Next Wave - Radioactive Material

UCM is over 4,000 miles away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.  Unfortunately as the graphic below shows that is not far enough away to avoid contamination. The approaching summer weather pattern of the North Pacific will drive the prevailing winds to the Oregon Coast.  For this reason we have ordered some potassium iodide to have on hand, as leaving is not a real option. 

The covered beds will protect our food somewhat although the ponds used for watering will be at risk.  A charcoal filtering of the pond water is being considered if meltdown and a significant release of radioactive material approaches.

Tsunami Warning - This Time For Real!

A few weeks ago Bob recounted for you his fear when the tsunami warning went off while he was walking the ocean beach at Floras Lake.  As we learned it was only the monthly testing.

This week however the siren went off for real.

Most have seen the images from Japan of the horrific devastation from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.  These were the sort of images that had Bob running faster than his breath.

When the tsunami actually hit the coast on Friday Morning it left its mark.  

Below is a chart of the tidal fluctuation at the docks in Port Orford.

Normally the actual (red x's) closely follows predictions (blue line) as can be seen during the early hours of the 11th.
What followed was the mayhem of the tsunamis effect which essentially created large tidal fluctuations every fifteen minutes throughout the morning. This is graphed in the chaotic dispersion of red x's.
In our region the greatest damage was in Brookings, Oregon which is just north of Crescent City California. Along the Oregon coast there were reports of about a dozen people being caught in the water but all were recovered alive.
For our part we periodically checked the coast with binoculars from the safety of our sun room. And yes even from a distance the sea was odd with a frothy foam unlike anything we have seen before.
Here is a link to an interesting discussion about the Cascadian Fault Bob posted an image of a few weeks back, along with some images from Brookings, Oregon.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014466822_quakethreat12m.html

Happy Dogs Romp in the Snow

The Orchard is a serious play area for the puppies. We often comment that when General Lee and Queen Coda are chasing each other through the raised beds it is much like watching PacMan. Add fresh snow to the mix and you have a couple of happy dogs!

Queen Coda Herding Snowflakes

Queen Coda takes her work very seriously.

Organization is key to a Border Collies existence.

That is why her first experience with snow left her passionate to organize the snow falling to the ground.

Here is some fast paced entertainment of a Border Collie hard at work despite the odds!

Winter Wonderland Redux

A winter storm delivered a cold blast to whiten our usual form of precipitation, leaving us with a classic winter wonderland unlike our earlier post. We finally found a use for our old kites as we laid them out over the plants under the hoods to help mature plants and seedlings survive the sub freezing temperatures. It did not last long but was special while it was here.

Garden Signs

A Christmas gift from Brother Steve were signs identifying each tree and berry bush planted and who it was planted in honor of. That first planting years ago, attended by a core of the UCM Posse was the beginning of the orchard, when it was just mounds of bare dirt. Some who attended that first planting have passed and are remembered with a tree, a sign, and the peace and harmony of the space.

Another sign of the times is the completion of the asparagus and rhubarb beds. The first dozen crowns went in over the weekend. A few flowers were added for art (not pictured). And The Wakefield Rhubarb was transplanted along with a Reynolds Rhubarb! More treats in the years ahead!

Escaping The East Coast Blizzards

Brother Stevan and his Bride to be Rommy had to leave Maine a day early but they got out and made it to Oregon for travels through the state, which included several days at UCM.

This photo is taken in Bandon at a place called face rock which you can see in the background.
Continuing the face theme Steve tried out the face cleaning technology associated with every use of the slant board. Here Queen Coda is addressing nose hairs.
Before every face cleaning session Queen Coda likes to go down to the beach and prepare herself for the next facial client. She prefers the lighter and finer grit of the South Beach sand at Cape Blanco for her best customers.
If the UCM facial service is not enough you can go to Cape Blanco for a wind cleansing!

Steve took the time during his visit to stop by the front of the port building to admire his brick and that of his sweet and loyal dog Ruck.

Bob's OH $%!+ Moment!

One thing about Langlois is that it is about 25 miles from a massive fault line complex that parallels the Oregon and Washington Coast. It is know as the Cascadia Subduction Zone. To alert residents in the tsunami zone there are a number of air raid sirens along the coast. One such siren is located at Floras Lake where we often go for beach walks. However today it was different...

