Taryn and David Visit

Taryn visited us for the weekend and brought along her new beau David. A friend of David's was getting married in Trout Lake, of all places! Apparently Trout Lake was a favorite vacation spot due to the spelunking opportunities, so they decided to marry here.

We had a good time getting to know David and showing our guests the local attractions which include the river and neighboring farm animals. The first farm stop was Green Pastures Farm where we get our eggs. (Fresh eggs direct from the farm make one realize that grocery eggs have as much flavor as cardboard! All those bugs that the chickens eat while roaming in the fields must be flavorful.) We admired her beautiful chickens, were entertained by the donkeys, and gave the barn kitties some love.

The next stop was at the White Water Holsteins Organic Dairy, a member of the Organic Valley Coop. During Taryn's visit in February, Mazzi had a good time checking out the cows. This time most of the attention was focused on the calves. This one apparently thought that milk should come out of Taryn's finger.

The last weekend activity was a stop by Bingen's Huckleberry Festival to see our favorite entertainer, The Reptile Man. He tours with all sorts of reptiles and snakes and puts on quite a show, for child and adult alike.

Their visit also coincided with the peak of the gorge harvest. They went home with a trunk full of corn, peaches, pears, tomatoes, huckleberries, nectarines, and more! Taryn has lots of plans for canning and pickling, so we hope to see some of those fruits and veggies again some day. ;)

- Corinne and Mike

Mysterious Hole in the Woods

Last year we had a professional forester walk through our trees and make recommendations to us on best practices to improve its health and commercial value. We knew that our trees were overdue for thinning, and one of the primary recommendations he made was to thin our existing stands by 20% in order to provide some more growing room for the remaining trees.

To that end, we recently spent several hours walking through one of our oldest stands, marking a total of 200 trees to be removed. We walked up and down each row, looking up trying to identify the weakest trees (split or broken tops, dead branches.) In the process, I almost stepped right into a hole in the ground!

I immediately called Corinne over (okay, first I backed up several feet.) This was probably the most comprehensive survey we've made of that forest section, so at first we thought the hole could have been old. Further inspection, however, revealed that the dirt in front of the hole was devoid of needles or sticks and was distinguishable from the forest floor surrounding it. This was no small hole, either. If one of us were to stand with our feet in the mouth of the hole, the forest floor level would be slightly above our knees; the diameter of the opening looked to be about 15-16 inches. These are estimates, of course, as it took a fair bit of fortitude for me to get close enough even for this photo.

We passed this photo around to a few wildlife experts we know - Jim, forester and Bill, wildlife biologist. At first the best guess was that it was a badger den. Although we've never seen a badger on our property, they are native to our area, and since they feed on pocket gophers they would have plenty to eat! However, after doing further investigation we now believe that this was a coyote den. Apparently coyotes dig dens such as these in which to raise their young; after the pups are old enough, the den is abandoned, either permanently or until the next breeding season. Since we had 2 pups frequent our yard this spring, we now assume that they were born and raised in this hole. We haven't seen the pups in some time, so hopefully they have now moved on to another area (although just as likely they have learned to stay out of sight.)

We still have many more stands to mark, so who knows what other exciting discoveries are waiting for us out there!

- Mike (& Corinne)

Another Bat in the House

Another bat got into the house recently. We're still not 100% sure how it got in; unlike the last bat that got inside, this time we didn't have the doors/windows open for nearly as long. And also unlike the last bat, this one stayed closer to the floor than the ceiling. I was able to get some pretty good closeup shots and a video.



We used the same trick we did last time to get him outside: open the windows and remove the screens and hope that he finds his way outside. If we find another intruder in the near future - three strikes - we'll have to start looking for possible cracks or holes that they could be using to get inside. But for now we'll assume they took the more straightforward open door/window approach.

- Mike (& Corinne)

Countdown to Rocket: Name Contest!

We’re looking to YOU to suggest names for our girl! Prizes will be awarded for:

• Most Creative (First+Middle Name)
• Most Creative (Last Name)
• Most Likely To Be Used (First+Middle Name)

To enter: Send an email with your suggestions in the above categories to namethebaby@ilvedson.com. All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, September 17st, 2008. Winners will be announced the following week.

