"A Piece of the Sky" by Amy Ryding

Astoria, Oregon ~ Photo by Amy Ryding
Hi, Everyone. This gorgeous image from Amy Ryding will, hopefully, help make up for my lapse in posting. CLICK TO ENLARGE. This photo is PANORAMIC. 
I've been lax this week dealing with business stuff. Turns out it's time to build a whole new web store ASAP (mine is 17 years old), and that is a huge job. I'm also dealing with insurance stuff. Did you know that if most of your sales are online and you pay an employee $500 per month you have to pay Worker's Comp at the same rate as if you had warehouses and forklifts? Yup. Turns out, it's true. That's my rant for today. Enjoy Amy's fantastic photo! Hope you are all having a great weekend.
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

"View from Mill Pond" by Sue Browning

Astoria, Oregon ~ Photo by Sue Browning
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Dock Patterns

Astoria, Oregon ~ October 26, 2013
I took this photo from Angela Sidlo's Waves of Change Wellness Center upstairs at Doc's On 12th. It's one of my favorite places in Astoria. Follow the link to the Waves of Change Facebook page. Amy's photo of the pilot boat under rainbows posted on November 13 was taken from the same location.
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

"Ships at Sunet" by Amy Ryding

Astoria, Oregon ~ Photo by Amy Ryding
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Astoria Cruise Ship by Linda Fenton-Mendenhall

Astoria, Oregon ~ Photo by Linda Fenton-Mendenhall
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Astoria's Other Fall Colors

Astoria, Oregon ~ October 21, 2013
Taken across the River Walk from yesterday's tree, just east of 15th Street.
Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Last Year on the Riverwalk

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 4, 2011

It was a cold day, but very beautiful along the river.

I have had a couple of nibbles, but have not resolved whether we will have a guest blogger, or who that will be. Still working on it. Thanks for your replies.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Repairing Docks

Astoria, Oregon ~ October 9, 2012

The crane barge was busy much of the fall repairing docks at the 17th Street Pier. The building with the white roof is the Maritime Museum. The building in front with the round hole is the office of Columbia River Bar Pilots.

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Drive-by Astoria #11: Houses on Young's Bay

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Still on Young's Bay Bridge almost to the Astoria side, we get a good view of Astoria's cool wooden houses along Marine Drive at the base the Astoria hill. The pilings with lintels (?) are left over from a dock. There was also a beautiful red boathouse (which I never saw) and net shed where people could be seen mending nets. Gill net boats were often tied up there as well. The building was blown down in a storm in about the 1970s. If anyone can describe more about Astoria's lost features at this location, please comment or send e-mail. That's Florence Avenue starting its trip up the lower part of the hill. The tall hill with the Astoria Column on top is out of sight on the right. 

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Cormorant Colors

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 7, 2011

Cormorants are common around Astoria's waterfront pilings. Usually I see them in a dark brown or black phase. I don't know to what I should attribute this cormorant's coloration, perhaps it's a young one.

Here is the profile we most often see.

This one has a blue eye. Black cormorants I've photographed had eyes of pale, unearthly green, and I saw a photo of one with red eyes.

I liked the pattern of its feathers and the blue hues, especially near the top.

And then the surprising blue tail feathers!

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Mudhen Meal

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 13, 2012

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Three Days Ago

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 16, 2012

Today it's been raining like crazy and the warm(er) weather has blown in, so I thought I'd post a couple more photos from one of our snow days. It's always interesting to me to see the snow on a riverfront scene.

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First Bufflehead

Astoria, Oregon ~ November 28, 2011

I don't know when our winter friends, the bufflehead ducks, are supposed to arrive here, but this was the first one I've noticed this year. It's not the first one I've posted on this blog. For more buffleheads, click on the label below. 

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Another Log on the Columbia

Astoria, Oregon ~ March 21, 2011

It's always interesting to see what washes down in the river. In this case, it's another big log - a long one that has gotten hung up in the pilings at the back of the old Englund Marine building. The question is, what will  happen next? Will the tide wash it out again, or will someone have to come and get it so it doesn't knock about and damage the pilings? Is this a moody, wet Astoria day, or what?

I took the first photo at 8:59 a.m. By 11:58, the tide had come in and the log was floating. It's still not clear what will happen (at the time of the photo), but by the end of the day when I looked out again, the log was gone.

We keep these long pike poles handy in case a log needs help finding its way back into the river, but usually a log that's big enough to cause problems and stay stuck among the buildings is also big enough to be a bear to deal with. They are hard to push, or if you catch the water just right and the pushing is easy, they may float right back in. You also need a place to stand, which was not available to me with the location of today's log, so it's just as well that the water took it. There are specialists called "pile bucks" who know everything about pilings and logs, and sometimes you have to hire them to extricate the tough ones. They use boats, chain saws, tackle, loops of rope, and anything necessary to get the job done - plus a lot of skill and excellent balance!

