Welcome to the BOR...

Sadie is 2 Years Old!

2010-12-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

Sadie is all growed up now!

And GO DUCKS in your quest for a National Championship!

Beach Day!

2010-06-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

After a long and rainy winter... and spring... and start of summer, Mother Nature decided the dogs deserved a day at the beach. The weather was perfect, the dogs had fun, and there was minimal burning of our pasty white skin!

After Cooper whined for 30 minutes as we got closer to the coast, the dogs immediately went to play in the water.

Coop likes to splash in the waves, while the city girl prefers to keep her feet in the sand.

Nothing better than a good roll in hot sand!

Sadie didn't get to make many snow angels this last year, so she spent all day making "sand princesses".

As you saw from a post last year, Cooper is a hole digging machine. A little neurotic about it actually.

Sometimes he grins while digging.

Sometimes he put's some thought into the construction.

And sometimes he just gets after it.

Having fun Sadie?

Having fun Coop?

Gotta dig, gotta dig, gotta dig...

Nice hole dude.

Sadie got worn out just watching the old guy. Who was...

Still going strong...

Welcome to the family Miss Pearl

2010-05-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

After a cross country trip, Miss Pearl is ready to cause trouble in sleepy Sacramento...

RIP Bumpers

2010-05-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

Sad day in Sacramento and Portland...

Updated Pics of Pups

2010-03-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

Thank God for global warming, otherwise it would be really cold in February...

Sadie Update

2009-07-26T07:45:00.001-07:00

Little Sadie is turning into a little dog. Almost as big as Coop and twice as mean, she'll be running the house before too long.

Beach Day

2009-07-26T07:36:00.001-07:00

To escape the heat, we hit the beach this weekend. It was Sadie's first trip to the beach, and she had a good time.

We have a couple of "secret" beaches we go to, and they were relatively free from people. We also hit Pacific City and it was the busiest I have ever seen it.

I tried a little fishing, with no success. Lots of fog, wind and rough seas. Reminded me of a March day on the coast.

Nothing better than a cold beer and a warm dog...

Stay away from my hole

2009-07-26T07:30:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, Cooper likes to dig holes on the beach. It is an obsession, actually.

What we didn't know is how much he likes to protect said hole. But, being the stubborn do she is, Sadie wants anything that Coop has, even if it is just a hole.

After about 5 minutes of warning, Sadie decides to march in and take the hole.

Lots of fighting ensues.

And guess what... Coop is all bark and no bite...

Went for a hike

2009-07-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Dogs had to get out. Wife needed to get out. I needed exercise...

Rosie RIP

2009-07-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, our old friend Rosie left us a few months back, but I found these digging through another camera. Trip to the Deschutes with Joe and Rosie last fall...

Got Paint

2009-06-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Still in process - the rain has put a damper on finishing the trim. Maybe this weekend.?.

Sadie Mae - a.k.a. Wiggles

2009-05-18T18:46:00.003-07:00

Our friends & neighbors Tom and Susan are moving back to So. Cal. and are forced to leave behind Sadie (but they are taking Harley!) - a 5 month old Golden Retriever. This is bitter sweet for us & Coop Dog, as she is a total sweetie, but our hearts really go out to Tom & Susan who are forced to give her up.

She is pretty mellow - way more than Coop Dog at this age. She is a fast learner, and has only had one accident in the house - which was our fault for not watching her closely.

She does have a mean streak though. She plays a little dirty too. When Coop walks a way, she takes his ankles out.

Coop still is the best.

But, dang she is cute.

And the best part is they are the same color, so the piles of hair will all blend together!

Whole House Fan

2009-05-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

We are lucky to live here in the shadow of the hills that separate the Tualatin & Yamhill Valleys, so while the days are hot, evenings cool quite a bit and there is always a nice breeze. Being in the house a year now, we have a good idea of how hot it gets & how it cools at night - and of course keeping in mind we are entering a global cooling trend. Knowing that a heat pump is not only expensive to install and operate - we sought out alternatives and came to the conclusion that a Whole House Fan should meet our needs 90+ percent of the summer.

