I won!

Here is the video of Seattle radio KTTH David Boze - picking MY name. I won 2 tickets to a VIP reception with Michael Steele. YAY! (but, haha, he does say my name badly)I don't care...as they say- just don't call me late for dinner!!

For those who wonder why I am so involved- A GREAT Quote from Michael Steele- 'You don't have to ask permission to lead the party. This isn't your Daddy's Republican Party."
I love that.

(if you aren't a member of FaceBook- here is the WSRP link)

Yikes! I hope those eagles aren't eating our deer friends!

Bald eagles becoming bold predators
By KEVIN HEIMBIGNER
Observer staff writer
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Photo: KEVIN HEIMBIGNER/Chinook Observer
An immature eagle dines on a fawn
on the beach. The deer’s tracks in the sand indicate that it was hunted down
from the air.


LONG BEACH - The morning of July 1 while driving south on the beach adjacent to the cablevision tower I spotted three bald eagles squabbling where the dry sand begins. They were actively feasting on what I thought was a seal. Approaching on foot I got the camera ready, but the eagles did not cooperate by staying together long enough for me to take a picture of all three.

Then I noticed their meal was a small deer of about 40 pounds. The eagles took turns eating and then retreating to the safety of the dunes. Driving off I saw tracks and stopped to check them out. The tracks were those of the fawn and they were deep in the hard sand and wide apart. The deer had been in full flight, throwing sand a couple of feet when it had violently changed directions numerous times.

I looked for other animal tracks to see what had chased and likely killed the fawn. There were none and no tire tracks to indicate someone may have accidentally struck the racing animal. The logical conclusion was that the three eagles, two young ones and one mature adult, had somehow killed their prey. Approaching the scene it was clear that the 40-pound buck had stopped where the eagles had evidently caught up to it in the soft sand.

A quarter-mile further south I spotted another mature eagle and after a minute it flew off in the direction of the deer. I turned back north and followed and sure enough he joined in the meal after a brief flutter of feathers. According to Wikepedia the bald eagle's main diet is fish, but they are known to prey on raccoons and deer fawns.

Ten or 15 years ago a bald eagle on the beach was rare as hen's teeth, a treat. The past few years a drive on the hard sand from Ocean Park to Long Beach more often than not reveals at least one eagle and sometimes as many as half a dozen on the beach or perched on the dunes.

I have seen at least three times when eagles have had rabbits in their clutches as the birds are doing what they are supposed to do, as predators they are controlling populations of fish, rodents and rabbits. Reports of a small dog being swept away in the talons, collar and all, and of domestic cats being snatched up from the beach grass are becoming more common.

As the population of bald eagles continues to increase on the Peninsula the vigilance one has for their pets must also increase. Keeping an eagle eye out for these beautiful and spectacular predators is becoming a must.

The bald eagle had been on the endangered species list, but was officially de-classified June 28, 2007. Restrictions on the pesticide DDT has allowed eagle populations to again increase nationwide. To shoot or willfully harm an eagle is a federal offense, however, and led to several years of incarceration.

The Morning After

We all love the fireworks, the bonfires, the family times. But what happens when tens of thousands of people descend on the beach for 20 miles?

Everyone loves the beach. But not everyone cares FOR the beach. They build huge raging fires and throw all sorts of debris into the heat. They leave everything from sofas to broken glass on the sand - thinking it will just wash away.

The next morning- tons and tons of spent firework parts, beer bottles, cans, metal, plastics, rope, clothes, furniture and other crazy non- bio-degradable foreign objects are left.

Shelly Pollock and the volunteer Grassroots Garbage Gang- get up early and pick up the yucky trash. It is hard work. It is disgusting work. Fires are still burning... and those are usually the fires with broken glass, melted hot wire, and cut up beer cans. It can be dangerous. It is also very rewarding.

Videos from the 4th

4th of July Surrey ride around Seaview

I'm calling it my Palin-tini.

and Kramer continues

We spent part of the day weeding the Seaview Beach approach garden. We were showing one of the (trespassed) property owners the damage, path and evidence... and Kramer shows up from out of the woods- (State Parks Land).

He yelled crazy talk at us. There is evidence he is proceeding with work... ignoring the 2nd STOP WORK order.

I heard he is asking other property owners to allow him to drive across their wetlands... to set up his housing unit. All without permits. (QUOTE- Because permits take too long.) This area is in 'critical area'....and believe me, it is called WETland for a reason.


