Camassia - Week 3

Here's another batch of photos from Camassia.  Most are from the same vantage points as in earlier posts, so I can track the progress of spring in this very special place.  I've added an extra--a shot of a natural reflecting pool--because there was so much rain the day before we visited (3/29/09).  In the reflection, you can see the cell tower--but the osprey next is gone this year...too much stormy wind in the winter?  Or did the cell tower owners get tired of hosting the ospreys?

More signs of spring

Yesterday my grandson, Josh Palshikar (9), and I went for a short hike at Tryon Creek State Park.  While we were there, Josh counted 224 (!!) trillium flowers!  The counting kept him focused for the entire hike, and he really developed an eagle eye for the beautiful white blossoms.

Trillium Trivia:

Trillium is nicknamed "Wake-Robin" because it is the first flower of spring, and robins return about the same time that the trillium bloom.

If you pick a trillium blossom, it won't bloom again for 7 years.  Don't pick them!

Rites of Spring

Three good things for the first day of Spring:

1.  It's spring break!  Yeah!  I slept in until 8:30 this morning, and it was heaven.

2.  We took the car in to have the snow tires changed out.  

3.  I mowed the lawns for the first time this year!  Yeah!  I got it done before the rain started this afternoon!

NEW BOOTS!!!!

Well, this is a red-letter day for me--I bought new hiking boots this evening at REI!  I have been hiking for 20 years, and this is only my third pair of boots, so this is a once-in-a-decade event.

The new boots are Vasques, with Gore-tex fabric and leather, and vibram soles.  They

 should give me many miles of joy in the outdoors.  Anyone want to come for a hike with me?

I was sad to let my old boots go, but the insides are falling apart...too many miles.  But they were beautiful, happy miles, and it is a little hard to set these old friends aside.

Week 2 at Camassia

It's already a little bit greener!  Mark and I went for a walk after dinner, and not only did we see more trees and bushes beginning to green up, but we saw two kinds of flowers.  A little purple one we didn't know, and some yellow western stream violets.  

We also explored more than we have in the past.  In addition to walking the usual loop, we explored another trail, and it took us through the woods into Wilderness Park.  I knew the two were close by, but this is the first time I've walked from one to the other--the trail looked fairly new.

Mark and I went for a walk through Camassia on Thursday - our first visit this spring. I took a few photos - nothing is blooming yet. The trees don't even have their leaves yet, so I plan to go back once a week and take photos from the same spot each time to document the gradual changes through the spring.

If you haven't visited Camassia yet, here's a link.

It's a Girl!!

Yesterday Mark and I officially added a ninth child - a daughter - to our family.  She is 23 years old, and her name is Maleena.  She was in my class a couple of times when she was in high school, and I always admired her spunk and spirit, because she had a difficult life.  She reported her family for substance abuse and dealing drugs when she was in high school, and went into foster care.  

After high school she aged out of foster care, so she was working and living with a roommate...Holly Hamblin, who eventually married my son, David, and became Holly Mayer...and while she was living with Holly, she took the missionary discussions and joined the church.  During this time she wanted to make good choices, but without the influence of parents she didn't always do so well.  It was a tough time in a lot of ways.

When Holly and David got married, we invited Maleena to live with us, and she has lived with us for most of the past 2 1/2 years.  Last summer, when she had moved out for a while, she hit bottom, and asked to come back.  We told her that she knew our expectations, and that she could move back if she was willing to agree to them.  She was, and she has been making consistent growth since that time.  She attended counseling regularly for six months, and she is still attending 12-step every week.  

Near the end of 2008, Mark and I asked her if she would like to be adopted officially into our family.  At the time, we said that an adoption would formalize the relationship that already existed between us and her, but as we have gone through the process of preparing for yesterday's official court proceeding, we found that our relationship deepened more than we had anticipated.  We are very proud of Maleena, and happy to welcome her as our daughter.

Her name was Maleena Lee Tyler, but she wanted to have Haynie as her last name, and she also chose a new middle name for herself, so now her name is Maleena Marie Haynie.  She is registered to become a full-time student at Clackamas Community College this month, and she works 30 hours a week at Papa Murphy's pizza, as the early-morning (prep) crew leader.

So, welcome baby girl!  Hooray for Maleena Marie Haynie.

43 Things

Here are 43 things I want to do...

1.  Hike the Appalachian trail (at least part of it)

2.  Hike 50 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail

3.  Build a deck in the back yard

4.  Build a front porch

5.  Write 15 pages every day this summer

6.  Write a book

7.  Lose 10 pounds (so I weigh 135)

8.  See Mark Kelley again

9.  See Ann McConnell again

10. Ride trains in Europe

11.  Hike in Hawaii

12.  Become a bike or bus commuter

13.  Get color-coordinated hangers for my clothes

14.  Take my grandchildren backpacking

15.  Hike from the Clackamas River to the Salmon River

16.  Teach some classes at Clackamas Community College

17.  Volunteer at a hospital to hold babies

18.  Take a whole day off

19.  Earn a MFA degree

20. Make a brick path in my yard

21.  Go jogging regularly - like once a week

22.  Make a quilt 

23.  Take a geology class

24.  Build an arbor

25.  Read 5 new books this summer - not teaching books

26.  Line all my dresser drawers with pretty paper

27.  Organize the family photos

28.  Organize the electronic family photos

29.  Take a cross-country skiing lesson

30.  Volunteer at Camassia

31.  Volunteer to help with trail maintenance

32.  Invite my neighbors to a barbeque

33.  Make cookies for the neighbor kids

34.  Figure out a system to send out family birthday cards/gifts on time

35.  Go on a road trip to visit our family

36.  Go on a road trip just for fun - to someplace we've never been before.

37.  Send out last year's Christmas cards

38.  Do the Goat Mountain Gallop

39.  Climb Mt. St. Helens

40.  Eat vegetarian meals 3x per week

41.   Buy new hiking boots

42.  Buy new cute shoes for church

43.  Surprise Mark once a week