Poppy’s in the Fish Pond!!

Here I am again, home after being without internet for several days…now I have so much to tell I don’t know where to start or where to end.  Oh well, ya’ll already know I’m long-winded!  We’ve been at Clackamette Park for the last few days.  You can read about the park in an earlier blog by clicking on the link.

Wednesday we did a bit of sightseeing around Oregon City.  We went downtown and walked along the river and got some pictures of the falls.



There were not as many boats in the water as there were last month, but we still saw some salmon being caught.

Do you know what this is?

It’s the other end of THIS:

“MY, what big TEETH you have.”  “The better to steal your salmon with, my dear!”

We also saw an interesting tour boat.

“Sit down, lady.  There are NO restrooms on this boat.”

And another:


And another…

Now you’re talking!!


Russ found some ancient hieroglyphics:


And Rusty found a great place to get in the water:

“Sorry Rusty, the leash is just TOO short for you to reach that tree!!”

Wednesday evening we went to see Red and his family.  Red, incidentally, has a new blog up with a story I remember well from his younger days.  Sometimes I think it might be better not to remind the old folks of those days so long ago!! 

Anyway, Poppy and Rusty were SO happy to be off leash in a fenced yard that they ran around like dogs half their age!  Suddenly, we heard Bekah yelling, “Poppy’s in the fish pond.”  Now, John’s fish pond is not exactly a fish pond.  There have been no fish in there for quite some time but it is full of about 3-4 feet of scummy rainwater at the moment and not something Poppy would normally be drawn to.  I can only surmise that in her frenzied joy at being unleashed, she wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going and thus fell into the pond.  John ran out and rescued her (she was hanging onto the edge for dear life) and we dumped a bucket of warm water over her to get the yuk off and she is none the worse for wear.  She will get a proper bath now that we are home.  I should have taken a picture but I was too concerned with getting Poppy taken care of that I didn’t think of it.  She sure looked chagrined at the whole matter and tried to make us believe she went in on purpose, but we know better.

While we were there, Russ got tired and took his usual late afternoon nap.  He had a napping partner, Pita, John and Joni’s old kitty cat.


John and Joni adopted Pita from a shelter when she was around three years old.  That was about 12 years ago.  Pita has always been tiny but now she is old and has long term health problems and weighs less than 5 lbs.  She is still spunky though.  She held her ground against both of my dogs and they quickly learned that this was HER house and they backed off and deferred to Miss Pita.

The river at Clackamette Park was way up from when we visited just last month.  That’s the sidewalk all covered with water.  Rusty thought it was a great place to wade!  I’m not sure I would be brave enough to park where that motorhome is parked – that was the camp host!!


Thursday we went to see our daughter Merry and her family.  Our granddaughter, Anna, was graduating from Jr. High and so we celebrated with her.  Where did the years go?


Thursday evening we were relaxing at the park when I heard a sound I haven’t heard in a LONG time – the sound of an ice cream truck!  We all know those treats are over-priced but somehow, they just taste better when you buy them from the ice-cream man.  We saw him making his way through the park and rushed out to meet him.  There were more grown-ups lined up to sample his wares than there were kids!  Guess there’s a little kid in all of us.


We also were treated to a gorgeous sunset over the river that night.  We tried to get a photo but the little point and shoot just doesn’t do sunsets very well.  If we had taken the time to get out the tri-pod and set up the big camera the sunset would have been long gone so this is the best I could do.  Doesn’t do it justice but you get the idea.


This morning I was just too lazy to cook breakfast.  Truth be told, I am SICK TO DEATH of the smoke alarm going off!  No I do not burn everything but the smoke alarm is (in my humble opinion) way too close to the stove and no matter what I do the alarm goes off several times every time I cook.  It’s so bad that when I start getting out a pot or a pan, Poppy runs for the bedroom and wants to hide until it’s all over.  Russ took them for a walk yesterday morning when I cooked breakfast.

So anyway, this morning we decided to go out.  We followed the GPS directions to a Denny’s that was no longer there, then to an IHOP that was now for lease.  Finally we saw a place called simply “Hales”.  Now our daughter is married to a Hale and so we thought this might be a good choice.  Turns out we were right.  This is a little restaurant about two miles from the park.


The interior is nicely done with several different seating areas.

The breakfast was not cheap but it was delicious and definitely worth waiting for.  I would recommend this restaurant if you are in the area.













Well, if you have made it this far, I am surprised.  Sorry, just too much catching up to do.  So now you have come to the end so I shall say “Good-bye” for now” and I am going to go read YOUR blog…I’m kinda behind and missing it.