He keeps claiming he did not know he couldn't build on this landlocked property. However, the real estate office was very clear about disclosure. (He bought it really cheap for that reason.)

Mr. Kramer continues to defy stop work order and ignores all regulations.

Remember Mr. Kramer? He hasn't gone away. Here is the post with the original stop work order. (Note: I believe in property rights. However the rules/regulations must be followed and this property is smack in the middle of really really WET wetlands. This is also on the accreted Duneland - that is already eroding.) I would also say that Kramer has a right to build- provided he does it legally.

This morning, after the neighbors called... exclaiming Kramer was trespassing over TWO properties and building illegally... I grabbed the little flip camera to do some citizen journalism in the Seaview Dunes.

By the way, he has no permits, has been told to stop, and yet is determined to continue. He purchased the land - knowing he was unable to build. He even had the honor of having the Corps of Engineers refuse his survey and wetland delineation... yet he persists. The County has not issued him permits.

The County Community Development Office had people on vacation today and originally told the neighbors that nothing could be done today. I made a few calls... and the county inspector arrived with the Sheriff...

Oh yeah... should also mention - it does seem that he is actually trying to build his housing foundation on State Parks Land. Sigh... need another survey.
(photo credit to my neighbor- John)

Fire in Kite Shop

I was out of town last week and quite worried when I received 'tweets' about a fire in downtown Long Beach. The Kite Shop caught fire... fortunately the efforts of the local fire departments saved the businesses on either side.

CREDIT- this photo is from my favorite photographer- Damian Mulinix of the Chinook Observer. You can view more photos and a bit of the story HERE.

Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine

Paris' home for the next 4 years, located in a suburb of Cleveland. All the buildings have that colonial look. (even the McDonalds).






We drove from Marquette...stopping at little shops and outlet malls. (new outfit for interview)

Using the internet in the hotel, and the advice of the housing department... she found a place to live.

The 2 other students in the photo also received acceptance letters that day.

Later, in celebration, we went to the 'Aura' lounge in the hotel. How cool was that?

Mackinaw City

We said goodbye to Brett...(he flew home) and took off toward Ohio. Driving, driving, driving... we finally leave the U.P....and make a brief stop at Mackinaw City.

Sadly, we didn't have the time to ferry over to Mackinac Island this trip.




















There are many similarities of this area and our home in Seaview.


Mackinac Bridge - Astoria Megler Bridge
Colonial Fort Michilicmackinac - Fort Clatsop
(both with historic reenactors)
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse - North Head Lighthouse & Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
Historic vacation summer homes.
Native American communities
Fur trading history
Military Installations to guard against attacks on the waterways
-both even have Musket firing demonstrations!

Saying Goodbye to NMU life

A whirlwind weekend of packing up 5 yrs of college life, a regional track meet, saying goodbye to family, friends, professors, work and the great Lake Superior. We couldn't be prouder parents!

Blessing of the Fishing Fleet

We missed the annual event... but the Blessing of the Fishing Fleet is an important event here at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Columbia Bar can be a very dangerous place.

photos- David Plechl of Daily Astorian

Paris Graduates!

The first weekend of May, we traveled to Marquette MI for our youngest's college graduation.

Five years of being a 'yooper'... and Paris graduated with a degree in Sports Science with a nutrition minor.

Robotics Tournament

My niece, Saren, was again at the national robotics championships. Portland OR station Fox 12 did a nice little report.

The Death of my Coffee Maker

I was going to post a blog about my morning... but this little YOUTUBE video by Daniel (agentdyer) pretty much sums up my day so far.

Crowd floods meeting with Chinook tidegate concerns

Last week- we had our monthly Sea Resources Inc Board of Directors meeting. We operate the Historic Chinook Fish Hatchery- the oldest Salmon Hatchery in Washington State.

I thought it was kind of unusual that a few neighbors showed up, then more.... and more.... hhmmm... what is going on? I am thinking that Kenny's posting of the meeting agenda at the local Post Office was receiving much attention.

Well... not exactly. Unknown to us.. the Corps of Engineers /Bonneville Power...and some other government agencies had done a press release...that found its way to our local paper. The headline read-

'Big money flowing to our estuary'

then here is the part that got everyone so upset.

"A $1 million project slated for 2010 aims to replace a culvert under U.S. Highway 101, reconnecting the Columbia with an interior wetland near Fort Columbia. This would provide additional rearing areas for Chinook and chum salmon, while improving the food web for all estuary creatures.

