Friday, August 31, 2007

Another chance to see meteors

Tomorrow morning, Earth will be traveling through the trail of dust left by Comet Kiess and we might see a display of meteor showers. Or maybe not - the moon is still very fullish and clouds are expected - and being a city Portland has a lot of lights at night...

But very few have seen these meteors and they are not expected again in our lifetime...so I'll get up and watch around peak time which is 4:30AM PDT. Supposedly the West Coast has great chance of seeing this display.

Circumnavigating Hayden Island

One of my friends and I have talked about doing this circumnavigation and so on Tuesday we said - Thursday it is! [It was supposed to be a bit cloudy - it wasn't :- )]

The trip around is about 12 miles or so and wasn't a "walk in the park" or an easy kayak paddle!



Here is a shot of the I-5 Bridge soon after we rounded the Eastern end of the Island.



This was the easier part...then we had to paddle to the Western end - all in the main channel of the Columbia River which has a strong current and much traffic. Neither of us had ever paddled on the North side of the Island - and it interesting to see the industry in both Portland and Vancouver and many of the barges at rest.

Nearing the Western end of the Island we encountered WAVES....we made it around but it was work! Not sure why waves but it has to do with the confluence of Willamette River and Columbia which is near there.

It was then definitely time for lunch, a swim and a long break....


Lunch on the West end of Hayden Island.


After lunch we paddled back toward home - taking a break to get wet as it was very hot out on the river. [Winter seems like a good season for this trip when we do it again - especially a rainy winter day : -)]

When we saw the railroad bridge we cheered as we knew we were nearing home. As we passed under the I-5 bridge and got to see closer-up the familiar condos and floating homes - we knew we had done it!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Tonight's meeting postponed!

If you had planned on attending tonight's Drainage District meeting regarding the Bridgeton levee trees - note that the DD postponed it to September 6.

No one seems to know why.


This is my view of a few of the trees reflected in the river.
You can order this [and others] in different sizes and a portion of the profits will be donated to the Save the Tree Fund...

For pricing and other information, contact me at 503-477-5550

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Support your local businesses

I had a bad tire and so went to the "big name" business as they had been rotating my tires since I moved here.....

Was told the tire was not usable, and I saw that... and so the spare went on..

Then I was told I needed not just 4 new tires, but 4 new rims since they were all pitted from the salt, sand and whatever they put on the roads in Vermont....

Asking if the rims could be cleaned, I was told no - they are aluminum and need to be replaced.
The total tab for 4 rims and 4 tires? About $1,000!!!!

With an older car that was not about to happen....

While muttering about this to a neighbor, he said go to Double J Tire Center on MLK - so I called them.
Good used tire? $20...rim? FREE!

When I got to Double J they looked at my old rim and asked why I was told it could not be cleaned...I had no idea - but I do now - the big named business wanted to upsell me not help me.

The old rim was cleaned, the used tire put on and they will clean the other 3 rims and check those tires.

So - if you need tire repair - go to Double J and support the neighborhood businesses and avoid the "big named" places.

Besides - they were so much friendlier....

Double J Tire Center
6841 MLK, Jr., Blvd 503-283-9437

Friday, August 24, 2007

Buy art and support the tree fund

I have placed some of my tree/levee art for sale at Channel's Edge [207 N. Bridgeton Road PDX]

There are photos of the "tagged" tress and and other flora from the levee -
mounted on homemade paper composed of scrap paper with levee flora embedded.

A portion of my profits will be donated to the fund to save the trees.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

What is next for the trees?

I have been asked this of late and the short answer is "I'm not sure."

The meeting on the 15th allowed many to present their views and the neighbors continue to discuss this situation - assessing the legal and political ways similar issues have been dealt with in other jurisdictions.

A meeting on the issue of trees and levees is scheduled in California and some from both the neighborhood and the drainage district are attending. I assume we will get some feedback at the meeting on August 30th.

I will post info as it is received....

Monday, August 13, 2007

Message from the neighborhood association

The Peninsula Drainage District will sponsor a Q & A session this Wednesday August 15th starting at 6 PM at the Columbia School (Marine Dr. & NE Bridgeton Road).

All Bridgeton residents who care about our trees and our levee must be there!

At the August 8th drainage district board meeting to approve the fast tracking of the bidding process to cut down Bridgeton's trees about 25 Bridgeton residents showed up to voice their displeasure with the way the drainage district was pushing their plan through without proper neighborhood, or public, notification and input. At that meeting Bridgeton residents informed the drainage district's board about the new scientific studies (UC Davis and others at www.na.fs.fed.us titled "levee armoring") that have forced the Army Corps of Engineers to sponsor a scientific symposium on August 28-29 and announce that the levee landscape guidelines will be re-written by January 2008. The Sacramento Corps office also notified the drainage districts in that area that there would be "NO Cutting" of Sacramento levee trees until the new guidelines are issued and reviewed!

Why hasn't our drainage district requested an extension similar to California's?
Why has the Portland Army Corps of Engineers office not issued a "NO Cutting" order similar to Sacramento's?
Why was our drainage district board unaware that the guidelines were being re-written and that we could have received an extension?
Why is the drainage district ignoring new studies that show the value of "armoring" levees with trees and woody plant material?

AMAZINGLY, Bridgeton residents were shocked to hear at the August 8th meeting that even if the Army Corps was going to re -write the rules and that new scientific data indicated that trees actually strengthen the levee and the removal of the trees will possibly weaken the levee, the Peninsula Drainage District had already made it's decision, and therefore refused to change it, and that Bridgeton's trees would be cut starting the first week of September!

It is very important that Bridgeton residents attend this meeting. It is clearly obvious that the drainage district has made a very serious error and now, unfortunately, refuses to acknowledge that error.

Your support is needed NOW!

Your letters, calls, and emails to Sam Adams, Mayor Potter, The Army Corps of Engineers and our Congressional delegation are needed NOW!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Perseid Meteor Shower

I love these "heavenly" phenomena - when one can see them it is not to be missed. Here is some brief info and a link for more ..

The next meteor shower is the Perseids on August 12. This year there’s no moonlight to interfere. The best time to watch is from 11 p.m. August 12 until dawn the next morning. The best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest. If you have a dark sky, you may see a meteor once a minute on average. The shower is also active for several days before and after its peak.

More info here from StarDate: http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/

Enjoy these showers....

Monday, August 06, 2007

Bridgeton trees updates

The Drainage District is holding meetings on the tree issue....
Wednesday August 15th and Thursday August 30 -
both at 6 P.M and both at the Columbia School [Marine Drive and Bridgeton Road]

The Board of the Neighborhood Association has been authorized to consult with an attorney,
arborist and structural engineer on this tree removal issue and contributions are being sought to pay for all this.

Information will be updated as this continues to unfold.

This is what will be removed!