Whole house fans have come a long way from the days of a louvered box fan in the ceiling... Read all about it here: http://www.airscapefans.com/products/whf17

Part of the benefit of the WHF is venting the air out of the attic - removing the thermal blanket above the living space. As such, we had to install more attic venting to ensure the operational efficiency of the fan.

Gable vents in two sides of the house. Cutting from inside the attic on a hot day sucked.

Vent installed. Once caulked & the house is painted (stay tuned for updates), they will disappear.

I don't like heights. Good practice for painting the house I guess...

Due to the 18" of insulation and the positions of the trusses, I had to build "ducting" to raise the fan. I insulated the outside and ran foam egg crating on the inside to limit the reverberation.

We cut a hole in the ceiling above the entry way/hallway to the front bedroom, and installed the fan in the ceiling joists.

Notice another critter in the house??? Stay tuned. They of course had to be in the middle of all the action.

Fan installed in the attic, sans insulation & clean-up.

We only had the opportunity to run this on Sunday night, so I am not sure of the ultimate outcome. I do have high hopes, and know that regardless it will be much quieter than neighbor Ben's heat pump!

Oh, and regardless of operation I will say the company was great to work with - from technical advice to getting the WHF the day after I ordered it. They even included a UPS pre-paid box to return the packing foam so that they can re-use it.

Additionally, to those tree hugging liberals out there who claim to be environmentally conscious - ditch the A/C and go for a WHF. One of the "greenest" ways of cooling your house, this thing draws 140 watts - less than turning on the lights in ONE of my bedrooms...

January Hike on the Coast

2009-01-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that just 3 weeks ago we were buried under snow as you can see in the pics below. Well, thank God for global warming so that we could get out to the coast for a hike. No clouds, rain or wind. Just sun and t-shirts!

Think Mr. Cooper enjoyed himself?

A victim of a recent wind storm.

Many forget that we live near a temperate rain forest.

Global Whating?

2008-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

As you can see, the snow is still coming down. The question now is, will it ever end???

We dug ourselves out last night - and then we got another 6-8". So, we dug ourselves out again today at lunch so we can run out and stock up on food for X-mas before the Wednesday storm hits (rain, freezing rain or snow - not sure what it will be yet).

Ice Pics

2008-12-21T14:10:00.003-08:00

Here are a couple of ice pics from this morning.

Berries on the Ash tree in our front yard.

A maple leaf left on the bonsai-turned yard tree

Coop Dog lost a wheel.

It's gonna be a White Christmas

2008-12-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

So those that are familiar with what is going on in the NW this past week, you know we have had some cold weather. We were predicted to be down in the low teens with a wind chill predicted to be about 0F. So, I made the choice to move most of my trees into the garage until the super cold weather passed - I don't do anything if it gets down to about 30F, but lower than that I like to make sure they are on the ground and bundled together. Not sure if it helps, but I do it with success. Below 20F, I like to cover them. We hit about 9F with the windchill this last week, so I am glad I moved about half into the garage.

So, I didn't quite get the final two monkey posts finished before it started snowing last weekend. We ended up with about 5" of snow. Again, the NW corner of the yard, sans trees.

The week was off and on snow and rain, and we ended the week with about 2-3" of snow still on the ground. It seems we are in a cold pocket along the foothills (our driveway is at about 210 feet above sea level) between a couple of valleys - so 1/2 mile away all the snow melted and we kept a good bit.

Coop Dog loves the snow. He has been getting 4 walks a day...

Yesterday the snow came back. A lot. All day...

We finished the day at an X-mas party around the corner. Upon coming home the snow was finishing up and the freezing rain starting. We ended the day with about 10" snow and about 1" of freezing rain (ice) on top of the dry, fluffy powder.

Again, the NW corner of the yard. Check out the snow on the seating and fire pit!

