Merry Christmas !!!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that

whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

-John 3:16

Snow at our House!!!

We got snow at our house for the first time this winter!!! It sounds very likely that we will get more tonight and/or tomorrow. Here are some pictures I took from our house.

Wonderful Wintry Nights

Ah, wonderful, wintry, Christmas time. That's what it's like out here on the range right now. Beautiful pink and orange sunsets, cold, starry nights...a Christmas tree in the front window. To me, these are some of the best types of wintry nights. Tonight's sunset was captured through the lens of my camera. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Bald Eagles have Arrived!!!

Bald eagles have been spotted in Linn County out here where we live!!! They seem to have arrived a bit earlier than previous years but maybe I was just oblivious to them in the past until Christmas was over.

Night of the Creepy Monster Bugs

Have you ever seen a creepy monster bug? Not sure what the specifications are for creepy monster bugs? Well let me tell you. A creepy monster bug is any large (the good ones are usually at least an inch and a half long) bug that isn't particularly pretty and often times may be thought of as ugly. If it can hiss and wheeze it's almost a sure sign that its a creepy monster bug. And if can draw blood, well....


That actually happened to me once. I got bit by the horrible jaws of a creepy monster bug (in that case it was a California Prionus beetle) and it did indeed draw blood.


Out here in my neck of the woods, the majority of large creepy monster bugs are beetles. I seem to find them when I'm not looking for them and I usually don't find them when I am looking for them. To be sure, they're not that common of an occurrence at my house. So imagine my surprise when I saw with my very own eyes, not one, but two, of the biggest, creepiest, monster bugs I have ever seen outside of a zoo. The following is an eyewitness account of the encounter:



"Dad and I were outside trying to build a shelter for our firewood. As we were about to move a large piece of plywood Dad asked,


'Bret, is that a leaf or a bug?'


Well, I walked closer to what he was talking about and soon it became apparent that it was not a leaf. It was one of those creepy monster bugs!


'Holy cow," I exclaimed, 'it's a bug!"


Let me tell you, it was big. Like, somewhere between two and three inches long type-of-big.


I went to the house, grabbed a bug viewing jar and went back out. Now, here's where things get a little blurred and I'm not sure about the exact order of the following events. I became aware of the fact there was a second creepy monster bug ( both were beetles) on the ground. With Dad helping to hold the board off the ground, I was able to get the first one into the jar. I secured the lid, sat the jar down, and reached down with my gloved hand to pick up the second creepy monster bug. This fellow was not in a good mood and I'm glad I had gloves on because he attacked my hand. He started biting just about anything that he could reach (each "anything" being another part of my glove). To be honest, I started wondering if he'd dig through the knitting of my gloves and still make contact with my hand. On top of that, he was hissing and wheezing. This one was definitely a creepy monster bug!


It's not everyday you run into one of these fellas(much less two) so I was excited and wanted to show everyone ('everyone' meaning Mom, Hannah, and Grandma) what I had in my hand. We put it into a separate jar and brought both of the creepy monster bugs into the house for observation. Hannah was given the task of identifying them.


Dad and I went back out to finish our work for the night and while we were loading wood into the back of his car I saw it: a 'yellow jacket' beetle! Now, I don't know what their real names are. I believe they're some sort of wood borer. I call them 'yellow jacket beetles' because that's what they kind of remind me of. They're somewhat narrow shaped and are yellow and black striped.


I asked Hannah to get the bug jar (we had transferred the creepy monster bug into a larger container). Once she got back we had a little trouble getting the bug into the jar but we finally succeeded.


Hannah had identified the creepy monster bugs. The first one was a Pine Sawyer. It's a large, brown beetle. Like I said earlier, this one was between two and three inches long. The other one was the stockier, California Prionus (it was probably close to two inches long). This beetle was the same type as the one that drew blood when it bit my finger. It's also the same type of beetle that decided to fly into my pastor at a church kid's camp four years ago. Some of you reading this may remember that evening. There's also a chance that those of you who do, played a part in the events that ensued after I caught it. Good times.


Anyways, back to the story. Looking at the California Prionus beetle, it appeared to be dying. I found this disappointing but I thought of the very cool specimen I could have afterwards. More time passed, and by now, it seemed pretty much all but dead.


I decided to let them all go. Not that the one creepy monster bug would make it or anything. I mean, I could hope that he'd make it but he was pretty much on his way out as far as I could tell.