A second, larger project would revisit long-term agency aspirations to remove the Chinook River tide gate and restore natural functionality to the interior system of wetlands and woods. No price tag and timeline have been attached to this plan, which has proven controversial in the past."

Controversial? That doesn't begin to describe the situation.

I remembered that my little camera was in my purse...and snapped a photo to document the meeting. The next day I sent it off to the newspaper... partly- wanting to say, "Hey, what were you guys thinking...printing up such a thing!?!!"

The paper printed my photo with the above title and this caption.

'Brian Wirkkala, standing right, and other landowners from the vicinity of the Chinook River estuary attended the board meeting of Sea Resources this week to share their concerns about federal aspirations to remove the Chinook river tidegate and begin restoring the river's natural tidal functions. The issue proved to be a stumbling block to earlier restoration plans, which agencies envision as a way of bringing back up to 1,100 acres of prime salon habitat. Sea Resources is not directly involved in the recently announced revival of this strategy. Board member Ken Osborne stands to the left.'

Run-over whale washes up on north jetty

Published in Chinook Observer, April 22, 2009

The photo is was also published in the newspaper-
Photo courtesy of Seaside Aquarium/Tiffany Boothe

CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT - A sad story from Tiffany Boothe at the Seaside Aquarium: "A gray whale, pictured right, washed ashore Saturday, April 4. It was a sub-adult male measuring 30 feet. A preliminary look at the animal indicated that it was struck by a ship." The whale was found in Ilwaco and a necropsy was done April 11.

Worse yet, Boothe said, "because the beach was so rocky there was nothing that they could do to dispose of the carcass ... Usually, when they wash ashore on sandy beaches, we will bury them - or, when it is possible, we will move the whale to a location where it can be buried.

"A couple of years ago a gray whale washed in around the pilings near Safeway in Astoria. We were able to get a tug to move the whale to Social Security Beach where we could bury it. However, there is no way we can get a boat to tow this guy out, the water is too shallow and the rocks are too big."

Scientific reports state that more and more whales are dying from collisions with ships.

"Nearly 80,000 ships weighing more than 100 tons travel the world's oceans - each one easily capable of crushing a whale. In some waterways, vessel collisions account for the demise of between one-third to half of all whales found floating at sea, washed up on beaches, or carried into port on the bow of a ship," according to the Earth Island Institute.

Cape Disappointment State Park reported that a large number of eagles gathered to dine on the decaying whale last week.

Astoria Tea Party

There were 280 in attendance. The Gannaway Bros and spouse- dressed up (she is Sarah). That made for fun photo time- but this protest was serious stuff and many from Oregon and Washington showed up to express their convictions about what is going on with our Government.



















The Daily Astorian had a nice front page article!

here is my quote:

"Nansen Malin, chairwoman of the Pacific County Republican Party, said the tea parties - with help from social networking technology - are bringing out an unusual grassroots spirit among conservatives.

"Conservatives are not accustomed to protest," she said. "They've hit a threshold."

She's hoping the newfound energy will breathe enough life into the Republican Party to "take back Congress" in 2010. "

Astoria Tax Day Tea Party

City: Astoria, Oregon
When: April 15, 5:30 pm
Where: US Post Office- 750 Commercial
Info:Meet at the corner of 2nd & Marine Drive at 5:00pm, we will park there & walk to the Post Office

We will be there!

Response and a mental health warning

One week ago... Cate Gable wrote this very nice article about me.

My dear husband likes to write letters to the editor. In fact, his letters have a reputation in this community...and it isn't always received well by those with differing opinions. There have been times my friends have refused to sit by me at meetings... I find out one of the latest letters from my spouse is the reason. My response is often, 'Do you agree with your husband all the time?'

If I could draw a cartoon- it would be of me calling Matt Winters (editor/publisher of newspaper)... 'Hello Matt? will you please stop running those editorials? Brett can't help himself... he is writing another letter!" - picture Brett madly typing out a letter to the editor.

This will help you understand the rather humorous letter that was printed about me this week. I wonder how Les Gernert feels to know that Brett has yet another Letter to the Editor- running alongside? (Brett's letter follows) (and seriously...Brett writes great letters.. but I don't always agree with them either)

Letter: Watch out for Karl Rove twitters: Hazard to mental health

I read with great interest Cate Gable's column regarding "Queen of the twitterverse" Nansen Malin. I obviously don't know Mrs. Malin, but it seems she is a nice person who gives back to the community, which is very commendable. I only know her husband, Brett Malin, from the letters he writes to this paper, some of which I find downright astonishing. But to the main point of the article - twittering.

