WHITE BEE HONEY; Woodland-WA

August 7th: It was pretty hot today, so we made a couple trips to the river where the cooling breeze was very welcome.

On our morning trip, as we were parked and enjoying the breeze, I looked across the river - and saw what I thought was a raft, and said, "What on earth is a raft doing cruising down the Columbia River dangerously close to the shipping channel?" Holland followed my gaze and said it was a mini tug.

I've never heard of … or seen … a mini tug before; they are little.

A mini tug! I've never seen anything like it …

Pictures of Mini Tugs: 

(https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/they-might-be-small-but-these-tiny-boats-still-serve-a-purpose-for-the-us-navy/56496)

Turning my eyes from the mini tug as it rounded the river's bend, I saw two large tug boats making their way speedily upriver from Portland-OR. They passed right in front of us, cruising through the fishing boats gathered to angle for salmon.

I started laughing as they cruised by, saying they look like giant house slippers - I know: I am a weirdo, and I own that ;-)

Following in the wake waves, were two older cabin cruisers with dinghy's.

Two tugs chugging up the river from Portland-OR.

As they passed, I laughed & said 'they look like giant house slippers' ;-)

Shaver Tug Service: 

(https://shavertransportation.com/)

1960's era Cabin Cruiser 'yachts'.

Leaving Austin Point, we noticed that the osprey nest was still empty (there had been no youngster activity when we drove in, either): the fledglings have flown on sun-warmed wings.

This is the third day we have noticed that the nest is empty most of the day; I am happy for the maturing birds, even though I am missing seeing them there everyday.

Life moves forward - theirs, as well as ours :-)

The Osprey nest is empty most of the day now … the fledglings will soon abandon it, altogether.

Driving the back dike homeward, we passed a 'honey for sale' sign; so, Holland backtracked and we carried honey jars and honey samples back to the motel room, with us.

We have been trying for months to buy local honey, in various locations: I am glad we were able to make purchase this afternoon.

Local Honey!

White Bee Honey Co.; #206 Whalen Rd, Woodland, WA:  (https://whitebeehoneycompany.com/about)

We bought 2 jarred flavored honeys … and 8 flavored Honey Stix. The black honey Stix tastes to me, like sweet molasses; I like it :-)

Relaxing and trying to stay cool, in the motel room, I went online to check out some more things to do in the general area - a Park in La Center came up … and I think I will do that tomorrow.

It looks interesting ;-)

It was still stifling warm, so we drove back down to the river just before sunset; and spent about an hour there.

Gold gilded river, at sunset. Beautiful.

Leaving, we could see that the smokey wildfire haze had tinted the sun, & water, a rosy hue.

Though the sky told us there was smoke in the air, it did not hurt our lungs.

Thank You, Yeshua ;-)

LOVE HEALS; Woodland-WA

We're finally on the same page, 9 out of 10 :-)

There was quite a bit we both (a divorced widower & a happily married widow) had to work through this past year in terms of relationship expectations & assumptions - lots of Past leftovers that had to be laid to rest on both sides of the marriage coin: but we both believe we've come out of the tunnel to confidently walk into the sunshine of our Life.

Bob Segar - 'Shame On The Moon' song w/Lyrics: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-rP49SZ1Oo)

We understand each other better now, and we can laugh off the dark side of the moon that has shadowed us the past 12 months.

Thank the Lord.

Holland has been tracking down, and getting things in place for job's that will dovetail with our road gypsy life … specifically jobs that we can do together. Some people think we spend too much time together already … and some people think we are too co-dependent on each other: we are doing what is right for us. The problem has never been the 24/7/365 togetherness - the problems have always been our different approaches to understanding each other's view of marriage; in that regard we are total opposites. But we are working our way towards centrality now, with humor instead of friction.

I have a Graysriver friend who told me during a hard time, "Val, the first year is always the hardest."

Being married for 44 years before becoming a widow, and eventually a new Bride again, I had forgotten how hard the first few years of marriage could be. And Holland had been a bachelor since around 1981 - he had a turbulent childhood due to his parents' troubled marriage, a very brief first marriage, and sparse dating periods until we became a thing; his knowledge of a long-term relationship was pretty sketchy.

Assumptions and expectations on both sides, were not lining up with reality.

The first year of newly married life was extremely hard. For both of us.