Participants may enter as often as they like. Be creative! Be entertaining! Help us out so that we don't have to continue to call her Rocket after she's born (though who are we kidding - we probably still will.)

Rules & Disclaimers:

1. Winning names will not necessarily be used.
2. Winners consent to the use of his/her name, photos and likeness for publicity and commercial purposes without further compensation unless prohibited by law.
3. Void where prohibited.
4. River Ford Farm, LLC and its employees are not responsible for and shall not be liable for:
1. late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, or unintelligible entries;
2. pen, pencil, paper, telephone, electronic, hardware, or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties;
3. any condition caused by events beyond the control of River Ford Farm, LLC that may cause the contest to be disrupted or corrupted;
4. any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind caused by a prize or resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of a prize, or from participation in the contest; or
5. any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the contest.

- Mike (& Corinne)

Countdown to Rocket: T minus 9.5 weeks

Here's Corinne with her ever-growing belly - 9.5 weeks left! Everyone is still healthy and doing well; the doctor reports that Corinne is on track for size/weight, blood pressure, etc. She is getting a bit more uncomfortable in general. Sleeping is not nearly as enjoyable as it used to be (for either of us!) I guess that is Nature's way of preparing us for Rocket's arrival.

Her belly is big enough now that it can act as a shelf on which Max can perch, although he's never interested in having his picture taken.





- Mike (& Corinne)

Boeing Buys Insitu

Here is that rarest of things: a post related to work. As many of you have likely already heard, Boeing has agreed to buy our company, Insitu. This is no big surprise to us; we've had a partnership with Boeing for a number of years. We've also known for some time that our investors saw this as a good time for an "equity event".

Our management did a good job of negotiating with Boeing. Some quick details:

• Insitu will be operated as an independent subsidiary with our own management team and board, our own benefits, etc.
• Insitu will remain in its current location in the Gorge.
• We will remain employees of Insitu, not Boeing.

You can read more about the details on Insitu.com. In the short term we don't see anything changing; hopefully we'll be able to say the same thing in 2-3 years. It's been an interesting trip to this point, watching the company grow from an independent company of ~45 people when we started to a 350+ Boeing subsidiary.

- Mike (& Corinne)

P.S. Before you ask: no, we're not millionaires and will not be retiring next week. ;)

Countdown to Rocket: T minus 11 weeks

Alright, you say, that's enough of the other stuff. Time for more belly shots!

These were taken July 28th, which is at about 29 weeks. The echinacea field next door was in full bloom, and it made a perfect backdrop.

- Mike (& Corinne)

Cold Springs Fire Update: Weekend & Fire Camp Tour

Saturday

Acres:	7956
Containment:	50%
Firefighters:	1086

Sunday

Acres:	7956
Containment:	60%
Firefighters:	1128

By the weekend the vast firefighting crew was winning the battle. And while the fire did occur relatively close to us (7-8 miles), it never really threatened us. The winds blew the fire primarily east, and not only were we located directly south but there were also a fair number of large irrigated fields between us and the burn zone. Still, no one likes a fire near them - particularly someone with a forest. We don't enjoy thunderstorms and their associated lightning strikes quite as much as we used to when we were renters. I guess that's just one of the downsides of owning your own place.

The school had become the headquarters for all of the 1000+ firefighting crew. There were tents covering the lawns and numerous trailers, trucks and other paraphernalia. Signs had been put around the school instructing people not to stop along the road to look since it could create a hazard. However, on Saturday we noticed a sign indicating that they were now giving guided tours of the fire camp! Being the engineers that we are, we were curious about some of the logistical aspects associated with fighting a fire of this size, so we signed up.

Our tour started at 3pm on Sunday. Since the majority of the crew were up on the mountain actively battling the fire, those who remained in the camp and were conducting the tour were members of the enormous support staff that is required to provide for that many people. After a quick overview of one of the fire trucks, we moved to the supply area containing pallets full of protective clothing and gear.

A sawyer showed us the contents of the standard 40-pound pack that each firefighter carries with him. That pack doesn't include containers for potable water, chainsaw, or chainsaw gas/oil, either - those are additional weight!