Our children and others have had us set up a Facebook account so they can "better communicate with us," which mostly includes communiqués such as, "The weather is great here in (Denver, Chicago, N.Y., pick one), what's it like there?" I'm not sure I could make it through the day without getting all this important family news. What I'm trying to say is that most of the functions of Facebook, and for that matter twitter, can be done with e-mail or a phone call. The only good thing I can see about twitter is that politicians love it, but can only use up to 140 characters for each message, which is a blessing considering that the average politician can speak for an hour without hardly taking a breath and say almost nothing that matters. These folks I prefer not to think of as "peeps" but "twits."

I would offer Mrs. Malin one word of caution - and this comes from a man who has a huge amount of contempt for both political parties - twittering with Karl Rove might prove dangerous to one's mental health. Look what has happened to both Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck since he has joined their cable network. I have to assume they both were rational human beings at an earlier time. Now these poor souls have just about lost any sense of reality. Just trying to help.

LES GERNERT
Ocean Park

Here is Brett's latest letter. You can view more of his writing on his personal blog. ConservativesClub.com

Letter: Join the Tea Party and reject giant deficits

Having rushed through a trillion dollar "stimulus" bill, it appears now that a reckless 2010 budget will quickly follow. After harping for two years that George Bush did not do enough to prevent them from running up huge deficits in 2008 and 2009, the Democrats in Congress and President Obama have just thrown all fiscal responsibility right out the door.

Words can hardly describe this insanity. After a while the phrase "a trillion dollars" seems to lose all meaning. An over $3 trillion dollar deficit in just two years, a doubling of the national debt in five years, a tripling in 10 years, trillion dollar deficits extending indefinitely - and these are just the Democrat's optimistic estimates!

Americans know full well that government cannot spend its way to prosperity, and that borrowing massive sums does not make the economy healthy. This type of unrestrained spending has been tried many times before, in many countries, and has always ended in the same disaster. We last saw this folly in the U.S. in the late 1970s, and the result was 10 percent unemployment, 13 percent inflation and 14 percent interest rates on mortgages.

Americans understand there is no free lunch; when the government spends so much more than it takes in, the money must come from somewhere. Taxes will increase, and not just on the rich. We will pay with higher interest rates, as the government drives up the interest rate to find takers for the trillions in debt they issue. And we will pay with inflation and a devalued dollar, when the government runs out of lenders and just prints more money. When your retirement savings earn 5 percent a year, but decrease in value 10 percent from inflation, congratulations - you've just helped pay for this deficit spending.

The bad news is that these terrible economic policies are already under way, and the first chance to change the politicians in Congress won't be until 2010. And even if the Democrats responsible for this are thrown out of office in 2010, undoing the damage will take years. What you can do is contact your representatives in D.C. right now, and let them know that this is no way to run a country. And if you're really steamed, drive down to Olympia for the tea party on April 15 to add your voice to the thousands demanding that this stop, now!

Brett Malin
Seaview

Hey Tammy Bruce!

A whirlwind morning- Last night i walked away from computer, twitter and cell phone to take a break for a few hours. Unplugged. Just before going to bed, I checked what was up- online. WOW! Tammy Bruce was asking if I would be a guest on the Laura Ingraham Show in the morning!...She was guest hosting. YES YES! very exciting.

For those who don't know, Tammy Bruce is quite the gal! Here are the first lines of her bio: "Tammy Bruce is an openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush authentic feminist."

She doesn't exactly fit the 'conservative' profile...and neither do I. Perfect!

I set my alarm, made notes and was ready to receive her call bright and early this morning. The Ingraham Show airs in many markets -all times of the day. Here is a link for stations.

We talked about the internet, twitter, technology, community organizing, Republicans, feminism and Tea Parties (the demonstration kind on Tax Day -not 'tea parties') (here is the Tax Day Tea Party Link). Whew! She is more of a whirl-wind than I am!

This is a good time to announce that I am going to be writing for RedCounty.com the national conservative political blog- and you can find my bio here. This will allow me an outlet for my political opinions.

You can follow Tammy Bruce on Twitter at @heyTammyBruce

and I am @nansen.

Another Ford update:

I have my vehicle back. Finally. They said they didn't find anything wrong with it. Specifically, they did not look for anything- because they could not get the truck to do the thing I took it in for them to fix. It is intermittent. I will be back soon- I am sure.