The bad news is we should have this snow through next weekend - so my trees will be in the garage for another week.

The good news is that it is going to be a White Christmas - very rare for Portland!

New Benches

2008-12-21T13:26:00.001-08:00

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything - work has been very busy these past couple of months. That said, I was able to take a couple weekends and build some benches for my trees. If you look down a post or two, you will see that when we moved in there was a large deck around a hot tub - which had to go to give us room in the back yard. You can see below the transformation - I hope you agree we are moving in the right direction...

With the removal of the deck we salvaged as much as we could - the pump house went to the landfill, all non-pressure treated was saved for our fire pit and the balance was put aside for a potential new deck (4 x 6 pressure treated) and benches (2 x 6 cedar for bench tops).

With the decision not to build a new deck, I took the recommendation of Darrell Walker to use the 4 x 6 for verticals and the decking for the tops. This actually was a great recommendation as I wanted to make sure that whatever benches I made were unobtrusive, allowed for plenty of planter space around the yard and given time would disappear against the fence and plantings.

So, I built a number of benches and monkey poles, making sure they were different sizes and heights as Jason suggested, and got them in the ground and cemented into place. Once done, I realized a couple of things - I need more benches and/or less trees! So, I built two more monkey poles, got the holes dug and almost got them cemented before the dark and snow came (more on that later.

The deck being torn down and salvaged.

Benches to the south waiting for the concrete to set. You can see the horizontal braces to square the legs. This area will look nice when the triple trunk birch and bamboo fill in.

Southwest corner waiting for the concrete to set. Trees in flats will fit nicely under the benches.

To the north. We are going to put a tree on the left side of this shot and bamboo in the middle and right. Need to screen out the neighbors!

Northwest corner. Monkey pole in the behind some of the pines there. The afore mentioned tree will be to the left of the bench on the right. We are also going to put small goldfish pond and bubbler fountain back in this corner - which will be just off of a large concrete patio we have decided to put in the back here.

What do you think?

Yard Work

2008-09-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

We are coming along nicely in our landscaping of the house. While we are nowhere near done, we are getting there - hence, no after pics as of yet.

I won't show pics of the removal of palm trees, junk trees, bad turf, dozens of yards of rock, two concrete pads, a deck or a hot tub. Nor will I show pics of the addition of dozens of yards of garden mulch, or dozens of plants and trees (thanks to Heather's parents for the donation and all the helping hands).

We still need to build a deck in the back, finish adding plants front and rear, build benches for the bonsai, re-do the lawn along the curb (Coop's Poop area) and add a few trees and bamboo to the rear. Hopefully all the plants will be in this fall, and the deck will follow next year. Oh, and the opposite side yard - I don't even want to think about that...

Enjoy the pics. Click to enlarge.

Before Pics: Front Yard

Before Pics: Back Yard

Before Pics: Side Yard

During Pics: Front Yard

During Pics: Back Yard

During Pics: Side Yard

Bailey B

2008-08-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

We just learned that out that everybody's favorite russell, Bailey B, is no longer with us. Bailey was always first to say hi, ask for a treat, yell for somebody to throw a stick and was sure to dominate the room. Full of pith and vinegar until the end, she will always be loved and remembered for the entertainment she brought us all...

We've got grass...

2008-08-26T15:12:00.001-07:00

Might not be a big deal to you (reader), but let me tell you what, it is a milestone for us...

There's something wrong with Mr. Cooper...

2008-08-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

I should have known when we took him to the beach for the first time when he was 4 months old. He is normally a fun loving yet well behaved lab, but you get him into the sand and some recessive gene takes hold and he goes nuts. It is either chasing kites (no wind, so check back for updates from future beach trips) or digging in the sand. Note, he has never dug a hole in the ground at home - which might explain his penchant for digging when he gets to the beach...

This was then. Mr. Cooper circa 2003.

This is now, circa yesterday.

Gotta dig, gotta dig, gotta dig...