We were both trying too hard to make sure the other was happy; the results were unhappiness for both of us, that ultimately resulted in verbal fireworks when the pressured stresses ran too high. Things got pretty bad around June this year; we weren't being friendly towards each other at all, when Independence was put in shop to be repaired.

Friends on both sides entered the fray - sometimes we listened, sometimes we didn't. But we always thanked them for their love and concern. I am glad that we have mutual friends who pulled for US instead of at us, separately, for selfish reasons. Cal, though, is still a very serious problem; but that issue will eventually be taken care of, too.

All of July we concentrated on what we wanted, and where we wanted our Life to go. There is a lot going on in our lives that neither of us are willing to share with the public - what we shared with each other, is confidential; and what little we do share confuses those who do not know the entire story of US.

It's complicated.

But, we understand each other better now. We really are each other's best friend even though we each have trust issues. And we really do enjoy each other's company - even when occasionally at odds with each other.

And we're excited about what the coming months will hold for us when we hit the road again ;-)

We're looking forward to working jobs together, and we're happy with the way things are coming together to make that possible (Holland has been able to purchase most of the needed things, locally); we want to have as much as possible in place before we leave WA State.

The prospective jobs will be good for both of us - and I am glad Holland is agreeing to use my strengths now; I'm not used to being a useless woman: I need to be working, too, if he want's my fuse defused.

A packages arrived this morning: I love these cookies, and Holland makes sure I have a steady supply at hand ;-)

Car Cam & a new, reliable, GPS

The type of tool box needed; the rack will have to go (we'll both miss this rack), as the company will not allow it, & the tool box will be lowered and bolted to the bed, before Holland's tools are placed inside it.

Trying out the new tracking devices, we went for a drive, and as usual found time to spend at the river :-)

Our eyes just naturally go to the osprey nest on it's Park pole (Holland has become as interested as me to see their progress; LOL). This afternoon when we drove to the river, we saw the young ospreys flying around the nest (!), as we drove to our viewing spot on the beach, below the nest; they have been testing their wing feathers since Sunday afternoon.

They soared, and voiced their adventuring, as we watched them. I would have snapped a pic, but I was too busy watching and cheering them on.

A very hot day (97-degrees), and a very busy salmon fishing day; Woodland-WA

Just a lazy day on the river …

A ship bearing sown on the fishing boat conglomeration.

Fishermen can fish both sides of the shipping channel - but they have to vacate the shipping channel.

The vessel BEL AIR, is a Bulk Carrier built in 2006; and currently sailing under the flag of Liberia. The ship right now is very light of weight - the waves will be small.

The {Freighter Wash} today wasn't a dramatic as the other day's; but it was still interesting to watch.

Fishermen want to fish the high tide; this is a low tide, and the fishermen are leaving …

A Bar Pilot Boat - I've never seen one before, but I've heard of them since being married to Holland ;-)

Columbia River Bar Pilots:  (https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/columbia_river_bar_pilots/ & https://colrip.com/about/)

Today, the Columbia River Bar Pilots consist of 19 men and one woman, all of whom have sailed as Master prior to becoming pilots, the highest sailing standard in the United States.

I didn't know the Bar Pilot actually took over the Captain's Role while navigating through the shipping channel.

Ship Captains only have control of their ships in the Pacific Ocean waters - Columbia River traffic is handled by Bar Pilots.

The Fledglings have fled … we will miss watching them :-(

Eventually, we headed back to town where we bought an air fryer and some groceries before filling Betsy's tank for our drive to Vancouver, tomorrow morning. We will be checking on some more things that need to be tended to.

On our way back to the motel room we could see that traffic was backed up both ways - we hope it flows smoother tomorrow ;-)

A face in the clouds …

A 1932 Ford Roadster, alongside us at the Pump Station; Woodland-WA

1932 Ford Roadster: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_Ford)

Freeway traffic at a standstill both ways; Woodland-WA

We bought an Air Fryer, which will also come in handy when we get Independence back ;-)

JUST FOCUS ON THE MOMENT; Woodland~WA

July 29th: So much is happening all at once … and yet, it seems like time is dragging.

I know that sounds contradictory.

Let me explain - we are every day engaged in activity that is getting us closer to the goal of Holland's Bucket List aspirations; but we are being held up by the slow progress of Independence's repairs. We understand that repair work takes time, and we agreed to that time schedule … but we are also chomping at the bit to get our home back, and get on the road again.

