Preparation Of Fruit Salad Reminiscent Of Zombie Apocalypse

The main tool of carnage was the cherry pitter.

 

 

Kids Survive Being Outdoors

Hale and hearty from Yellowstone.

San Juan Islands awesome! Battle with raccoons, less so. 

 

 

Portland Summer At Twilight (No Kids)

Kids were camping -- we were not!

Oysters at the sushi bar.

This guy was playing an electrified didgeridoo. We liked the sound so much we bought a CD. Check out the Urban Shaman on Youtube.

 

 

Journey To The East (Side): Random Photo Essay

 

 

Summer Backpacks In Portland, Oregon

To the trained eye, these bags are sleek compared to the behemoths used to schlep books to class.

The Son signed up for an Audubon trip to Yellowstone.  The kids were asked to have a small backpack and a massive duffel or pack for the rest of the gear. I found the above bags such an expression of minimalism of the pack genre I had to snap a picture.

For years I have been telling the kid that one philosophy of camping is to bring relatively little gear, the challenge being to use what you have creatively to solve the issue at hand. To that, he replied, "More money, more problems!" Right! I guess.

Oddly, I am encouraging the kid to be more slovenly. If I'm not going to shower when camping, I feel no compunction to change my underclothes. I'm glad the kid is seeing the wisdom of this, as it sets the stage for real backpacking, where weight is critical and cleanliness less so.

Here is the pile of the other bags:

The other thing I'm happy for is that the kid didn't want to bring a pillow, agreeing that putting his fleece in the stuff-sack was an elegant solution. I like comfort as much as the next person, but camping is a dance between the barest necessities and relative comfort. Sometimes less is more.

 

 

Driving Practice With The Kid

 

 

Pizza Surgeon At Urban Gleaners

The kid and myself volunteer at Urban Gleaners, helping get leftover, or unsold, food to those who need it.

The food arrives in large containers and we repackage it into more manageable units.

The kid had an uncanny ability to disentangle pizza and neatly repackage slices, earning the nickname "pizza surgeon."

The rest of the crew.

 

 

Political Advocacy As Family Activity

The family showed up for an #Indivisible Oregon rally in front of Senator Ron Wyden's office. A big, happy day as news of lack of support for Republican healthcare bill lifted spirits.

Afterwards we went and had...tacos! Or at least Mexican food -- I had a burrito bowl.

 

 

Summer in Portland

Summer in Portland is excellent, but it takes a graphic artist to stop me from getting carried away.

Santiago Uceda is a Peruvian born artist now residing in Corvallis, Oregon.  he created a tribute to both the 'squatch and Portland in his piece entitled, "Portland Hipster Bigfoot."

 

 

This Is My Aesthetic

A couple of years ago I put all my CDs into Google Play on a whim, a crazy chore I set for myself, daring to see the result. Despite being marketed to for the music I played, I suddenly had many different search parameters in which to access my music and was able to "rediscover" all those great songs I had socked away.

I'm slowly putting all my photographs into Google Photo and am having a similar renaissance. Part of the fun is being able to jump to a year of photos instantly and whip through them with little friction. Many cringe-worthy moments documented, but some art in which the current me salutes the past me. 

In this retrospective, I'm reminded how much fun the holidays can be. 

 

 

Tradition Can Be Wonderful/Awful

 

 

Random Sample 6th Grade Science Homework

My inspiration is Michael Masimino
Science is amazing
I want to use science to solve plastic in the ocean
I want to use study astronomy and space
Antometer: a type of algorithm used to automatically measure distance
Dormen: to sleep
antihelio: a person who doesn't like
I am: inquisitive, optimistic, attentive, calm, vocal,  skeptical, thrill seeking, easily excited

 

 

Section Hiking PCT In Oregon

We drove up to Timberline then hiked a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Not exactly the 2,650 miles of the entire trail, but a nice day out.