I put the Pine Sawyer under a tarp that covered our wood pile and I put the 'yellow jacket' beetle amongst a few hale bales we had. I put the California Prionus under the same tarp as the Pine Sawyer but I left him in the container which I had on its side, just in case he wanted out.


On a day following the night of the creepy monster bugs, I went back out to the wood pile. I lifted the tarp to search for the California Prionus beetle. He was nowhere in my sight. The beetle that had appeared so near death had vanished. The creepy thing is, to this very day, I have never seen him again. Dad and I even moved the wood away from where I had left the insect. And that can only mean one thing. Somewhere in the trees nearby, in the freezing, moonlit night, there lurks one of two creepy monster bugs. As I go to sleep tonight I will finally realize the true meaning of 'don't let the bed bugs bite'...Good night!"







Scroll down for pictures:





Here's the Pine Sawyer. Notice the size of him :






The same bug:










Here's the 'yellow jacket' beetle:






I didn't take a picture of the California Prionus so I found one on the internet:

Backpacking in the Three Sisters Wilderness

Howdy! First off I guess I should let you all know that I don't actually live on the range. I live on a knoll. It's green in the winter and brown and green in the summer. However, I do live near the Cascade mountain range, and if you like adventure or the great outdoors, there are some very neat places on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascades.

As a matter of fact, I was out there in that part of the state just last weekend. My dad and I went on a father-son backpacking trip with the Valesanos, the Kents, and the McBrides. Was the hike a breeze? Uh...no. Without a doubt, I was glad to arrive at our point of destination closer to the base of North Sister...right before the sun went down behind it.

Once we got our tents up we went about getting our meals ready and filtering water from the nearby brook. After the meals, some of the guys built a fire and most of us ended up hanging around it. After all, it isn't all that warm after dark when you're about 7,000 feet up.


Being out there in the wilderness at night was amazing. Stars sparkled in the sky, the nearby brook was bubbling and when the wind blew it caused a whisper through the trees. Even the lights of a town far away to the east added to the scene. The whole thing was great.



But even on a backpacking trip its a good idea to get some sleep so we were getting in our tents, believe it or not, right around 9:00 p.m. Of course, that doesn't mean I actually went to sleep that early. On the contrary, I don't think I fell asleep until sometime during the 11 o'clock hour.


It was a restless sleep. A sleeping bag and a sleeping pad do not always make for the comfiest sleeping accommodations. Add this fact to the wind storm that raged through our camp during the middle of the night...wow, that was something else. I could feel the edges of the tent lifting off the ground near my feet.



The next morning when we got up we discovered that the majority of the brook was frozen over with ice. The possibility that the brook might freeze during the night was something I had not given much thought to. To me, the whole thing added more adventure to the backpacking adventure we were already on.




After breakfast and a time of reading and sharing Bible verses, we all stood up and headed south for a day expedition. The goal of several of us hikers was to get to a ridge where we hoped to be able to see all three Sisters. Up and down we hiked, over one ridge and down another. In one of the valleys between, we came upon a green meadow with a stream running through it. Ice still could be found here and there along its banks.


Eventually, we came to the final ridge. We split up into two groups, each group going up the steep slope from different routes. It was kind of like an unofficial competition to a certain point on the ridge.


As we hiked up among the lava rocks, clouds started slowly moving in. By the time we reached a good viewing point atop the ridge, clouds had covered much of South Sister. Middle Sister was entirely obstructed from view.


After walking along the ridge a bit more, Dad, Mr. Kent, and I decided that where we were was fine. There was no pressing need for us to go any higher. Mr. Valesano, Stephen, and Isaiah, who made up the other half of the group we were in, continued higher up the ridge and met with the rest of the guys.


The three of us hung out on the ridge waiting for the others. Ice crystals were blowing past us in the air. After awhile, we saw guys from both groups coming down along the top of the ridge towards us. A cloud loomed behind them, engulfing much of the mountain.






Once again, we split into two groups. The guys further up on the ridge went down from a point closer to where they already were. Dad, Mr. Kent and I went down the way we came...sort of. Due to my expert navigation skills, we actually started down the slope a little before the spot where we came up. The good news is, we all made it down alive and standing!



After everyone arrived at the base camp, we shouldered our packs and headed down the trail. A few hours later, Dad and I, along with the Kents and Valesanos, were sitting down to hamburgers, fries, shakes, and sodas in the classic, country town of Sisters. It was a good way to end a good hike!