susanne
dB
What a wonderful day it was!
But first, let me say...if anyone EVER hears me say anything to the effect of "it takes 2 hours...if you follow the speed limit..." please slap me silly! I was not even out of St. Helens (7 miles from home) when those lovely blue and red lights appeared in my rear view mirror. I had gotten a late start, but I was going with the flow of traffic...everyone else was as guilty as I, yet I was the one who was pulled over. The cop informed me that he was giving me a break: he was putting down that I was in a 55 mile an hour zone instead of 50, so he was saving me $100.... was I supposed to say thanks?
This made me even later, and by the time I reached our meeting spot, Colton a nd Brandon were restless and anxious to no longer be sitting still, so off we went.
To set the scene, Astoria, Oregon, is an extraordinarily beautiful Victorian seaport that wraps around a headland where the mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Victorian houses set up high on the hillside with glorious views. With thesun light reflecting off the water, the entire world appears to be ocean and river.
Raftered Hearts lies to the south of Astoria along Young's River, and the gorgeous drive takes you past the bay and the river, with beautiful old country homes, farmland and forest along the way.
When we reached our destination, our first order of the morning was, of course, to go out and meet the horses, including the baby, Kyan. Even in their winter coats, everybody looked fat and happy, and remarkably free of the requisite Oregon winter mud. Lailah and Lark share adjoining stalls up front and greeted their visitor quite warmly (both have always been great favorites of mine, and the sweet muzzle kisses only confirmed that).
Next came Grandma Pony, who was delighted to receive her long-promised apple fritter. She was a bit skeptical about this stranger in her barn, and I think she wanted to enjoy her treat and get out with that new grandbaby of hers.
Next to her was Rogue, who is absolutely exquisite. Her photos do not do her justice, as she lithe and leggy, with an unbelievably delicate little muzzle. She's also VERY sweet...a bit shy, but not too shy to enjoy scritches and muzzle kisses.
I have to admit that, with the winter woollies hiding those intimate details, I mistook her momentarily for Mouse. He was on the other side of the aisle, telling me how wrong I had been and whickering for attention.
But once I had turned, I saw the new kid on the block -- that beautiful, adorable little silver buckskin, Bucking the Bar, aka Kyan. Cherry Bomb came up to the barn door, eagerly to check out the guest and not at all worried about her babe. Kyan, however, was rather shy and moved around the stall, keeping on the other side of mom for safety.
Everyone then was let out into the rolling hillside pastures, with Grandma Pony, Cherry Bomb and Kyan in one field and Mouse and the rest of the gang right next door.
We sat in Liz's dining room enjoying tea and talk, watching as Kyan romped, teasing and kicking mom and grandma, and braving such terrors as the water hose. In the upper pasture, Mouse and Rogue entertained us with their own games, occasionally pausing to try to get Lark in on the horseplay.
Liz, Brandon, Colton, Moonie the Mini Aussie/Sheltie (and total sweetheart) and I then went for a walk down the road to their friendly neighborhood waterfall. Brandon held my hand and pointed out where a culvert had spilled out to form icicles on the fence below.
Despite an unusually cold (no, make that freezing) day coupled with the usual coastal wind making it even colder, Young's Falls was well worth the walk. It is a spectacular sight, and practically in their back yard. The falls thunder over a 60 (or so) rock wall, with side spray frozen into icicles. Liz and I agreed that we must arrange a Liz McMillan photoshoot at this incredibly beautiful site.
Brandon and Colton did their best to skip rocks on the pool beneath the falls, then Brandon sweetly helped me pick out a rock for my traditional trip souvenir and addition to my garden. Then he found another great rock, then another and... We were nearly frozen through already, and carrying frozen rocks in my bare hands didn't exactly warm them, so when we reached the steep climb back up to the road, most of the rocks were left behind. I did keep several, however.
Back at the ranch...we warmed up before heading out once again to visit the horses and distribute their afternoon feeding. The sun was dipping below the trees, and baby, mom and grandma needed to get back into their warm barn.
After more visiting (and sharing Tom and Jerry cartoons with Brandon) it was time to head back for Scappoose.
Herein begins the fiasco part of the day...
I stopped for a snack for the road, and realized that I was far too drowsy to drive without stopping for a nap. But instead of the momentary shuteye in Clatskanie that I had planned, I woke up almost an hour later...too late to call Keith before he left work...too late to make arrangements for picking him up from the bus.
When I reached Scappoose, I drove on to his bus stop, hoping he would be there...I waited for the next bus, but no Keith, so I went home. Our caller i.d. showed numerous calls from his work, but I got no answer when I tried calling. Fortunately I soon heard a car coming up our gravel road. Once again, Daryl (BigDogs_LittleHorses) had saved the day, picking Keith up from work (sometimes I'm amazed that he even answers when we call, LOL!) I learned that, in trying to track me down, Keith had called Liz, so, much to my embarrassment, I was responsible for worrying people all over northwest Oregon.
So I'm back, safe, tired and happy after a wonderful day. We bought Daryl breakfast as a thank you, after which Keith locked the keys in our van...I believe to make me feel less like a doofus.
Thanks Liz, Brandon and Colton (and Kenny, too) for a great time!
All in all, it was a wonderful adventure, even with the mishaps getting to and from, and I hope we can do it again soon. Brandon and Colton are even cuter and sweeter in person than in their photos, as adorable as those photos may be...they are two gentle, loving, adorable boys.
