Walkies

 In my effort to lighten the load on my knees, I have been trying to walk off some excess weight. Not long ago, I took myself down to Elk Rock Island and park.  This is about a mile and a half from my home. Here's Elk Rock Island in the middle of the Willamette river.  There used to be a dance hall here that was quite the place to visit in the 20s.  People would come upriver by ferryboat from Portland to have a wild time.  The hall burned down, and the island has been returned to the wild.

 Here is a picture of Elk Rock which gave the adjacent island its name.  The indians used to drive herds of elk down the hill and over the cliff here to harvest quantities of meat for the winter.  The house built at the edge is one that I would give my best poem to own.  The cliff under it is basalt, so no fear of landslides. The river view is stunning, and the house faces east, and it's above even the century floods.  What more could you ask?  You could sit in your kitchen, sipping your morning tea or coffee, watching the great blue herons and the nutria and the boaters and fishermen.  I imagine the tranquility is about knee deep in that house.

On the East side of the river, a little creek flows into the river.  to my surprise, a fish ladder has been built to accommodate the returning salmon.  How hospitable we have become to our native fauna!

And on the way back, I discovered a Harley dealership. I do love a Harley.

The walking has been quite enjoyable, but in spite of walking miles and eating sparingly I retain the weight.  I am what old-timefarmers called, "an easy keeper."  This is a term for livestock that put on weight readily and didn't go skinny during the lean times.

And for the next three days it will be impossible to eat sparingly, because I am prepping for Ladies' Knitting on Saturday.  You gotta taste the dough and the cookies as you make them.  And how can you wash the cake batter bowl if you don't lick it clean first?  I am doing tea-dyed deviled eggs for the savory, and a pear upside down cake. I wanted to serve blackberries, but I may have just missed the season.  Drat!  I'm going on a fruit stand blitz tomorrow, but if i can't find any blackberries, I'd better have a backup plan.  Nectarines maybe?

On the knitting front, remember the friend who is expecting a baby granddaughter and was tempted into selling his soul for a pair of precious pink hand-knit baby booties? "Devil woman!  Name your price!"

The price I have exacted was to send him the rainbow trout hat and tell him I wanted five pictures of him wearing it in public.  He is a damn good sport!  Thanks, Ed!  This is one,

and this is two.  Nice abs for a gray-haired  history professor.  ;-)