Fish Tales

Ten bucks bought me a shiny, new burn barrel. What can’t you find on Craigslist?

Singed my arm hairs a bit

Spent my birthday at Lisa’s ranch in Central Oregon. Lots of fun!

Shooting this Heckler & Koch HK91 semi-automatic rifle made my birthday even happier. This firearm is rather valuable in the US market because it was banned from US import in 1989, by executive order.

HK91

Parag poses before taking aim with the HK91.

Parag with the HK91

Mark gave me a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes… maybe to help improve my aim. It didn’t work.

HK93

Chrissy prepares to shoot a firearm for the first time in her life. Instead of starting out with a .22, she went with one of the larger guns at the ranch.

Maiden shot

Parag shoots a few rounds with the Sig 229.

Madras Vice

30 feet away. 5 shots. Never hit the Coke can.

Could not hit the broad side of a barn

Mark figured some frost brewed Rocky Mountain taste might help steady Chrissy’s aim.

Silver Bullet?

Stopped by the Lavender Valley while making our way around the Hood River Fruit Loop this weekend. Everything smelled like lavender soap… including the lavender-lemonade they were serving. I passed on it. Ick.

Lavender field with Mt. Hood in the background

13 post holes to dig… this called for yet another tool rental run to Home Depot. No way was I going to do that with a manual post-hole digger. Anyway, I was digging straight to China until I hit the first big root, which made the auger bit stop. The top part did not. Ouch! That didn’t feel good at all.

Auger

Today, I rented a chainsaw from Home Depot to cut some low-hanging branches and to clear out a few overgrown bushes. It sure beat using the handsaw and pruners!

"Chainsawing"

This morning I went over to Oxford Circus to check out the Apple Store on Regent Street and look what happened to be across the way. Most excellent for me.

H&M London

Technically it’s Sunday, but my internal clock is still ticking to Saturday time. Anyway, after an all night flight and then a fiasco of forgetting my backpack (with my laptop, camera, iPod, and other important stuff) on the bus… and then tracking it down and actually finding it, made these lawn chairs in St. James’s Park my favorite thing in London for at least an hour.

Hyde Park

It was a long elevator ride up to fid out my knee’s fate. Fortunately, I don’t have a tear, but my meniscus is “soft” with some fluid build-up. Now, I have to cycle five times a week for about 4-6 months to strengthen it. Good excuse to buy a new bike.

None of the floors look fun

Went to see Sheryl Crow tonight and she put on a great show. Lance even found his way on stage pretending to be a guitar tech.

Sheryl Crow

Did this short hike near Tanner Creek by the Bonneville Dam today.

Wahclella Falls