Cherry Bomb

There is a huge, maybe 60 foot tall cherry tree about 10 steps from our back door. In the spring its blossoms are white and delicate like tiny wedding gowns, and when the wind gusts, it looks like snow falling on our backyard. Later as spring turns to summer, it leafs out and provides us wonderful shade. Squirrels scamper in its branches and cackle down at our dog Lucy. In high summer, the cherries arrive, red and sticky in copious amounts. (If I could reach the fruit-laden branches, I might attempt to gather some and make cherry pies or cherry jam--but oh, what a tedious job.) They fall to the ground from great heights, splattering our lawn chairs and turning the patio into a dark red gooey mess. And yes, the kids track the cherry goop in on the soles of their shoes. I can deal with the mess. The worst side effect of this beautifully messy tree is its effect on Lucy the dog. The "ping" sound of the cherries falling on our metal patio roof is too much stress for her to handle. Normally our backyard is Lucy's sanctuary, her territory, her home. Now it is her nightmare, and she refuses to go outside unless we go with her. "Something is attacking from the sky!" she cries and scratches at the door. We curse those messy cherries and our damn dog, but forgive the tree that gives us its steadfast shade and beauty.
--Kristen

Of Photography

Two Tone
Originally uploaded by courterblog.

As many of you have noticed with my obsessive photographing of things and people and more things, I like photography. The hobby is new, interesting, frustrating, and fun. I've appreciated everyone's encouragement and compliments. Criticism is always welcome too.

Concerning equipment, I have a Nikon D40 and three lenses: 18-55mm, 55-200mm VR, and a 50mm 1.8 prime (which must be operated manually with the D40 but great to learn on and super sharp). You may have noticed I've also taken on a project on Flickr taking a photo a day and posting it. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes I have to dig.

Everyone takes pictures. Many people take great pictures. So because we're all in this, I have learned the following so far:

*Lighting is everything. It can destroy a great scene and make the most common come to life. I now have a distaste for broad daylight. Those horrid loud bright lights that cast evil black shadows. Daylight is often the time when you need a flash most, so ignore that "Auto-Flash" and get that strobe pumping. Fear not. Early morning and late evening are pleasant if you haven't got a flash.

*Learn the camera. With digital, you have the freedom to snap away thousands of lousy photos to learn how to take a few good ones. Go all manual mode. Your vacation photos will appreciate you.

*It's better to leave it a little underexposed than having an overexposed photo. You can brighten a picture afterwards with most photo editing software but you can't salvage a photo with a lot of blown highlights.

*Change the perspective please. I am as guilty as the next person but there are a million wasted kids shots towering down over those little ones like the 5-6 foot walking mammals we are. Let's let them remember what it's like to be 3' tall. Get on your knees, lay down, or something. And, while your contorted body balances the camera upside down, you will appear to everyone that you are a Photographic genius and they will await your next Flickr update with eager panting.

*Keep your eyes open. I was in downtown Portland shortly after I had purchased my new DSLR and I witnessed some hippies trying to climb up a tiny tree in protest. I'll never get that shot opportunity again...well, maybe in Portland I will.

*Bonus Cheesy Motto: The photographer, not the camera, takes great pictures. That means, if you took a bad photo, it's your fault. Stupid photographer.

**Bonus Shameless Self-Promotion-like Comment: If anyone thinks one of my Flickr photos is worth putting on their wall (basement wall or otherwise) or interested in getting some free photos taken, contact me, I'm open to ideas.

***Links for Photography
Strobist.com (lighting)
KenRockwell.com (general tips)
National Geographic

- Aaron

Matt & Libby's Wedding

Poop Poop be Doop

So I'm sitting on the edge of the tub in the bathroom, hanging with Jonathan while he goes #2. (Not my first choice of hang-out time, but Jonathan likes potty-company.)
This is what he said:

"Mom, when I push a little, just a little tiny poo comes out. When I push harder, a big poo comes out, and when I do a great big push, a HUGE PILE of poo comes out!" (complete with hand motions, as his voice gets more excited) "Great big like Mount Hood!!"

I know you really wanted to read that, Blogworld.

Motivational Geeker

Riffs and Variation on "You Didn't Know About My Peg Leg, Did You?" by McCarty Musers. Read first before proceeding.