Today while alone on the beach, at oceans edge during a minus tide strolling the pebbles looking for agates, enjoying the setting sun while tossing sticks for the dogs.

General Lee and Bob looked at each other...

"Did you hear that?"

"There it is again!"

"It's the Tsunami Siren!!!"

RUNNNNNN!!!

Not taking the time to put his shoes on, Bob ran straight for the car. This was direct over dunes and through bushes with the dogs enjoying the chase. Then across the gravel paths and foot bridge to the parking lot with the siren blaring and getting louder!

Heart pounding, feet aching, and out of breath from the sprint from the sea, Bob loaded the dogs into the car and tore out of the parking lot, while checking the ocean in his rear view mirror.

Because geographically Langlois is the closest point to the subduction zone if there is an earthquake there is 15 minutes max before the tsumani arrives. It takes ten minutes for the siren to activate. This was something we knew when we moved to UCM. This was knowledge put to the scare of dying in a massive wave today.

But we learn something new every day!

Today Bob learned that the siren at Floras Lake is tested on the first of every month at five pm.

Whew!

And Bob confirmed that he can still run really fast when he perceives death to be chasing him and his puppies!

Winter Wonderland

January has been thrilling here at UCM with days so warm that we have had to open the cold frames to dissipate the heat.
We have moved forward with dropping a variety of seeds into the soil including Hakurai Turnips, lots of early variety of salad greens, and some Siberian Tomatoes.
We also added five new potato tubs (they need to rotate every four years) for our third year of potato crop the early varieties are already in. The weed cloth makes it easier to walk around the tubs. The fruit trees have been pruned weeded and given a dormant spray, with an early fertilizing soon to come.

New Year's Day 2011

New Year's Day began with the traditional Polar Bear Swim for Bob!

The water is cold enough that General Lee deferred, preferring the repose of a dog in front of the fire he has seen in LL Bean Cataloges.

Queen Coda only hits the water when sticks are involved.

After the morning beach walk/swim the family took advantage of the sunny day to work in the garden. Bed eight shows a sample of the full beauty and variety of our winter garden. Here a detail of the Flowering Chinese Kailan.

...And the bounty of various greens sharing bed eight - Not bad for January :-)

Between bed three and four Sylvia is seen maneuvering the wheelbarrow full of aging greens weeded out of all the raised beds. This Sylvia delivered to the top of the compost ladder.

Every trip to the garden provides the opportunity to settle on the front porch and take in the view while listening to the quiet of the forest. The manicured lawn is thanks to our local deer who appreciate the new grass. Most of the medicinal herbs planted around the garden shed have been sampled, then left alone - so there is hope for their growth this spring.

Visitors from the corners of the coast

A colleague of Bob's from his days at Ports America came to visit UCM. Larry is from LA and his girlfriend Sue lives in Seattle. Mr. Yang heard long ago about the Kitechick sculpture on the dock at Bandon and was determined to see it for himself. So despite one of the worst winter storms of the year to date they braved the floods and torrential rains and drove down from Seattle.

It was a great visit and the next day the weather broke for a hiking tour of UCM. If you look in the distance behind the loving couple you will see the pasture land flooded next to the Pacific.

As is often the case our visitors had time for reflection at UCM, here by the upper pond...

Christmas done local

It was another home grown Christmas here at UCM. The day was spectacular with the valley dancing in light. The garden, despite the cooler weather and low travelling sun is producing lovely quantities of fresh greens.
But for the St. Emillion Merlot all on our table came from a local source. The wonderful rib roast was harvested two days earlier from Cape Blanco steer and slow cooked au natural on the grill.

And yes - It was a White Christmas - sort of...

While Bob was taking a morning hot tub the hail came yet again spitting painful BB's out of the sky forcing Bob under cover for protection. Hail however is a call to arms for our young border collie Queen Coda. If you look closely over the back left edge of the hot tub you will see a black blur (a typical photo of Coda). She views it as her duty to herd each and every hailstone that falls out of the sky and gather them together. As you can imagine she is very busy during these times. It was a joyous family Christmas here at UCM.