This is kinda scary...

Still gotta dig...

Doin' good! Gotta take a breather though...

Life is good!

Now, once he had the opportunity to dig a hole big enough to trap a Hemi, we decided a little swim was in order. His favorite surf game is fetch, and this weekend was no exception...

Coming back with a little salt water in the eyes.

Yes, he is in here some where (center, above first wave you can see bit of his tail).

Coming up with the stick.

Riding the waves in...

All in all, a great day at the beach. Mr. Cooper had to stop and pose for a "normal" picture.

Back home, well, you know the story. It's lights out for a few days!

Dreaming of the sand, he even smiles in his sleep...

20sub3

2008-07-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

Check out what my buddies Derek & Will at 20sub3 have going on over at YouTube:

http://uk.youtube.com/user/20sub3

Anyone interested in a Rugged Map (check out the video here) for your favorite collecting grounds, please contact me and I'll work with them to get you a custom map (beyond their stock hunting units).

Loch Ness Monster

2008-07-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

As Jason blogged the other day, this tree was acquired from Oregon Bonsai in '06 because nobody else was dumb enough to take it. I liked the deadwood subtrunks and felt that with some bending and twisting of the trunk and branches, we could end up with something unique. At the very least it would be a perfect tree to attempt some new techniques with when it was established and ready. This is the picture from ob.com that influenced everybody to pass it by.

In the spring of '07 the tree was repotted into this smaller pot and the deadwood trunks removed. They are in a box in my garage, and may make it back into the picture someday - maybe as an accent piece of some sort. The tree was also with some advanced work down the road in mind, so the canopy would be easier to put into final position. You can see how well it grew by the length of the needles.

As Jason stated we started to take a look at the trunk of this and evaluate what to do, and to our surprise about 80% of the trunk was dead. So, out came the Walter Pall signature model Flexcut knives and we did a rough inspection to find the live vein. This is the result of that, with no other deadwood work being performed.

Jason has some recent experience working with branch benders, cutting away live veins and utilizing some interesting wire/raffia techniques from working with visiting masters this past spring. This was the perfect tree to gather some knowledge. Jason wanted me to get out the reciprocating cutter and cut the live vein away from the deadwood. To me that was harsh, risky and would need a ton of work to make it look natural. I would need a few more beers to attempt that - so nope, let's bend and see what happens. The goal being to bring the foliage down to reduce the height of the tree and distract from the straight trunk.

A few minutes into the bending of the trunk it started to pop and Jason got all excited and started to hoot. As the live vein peeled away from the deadwood we were able to stop using the branch bender and switched to some prybars, and completed the bend by hand.

With all the hooting being emitted from Jason, my neighbor Eric stopped in to see what was so exciting. Eric brought beer, Jason hooted again.

With a mixed crew around the house: Eric - knows nothing of bonsai, Jenn (my sister and Jason's wife) - knows little of bonsai, Heather (my wife) - can care less about bonsai, but likes to go collecting, and myself (recently declared amateur), Jason took a second to explain the flow of what we were doing.

And this is what we were doing. As I said, the branches had gotten a little work to prep for this, but we completely wired and styled it in one sitting. Remember, this is the first styling and there is much to be done in the coming years, much of it will be to continue to work on the section of trunk between the separation and the foliage.

RAL

Meet Mr. Coop & Baby Rayne

2008-07-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

As noted in his blog, Jason and the family came by last weekend for the day to hang out and work on trees.

Part of the family you haven't seen much of would include my 5 year old "pup" Mr. Cooper.

I would also like you to meet my cute little niece, Baby Rayne. She takes after both her mommy and daddy when it comes to eating...

Trying a new, easier format

2008-07-16T14:57:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the bonsai blog of Oregon Bonsai Pots. This is a work in progress, so please be patient for a few days until I can work out the bugs, get some good posts up, and get some pictures of current available inventory online.

Thanks for stopping by. Let's see how well it works...

RAL