"Whatever will make you happy for the next week, is what I think will make you happy." - Unrecognized Genius and Wise Sage, the infamous Edward G. Pimpleton of Ute, NE

Large hoagie sandwiches. Small hoagie sandwiches. Little wisps of blond curls on the back of my daughter's head. Beer without the word "Lite" anywhere on the label. A foamy head. A cold mug. Comic book podcasts. Bears. Oregon strawberries. Oregon blueberries. Oregon raspberries. Oregon. Clear days and cool nights. The slow dead pulse after a migraine. Good whistling. Sunsets of fire. Sasquatch. Reading books past bedtime. Making up stories. Flickr. One really great shot. Closing the work laptop. Windows open at night. Dreams that linger. New blooms. 19" Widescreen monitor. Daughter boogers. St Johns Bridge. Bigfoot. Coffee. My large hairy Dad who lives in the forest. Me.

The News

Ok, here's the deal. I hate the news. No, not the real news, like what happens around us. I mean the way in which those events are pre-selected and aired to the public via private corporations. It's laughable. Fox, NBC, CBS affiliates, they're all guilty.

The ONLY news show I ever watched (and it was via podcast) was Tim Russert's Meet the Press. I was so saddened to hear of his passing. I had tremendous respect for the questions he asked and the way he managed his show.

Then there is the rest of the news. I thought Oklahoma News was a joke, and I was right. But here, in our progressive city of Portland, the News stations prostitute themselves the same exact way. Here are the top news headlines from Sunday that appeared on News Channel 8's mobile website in one instance:

*Hot weekend ends with thunderstorms; 2 men hit by lighting
*Search for teen swept down Sandy River over
*Runner breaks world record during Olympic trials, but it doesn't count
*Man dies during Pacific Crest Triathlon
*Sandy man dies during fund-raising run
*Three alarm fire rips through Vancouver apartment complex
*Two killed in crash near Ridgefield identified
*Child falls out 2nd story window
*Two men hit by lighting in Damascus
*Man drowns in Multnomah Channel

So... anyone else dying or maimed out there? Now, this is their website but it's honestly no different on their TV presentations.

Here's my recommendation to News 8: File all the above stories under a separate heading called "Death, Dismemberment, & Everything to Be Worried About". When I want to be scared, I can just check that RSS feed. Then you can do some real journalism and find out what is really going on in the city. Challenge the public to think about what it's doing. Uncover the best and worst of Portland under the facade. It may force you to do more work than listen to a police scanner, but that's the tough career you were called to do.

I apologize for the serious tone in this post. It will not happen again.
-Aaron

Guest Post Alert--Tuesday Travels

Well Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz If that ain't love then tell me what is--, thus sayeth Loretta Lynn and Jack White.

I wrote a guest blog post at my friend Dolly Garnecki's blog, Traveling with Baby. She started a "Tuesday Travels" series, and asked me to write a travel guide to Portland, our fair city. You can check it out here.

A Bicycle kind of Day

Aaron and I both recently bought used bikes and a Burley bike trailer to haul the kids with us. On short trips around the neighborhood (we have a grocery store, coffee shops, library, community center, post office, parks, etc. all within biking distance) we try to use our bikes as long as the weather is this wonderful. It's sometimes a hassle, but usually much more fun than buckling everyone into carseats and finding parking places and all those typical car-related stresses.

And Portland is a fabulous biking city. There are bike lines on most major thruways, racks to lock up in front of most buildings, and drivers are generally very courteous and watchful of those on two-wheels. I was proud of a local mom-blogger, Sarah, who urged us all to use our stimulus checks to buy functional bikes (instead of gasoline, toys, and big-screen TVs) and stick it to The Man.

But nothing prepared me for the exhiliration of the outpouring of Portland's community spirit and the fun atmosphere of this past Sunday's carfree event called Sunday Parkways. The city closed down a 6-mile loop of streets up in my part of town, staffed with volunteers and policepeople, and had activities and food vendors at the three parks along the route. It was seriously, so amazing that I watched this video of it and got tears in my eyes. And so many other people felt the same way! There were tons of families with their kids in bike trailers (like us) or strollers, groups of friends on bikes, homeowners out pouring lemonade for people, and the parks along the route were filled with people having picnics, enjoying the live music, playing Frisbee, whatever. And it was so freeing to ride in the streets without even thinking about watching out for cars! I think much more than some kind of political statement about how bad cars (and dependence on oil) are, it was a celebration of community.

photo courtesy of donnambr on flickr.com