A "Wild" Weekend

We woke up at 5:30 am to this....Elk in our backyard!

And so our day began.....early, as the drive to Summerlake is about 2 1/2 hours.  We were to meet our friends Ruth Burleigh and Dave Brown at 7:45 for the trek to the lake to view the bird migration.  Summerlake is an amazing waterfowl refuge in the south eastern part of Oregon.  March is the perfect time to see the migrating birds. We were in for more than a treat! The drive flew by as we were treated to stories that only two "old timers" would know....stories about the history of the area, other treks  they have been on and so much more!  Jerry and I were mesmerized, as if taken back to our childhood, snuggled on a grandparent lap, listening to our favorite story.....

We are almost to Summerlake and Dave stops along side the road to show us something.....
PETROGLYPHS!

Dave is explaining what they mean

I've never seen petroglyphs in the "real", this was an amazing stop. 









We barely made it into the refuge when we saw two Tundra Swans.....that was an omen.....

Enjoying lunch with Ruth and Dave

Amazing lunch!

I cooked a cassoulet in the dutch oven....it was amazing.  I will share the recipe, it's easy!

A muscrat lodge

very hard to see, two Sandhill Cranes in the middle right....

And we have lift off.....20,000+ Snow Geese
The sound was stunning to say the least!

These Coot ducks were so cute, they bob their
heads as they swim....

What is it about old barns that is so darn intriguing?
Maybe it was the Great Horned Owl?
Maybe it was watching him cough up a pellet?
Maybe it was the wind, banging the loose boards against the old structure.....
Enchanting.

Perfect sunny day, petroglyphs, 33 varieties of birds, amazing picnic, great stories by two people who have been everywhere and seen everything, Snow Geese flying, eight Sandhill Cranes walking, two Golden Eagles, five Bald Eagles, AND A GREAT HORNED OWL!  What more could the four of us have asked for?

An amazing day with two amazing people.  Life is good!

An Evening with former editor in chief of Gourmet Magazine, New York Times Food Critic and Author, Ruth Reichl

Ok, I live in Bend, Oregon.....80,000 people (up from the 17,000 when I moved here in 1979) It didn't really become a "city" in my mind till Fred Meyer opened in the early 90's.......the International Airport is in the next city over and it takes a minimum of 2 flights just to get out of here. We have always been small town America.

Things are DIFFERENT here now.  People come to visit us and share their lives with our community. Famous people, interesting people, people in the know people.  We had Khaled Hosseini (author of THE KITE RUNNER) here BEFORE his book was a number one best seller.  Kathryn Stockett, was here speaking to a large audience at our locally renovated "Tower Theater" where she announced that evening,  she had just signed the deal to make her book into a movie "THE HELP".  Dr. Andrew Weil, MD was here two weeks ago, speaking to a large sold out audience on wellness!  We DO things here, great things.

Last night was no exception, it was BIG!

We happen to have an amazing Community College with an all new multi million dollar Culinary Program, it's truly a state of the art, amazing building with world renown instructors.  "Elevation" is the dining experience you'll never forget,! People here like to eat.  People here like to cook.  Most of all people here love to support their community!
 http://culinary.cocc.edu/

So last night, with support from many local businesses and also including the University of Oregon Journalism and Communications department, the well known New York Times food critic, former editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, recipient of six James Beard Awards and author RUTH REICHL came to town as a benefit for the Cascade Culinary Institute.

I was lucky enough to secure a ticket!

Ruth entertained us with her vast knowledge on how the American food culture is changing.  Restaurants are changing.  It's not uncommon to find a restaurant that grows it's own produce, makes it's own wine and raises it's own meat.... Farmers markets are popping up all over (Bend is lucky enough to have one in the summer two times a week!).  Customers are wanting quality, not quantity from their dining experience.  Grocery stores are adding more organic locally grown goods.  Our neighbors are growing vegetables and raising chickens, yes, things are changing.

I loved it!  I've loved Ruth's books.....


 

and now my copies are personally autographed by an amazing author!  If you desire a great read, both of these books are high on my list! I hope you will enjoy them too!