Last Night

Aside from this wonderful reflection of the sky on the Columbia River, one of my favorite lighting effects is when the sky is about the same intensity as the lights of town, or in this case, the lights on the ship. For more beautiful skies around the world, see Skywatch Friday.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Earnest

September 2, 2010

I took this photo from the 12th Street pier of the tug boat Earnest docked at Pier 11.

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.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Marine Layer on the River

August 14, 2010

The patterns that occur where the river meets the ocean create their own weather. One reason Astoria, Oregon, never stays hot for very long is that the heat draws the marine layer from the ocean (left in this photo) inland and chills the air.

As I understand it, the marine layer is not actually the visible cloud, but the cloud is often held underneath the marine layer, which is an invisible pressure zone. Later in the afternoon of the Regatta Parade with its 90 degree temperature, I opened my door near the river and felt positively cold. As I drove past town and stopped at the riverfront park, I discovered a finger of fog reaching upriver, a clear indication that change is coming rather quickly.

Crossing the Young's Bay Bridge to Warrenton a few minutes later, I could see the fog bank growing taller as it rolled in from the ocean. I wish I'd been able to take the next photo as the bank grew and darkened, but I thought I'd better keep both hands on the wheel, as traffic had begun to move. It was a mixed blessing. Who likes to sit in traffic, but then again, it was nice watching the atmosphere change.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Coastal Produce

August 13, 2010

A number of gas stations (I can no longer call them "service" stations) along Marine Drive either sit empty these days or are being used short-term or long-term for other businesses. I've enjoyed stopping at Coastal Produce to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables. The gas station buildings are unused for the original purpose because we now have big companies, notably Safeway and Fred Meyer, selling gas on either end of town and because the tanks in these smaller, older gas stations have become leaky and nobody wants the expense of fixing and cleaning them up.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Hanthorn Crab Co.

Here is some of the interesting equipment you can still see inside Pier 39, where you can get crab live when the boats come in. Hanthorn retails crab out of a building on Pier 11. You can check out their day-to-day activity here on Facebook. Sorry, I took this photo back in April, before the season. I never seem to be at the right place at the right time, so I'll see what I can do about getting some live-action shots soon!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Real Clouds

Warrenton, Oregon ~ August 27, 2010

I took this photo from the parking lot of the Columbia Fitness Center just across the bridge in Warrenton. I've been enjoying the huge, billowing clouds for the past few days. So often lately, it seems we have either no clouds at all or gray overcast days. No, I was not at the gym at the crack of dawn. This was taken at sunset across the marshy field next to the shopping center. Since, in some circles, Fridays are for watching the sky, check out more "skies from all over the planet" at Skywatch Friday.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Blown Away

July 23, 2010

The remnants of this old barn are right next to the cattle feeder from an earlier post. New construction outside the frame of the picture indicates that one of these days this interesting roofline will be replaced. The devastation here could be the result of our windstorm of 2007, but I don't know that for sure.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Historic Flag Pole

March 6, 2010

This old flag pole made from weathering the trunk of a tree stands just outside the east door of the Flavel House Museum.

It was presented to the Clatsop County Historical Society by the American Legion's Clatsop Post 12 on November 11, 1967. My question is, what makes this flag pole historic? Clearly, it's had some history - it's old and rustic - but where was it planted? What has it seen?

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Who Lives Here?

August 19, 2010

Actually, I have no idea who might wiggle, scamper or swim in and out of these holes. They were punched through the mesh by logs which float downriver and occasionally cause havoc to buildings. Usually they float back out to the river on their own, but sometimes they need help.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.