Yesterday, first thing- I drove to a friend's house...and of course, clunk..grind..- there it is! I am thinking it has something to do with the anti-lock brakes. But until it does it consistently- or a light registers the problem... Ford will not look for the problem.

note about Astoria Ford. The owner- Dane- has been very cordial and nice (now). Steve in service is nice to me too. This was not my experience early on... I should not complain- after all- they did give me a really nice loaner car. However, my truck REEKS OF CIGARETTE smoke!! I drove it back...and complained! Steve could not smell it! huh? I even stopped total strangers on the street- 'would you please smell inside my truck'? (yes I did)... everyone agrees that someone has been smoking in my vehicle. Outrageous! I should mention that they did clean my vehicle (first time)... it was very spiffy (except for cigarette smoke)- in fact, it was nicer than when we purchased it. It was a mess when we took possession. How come this very basic nice service is something they do not do on a regular basis- when cars are brought in for service? Even the local mechanic down the street spiffs up a car when he works on it? Of course, Land Rover was super customer service oriented.

Since the article in the Chinook Observer, I have heard a number of stories- of people done wrong by the local dealer. I am not looking forward to having to bring it in... which I am sure I will have to. I felt like the Gov of Call-ee-fornia..."I'll be baacckk."

Herons are back!

Brett waited until dinner time to mention that he saw TWO HUGE Herons taking off from the Koi Pond this morning! I won't be able to sleep tonight! I have the alarm set early- to begin watch over the Koi. Some of our past Heron vs Koi adventures are HERE.

And now for nighttime reading material- I ended up HERE> at the Pond Biz Magazine -"The Heron's are coming!" I am going to toss and turn all night. (but seriously- a good informative and funny article) A Heron attack is a call to arms... well... a call to vigilant observation!

It is time to get a dog.

(the photo is from here)

Queen of the Twitterverse (that sounds cool)

I am really really honored by this profile article- columnist Cate Gable wrote about ME!


Coast Chronicles: Queen of the Twitterverse lives in Seaview
By Cate Gable
Observer columnist
Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Rustic 1905 home in quiet Seaview on a large interior lot; a growing-up-in-St. Helen's-native returning to roost; active in the local restoration society; Republican 50-something mother of four and collector of recipes.

Now throw those clichés out the window and hang on to your hats.

Nansen Malin will rock your boat no matter what continental sea you're on. Maybe the red hair gives her away but whatever your preconceptions, Nan will set you free.

Add to the list, vice president of the board for Sea Resources in Chinook, the oldest hatchery in the state; passionate environmentalist, particularly when it comes to salmon or the Seaview dunes; business partner with husband Brett of MR Data Corp. Inc. (www.mrdatacorp.com)

Oh, and, by the way, Nansen is the most-followed Republican Twitterer in the world.

OK, that last thing may need some explanation.

For those of you who have not yet stepped into the alternative universe of social networking, just know there's a big thing out there that is changing the landscape. So you tried e-mail and you're fed up with spam. Now your kids want you to get an iPhone and, moreover, if you want to see the photographs from their recent trip to New Zealand, you'd better get a Facebook account.
Welcome to the new age.

Twitter, for the uninitiated, is a Web space and application that allows you to blast to "followers" (people who choose to get your messages) mini-posts of 140 characters or less. I think of it as haiku-blogging.

According to a CNN article, Twitter "saw a 1,374 percent jump in unique visitors between February 2008 and February this year, up to 7 million from only 475,000, according to Nielsen NetView."

By comparison, Facebook, the tamer site - more like a Yahoo Groups on steroids - grew only 228 percent, to 65.7 million users, during the same period.

However you look at this phenomenon, it's a remarkable and innovative use of the internet.

Twitter, like any new world, has its own peculiar and charming language. You get the "fail whale" image (little blue birds lifting a whale out of the sea) when Twitter is over-capacity and freezes up because it can't process your request.

"Tweets" can be posted from any computer, cell phone or digital device, and sometimes, though less and less often now, answer the seemingly simple question, "What are you doing?"

"Tweeple" or "peeps" are the people using Twitter. They might like a tweet so much that they "re-tweet" it (RT), or send it out again to their followers.

Sometimes Twitter users even meet face-to-face in the 'real' world at an event called a Tweet-up. (Note: I'm sure we'll soon need another way of describing the tangible world of flesh versus the digital world as the latter becomes more 'real.')

You soon realize that anything you tweet may one day be read by your mother (unless it is a DM, a direct message you send privately); so mind your manners or you could feel very "tweepish" (sheepish about something you tweeted).

