year olds such distress, just think of the harm it could do to a child!

(You do realize I'm kidding, right? We were introduced to it by Steve's family, when we were in Sacramento for Christmas. We soon became addicted, and decided to buy one on the way home. Now, almost every day, Dar announces she intends to "kick my butt" in another round with this monster.)
The key to winning is to think defense first, then plot your offense... Problem is: Neither she, or I, intend to quit when we're losing. Ergo...we go on...and on...into the wee hours... Fun?...or brain-strain?

Security Matters...

2009-12-28T08:36:00.001-08:00

One of Dar's grand-daughters, (Stacy) in Idaho, has requested an invitaton to this blog. Got me thinking... No one can post without an invitation...and we certainly invite requests from relatives and friends! Right now, I have no idea just who is viewing this blog...? (I'm looking for a "guest book" gadget...'cause I'm always curious....)
A reminder: Don't post entire birthdays, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, etc, in postings, right?

Let's hear it for togetherness!

A plan gone awry...

2009-12-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

DarWin just returned home from a very pleasant Christmas season at Dar's son Steve Hodge's home in Sacramento. They went all out for us and included a site-seeing trip to San Francisco on the last day (Saturday). Man! Talk about wall-to-wall people! We got a glimpse of Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, and wound our way down the steepest hill in America. Thank goodness for good brakes. Steve and Jen are doing a great job of raising their three children; Tyler, Kate, and Charlie. I took a bunch of pictures and planned on posting some of them here...but...I had messed up on my camera settings and they all turned out blurry. Sorry, guys... Got'ta blame myself...not the camera...

....Story of my life: Hind-site is a great teacher. Will I ever get my act together?

Friends to ride the river with!

2009-12-16T12:03:00.001-08:00

Actually, to ride a lake with... in this case...

We had a most memorable visit with Marge and Ira Jackson, last summer. It was a rare privilege to have them stay with us for several days. We enjoyed plenty of time to expose them to a bit of our beautimus country, hereabouts.
This was on their return from an Alaska cruise which departed from Seattle.Thanx, excessively, for thinking about us, kids!

Drive safe and Hurry back?

Dar's revival of an old hobby

2009-12-14T10:39:00.003-08:00

Dar used to crochet these (women's anklets trimming), years ago. It started off as a means to make a little money. After a bit of word-of-mouth advertising she soon found it was becoming almost too much to handle. She wants to start her "business" up, again...she calls them "Sassy Socks". She still has a fair collection of beads to use and I think she should re-build her supplies and get this going, again...mostly as an outlet from mundane daily duties. I'll definitely support her efforts in this re-discovered hobby. I really enjoy when she's wearing her pair with bells. It makes it harder for her to sneak up on me...

Imagine them jingling when you walk?

Mindy 'n Dalan Visit

2009-12-07T19:40:00.001-08:00

It was so great to have Mimi 'n Dalan stay with us for about a week. They returned home last Saturday. ...Hated to see them go... We had plenty of time to just go bummin'. ...Got much better acquainted with Dalan and we're very impressed by his courtesy, sharp wit, and very active sense of humor. We believe Mindy is doing very well!

Flowers hanging on

2009-11-17T08:02:00.002-08:00

We pretty much have 2 varieties of flowers left in our yard nowadays. We haven't had any frost yet, and at 8:00AM it was 52 degrees. This mostly spent Dahlia in our back yard and a row of African Daisies along the front of our house are still producing. The daisies have been hard-at-it, all Summer. We want to get more of both varieties. Our (great) neighbors, the Townsend's, behind us brought over 2 more dahlia starts. Thanks, guys! We continue to fill in a lot of vacant spots, since I tilled up all our lawns...

An analogy of Bridges

2009-11-15T02:48:00.006-08:00

Have you noticed that, when a free-standing bridge is being built across a canyon (or span of water, whatever,) they start with building a solid anchor on each side, then run very strong cables across the chasm before they start building in the space between? It definitely wouldn't be advisable to try to build from one side of the space, only. The weight of the finished part would definitely bring it down before it spanned the two anchors.

My analogy requires a base to be built on the opposite end...someone who can pull hard and sustain a lot of weight. I'll do my end of the work, but I can't do both ends. Any volunteers to start building an anchor at the far end of our span?
Troubled waters, down below?...(think about it? ...at least, there's a chance of survival after a fall...)
Or: If our chasm is dry, one's most unpleasant death would be a certainty...
We can do so much better!!!

How one thing leads to another

2009-11-15T02:39:00.014-08:00

We're in the midst of the middle of erecting an "L" shaped addition on to our detached garage. This began as a need to protect our new boat ...notice the "dab cravit" (crab-davit to some of you) mounted on the leeward side? It's a sort of pulley-rig to lift crab traps up from the bottom of the deep. Sheesh! Now we have to invest in a couple of crab traps. Hoboy....
I dare you to say "crab trap davit" fast, ten times!