Yesterday Holland spent the better part of the afternoon putting a rearview camera, and a Garmin GPS in Betsy; this morning we drove to the local Les Schwab to inquire about some other items we will need when we pull stakes here in WA State - tire chains came home with us … and the other items were ordered, to arrive speedily.

We headed to Les Schwab - the freeway, in the background was at a stand-still; we are thankful we can find what is needed, locally.

Waiting for Holland to complete his Schwab transactions, I noticed Fall colors already arriving …

I surfed the internet while waiting in Betsy for Holland.

It is raining, and heavily clouded here, so catching sight of the aurora borealis won't be happening. Again.

Northern Lights notice: 

(https://www.space.com/aurora-alert-northern-lights-july-mid-latitudes-us-europe-cannibal-cme)

Our new Life's Direction will include mid-west and east coast venturing … we need to stay on top of weather reports:

Storm Worries: 

(https://nypost.com/2024/07/28/us-news/tropical-disturbance-over-atlantic-worries-hurricane-experts/)

Nature tidbits always interests me - this one caught my immediate attention ;-)

Rare Wild Cat Captured On Trail Cam:  (https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/borneo-clouded-leopard-mother-and-cubs-conservation/)

And of course, this item also drew my eyes … however, I have a vastly different opinion.

The Lunatic Sector Of Society can't help their back-handed hyperbole … and I'm not posting a link because the link, which at first glance seems "sensible" is also filled with talking head talking points, and just plain hatespeak Trump Derangement BS, that doesn't deserve repeating.

MPO is that President Trump was encouraging Christians, like me (who do not vote; personal convictions on the matter), to "get out and vote this time, so we win … and you'll never have to do it again". It was not, as the demonically hate-fueled obamanite demonrats are spinning to imply "tyranny!" Those empty-headed and black-hearted morons are so poisoned by their own swill that they have lost all common sense.

I put my phone down when Holland hopped into Betsy's cab; and we headed back to the motel room.

We both surfed the internet for a bit: Holland was running down some leads on a bed tool box, and I was checking the morning news.

I saw two articles that snagged my attention: the CA earthquake interested me because we spent a considerable amount of time this year in the Mohave Desert, Barstow, San Bernardino County, and traveling through Vegas-NV on our way to other destinations - chances are we will continue passing through, and setting up again, in these locales: a 4.9 jolt deserves attention.

Magnitude 4.9 quake was centered in the Mojave Desert near Barstow: https://www.kclu.org/2024-07-29/quake-earthquake-rattles-much-of-southern-california-including-parts-of-ventura-county

I also saw that the embittered and toppled obamanite puppet, is determined to push barak hussein obama's communist plan to dismantle our Supreme Court, forward. This destructive agenda will fail, of course, but hate blinds the weak to reality.

This is goes against our Constitution, & it's a sour grapes complaint.

I just want the hateful activity in DC to stop: it's ridiculous, and it is holding actual governing business up - government business The People actually care about. barak hussein obama had been a blight on America since his communist/muslim political coup in 2009; Americans will rejoice when biden and his obamanite cartel are unseated in November 2024.

Holland, on the other hand, tracked down a couple tool boxes we will investigate later this week following his Dr. appointment Wednesday.

We are busy; and we are bored: this afternoon, Holland was getting as antsy as me to get back to touring America … so after an hour or so of internet scrolling's, he said, "What do you say Baby, to getting out of this room and checking on the babies?" The {babies} are two osprey hatchlings we've been keeping an eye on: we shut our laptops down and spent some time at the river.

We saw that the feathered youngsters are still in the nest - but they are spreading their wings and doing hopscotch hops across the next in lurching trial {flights} ;-)

The 'babies' are testing their wings, & garnering courage.

I hope their fledging happens during daylight hours, and that we get to watch them leave their nest.

The river was busy with commerce traffic; and even fishing guide boats and private boaters were on the water despite the dreary drizzle.

We watched the river, listened to the river atmosphere sounds, and discussed the future going forward.

We watched a cormorant bob with the waves, & dive, before it flew off.

Double-crested Cormorant: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-crested_cormorant)

2 tugs coming together.

