Three

There is something about the number three. Things happen three times in stories and jokes. There are three wise men, three stooges. Our Christian tradition recognizes three aspects of God the Creator. That Creator seem to like threes as well. Three green leaves for energy and growth, three sepals for protection from harm, and three white petals for glory – and in the middle two times three golden stamens to bring forth Life.

Countless numbers of these in full glory on Hamilton Mountain right now. In the words on Gerard Manley Hopkins: The world is charged with the Grandeur of God.

And here’s one a little closer, just a half mile and 300 vertical feet up the hill from us on the Iowa Street trail. Perfect light …. thank you! One doesn’t always have to go on an expedition to find treasure.

A Gift

Today I walked to the top of Hamilton Mountain, a basalt wonder on the north side of the Columbia Gorge. When I did it last spring, I was pleased to find some Lady Slippers (calypso), one of my favorite flowers. This year I came earlier and they weren’t to be found, although there were millions of trilliums …. glorious. Near the top, I ventured up a scramble trail to the side where I expected a good high view of the River downstream; at the end disappointed to find an intervening ridge blocking the view. Oh well. Glancing down, I caught sight of this lonely paintbrush, illuminated in the first hazy rays of sunlight. Although they will be numerous later in the spring, this was the only one I saw on the whole mountain. A Gift.

Lower North Falls

Sea Lion!

A bull sea lion in the river today. Unusual this time of year, as salmon are not running, to my knowledge. Perhaps he is after sturgeon. We are about 85 miles upstream from the ocean. 

Fishers hate them because they eat “their” salmon. They do like to park themselves at the base of Willamette Falls or Bonneville Dam when the fish are running and have easy dinners. But they were feasting on salmon for countless millennia before European settlers arrived here, and the salmon were so plentiful the rivers were almost black with them. So where do we point the finger?? I suspect that the indigenous people who netted and speared salmon at the falls would have been happy to harpoon a sea lion (800 pounds of meat and fat) if they could, so that probably was a disincentive to their predation. Perhaps we should authorize them do it again? Anyway, always a thrill to see one here. One some occasions I have seen one with a large salmon or sturgeon in its mouth. They always seem eager to flap it around for a while so everyone can see what a great catch it was.

Good morning, Portland

Water and Ice

Middle North Falls, Silver Creek, Oregon

North Falls, Silver Creek, OR

Winter

This is Winter Falls, a side creek falling into the canyon. It is so named because in summer, when there is little or no rain here, the creek nearly dries up and the “falls” become a trickle of water and some mist. Hard to believe in this season.

Two Views

These two photos, from the same place, about 2 hours apart, were taken with two different devices. One a pretty good quality digital camera, and the other a Pixel cell phone. The latter makes a “prettier” photo will all of its AI rendering more brightness, contrast and color than the eye, or the regular camera, could see. How do we “see” the world around us? Perhaps there are times we need the AI view to cheer ourselves and others, perhaps we also need to see the less “pretty” reality. And the crux is first being aware of how our own intelligence is affecting our view, and second knowing when and what to choose.

Frozen

During our recent freezing weather, after the snow and before the ice, I ventured out to Silver Falls State Park to witness the ice bedecked waterfalls. There are 10 of them. Here are two views of South Falls, one in front and the other behind. More to follow. Even in the cold, “the world is charged with the grandeur of God”