Where are the birds?

Varied thrush

Varied Towhee

Dark-eyed Junco

Mountain Chickadee

It's in the middle of winter and we have a spot or two of snow.  The bird feeders are full of luscious black sunflower seeds.  About two weeks ago I filled the feeders.  Our neighbor squirrel came over, and not able to get to the seeds, provided the longest harangue I ever heard in our forest.  But ever since that announcement or complaint, nary a bird.

The above pictures show the typical birds we were seeing every day only a little while ago.  Photos courtesy of http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

upcoming Wyden Metro Area (Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas) Town Halls

Esteemed leaders,

Recognizing that I’m getting this to you very late in the game (for which I apologize in advance), I’d like to alert you to Senator Ron Wyden’s upcoming metro-area Town Halls.

This Thursday, Senator Wyden will host his Washington County Town Hall at 1:15PM at Tualatin High School (details below).

This Sunday, January 13^th, the Senator will host his Multnomah County town hall at the Multnomah Arts Center in Multnomah Village at 1:30PM.

And next Wednesday, January 16th at 9:30AM, the Senator will visit Estacada High School for his Clackamas County Town Hall.

Should you, your constituents or members of any organizations you represent have an interest in attending, the Senator would enjoy and appreciate yours and their presence.

Thanks again for forgiving the last minute notification.

I look forward to seeing you in the near future, if not at one of the town halls.

Sincerely,

Jay Ward

Jay Ward

Director of Business Outreach

U. S. Senator Ron Wyden

911 NE 11th Ave.

Suite 630

Portland, OR

97232

Status of Rainforest Conservation Plan

Environmentalists, forest industry struggle to complete Great Bear Rainforest conservation plan

 

The forest industry is not moving quickly enough to achieve ecological and economic goals in the world’s largest temperate rainforest, environmental coalition says
At issue, said Valerie Langer, spokeswoman for the three environmental groups working with industry to protect the globally-significant rainforest, is an inability to reach the scientifically agreed-upon target of preserving 70 per cent of the rainforest’s old-growth while maintaining the second agreed-upon target: a timber harvest of 2.7 million cubic metres of logs a year.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Environmentalists+forest+industry+struggle+complete+Great+Bear/7776998/story.html#ixzz2H3s0eKpW

The goal is to go from the maintenance of 50% to 70% old growth trees while reaching a targeted lumber harvest that is both sustainable for the timber industry as well as the forest.  Meanwhile, the industry continues to operate under the less sustainable paradigm.  It will be interesting to see how this effort evolves

Is Mount Hood too white?

Well, actually the referenced article has a different title:

Is Mount Rainier too white?

Preserving our natural heritage will require engaging a larger share of the population in outdoor activities. The National Parks won't survive on support from white people with white hair

This is the start of an interesting piece posted on Crosscuts  http://crosscut.com/ , out of Seattle.  There are interesting facts and thought provoking questions in the article http://crosscut.com/2013/01/02/mossback/112253/mount-rainier-too-white/

Several excerpts:

 "The growing diversity in the country is a wake-up call to park and forest managers who are dealing with the reality that the folks who form the core of national park visitors are a shrinking slice of the population." 

"The awareness of the wilderness' "white problem" is known, not just at the policy levels of the National Park Service, but also at the retail level. Seattle's REI has hired Laura Swapp to help the company remain relevant in a more diverse world, both with employees and customers."

White Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with good friends from Seattle who spent several days with us.  Robin took some great pictures for us.

Janine and I near our "brick oven complex"

and some pictures of trees and snow

That is, globally all persons who are 27 years or younger have not experienced a month with a below average temperature.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in its October report, states (in part):

"The average temperature across land and ocean surfaces during October was 14.63°C (58.23°F). This is 0.63°C (1.13°F) above the 20^th century average and ties with 2008 as the fifth warmest October on record. The record warmest October occurred in 2003 and the record coldest October occurred in 1912. This is the 332^nd consecutive month with an above-average temperature. The last below-average month was February 1985. The last October with a below-average temperature was 1976. The Northern Hemisphere ranked as the seventh warmest October on record, while the Southern Hemisphere ranked as second warmest, behind 1997."

That is, globally all persons who are 27 years or younger have not experienced a month with a below average temperature.  

"The last month with a below average temperature was February 1985, nearly 28 years ago." emphasis added

Source of report is http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2012/10

btw the Nov report just continues this warming trend

Living in Oregon…According to Jeff Foxworthy

thanks Wendy, a good laugh now that we have passed through the plane of our galaxy

Living in Oregon…According to Jeff Foxworthy
THIS IS WHAT JEFF FOXWORTHY HAS TO SAY ABOUT ‘LIVING IN OREGON’…
• If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don’t work there, you live in Oregon.
• If you’ve worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Oregon.
• If you’ve had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live inOregon.
• If you measure distance in hours, you live in Oregon.
• If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Oregon.
• If you have switched from ‘heat’ to ‘A/C’ and back again in the same day, you live in Oregon.
• If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you live in Oregon.
• If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Central, Southern or Eastern Oregon.
• If you design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a 2 layers of clothes or under a raincoat, you live in Oregon.
• If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Oregon.
• If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Oregon.
• If you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash, you live in Oregon.
• If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Oregon.
• If you know more people who own boats than air conditioners, you live in Oregon.
• If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the “Walk” signal, you live in Oregon.
• If you consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain, you live in Oregon.
• If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Dutch Bros, you live in Oregon.
• If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Oregon.
• If you know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Clatskanie, Issaquah, Oregon, Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, you live in Oregon.
• If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Oregon.
• If you know that Boring is a city and not just a feeling, you live in Oregon.
• If you can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, you live in Oregon.
• If you never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho, you live in Oregon.
• If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Oregon.
• If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you live in Oregon.
• If you buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time, you live in Oregon.
• If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your OREGON friends, you live or have lived in Oregon.

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