The "Twitosphere" or "Twitterverse" is the community of Twitterers. Tweeple may come to "twisticuffs" if they find it necessary to fight with someone on Twitter. But mostly tweets are either out to sell you something, give you advice, or simply make you ROFL, roll on the floor laughing.

Everyone in Twitter has an "avatar," a small picture or icon that tags along with each post. These are stand-ins for the real you and could be a picture of yourself, a cartoon, a picture of your dog or cat, or any image that can be digitized.

Nan started her Twitter account in April of 2008 during the presidential campaign, and as an early adopter gained a tremendous following because she understood the power of the technology and used it expertly.

She tweeted commentary during the presidential debates and from the floor of the Republican National Convention with her cell phone. C-SPAN cited her as one of the top-100 conservatives on Twitter and her followers burgeoned.

When I first spotted Nan on Twitter last month, she had a following of 33,000. As I write this article, her following has grown again to 72,402 (it went up in the last 10 minutes by 50!).

Nan also has a popular blog about beach life, seaviewwa (www.seaviewwa.com), and uses this platform to talk about what concerns and interests her. She has spoken about the beached whale, invasive species in the dunes, local personalities like Jim and Kathleen Sayce, the Pacific County Lincoln Day Dinner, and a downright funny-if-it-weren't-true rant about Astoria Ford.

Now you might ask, what is all this madness good for. Nan has a ready answer, "I am able to influence the world of politics from Seaview." And let me just say that she is not exaggerating.

Nan DMs with Karl Rove. When I ask what they 'post' about she says, "his hunting stories and photos, personal stuff, jokes...."

She also mentions that she has just been 'conversing' (please note that all verbs in this context should be understood as virtual in nature) with Saul Anuzis. Anuzis was the former Chair of the Michigan Republican Party and a candidate for Chair of the Republican National Committee in 2009. He tells Malin, "Wow you've done a heck of a job increasing your followers."

Malin shares another aspect of the social networking world - a more personal and, oddly, intimate one.

One day Nan, in her Seaview retreat, received a tweet from a pastor who was stranded on the other coast, on a highway somewhere near Tampa, Fla., out of gas.

Nan retweeted the message to her prodigious group of Twitter followers, who - no doubt - sent the message on and on again rippling through the Twitterverse.

In less than 30 minutes, another man of the cloth arrived with a full gas can ready to help.

"O brave new world, That has such people in't."

Our time is up. I close my notebook because Nan is about to be interviewed for an online television special for PJTV. She is hoping her camcorder will work right. Then she must prepare for her Social Networking seminar for the Republican Women in Seattle; and work on the details of her Tweet-up there April 26. Another dream of hers is to publish a Twitter Recipe Book.

Conscious of the precious nature of time and how often I feel as if e-mail is just another chore, I ask Nan how many hours she spends nurturing her Twitter account and followers. "Maybe eight hours a week, mostly at night. I can't Twitter while I'm driving though," she volunteers. "But Twitter shouldn't consume your life, it should enhance it."

"I've learned so much on Twitter and had such fun with this. And isn't this what politics should be about - community, creating change that makes a difference, protecting the environment?"

Nan and I may walk on different sides of the road occasionally, but we're certainly headed in the same direction.

Keep your eyes posted here for news about Nan's social networking class later this spring or early summer.

Jim, Tequila Invasion (not what you think) and the Discovery Trail

Seaview resident- Jim Sayce- whom I have mentioned before- is posting on a very interesting blog titled- My SeaView, a natural history blog. HERE is the link.

He posted a new blog last week and I noticed the date of April 1. hhhmmm, is this his version of April Fools? -I thought.

But if you know him and his sister-Kathleen- who is the MOST EXCELLENT BIOLOGIST- (and someone I depend on in my quest for continuing the Seaview Dune Preservation)... well- and knowing what kind of mystery flora we see in the dune area- well... this is a true story- you will enjoy his post below.

ALIEN INVASION WITH TEQUILA

So I'm hiking out from Beard's Hollow with Sue Cody and Alex Pajunas from the Daily A and we're talking about Discovery Trail and how cool it is. As we get to the beach, the trail turns north and we do the same. We ran in into Gerry Shields, nursing a repaired knee into health by taking a long walk south from Seaview. The Turners zoomed by on bikes and other families with their kids. As we walked along I spied this plant in the dunes:

I'm thinking..what the hell is that? Look like some palm or something that should not be there. Of course, no camera and Sue's wasn't working as well. Anyway, went home, emailed Dave, Kim and the sister Kathleen and let them know strange things are afoot and that if this is global warming, then there's no need to move to Hawaii or Arizona for that matter.

