An August drive
Yesterday I found myself driving to a winery way out west of Portland for the retirement party of a long and good friend. After fighting through early-evening traffic on the Sunset Highway, I marveled at how beautiful the countryside still is on the east side of the foothills of the coast range. There were a few alarming new McMansion tracts here and there -- probably Measure 37 lands, because the developments fit into their surroundings absolutely not at all -- but by and large, the rural ways of the place have been preserved. Lots of food and feed are still being raised on either side of the roads.
On the way back to town, we spotted a couple of interesting sights off to our right. The Hillsboro air show was in progress, and we could see planes swooping around in formation, ascending straight up, dive-bombing back through the clouds. I didn't want to spoil the kids' fun, but that little cranky voice inside my head kept saying, "I hope nobody gets killed this year." I haven't heard the "Rose Festival" label attached to the event this time around -- have the two parted company?
More interesting in some ways was a scene down on terra firma. Parked on the eastbound shoulder on U.S. 26 was a white station wagon of some kind. The back hatch was open, and a guy was busy gathering up hay, by hand, off the ground to the side of the road, and shoving it into the vehicle. He had the whole back of the wagon full of hay -- loose, not baled -- all the way up to the back of the driver's seat. It looked pretty sketchy to me.
BTW, although the driving duties limited me to one glass, this wine was pretty darn good.
| Posted at 11:32 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (16)
White Wine? OMG My wife has more ba.... uh has more chest ha... Um she does Reds.
Posted by dman | August 9, 2008 11:39 AM
I'm usually a red man, but it was a summer evening soiree. Had someone else been driving, I would have tried the Farmhouse Red as well.
Posted by Jack Bog | August 9, 2008 11:41 AM
Sounding pretty defensive about drinking the whites, if you ask me.
Posted by Allan L. | August 9, 2008 3:30 PM
The Rose Festival cut ties with the airshow and the (GI) Joes 200 a few years ago because it was to expensive for them to sponsor or some such reason.
Posted by Erik | August 9, 2008 4:16 PM
Isn't there a joke in there somewhere.
"Now, lets find us a sheep to go with all this hay."
Posted by genop | August 9, 2008 4:36 PM
The driver was heard to exclaim: "Good lord honey, an attempted cowjacking."
Posted by genop | August 9, 2008 5:53 PM
NSFW sheep rolling in hay...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1528196.ece
Posted by dman | August 9, 2008 5:59 PM
In regard to your link dman, how would you like to be the "innocent" twin?
Posted by genop | August 9, 2008 6:31 PM
Sorry Jack, there hasn't been one, ONE home built under M37. Even under M49 there has only been a few built under the three home/parcel formula if you either have 5 acres or 5000 acres. Those McMansions you saw were created by our very strict, green, progressive, environmentally sensitive, high density edicts. Gosh, sprawl even occurs under our present policies.
The State of Oregon and each county, city that has jurisdiction of reviewing the M49 aplications are now just getting to replying to each applications. It will be awhile to even see a built M49 outcome.
Posted by Jerry | August 9, 2008 9:06 PM
Well, then, there must be some holes in the urban growth boundary, because we saw some poorly placed tracts of particle-board mini-castles out near Banks. It wasn't high-density, except maybe in someone's brain. With gas at $4, fortunately there won't be too many more of those.
Posted by Jack Bog | August 10, 2008 3:27 AM
those poorly placed tracts of particle-board mini-castles out near Banks are not M37 or 49 related. those are from the city of Banks expanding its boundry. not McMansions either, just modest single famly dwellings with lower density requirements. There are apartments back in there also. It's been a while since you've been out this way, eh Jack?
Posted by Don | August 10, 2008 7:51 AM
oh btw, the cost of hay is way up due to the price of fuel. the person gathering the grass clippings from the side of the hwy is doing so because its free and she needs to feed her horses. clippings are leftover from the county mowing the sides of the hwy. sketchy? no, looks to me like she's one smart recycler.
Posted by Don | August 10, 2008 8:02 AM
...we saw some poorly placed tracts of particle-board mini-castles out near Banks. It wasn't high-density, except maybe in someone's brain.
The city slicker speaks...
So, do you like high density? Oh, yeah; everywhere except "established Portland neighborhoods".
With gas at $4, fortunately there won't be too many more of those.
Here's an idea - don't drive out there for another ten years and the horrible memory will fade....
...geez!
Posted by cc | August 10, 2008 9:52 AM
I hate the Airshow. I've lived under it for 15 years. I watched that man's plane go down on a house two years ago. It was a blessing no one was killed, but a forseeable accident, based upon where the airport is in relation to surrounding housing.
My Airshow weekends involve shaking, scared and drooling dogs, as much white noise as I can create in my house, window and foundation rattling passes when the big jets go by (particularly when there is cloud cover and they have to fly low).
Please spare me the "I knew it when I bought the house" argument. The Air Show should have been gone long ago. Incompetent Hillsboro bureaucrats let a small community airport become a Port of Portland reliever airfield, and then allowed all kinds of irresponsible residential density around it.
I'm an Air Show Scrooge.
Posted by nancy | August 10, 2008 10:08 AM
Nancy,
I agree completely that the airshow weekend stinks around here. Friday night the planes were still performing right up until 10pm. WTH? Sunset was at 8:30. Traffic isn't any fun either, but at least it's a little easier this year without the Thunderbirds.
Is Intel still a major sponsor? They should just give the organizers whatever profit they make on the airshow, it isn't really all that much, just to get rid of it. Seems like cheap insurance to me.
Posted by Chad | August 10, 2008 3:22 PM
Interesting idea Chad! As I recall, the net profit distributed to the community by the AirShow was very small, and probably as you suggest, not equal to the business contributions to keep it going. Why not simply ask those businesses to make the same contribution (or more) and skip the airshow, its potential for harm, and all the other costs of police and fire standby. I may be wrong, but I can't believe that all the Hillsboro and Washington County/Clackamas County police cars I saw are working gratis.
I believe that the O reported today that the cost of fuel reimbursement to performers this year, given the increase in fuel costs, was $50,000. Hard to believe that the entire Airshow was so profitable that it is worth the other costs, and risks to the surrounding community.
Although I am less than a half mile west of the airport, I am not in the runway flight paths. If I were, I'd be selling now!!! I can't believe there is not a better outcry from those homeowners to the South. Without the Blue Angels flying this year, there wasn't the need for a 'sterile corridor' - which means if you live to the South, then you have to agree NOT TO BE HOME during the times that the Blue Angels or the other major jet flier teams perform (BTW, you won't find the times on any schedule I've seen - they want you to come 'early and often' and wait for the performance.)
About three years ago, some homeowners flatly refused to vacate the 'sterile corridor' and so the Airshow altered the flight paths to get around it.
The Air Show is yesterday, and needs to be gone.
Posted by nancy | August 10, 2008 11:44 PM