Then: Got'ta protect our already huge investment from our frequent rains. Sometimes, the rain comes down in sheets! (Strange to see moss growing everywhere...as contrasted by the dryness of Utah.

Parked outside, the deck of the boat acts as a funnel and an unbelievable amount of water collects in the bilge when it rains...(it does have a drain plug we can leave open. Can't wait 'till ol' feeble-mind, here, forgets to screw it back in before we launch...! Why don't I just go down with our boat when, not if, that happens? ;)

Nonetheless: We wanted a shop built, too...then we needed the block wall to hold back the encroached-upon sandhill...Have I justified all this expense, yet? (Nope, never.)

This boat part of the "L" addition will be 20 feet wide by 36 feet deep. When the boat is backed in, we'll have additional space for the shop in the far corner of the "L". Here's a few pix, taken from the front/boat side of the building...

Siding that matches the existing building has been hung in the last picture. Now,we have to wait 2-3 weeks for the overhead door to arrive. The boat requires a 10 foot high clearance. Even then, I removed the dab-cravit first because it came uncomfortably close to hitting the top of the door opening. We found that, by parking the two on an angle, we could get both the boat and the truck under shelter (but we intend to park the truck on the other side when we get the original garage cleaned out...

Adding a shop to our detached garage (as seen from our back door)

2009-11-15T02:21:00.006-08:00

Here's a few pix of the new shop and retaining wall...at stages of development...

This shop portion will add a space that's 12 feet by 24 feet...

Now, we just need rain gutter extensions; painting the entire building; and FINITO!!!

Dar's gift to "Tessa-bell"

2009-11-06T17:01:00.004-08:00

Dar has been slavin' away for months, now, crocheting this blanket for Christy's brand-new Daughter. Seems like we hit several snags and it took a bit longer than she thought... to work her way through it, but we hope the little gal is still small enough to get a bit of use out of it? She made a gazillion small squares, then crocheted (that's "crawchet-ed"... :) them all together. I never would've found the patience to get through it! Sorry it's late, Christy...

To cheer us up at Winter-time...

2009-08-27T11:03:00.003-07:00

I just had to take this pic while these Lillies were in bloom...even though they were past their prime bloom stage. These are in our front yard. The tallest ones stand about 6 1/2 feet. Quite impressive, huh? I placed the wheelbarrow in this to give a size perspective.

Notice; I've tilled up all our lawns and am spreading wood chips in it's place. Unfortunately, being on a leveled-out sand hill made it near-impossible to keep a lawn green. Who needs grass to mow when perennials and shrubs don't need mowing, or use near as much water?

We've been on the lookout for black bears. Our neighbors all tell us they are definitely around! Well...after being here for months, (and somewhat nervously) keeping an eye out, we finally were visited by a young one a few days ago. He was about 30 feet away from us and we were standing behind our dining room French door... He noticed us but ambled along his way around our house...

Heceta Beach (Florence), Oregon

2009-03-21T15:23:00.007-07:00

After too many trips to Oregon, we've finally decided on a place to re-locate. This (Breautimus) property, on the Northern outskirts of Florence, (which is about midway up the Oregon/Pacific Coast, is a modular 2003 model home. It's also within about a mile of the Pacific Ocean. It's on a lot over an acre in size, most of which is in dense forest and undergrowth. We're told we'll have black bear visitors, occasionally. (Don't leave any garbage outside). There will be many deer, raccoons, and who knows what else visiting us... Looks like it's right out of a picture book, huh?

Right now, the reality of all this is very uncertain. It will probably take us all Summer to get this done...so far, this is just a gleam in our eyeballs...admittedly an attempt to escape...

Gus shrank!

2009-03-02T15:46:00.003-08:00

Last week, we sold my dear friend, Gus, (A 2005 Kubota L3130 tractor with loader and backhoe.) With a small portion of the money, we purchased this Chraftsman, 9hp, self-propelled, 14inch swath tiller. Couldn't be without any "toys" at all, could I?

Our adventure with cars...

2009-02-25T14:17:00.001-08:00

After we were married, we had a rather awkward situation with cars. We had "my" 2003 Buick Lesabre with around 86,000 miles on it and "her" 2002 Honda Accord with about 51,000 miles.

We soon decided we didn't need 2 cars to insure so we sold mine because of the higher miles on it. That left us with "her" Honda. It soon developed a few problems...it was still "her" car...and I had a secret desire for a hybrid...I made the mistake (?) of mentioning this to Dar...

Enter our new Toyota Prius, hybrid shown. It has 2 engines. The car uses electric, except when it needs supplemental power, then the gas automatically starts. Gas is used to re-generate the car's batteries. It's rated at 45-48 mpg. Only has an 11 gallon gas tank. No more $50 gas fill-ups

2009-02-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

Dar at breakfast at her son, Stephen Hodge's home in Sacramento, California, for her grand-daughter (Kate) baptism around January 3rd (?) 2009. We also visited with her daughter, Connie Carter's house in Rancho Cucamonga at Christmas-time, first.