Kathleen calls me immediately and she's got to see this thing and so we hike out and she's dumbfounded. "Mother of God, Like Holly Cow!" and a more prosaic "What are you doing here?". Then "It's a Yucca" as in "You know, like Tequila".

We stand before it, awe struck. Speechless. What the hey? Is this a Sign Of Things To Come or are we entering Gabriel Garcia's twilight zone with a special twist (with lime) for ecologists? Are there more out there?

Then we dig around in the sand and find the top to a disposable soft drink container right near the root wad and some netting that oranges would be sold in and pretty soon in dawns on both of us that this Yucca got here in a storm, was tossed over the dune edge about 30 feet and landed in that soft fine sand that follows a storm. It was probably an outcast from the Columbia River after a flood or as Kathleen says, somebody flipped it over a bank and it floated down and ended up here, on the LBP dunes. And there it grew, in fine shape, possibly 4 years old.

The wind had whipped the Yucca around to a frenzy and probably damaged the trunk as a consequence, the alien invader was likely not particularly long for the world. No diplomatic immunity so we made a citizen's arrest and proclaimed 25 to life in a garden plot.
Yucca! can't believe it.

April is for the birds- at the beach

The new monthly wallpaper is posted at funbeach.com FOLLOW THIS LINK.

Pacific County Lincoln Day Dinner

Our local Republican Party Lincoln Dinner was a big success this year. We have special thanks to the 10 local youth who served a fabulous Prime Rib with Shrimp dinner (catered by Karla Webber).

Our keynote speaker Dr. Matt Manweller (on left)gave a rousing speech that inspired us all. We borrowed State Rep Jaime Herrera from the 18th District to give us an update on Olympia matters. Olga Miller (very right of photo) the Wa State GOP Vice Chair is always a special guest for our dinners.

Sid's gets a makeover

Sid Jr. has been busy overseeing the makeover of our local market. Yes, that is Sid- as in Sid Snyder- the long time State Senator and Senate Majority Leader. His son, Sid Jr, recently took over operations of our market and is giving it a makeover.

It wasn't too long ago you couldn't find penne pasta on the shelves. Now we have all kinds of gourmet cheese, meats and other treats.

ASTORIA FORD UPDATE:

I just (at 4:05pm today) received a call from the owner of the dealership. He was very nice and said he was upset regarding my problems. Yesterday I had taken my truck back home- since the service department couldn't 'hear' the problem. I wasn't happy about it...but since there was no 'audible evidence' of a problem... well ok. Well... it wasn't ok. I was pretty upset- but resigned myself to the situation. grudgingly and complaining to my husband most of the evening.

When the owner FINALLY called (by the way, saying he had never received any messages that I called or asked for him) (hhmm, that is what the 2 other guys in the waiting room said he told them too) Anyway, he was very very cordial and seemed concerned. I told him I had to drive to Leavenworth on Friday morning... and he suggested I switch cars back... and not take the problem car (intermittent problem car) on my long drive. So, I will have a loaner and hopefully as he drives my car around himself- the 'klunk and vibration that 'shakes your butt' (my passenger said) and the grinding noise will happen and they can figure out the problem. It only has 7,500 miles on it. A new rear axle was put in at 3,000 miles.

One more note: Ford Customer Service (in Detroit) are being super super great and calling & tweeting me -constantly to check on the progress.

What am I doing in Leavenworth? The WA State Repubican Party Executive Board Retreat. Watch for a fun post about that event!

Vote for Long Beach in the King5 Best of- Western Washington

Here is a post from friend Keleigh Schwartz:

KING-5 is currently hosting votes for "The Best of Western Washington & Northwest Escapes." Long Beach is one of several beaches which have been nominated for best beach.

Please cast your vote, go to the link below and follow the steps in their process:http://best.king5.com/contests/northwest-escapes/4261/local-excursions/beach

Perhaps you could encourage your friends and families to do so as well? Voting ends on April 13th.

NO YOU DONT WANT THAT NEW TRUCK FROM ASTORIA FORD!!

NOTE: Should I receive the courtesy of ANY communication from the ASTORIA FORD Dealer owner...or salesmanager... I will print an update. I WANT to like Astoria Ford. I know that defective lemon cars can happen. I also know that car sales is about customer service. In the event of a defective vehicle- how you treat a customer is important. I also know that many others are experiencing a lack of customer courtesy at this dealership. Even those with perfect cars.