But first, let me say...if anyone EVER hears me say anything to the effect of "it takes 2 hours...if you follow the speed limit..." please slap me silly! I was not even out of St. Helens (7 miles from home) when those lovely blue and red lights appeared in my rear view mirror. I had gotten a late start, but I was going with the flow of traffic...everyone else was as guilty as I, yet I was the one who was pulled over. The cop informed me that he was giving me a break: he was putting down that I was in a 55 mile an hour zone instead of 50, so he was saving me $100.... was I supposed to say thanks?
This made me even later, and by the time I reached our meeting spot, Colton a nd Brandon were restless and anxious to no longer be sitting still, so off we went.
To set the scene, Astoria, Oregon, is an extraordinarily beautiful Victorian seaport that wraps around a headland where the mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Victorian houses set up high on the hillside with glorious views. With thesun light reflecting off the water, the entire world appears to be ocean and river.
Raftered Hearts lies to the south of Astoria along Young's River, and the gorgeous drive takes you past the bay and the river, with beautiful old country homes, farmland and forest along the way.
When we reached our destination, our first order of the morning was, of course, to go out and meet the horses, including the baby, Kyan. Even in their winter coats, everybody looked fat and happy, and remarkably free of the requisite Oregon winter mud. Lailah and Lark share adjoining stalls up front and greeted their visitor quite warmly (both have always been great favorites of mine, and the sweet muzzle kisses only confirmed that).
Next came Grandma Pony, who was delighted to receive her long-promised apple fritter. She was a bit skeptical about this stranger in her barn, and I think she wanted to enjoy her treat and get out with that new grandbaby of hers.
Next to her was Rogue, who is absolutely exquisite. Her photos do not do her justice, as she lithe and leggy, with an unbelievably delicate little muzzle. She's also VERY sweet...a bit shy, but not too shy to enjoy scritches and muzzle kisses.
I have to admit that, with the winter woollies hiding those intimate details, I mistook her momentarily for Mouse. He was on the other side of the aisle, telling me how wrong I had been and whickering for attention.
But once I had turned, I saw the new kid on the block -- that beautiful, adorable little silver buckskin, Bucking the Bar, aka Kyan. Cherry Bomb came up to the barn door, eagerly to check out the guest and not at all worried about her babe. Kyan, however, was rather shy and moved around the stall, keeping on the other side of mom for safety.
Everyone then was let out into the rolling hillside pastures, with Grandma Pony, Cherry Bomb and Kyan in one field and Mouse and the rest of the gang right next door.
We sat in Liz's dining room enjoying tea and talk, watching as Kyan romped, teasing and kicking mom and grandma, and braving such terrors as the water hose. In the upper pasture, Mouse and Rogue entertained us with their own games, occasionally pausing to try to get Lark in on the horseplay.
Liz, Brandon, Colton, Moonie the Mini Aussie/Sheltie (and total sweetheart) and I then went for a walk down the road to their friendly neighborhood waterfall. Brandon held my hand and pointed out where a culvert had spilled out to form icicles on the fence below.
Despite an unusually cold (no, make that freezing) day coupled with the usual coastal wind making it even colder, Young's Falls was well worth the walk. It is a spectacular sight, and practically in their back yard. The falls thunder over a 60 (or so) rock wall, with side spray frozen into icicles. Liz and I agreed that we must arrange a Liz McMillan photoshoot at this incredibly beautiful site.
Brandon and Colton did their best to skip rocks on the pool beneath the falls, then Brandon sweetly helped me pick out a rock for my traditional trip souvenir and addition to my garden. Then he found another great rock, then another and... We were nearly frozen through already, and carrying frozen rocks in my bare hands didn't exactly warm them, so when we reached the steep climb back up to the road, most of the rocks were left behind. I did keep several, however.
Back at the ranch...we warmed up before heading out once again to visit the horses and distribute their afternoon feeding. The sun was dipping below the trees, and baby, mom and grandma needed to get back into their warm barn.
After more visiting (and sharing Tom and Jerry cartoons with Brandon) it was time to head back for Scappoose.
Herein begins the fiasco part of the day...
I stopped for a snack for the road, and realized that I was far too drowsy to drive without stopping for a nap. But instead of the momentary shuteye in Clatskanie that I had planned, I woke up almost an hour later...too late to call Keith before he left work...too late to make arrangements for picking him up from the bus.
When I reached Scappoose, I drove on to his bus stop, hoping he would be there...I waited for the next bus, but no Keith, so I went home. Our caller i.d. showed numerous calls from his work, but I got no answer when I tried calling. Fortunately I soon heard a car coming up our gravel road. Once again, Daryl (BigDogs_LittleHorses) had saved the day, picking Keith up from work (sometimes I'm amazed that he even answers when we call, LOL!) I learned that, in trying to track me down, Keith had called Liz, so, much to my embarrassment, I was responsible for worrying people all over northwest Oregon.
So I'm back, safe, tired and happy after a wonderful day. We bought Daryl breakfast as a thank you, after which Keith locked the keys in our van...I believe to make me feel less like a doofus.
Thanks Liz, Brandon and Colton (and Kenny, too) for a great time!
All in all, it was a wonderful adventure, even with the mishaps getting to and from, and I hope we can do it again soon. Brandon and Colton are even cuter and sweeter in person than in their photos, as adorable as those photos may be...they are two gentle, loving, adorable boys.
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