We got a demonstration of how to use the protective foil "pouch" that a firefighter can use for protection if they are overtaken by fire. Once inside, the foil can deflect the worst of the heat and protect the occupant from the high temperatures. Since there is no way to detect if it is safe to exit once inside, the occupant must remain under the protection until another firefighter gives him the "all clear". Apparently studies have shown that the human body can withstand temperatures in the 300-400° range for short periods of time, but I wouldn't want to be the one to test that.

From here we moved to a room in the school that was being used as a medical center. In here there was also a map of where each of the 5 divisions (A through E) fighting the fire were stationed, along with sticky notes indicating where each medic was.

The firefighters work (and often travel) in crews of 20. (Looking at the tent city, you could see that they were all set up in groups of 20.) Some crews are responsible for digging the fire lines that are used to contain the entire fire. We had assumed that they use heavy equipment to dig the lines, but no, they dig them by hand. The crew lead starts the line and digs one shovel's width and keeps going. Then next person comes behind and widens the line by another shovel's width. By the time 20 people take a pass, they have a pretty descent fire line. Apparently, they can move pretty fast this way.

During the hours when the fire fighters aren't on the mountain, they are typically either eating, showering, or sleeping. So the camp has trailers dedicated to each of the first two, and rows of tents for the latter. The food trailer operation was out of Montana. Their meals have to provide the firefighters with 6000 calories/day. Here is the breakfast menu for the day we visited.

The firefighters we spoke to claimed to be adrenaline junkies. Even so, I can't imagine why anyone would want to do this for a job, but I sure am glad that there are people who do!

- Mike (& Corinne)

Brian, Susan & the Rodeo

Our friends Brian and Susan (aka the Juddmansees) stopped in for a few days on their recent whirlwind tour of the west.

They arrived at our place on Friday night and brought with them a half flat (that's 6 dry pints) of mixed local berries that they had picked up at a farm stand along their drive. Coincidentally, we had also picked up a half flat of berries the previous day at Gorge Grown Farmers' Market. Presented with the situation, we had no choice but to eat them. Between berries on ice cream after dinner and berries over waffles the following morning, we managed to polish off the lot of them. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, marionberries - yum!

Saturday we gave them a walking tour of the property but mostly kept it low-key. Saturday evening, though, we had some excitement planned: The Dalles Rodeo! Corinne and I have been to the local Ketchum Kalf rodeo in Glenwood a few years ago, but Brian and Susan had never been. It's kinda like the circus - you just have to experience it at least once.

We coordinated ahead of time with our friends Judith and Rodney to get tickets and they ended up quite good - front row center! Periodically a horse and rider would bolt around the stadium at high speed, hugging the walls; they were usually carrying a flag with the name or logo of a sponsor, so they were quickly dubbed "commercials." When this happened we would sometimes get showered with dirt kicked up from the horse's hooves. Now THAT'S close to the action!

Relative to our previous rodeo experience, we had expected this one to be a much bigger event. In actuality it seemed about the same. The biggest difference was the success of the cowboys in the rodeo action, and it was in the opposite direction. As an example, there were 9 pairs of cowboys competing for the best score in the team roping event. On this particular day, only 2 of those teams scored at ALL; all of the others were not successful in roping the calf and therefore did not score. Each of the other events had similar outcomes: steer wrestling, bull riding, bronc riding (bareback & saddle), etc. This was definitely a rodeo where the cows won. The barrel racers - whose event did not involve a large farm animal - generally fared better. We still had fun watching the events, and I have no doubt that they all did a better job at their events than I would have.

Brian had hoped to be able to enjoy a NW rodeo whilst drinking some Rainier Beer. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly) the rodeo was sponsored by Bud.

There was a lot of fun outside of the non-competition events as well. A "business persons donkey race" organized by the local 4-H was actually quite a bit more entertaining than we had expected, and a "Wild West Revue" had some pretty fancy riding and roping. And let's not forget all of the various Northwest "rodeo queens" who were making the rounds and signing autographs.

At the end of the evening we went home satisfied that everybody had a good evening - us AND the animals.

On Sunday we walked to the Trout Lake Arts Festival which also happened to be that weekend. The Mt Adams fires didn't seem to deter anyone, as the festival was as busy as ever. Pretty soon it was time for our guests to be on their way to their next destination.