Remember my "Car Story"? When I purchased it? HERE>>> When at 3K miles I had to have a new rear axle put in? HERE>>>>. It isn't over yet. Now I have terrible terrible grinding noise and jerking in the rear wheel/axle area. It is a random occurance. It scares the #%$* out of me and my passengers! Especially when you are on the winding roads around the Willapa Bay Oyster Beds.

I understand that statistically you can get a bad vehicle. What I do NOT understand lies, rudeness and really poor customer service. I do not understand sales people who lie to close the sale and I do not understand sales managers and dealership owners who act like you do not exist.

I will mention that the SERVICE PEOPLE- including STEVE THE SERVICE MANAGER have been really great to me so far today. (of course, Ford Corporate did call them directly and tell them to arrange a loaner) They were not the ones to do the first repair -because it happened hours from home.

I will also say that @ScottMonty of Ford and @FordCustService (Lynn and Shawn) are very helpful. I appreciate their fast fast response and helping me to get a loaner car. (These are my twitter friends) But- why did they even have to intervene? Why does Astoria Ford make life so miserable for their customers? I just sat in the very filthy- super filthy service waiting room- and listened to story after story from unhappy customers. Who BY THE WAY- told me that when I drove up- the sales people on the floor were loudly speaking in disparaging words- about me. A quote from one man (who lives in my community), "I knew they had another sucker that they had screwed over and lied to- just like me. You should hear what they were saying." I heard story after story- of customer service issues that could have been resolved with returning phone calls, actually speaking to someone, and treating the customer with respect. The word on the street was quoted to me in the waiting room by another customer. "They will say anything to get you to purchase, then they ignore you and go back on their promises." Yup. That is how I feel too. How sad that these people felt joy that I was in their same shoes. They knew they were not alone.

I haven't mentioned the harrassing phone calls for referrals. I have asked them- put me on your DO NOT CALL list... yet for some reason the saleskid actually thinks I would refer people to him. My first real warning sign came- when they ignored me- and only spoke to my husband- 'what are you looking for in a car?' I was the one sitting in the drivers seat. The car was for me.

I wanted to support a local business. I wanted to buy American. I wanted to drive to a dealer who was within 1/2 hour from me. I really regret doing this. I would rather drive 3 hours to the city... and be able to actually speak to a human... and sit in a clean room, be treated with an ounce of respect and feel like I count as a customer. I can't believe I am saying this- but I miss LandRover. They could be rude- but their rudeness came with class and afterall- they felt it was their car- and that I wasn't taking good enough care of their baby- it would drive me crazy. They would let me know that I was driving a Landrover...and that with it came responsibilities- like driving 3 hours for service.

This is where it is as of 2pm on Monday. Ford Corporate graciously arranged for a loaner vehicle so I am taken care of. (thanks to TWITTER- no thanks to the dealer) They are trying to find out the cause of the problem. Still no word from the owner or sales manager of the local dealership. I have left multiple messages and asked in person for a call. You would think that considering the challenges of today's economy- the car dealers would care about their customer.

This is an example of why we should not have bail out money! Businesses should reap what they sow. Bad business practices= no return customers.

4pm update: Just heard from Steve in Service. Nice guy. NOW my truck is not doing the grinding jerking thing. They will keep it overnite and try to get it to do it in the morning. I am pleased that he is communicating.

update: Blast from the past.

I was a sophomore in High School (there you know how old I am!).... and this infamous disposal of a whale- at about the same location.

Another Whale of a problem- dig a really big hole

About 200 miles south of us- at the center of the Oregon coast- the beautiful Heceta Head Lighthouse is the stuff of movies, dreams and many stories. This is whale season. Sadly, that also means when whales die at sea- they wash ashore and present a problem. What do you do with a 55 ft rotting and stinking whale carcass?

A Fin Whale washed ashore around the Hecta Head Lighthouse Park near Florence, OR. You can read stories about this HERE and HERE (credit some of these photos). State Officials dug a 11ft hole and are burying the problem today. If you have the stomach-(pun intended- you will see what I mean)- HERE are more photos by Real Estate Agent Rose Sutton on her myspace page. The smaller photos here are hers.

Oysters from Oysters & Art

A few posts down I mentioned the Rotary Oysters & Art Fundraiser. Here are the delicious oysters. And here is my friend Natalie. I encourage you to visit her blog.