In some ways, very little progress was made on the mural yesterday. In other ways we are miles forward. The city said they would accept Worth A Dam as the named party if the contract met their other requirements. Which the insurance agent connected with ISI said could happen except for one area and she had a conversation with Michael Chandler about exempting that. He’s talking with the attorney ad will get back with us. But Loren has assured us that if the city can’t exempt it he’ll take care of it, so I’m almost feeling reassured. No nightmares last night.
The funny thing is, another respectable resource contacted the mayor about possibly providing insurance for the project, and he reportedly said, insurance? We didn’t require Mario to have insurance when he painted the other mural? Why are we asking for it now?
But lets leave our justified mirth to simmer for a moment and consider something truly awesome that came to me thru the Geography student at Portland, Alex Costello whose friend Debbie Blackmore had the divine providence to witness something truly amazing – and the presence of mind to snap some photos. In addition to all these graces she had the kindness to share, so thank you Debbie!
I love this photo with the white-hot heat of a thousand suns. I love this photo more than almost any other in my possession. I love the unperturbed look on both beaver and newt, as they enter into this strange new relationship. I think of the gingerbread man riding the fox across the river. He was ultimately tricked onto the foxes nose to escape the water, and from there became a quick snack. No one will be snacking on this lucky newt. About the observation she writes:
Place: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in Sherwood, OR
Details. Man-made catchment near non-public site on the Refuge. Three beavers (and a rough-skinned newt) were on a concrete pad in this enclosure. They may have entered when the adjacent wetland/lake was very full. When I approached the edge, they quickly dipped into the water but couldn’t swim very far, slowly floated to the surface, then slapped their tails before going underwater again, all of which made for a great photo opp! BTW, my contact at the refuge released the beavers later the same day, oh, and the newt, too!
Well I guess catchments make strange bedfellows after all, and I’m very glad to hear they were all released. I’m have almost the same delight upon meeting a newt that I have when meeting a beaver. They are wonderful creatures completely absorbed by their own mysterious purposes.
I guess sometimes those purposes include hitch-hiking.
I did escape to the tall ships and the sea yesterday, and had a wonderful windy adventure by the ocean, where the season’s last Douglas Irises were still in bloom. Because (as ee cummings reminds us) whatever you lose like a you or a me, it’s always ourselves we find at the sea. I’m sure beavers everywhere will be happy to know we decided not to sign up with the press gang aboard ship. But it was touch and go there for a moment.