The pike poles have nasty-looking hooks at the end to grip the log.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

End of the Light Show

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 19, 2011

Smith Point

This photo comes from the same day as the three recent ones with a bright red sky, reflections on the water, and black pilings in the foreground. I took this one as I returned to my car. It's quiet and peaceful and the brilliant color has faded. I thought it was a fitting end to the beautiful display. The earlier posts are located here, here, and here.)

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Shimmering Water, Red Sky

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 19, 2011

For those who do not know Astoria, this is the drawbridge over the mouth of Young's Bay where it empties into the Columbia River. The bay is on the left, the river on the right. This image is another take on the sunset from January 19th.

Depending on where I looked and how I directed the camera in that amazing red glow, different elements showed up. Here you can see the blue-gray line that indicates ripples on the surface of the water. You can also see vertical lines of light paralelling the pilings and the bridge columns. These are actually the reflections of the headlights crossing the bridge. I'm not sure how the angle of the light from the cars could make this happen, but I watched as each vehicle produced the light on the water, and the light moved with the vehicle. I love the time of day when the intensity of the light in the sunset somewhat matches the intensity of the electric lights. There was so much going on here, it was one of those evenings that makes your breath come fast and want to share the moment. 

For more Weekend Reflections, visit James and participants from around the world at Newtown Area Photo.

I hope you enjoy the new, larger format. You can still click to enlarge the photo somewhat, but in most cases you won't need to any longer.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Chicken Little

 Astoria, Oregon ~ December 14, 2010

I guess if there isn't much news, you just exaggerate. (December 15: I've amended this thought to, "It seems that fact-checking is no longer a valid concept when purveying the news." You can read CNN's version here. The hysterical part [if we didn't rely on the media for our information] is that Channel 7, KTLA, included a photo and was still able to report, "ASTORIA, OR (CNN) - A sinkhole devoured an entire block due to continuous rain in an Oregon town. . . . The massive sinkhole opened up, sending the entire block below street level." See the end of this post for more national media nonsense.)

The night before last, this portion of concrete collapsed into the abandoned basement of what used to be the Safeway store on 11th and Duane. Since the Safeway store moved a few years ago, the property was been purchased by the City and has been used as a concrete park and event venue; Sunday Market spills over onto this area during summer. Fortunately, no one was hurt and we get another intriguing glance into the underpinnings (or lack thereof) of Astoria's downtown area.

Much of Astoria's downtown is built on pilings, and some of them must be getting very old by now. But it is not a sinkhole, with caverns sucking down the earth and no obvious end in sight. It was suggested that recent heavy rains had caused pooling which broke the concrete. They rains have been extremely heavy and prolonged, and I expect contributed to the weakening of what structures there were down there, because there have been heavier weights on it before, such as vehicles. The Bank of America's temporary housing - a huge mobile thing - had been parked a few feet away for months after the bank burned down in 2008.

I've shown pictures on the blog before from several points in Astoria where the edges of this warren are always available to look at.

What's amusing is the way the media handled it. Associated Press said that "a vacant city block" had collapsed, and another report gave the area as "an entire city block." Hardly true, as the hole is not even the size of one lot. Most of the media is calling it a "sinkhole," which makes it sound geological, mysterious, giantic, and omnivorous. Obviously, none of the above. This is why one of my friends is so adamant about questioning historical reports and word-of-mouth accounts. The "local" Portland news got it right, except for using the charged word "sinkhole." Any idea how this event will be remembered?

Here's another one that got it right. I didn't realize the fence was already up when the concrete caved in.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Seagull City

July 24, 2010

Now that we're having a few days of winter-like rains, it's nice to look back at the blues and greens of July. I took this photo from the River Walk near 15th Street.

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Where the Views Are

March 12, 2010

In Astoria, there are so many terrific views that nobody counts them. This resting and viewing bench is on the River Walk in front of the Wet Dog Cafe between 11th and 12th Streets. The building on the pier contains a number of shops and businesses. Downstairs is the well-known Baked Alaska Restaurant and Lounge along with a kitchen store and more. Upstairs are dentist's offices, hair dressers, lawyers (I think).

Although I took this on March 12th, the view is almost identical today, with low clouds and light fog on the river. One difference is that you'd see water on the sidewalk this morning. The summer of 2010 may come to be called, "The Summer that Never Was," although when the sun does come out it's beautiful and the air temperature delightful - unless you're one of those creatures who likes hot sun to bask in like a lizard. (Jacob, you're right. It doesn't get very cold in the winter. We get a few days of snow per year, if that. The rest of the time you can tell the season only because of the ceaseless rain.)

Next to the bench is a light post so the walk can be used at night, and one of the several interpretive signs along the river. I don't recall whether this sign is about the fishing industry, history, boats, ships, or wildlife. There are some of each.

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A Familiar Face

July 7, 2010

One of my favorite faces of the Columbia River is when it reflects warm light, shadows, and images from a surface that is glassy and yet fractured. The gray lines in the lower right corner are the distorted reflection of the radio tower out of the photo in the upper left.

Follow this link to see wonderful reflections from around the world. James's image at the top of the linked page is really special. It's one of my favorite reflections ever.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.