Holland thinks they may both be going to the same place; Glacier~Calportland, OR: (https://www.calportland.com/)

Tug pushing Georgia-Pacific containers, & salmon fishing family; Columbia River~Woodland, WA

Georgia-Pacific/Wauna Paper Mill, OR: 

(https://www.gp.com/product-overview/)

Georgia-Pacific/Wauna Paper Mill buys pulp Logs, chips, sawdust, & Hog Fuel; the mill also makes the pulp for toilet tissues, diapers, and corrugated boxes … as well as operating one of the largest recycling businesses.

Georgia-Pacific is also a large do-it-yourself warehouse retailer of building materials for construction projects.

We watched a ship plow up the shipping lane … and bet each other on where it hailed from ;-)

The vessel ATHENS HIGHWAY is a Vehicles Carrier that was built in 2008; sailing under the flag of Japan.

In passing, the ship's wake sucked water away from shore before pouring waves back to shore.

The following waves … and researching the ship's name later on, we were both wrong about the carrier's flag ;-)

As this ship passed through the shipping lane, it drastically pulled water away from the shoreline in a 'freighter wash' motion … in 1738 Daniel Bernoulli, a Dutchman, had coined this term, “Bernoulli’s Principle” (aka, Freighter Wash) This explains how moving water carries a lower pressure, so surrounding water is drawn toward the freighter to displace its weight. When this occurs it appears that the ship is sucking in surrounding water from the shoreline. It is also known as “the canal effect” since the degree of occurrence is stronger in shallower, narrower passages: I had never seen this before, but Holland has.

It was kind of alarming to me, because he had parked Betsy so close to the water. He told me we were safe, but river & ocean waters haven't been friendly to me, and I was nervous watching the sucking and surging activity. After shipping vessel have passed, the water rushes back with such force that it could easily cause people standing on the shoreline to loose their footing. Shorelines erode more quickly. It can be treacherous.

This is why it is dangerous for people to frolic in the waves when ships are present. Several people die each year swimming … or attempting to save children playing … in the Columbia River waves.

A Kayaker.

Kayak: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayak)

Holland is excited to get his Work Plan underway (we are both excited at the prospect); and that is actually coming together quite well, in a reasonably quick way. My itching gypsy feet are twitching to trod new and unfamiliar ground - they, (and my sore back which misses our comfy bed), are impatiently waiting for Independence to be returned to us.

This afternoon's atmosphere was filled with inspiring hope, warming love, and happy chatter :-)

LIFE'S FLOW~Shavua Tov; Woodland-WA

Today was a tranquil, laid-back day; I didn't sleep much throughout the previous night (sticky humid, and hard to breathe night), so I snoozed off and on throughout this day.

Holland sat beside me, surfing the internet in blessed quietness - he was enjoying the quiet lulls; hahaha ;-)

When I woke around 4:30 PM, he said, "How about some ice cream, and a short drive?" I agreed, while freeing the Sandman slowly.

We drove 5 minutes up the road where Holland ordered my new favorite ice cream treat - the Turtle Pecan Cluster BLIZZARD: so yummy!

Holland got a peanut butter flavored concoction for himself; then we sat in the shadowing shade of a large tree to finish them off.

Then, we enjoyed a lazy drive past the Tulip Farm, and along the dike road … we saw a cow nuzzling her newborn calf, whose fur was spiked with wet cow licks … and carefully passed over the rutted and crater-pocked dirt road under the Ghost Bridge; ending at our favorite river watching spot, where we both peeked towards the osprey nest platform to see if the youngsters have fledged yet: they haven't.

Newborn calf along the 'Ghost Bridge' Dike Road; Woodland-WA

Mama Osprey is still ferrying food to her youngsters …

As the sun began to lower in the evening sky, we parked on the beach and listened to the gentle lapping of the Columbia River as it's low curving waves softly kissed the sand.

Loggins & Messina - 'Watching the River Run song' 1973: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZfIE9mbZdY)

There was a little nip in the breeze due to the low hanging clouds … but the chilly, wind whipped waters did not seem to faze the jet-skier's - the river was teaming with human porpoises, a few popping wheelies & doing twisting tricks that eventually found them bobbing in the waves alongside their upended power toys ;-)

The river was very busy tonight - parking space was limited & firepits scented the breeze; Austin Point~Woodland-WA.

Tonight was a good close of this week's Sabbath ebbing … and the new week hovers, waiting to be embraced :-)

Shavua tov is a Hebrew term used as the Sabbath ends, to wish someone a good coming week.