Peaches n Gracie

Peaches has Gracie completely buffalo'd. Peaches attacks the tail, feet, nose, whatever, and Gracie heads for higher ground. She's gentle, so I doubt she'll bite, but I'm waiting for her to plant a paw on the pest. Of course, she *has* been playing with Peaches, so I have hopes......

Meet Peaches

I decided to make my life a bit more interesting, and adopt a kitten. I'd been thinking about getting QT some company for a bit, and see if she'll stop bitching quite so much. So, here goes....

Peaches is a little boy, about 6 weeks old. Good overall health, but a bit of an eye infection. He was named "Remus" but that didn't really fit, and mom has a dog with that name. The name "Peaches" comes from both "Georgia Peach" and "Peaches and Cream" - he's pretty feisty, so perhaps the name won't make a wuss out of him.... Anyway, he came from my vet's office - they had a couple, so I got the smallest one to give QT more time to set the pecking order.

The grumpy badger herself is none too impressed - she's been mostly hissing and saying bad things, but at least no outright attacks. Gracie is supercurious, and a bit jealous. Still, she's tried to play with him a bit, and he's not afraid of her, so it's a good start.

Savannah

Wow. I finally made it to Savannah, GA. Cara had a conference there, so I joined her for the weekend. She did her conference during the day, I played tourist, and we got a chance to explore a bit in the evening. I think I got the better end of the deal.

It's everything everyone says about it - a cool, old city. It's great to walk around someplace that's designed for people, not cars.

We even got to see Lady Chablis' act - If you read the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" Lady Chablis is the drag queen, and a real person. What a cool show....

Bad Blogger! No Biscuit!

Audience, please forgive me. It’s been four months since my last post, and so much has happened. I know I’ve let all of you down, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

Let see, where to start….

Ok, school – I’m pretty much half-way through the semester, and things are going well. I’ve (mostly) gotten into the rhythm of school. I’ve got a fairly full plate – five classes (15 hours) and teaching an undergraduate design studio.

My major realization has been to figure out how out of the norm I am. First, I’m older than the normal grad student – most are in their mid 20’s. Second, the MLA program is geared towards teaching people how to be landscape architects. I’ve got a pretty good handle on that by now, so many of the classes aren’t as challenging as I might like. Still, that *should* have been obvious from the outset, but I guess I’m a bit slow. What it does mean, though, is that I need to be more proactive in my education. No worries – I’ve got some ideas about how to do that.

As for the rest of my life, it’s fairly boring. It’s nice to have a place of my own again, and I’ve got good neighbors. It’s also nice to have my cat (aka The Grumpy Badger) back, and she and the dog have both settled in well, and are getting along fine. No social life to speak of, but that will happen with time.

Well, that’s about it for now. I’ve got to study a bit for a mid-term tomorrow, then pack for a trip to NYC over fall break.

Take care, and stay in touch!

Heading Back East!

It looks like my time here in Oregon is drawing to a close. I'm leaving here to start grad school at the University of GA in Athens. I'll be working on a Master's of Landscape Architecture so that I can teach. It's something I've wanted to do since I was getting my undergraduate degree, and it looks like the time is finally right.

As of tomorrow morning I'm hitching up the trailer and getting out of town. My plan is to haul ass to Fayetteville, spend a week with family, then drive from there to my father's place in Highlands NC. I'll use his house as a base to get set up in Athens, before heading up to Northern VA to visit friends and collect my stuff from storage.

Orientation starts Aug. 10, and classes on the 16th. I've got a full plate, as I'll be taking a full load of courses plus a Teaching Assistantship - I'll be teaching one of four sections of a second-year LA design course. If nothing else, it should keep me busy.

My planned route from Portland to Fayetteville. Looks to be a bit over 2100 miles....

The visitor center at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic NP

Lake Crescent in Olympic Nat'l Park

And another

Another.

View from Cape Flattery. It's the northern-western-most point in the lower 48.

One of Washington's pebble beaches. It was a might overcast that day...

Yet another coast shot

...and the sun sets on my oregon adventures!

The Rouge River Gorge

Diamond Lake

Cool overlook structure

View of Crater lake from the lodge

Birthday Camping Trip

Well, I'm starting to feel old. I turned 36 today. Wow.

Anyway, to celebrate, I'm going camping for the weekend with the dog. We're headed down to Crater Lake tonight, then over to see the Redwoods tomorrow. On Sunday we'll head up the Oregon Coast - should be pretty. It'll be about 900 miles of driving, which isn't that bad split over 3 days.

I've wanted to see Crater Lake since the first time I was in OR 10 years ago, but time is running out - I leave for GA in ONLY 3 weeks.....

My planned route