There are some weekends that are so enjoyable you wish you could do over again.

And then there are weekends like this.

Saturday morning: Golf

When my dad died a few months ago, I took his golf clubs and various golf things.

When I was in high school I played a lot of golf, usually with Dad and his father. I was on the high school varsity team and could have gone on to state if I had followed up in my senior year; I didn’t because the girls team was dissolved and I (foolishly) didn’t want to practice on the boys teams (WHY? my older self yells.) But once in college I didn’t pursue it and it has been twenty years since I picked up a club.

I’m not sure what appealed to me about Dad’s clubs, but I took them because they were something that reminded me of him.

Last weekend a co-worker offered me a free ticket to the Portland Golf Expo, and I got a few coupons and various other offers to play. It was enough to inspire me and I took myself off to my local golf range to hit a few buckets this last week and made an appointment for a tee time at Sah-Hah-Lee on Saturday morning.

Dad and I often played here; it’s a cozy little par 3 course. It has been remodeled since I last played and I’m afraid I got a lost a few times. But I did make par on hole 4!

It was a nice start to the morning, but tiring. I’m glad I made an effort to play with Dad’s clubs, but unfortunately they are too long for me. He was six inches taller than I. If I choose to continue, I’ll have to look into a new set, but I’ll keep the rest of hit equipment.

The Art Meltdown

Last weekend I was supposed to drop off my art at the Three Rivers Artist Gallery & Gifts (they have a new location now, inside Singer Hill Cafe!) In spite of the fact it was on my calendar, I forgot. I mean… completely and utterly. If I hadn’t got a phone call, it just wouldn’t have happened. When Linda Merry called to remind me, I ran down and dropped off my art, but I didn’t have the accompanying paperwork. I promised to drop it off this week, and Saturday after golf, I swung by the gallery to deliver it.

And there I had my meltdown.

One of the challenged of watercolor is the fact that it must be framed; once framed, the painting is protected, but its the frame that takes all the damage. The gallery committee had noticed a few dings on my frames and asked me to repair them before the paintings were put up for sale.

While this may seem reasonable (and it probably even is), the dings are very minor and quite expensive to repair; essentially it means reframing the pieces completely. Rather than argue the point, I asked to be removed from the rotation and took my paintings back.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the saga. Another thing I had to accomplish this weekend was a completely inventory of my art to decide what frames I need to order and what pieces I will select for my show in two weeks through the Clackamas County Arts Alliance Artist Exhibit Program. This morphed into a six hour slog through two rooms of my house and the garage. A friend (thank you, Denise!) came over and helped me for an hour fine tune my spreadsheet.

The great news is that I’m done and organized. The bad news is that I have a lot to purchase in the next couple of weeks.

A Spring Hike

Sunday morning I got up and Finn convinced me that golf, which great exercise for me, wasn’t as much fun for him and we went for a hike before church. Spring has definitely arrived.

And the Rest

What was left of the weekend was spent in the company of my friend, Lea. we went to dinner and then to a lecture  put on by Portland knitting shop, Twisted, by Cat Bordi and Jim Petkiewicz (of Frog Tree Alpacas) that benefited Community Links International.

It was an excellent evening and I’m going to list Peru as a place I’d love to travel!

On Saturday I drove down to Lincoln City to see my mom.

We met up at Nestucca Wildlife Refuge to join the Audubon Society of Lincoln City in their monthly (free) bird walk. The main excitement of this trek was the opportunity to see the (probably) most rare bird in North America: The Tundra Bean Goose current hanging out with the resident Cackling Geese at the refuge. As this bird typically resides in Asia, birders from all over have come to gawk at this unusual resident.

The ASLC gives GREAT bird walks; the leaders are so knowledgeable that I learn things every time I go out with them. The birds weren’t terrible cooperative this trip; I know our leader, Jack, was hoping to see a Northern Pygmy Owl sighted regularly in the area, but we didn’t have any luck with that. All of us spotted a ruby-crowned kinglet, an American kestrel, and an assortment of other birds, but most were at a distance and my photos were not great. One exciting spot was a Cassin’s vireo; a couple members got good pictures, but I only heard it.

When i was walking down to see the Tundra, however, I did spot a nice little doe and (probably) her last spring fawns enjoying a late morning snack before bedding down for the day.

After the formal walk, the group did a quick road tour of a nearby pond. Again, I only spotted a few birds, but one young red tail posed for an extended period on a wire just at road height for some great photos.

Mom and I decided to get lunch in Seaside, and from there we when to Whalen Island. It was the first time I’d been there and I was very impressed. I saw a golden-crowned kinglet, a bald eagle, and several egrets. Mom and I were amused by two or three Anna’s hummingbirds enjoying a quince thicket.

It was a good day. I wish Dad could have been there.