Tag: pictures

The View From 3A

Another flight means another picture post. Usually, when I fly between Portland and Sacramento, I get a window seat on the right side so I can see Crater Lake. I was hoping to see something different, so I reserved a left side window seat.

We took off, crested the clouds and headed south. I snapped some pictures, looking forward to lots of new views to record. Then we entered a cloud, not to exit until we descended into Sacramento.

Maybe I’ll have better luck on the return flight.

Tough Year for the Swallows

Swallows have used the archway above our front door for the past few years. A swallow couple shows up, cleans out the nest, makes the edges a little taller, and raises a brood or two during the summer.

Here are a few earlier posts on our swallow friends.

Earlier this spring, before the swallows appeared, the nest fell. We wondered what the swallows would do. No need to worry. They came back and rebuilt their nest in three days.

This morning I discovered the new nest on the front mat and the swallow couple flying around. The nest (shown to the left), is amazingly light even though it looks like dried mud.

I don’t know why the nest has fallen twice in about as many months. I cleaned the brickwork, hoping that might help a new nest stick better.

Hours later, the swallows have started building a new nest. I hope they have better luck this time.

Happy Birthday, Ashley!

Ashley turns the big two-oh today. She’s no longer a teenager. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed by so quickly.

Ordinarily, we’d have a party, but Ashley is in the Dominican Republic teaching English to children at an orphanage. You can read about her adventures on her blog.

At the end of the summer, before Ashley left, we made a three-layer dessert and celebrated early. Somehow, that’s not filling the gap we feel today…

Happy birthday, kiddo! We’re so proud of you!

Update: We don’t need Ashley to celebrate her birthday. We made a confetti cake, blew out candles, sang “Happy Birthday,” ate cake, and missed Ashley. When we talked to Ashley later this evening, we learned her students and adopted family had many birthday surprises for her throughout the day.