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change

Buddhists say everything is changing. They say that from observation because everything is changing. They say it as a means of comforting those suffering from current trials and tribulation. And, they say it as a means of encouraging focus on the eternal and unchanging.

On a more mundane level, for one reason or another, I move every few years. New York to Colorado to North Carolina to Oregon to West Virginia. Each move is accompanied with moving from one home to another. Typically, I go through all my possessions and downsize. Old things go. Broken things go. Things I don't like go. Things that weigh too much for their value go.

With each move, I typically leave a job and friends. I remember the good times spent socializing with interesting people. I think about the places I still want to go in that locale. I think about my house and how it has become a home, the changes I've made to it, and how fond I've become of my neighborhood. I know all the good reasons for going, but I feel sad to be going. I promise I will come back and keep in touch. Frequently I do, but it's not quite the same.

Oregon

Oregon has a lot to recommend it. I lived there for many years and it looks like I am going back there. This photo is the Upper Willamette River southeast of Eugene. The water flows from Dexter Reservoir and looks fishy.  In Eugene, the McKenzie flows into the Willamette. The river flows north and ultimately joins the Columbia at the city of Portland. The river is healthy with trout, salmon and steelhead.

Oregon also has the Cascade Mountains. They are not as high as the Rockies, but they are geologically new mountains and have hiking, biking and skiing in abundance. Oregon also has the ocean. The water is cold, the scenery breathtaking and the saltwater fishing is coming back. Like many places in the world, overharvesting decimated almost all the species, but the habitat is still good.

a drier Colorado

This storm cloud over Long's Peak in the Rockies is apparently less common than it used to be. When I lived in Denver, clouds would build up over the mountains every summer day. In the late afternoon about four or five o'clock, the clouds would finally spill over the peaks, like a mighty wave bursting a dam, and come speeding over the high, desert plain. Typically, the clouds would be a crackling thunderhead. Hail storms were frequent. The clouds would dump rain and move on toward Kansas. It lowered the temperature, watered the plants, and made for a fresh, refreshing evening.

My friends in Denver tell me this hasn't happened for about ten years. It typically gets cloudy, but it doesn't rain. The climate has gotten drier. The dust blows more frequently. Cactus now appears at higher elevations. No one is sure if it is global warming, the result of people in sub-divisions watering their lawns, damming the rivers, or all the above. But, it is different.

Would that there...

 "Would that there be you friend in the wood chipper?" Lake Melissa looks serene in this photo, but in the winter, the snow gets deep. In the movie Fargo, Frances McDormand, playing the character of police chief, Marge Gunderson, catches up with the bad guys here. Unfortunately, one of the bad guys has gone through the chipper, courtesy of his "friend." Note, alternatively, the location of the kidnappers' hideout cabin has been reported as Stillwater. Not everyone is Minnesota thinks this film is funny.

ODOT 6,797

As I pulled in front of my house in Charleston on Friday, August 31, my odometer read 6,797. I had been gone since July 2, basically two months. In addition to the mileage on my car, I drove another thousand miles on the rental car in Oregon. Lots of driving. West Virginia to Colorado. Spent time in Estes Park, Del Norte, Colorado Springs and Denver. Flew to Oregon. Visited friends in Portland and looked at houses in Eugene. Flew to Colorado. Visited more relatives. Drove through Wyoming to South Dakota. Retreated from the Black Hills and stayed in the Badlands. Visited relatives in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania.

It feels good to be home. Aside from stuffy air, the house is in good order. Last night, I went to the Charleston Regatta and listened to the Gin Blossoms and watched the fireworks. Now, I need to catch up on my blogging. Visiting with relatives is wonderful, but it was hard to find spare moments to process photos, upgrade my website and write about life. In between getting my house ready for sale and my possessions ready to move, I now need to get back to work....