Things that Screech in the Night

Hey kids! Greetings from the rainforest - which, if the weatherman can be believed, is likely to live-up to its billing this week. The phrase "rain - heavy at times" is, as typical this time of year, becoming a fixture in the daily meteorlogical prognosis. Indeed I see a "heavy at times" event occurring outside this very moment.

It's been a trying few days since I returned home. By the time I stepped-off the plane I had a fever and a sore throat and have had a dickens of a cold since. Didn't even get dressed for a couple of days. And on Friday and Saturday my nightly repose was disturbed not only by the customary symptoms of the rhinovirus; but also by a pair of Barred Owls that have taken up residence in the neighborhood since mid-summer. One of the damned things spent two nights perched right behind the house - couldn't have been more than fifty feet or so from my window.

The Barred Owl makes several calls. One is the customary owl sound - the whoo whoo thing. The other sound is a screech - a cross between someone scraping his fingernails across a chalkboard and that weird sound that Godzilla made in all those old Japanese horror flics. On Saturday night the owls were exchanging Godzilla mating calls every thirty seconds or so between the hours of 11:30 PM and 3:00 AM. I know this because I was more-or-less awake a good deal of the time - tossing and turning in a fever-induced semi-conscious state.

Owls are not that common (or at least not that often seen) in this neck of the woods and I can honestly say that over the years I have given them very little thought. That has now changed. Indeed by 2:00 AM I was totally preoccupied with owl matters - even planning formal supper parties in their honor.

Exemplia gratia:

• Fricassee of Owl with Sweet Mustard
• Roast Owl with Grand Marnier Apricot Stuffing
• Parslied Rack of Owl

You get the drift.

Fortunately, last night they took their business elsewhere and this morning I feel much improved if not exactly chipper.

Yesterday, I began photoshopping my vacation pics. I took a TON of shots at the various golf tournament functions and it will take me a few days to process them as well as my other vacation pics. You've previously seen many of the highlights as unprocessed photos in this blog; but I noticed that I forgot to post any pics from our visit to Jane's and John's digs in Portland. So...in the interest of presenting an accurate historical record of this noteworthy and highly entertaining event I am today rectifying this oversight.

"Who ARE these people?"

"They're Visitors from Another Time and Place"

"They have webbed hands and feet and smell like sun-block"

Alison looks pretty in pink.

Terry is all gussied-up for Saturday Night in Sellwood.

The Portland contingent yuks it up.

My indisposition has provided an opportunity to make considerable progress in my Revolutionary War era study program in advance of my East Coast trip late next month. I have finished the biography of George Washington by James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn and am now engrossed in the life and times of Thomas Jefferson.

Quote for the Day:

"Infallibility not being the attribute of Man, we ought to be cautious in censuring the opinions and conduct of one another."

George Washington