And Then It Was Winter

Last weekend started like every other. Intensive scouring of online weather sites to see what was coming down the pike so that we could cherry pick the best days and times for rides. After 6-8 weeks of mostly dry days this exercise had almost become blase. But, yikes! Friday was cooperating (dry, mid- to upper 40's, a hint of sun), but after that the forecast was ugly, ugly, ugly. Scrambling to get in the Last Ride before It began, Chris dashed off to the mountains and I headed off on my road bike. Feeling he was ready for prime time, I gave Chris his first photography assignment, which was, take a few pictures during his mountain bike ride. When he returned home both he and his bike were covered in mud and he mumbled something about not wanting to get the camera muddy. So, alas, we have no mountain bike pictures.


The rest of the weekend was a mix of heavy rain and light snow, unsuitable for anything but eating and sleeping. Or hanging out in a paper bag.....,

.....or on someone's shoulder.

It would have also been a great weekend for sitting in cafes drinking coffee but neither of us drink coffee.  We did, however, get over to Kettleman's Bagels for an egg bagel sandwich (me) and a pastrami with gruyere (Chris). 


I experimented with two new stew-like recipes. The first was a mix of sweet potatoes, carrots, and turnips cooked with onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, cayenne, and chickpeas. On top of this went a squeeze of harissa (spicy!) and cilantro. Except for the harissa, the dish was surprisingly bland. And too watery for my liking. 

The second dish was Moroccan chicken with eggplant and tomatoes. Sliced onions, minced garlic, Hungarian sweet paprika, turmeric, coriander, fennel, cumin, ginger, diced tomatoes, lemon juice, chicken thighs, eggplant. This was tastier and heartier than the turnip stew. It's a keeper.

The following work week the storms intensified dramatically. I know this because the tv reporters told us so. Repeatedly. Down here at sea level where our house sits it was mostly heavy rains. But another 500-1,000 feet up there was enough snow accumulation to set cars bouncing off one another as they tried to negotiate up and down hills. My law firm announced that our closure schedule would follow the Portland Public Schools. It's been more than 30 years since I prayed for school to close, but suddenly there I was rooting for it like a little kid. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We did get lucky one day with a two-hour late opening for the schools. Yipee!


This weekend we did not think there would be any hope of getting out for a ride. But by Saturday we both felt housebound enough that we were determined to go out no matter what. Chris left first to meet up with his group. I left an hour or so later. It was surprisingly 'pleasant' (i.e, not pouring rain) when I left the house, but as I drove toward the hills I saw heavy dark skies, and it began raining pretty heavily on the drive over. I parked at my usual spot and waited until the rain stopped. For although one might get caught in the rain while riding, one must never start a ride in the rain. My plan was to do a quick 10 mile loop to get it done as quickly as possible. 


Determined to finally show that it does indeed rain in Portland, I brought my camera. A few miles into the ride it began to rain again, and I thought grimly to myself, well this is it. A few more miles on I stopped to take a picture. And just as I was about to snap it, the skies cleared and the sun came out. Sun, bright blue skies for the rest of the ride. Sigh.

No, really, it rains all winter in Portland

On the positive side, the sunnier weather made it more pleasant to stop and take pictures. I lucked out with my favorite cow. He was standing right next to the fence. What a photo op!


The first two pictures do not show the truly massive size of this beast. 

I knew I needed something else in the photo to provide some perspective. Hm, what might that be....

World's Biggest Cow

I know you are thinking this a trick of photography, but I assure you, this is one freaking big cow. Standing next to it, it's backbone is above my head by about a foot. Awesome cow.


I could have spent all day looking at the cow. I think I have developed an unhealthy obsession with it. But Chris called and was meeting me back at the car, so it was time to go.

The road back. Old Germantown.