Icicle Falls

Amid the brouhaha of the outsourcing of port management and the last drop being wrung out of Dickie’s birdshot bungle, the national morning news suddenly showed a shot of Multnomah Falls at an icy standstill, frozen in motion as it plummeted down from the cliffs. This incredible natural phenomenon is only a few miles from my front door and I saw it on Saturday on my way up The Gorge to Catherine Creek. All along the way, smaller waterfalls that lined the highway were icicles and tourists were stopping to touch and photograph. In some spots, large chunks of ice had fallen into the roadway and strewn their diamond-like beauty all about.

It has been a deep freeze week coming on the heels of an unseasonably (even for Oregon!) wet January that has made the ground a frozen muddy morass filled with footprints and animal tracks. It strikes me as a trick that I moved from the Midwest in search of a milder winter and encountered instead a rough weather season at the same time Missouri is enjoying a warmer than usual few months.

Hiking in the Sandy River Delta yesterday I encountered ice on all the ponds and even the river had ice formations along the bank in the shallow waters. Princess is drawn to the water, but then backs off when she sees the ice. She has watched on TV all the scenes of dogs being rescued from rivers after falling in, and she is cautious. Buddy stays home on these long jaunts as his little back legs still are not up to strenuous walks.

Coming in from the windblown walk with frozen fingers and red cheeks, it is nice to have a hot shower and a cup of hot tea. Sometimes hot chai latte. Then sit down with a good book or the TV news and just take life easy. My days don’t have the regular rhythm they had in Osceola, but most include some time outside with one or both dogs and some time on the couch with one or more of my projects. Today is probably going to include a nap.