- Mike (& Corinne)

Cold Springs Fire Update: Thursday/Friday

Thursday

Acres:	7604
Containment:	18%
Firefighters:	930

Thursday morning we awoke to the smell of smoke for the first time. The smoke had settled in the Trout Lake valley overnight and was quite thick. As you can see from the photo, there was no mountain in view. The inversion actually proved to be quite helpful for the fire fighters that morning. By evening, the smoke had dispersed.

Thursday, 06:30, View from Home

After spending considerable time online looking for updated information, we managed to find a "live" fire-mapping site and were able to get this snapshot on Thursday:

7-8 miles from our house

Thursday, 21:00, View from Home

Friday

Acres:	7933
Containment:	30%
Firefighters:	1037

The firefighting population is now more than twice the size of the "native" population (as of the 2000 Census).

- Corinne (& Mike)

Cold Springs Fire Update: Monday/Tuesday

Monday:
By Monday the fire looked better but that was just an illusion due to the smoke and flames being less impressive. We monitored the fire information on this web throughout the day.  The fire was 500 acres on Sunday, 3000 acres Monday morning, 6000 acres Monday afternoon, and 8000 acres by Monday night.  The total fire crew grew from 237 people to 335.

On Sunday the Trout Lake School had a fair number of spectators. By morning the Trout Lake School had about 80 tents in the field. By nighttime the school parking lot was off limits to all but firefighters.  It looks like the Trout Lake School may be the fire base camp.

There were still no reports of the fire affecting anything but wilderness.

Monday, 08:00, View from Home

Monday, 08:15, View from Trout Lake School

Tents at Trout Lake School

Monday, 22:40, View from Home

Tuesday:

Acres:	7160
Containment:	5%
Firefighters:	518

By Tuesday they had a better estimate of the size of the fire, coming down slightly from the 8,000 estimate of Monday evening. The smoke was now beginning to settle in the valley.

Tuesday, 08:30, View from Home

- Corinne (& Mike)

Forest Fire!

We rose early (for a weekend) to beat the heat and spent our Sunday morning catching up on yard work after 8 days away on vacation. Mike mowed the lawn and I freed the garden from weeds.  The garden is on the south side of the house so I didn't get a view to the North until I finished and went inside. When I did, I was greeted by this view:

Sunday, 11:23

My first thought was that someone was burning but then remembered that the county burn ban was in effect.  And then of course decided there was too much smoke for a home burn pile anyway and therefore this must be a forest fire.  I called 911 to report the fire (just in case no one had yet) and was informed that DNR had been fighting a fire on Mt. Adams since early in the morning.  I know that the peak of Mt. Adams is 15 miles from our house and therefore estimated that the fire was ~10 miles from our house.

The fire grew quickly over the next hour and soon a fire fighting helicopter flew over our house.  By noon, we could see flames.  By 1 PM, the fire was creating its own cumulus cloud.

Sunday, 11:34

Sunday, 11:50

Sunday, 11:56

Sunday, 11:57

Sunday, 12:00 (flames!)

Sunday, ~13:00

Sunday, ~14:30

Sunday, ~15:00

Our friends Andrew & Amy called to ask about the fire so I emailed them some photos.  Andrew loves fires and couldn't resist the helicopter photos.  So he took his family for a Sunday drive on the forest roads of Trout Lake until they were turned back by a forest ranger.

The forest ranger provided the first real fire information of the day.  The fires was started by a lightning strike way back on June 29th!  Mom and I had watched that lightning storm and saw some serious strikes hit what appeared to be the same area where the fire started.  Apparently, it had just smoldered for two weeks!  That area has a lot of dead and diseased trees (spruce budworm) and is fueling the fire.

Mike and I took a drive to the Trout Lake School in the evening for a better view.

Sunday, 17:50 (view from Trout Lake School)

The pregnant photographer reflected in Mike's glasses

Sunday, 20:48

Sunday, 21:43

By evening, information on the fire was posted online.  The fire is named Cold Springs and occupied 500 acres on its first day. I made a mental list of the things I would evacuate with if needed but took comfort in the fact that the fire was North of us and the wind was from the west (as is typical for this time of year).

- Corinne (& Mike)