And then the rains return...But it sure was a lovely day.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Nice Work If You Can Get It
There are times - and yesterday was one of those times, as I sat on my field bucket in the soft sunshine of a deserted road outside Rosburg, Washington, on a warm February afternoon; listening to the sounds of the Gray's River bottomlands all around me as my drillers raised the rig mast towards the pair of bald eagles gyring lazily in the blue, blue sky - when I think to myself, damn, slick, you've gotta keep this stuff to yourself or they'll stop paying you to do this job.
And then the rains return...
But it sure was a lovely day.
And then the rains return...But it sure was a lovely day.
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7 comments:
Rosburg is a beautiful place. And Gray's River is prime Steelhead water. Named after an American skipper of a ship that prowled and penetrated the mouth of the Columbia River long before Lewis & Clark came from the other direction.
Did you get cross the big river on the ferry from Westport, OR to the Washington side. Did you get to see beautiful downtown Skamokaway?? All of Wahkiakum County is beautiful country. Hope your geo survey is not the advance guard of Walmart or some such.
Ya man, good job, keeping this to yourself, except for the little thing about posting it on your blog!
Currently, I program computers for a living, but sometimes, usually on spectactular spring or fall days I get nostalgic about working in the field with the army.
And then it rains and I remember how nice it is to have dry feet.
Wahkiakum County, a place so beautiful, they had to name a ship after it.
USS Wahkiakum County
My first Carib Cruise featured this fine, if barf rendering vessel. Luckily, I was aboard the Okinawa...part of a reef somewhere?
It does look like nice work. Do you need a planning consultant to come act as a sidekick?
Thank you for sharing these lovely moments. I am glad you are able to smell the roses.
FastEddie:
Saltines were always my secret weapon when on float, especially when on a flat bottom LST. The one I was on bobbed like a cork even in calm seas. The saltines even worked during a storm when the galley was serving powdered eggs with that greenish tint and people were upchucking all around you. You had to wet down a paper napkin and place it under your mess tray to keep it from sliding down the table. They worked better for me than dramamine and other alternatives. But that was over 40 years ago. My son-in-law tells me that the Big Pharmas are pushing hard into the motion sickness market. Old grump that I am, I'll stick to the tried and true. But my float days are over except for an occasional foray a mile or two offshore in a 19-footer in search of salmon.
mike: I love that little ferry, but time was ofthe essence, so, not that day. I do love the drive up the Columbia through the little towns like Cathlamet and Wirkkala, the old Finnish and Scandahoovian settlements from the late 19th Century, all quiet now dreaming of the past boom and rush along the Big River.
And, no, I was doing a Good Thing, working for the Lower Columbia Council on a habitat restoration project.
Ael: Oops. And I have to say that the rains do make things less delightful.
Fasteddiez: Better them than me - I love the place, but hate having to spell it. I sure would hate serving on a vessel that I had to look up the name every time...
RS: My wife would demand first dibs - she's a planner and land-use consultant her own self...
Lisa: Ta. Like I say, sometimes I realize I have a great job...
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