West Seattle

Position: 47°33’40.2″N 122°23’12.6″W This was to be a light post. A fluffy marshmallow describing our latest housesitting engagement in chichi West Seattle. After 10 minutes of digging around the internet for nuggets of history that might serve as a metaphorical …

Snow Falling on Cedars

Position: 47°44’45.0″N 121°05’14.9″W The high-pressure weather system that sat over the Pacific Northwest for almost all of January finally dissipated. The timing was almost perfect. Taking care of the animals and getting to and from the best dog walking spots …

Hood River Round Up

Position: 45°42’18″N 121°30’38″W Hood River merges with the Columbia River about 60 miles east of Portland. It is known for bougie sports, beer and fruit. Moving to Portland from the east coast 25 years ago, Hood River seemed like it …

Caring for Animals

Position: RAKING MUCK Getting away from it all is what vacationers have sought for years. No matter how long or how short the holiday, the desire to drop everything and lounge on a beach is as old as Florida. Getting …

Super Chickens

Position: SCRATCHING FOR FEED With 10 hungry beaks to feed, you’d think taking care of chickens would be a chore. Turns out it isn’t. The little peckers have grown on us over the past couple of weeks and now they’re …

Green Acres

Position: 45°42’18″N 121°30’38″W Oliver Wendell Douglas is a name that will strike merriment in the heart of anyone over the age of 50. As a lawyer Oliver was an unhappy man. As a farmer, he found his true calling and …

Bend, Oregon

Position: 44°03’32.6″N 121°18’54.6″W Compared with the Byzantine Empire, the city of Bend, Oregon, has had a short history. For millennia indigenous peoples lived, gathered and hunted the wide plains and foothills surrounding the “Towarnehiooks” river. They also fought each other …

Transitions

Position: 44°3’31.4″N, 121°18’43.1″W In films, a good transition heralds a change without confusing the audience or disrupting the narrative. Sometimes that’s a simple cut from one speaker to another. Sometimes it is a slow cross-dissolve, where one scene fades in …

Tucumcari

Position: 35°10’51.4″N 103°43’34.5″W America’s answer to Timbuktu is Tucumcari, a small town in eastern New Mexico. Before Route 66 was the main road west to California, Tucumcari had already gained notoriety. Founded as a construction camp for the Rock Island …