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Week Fifty-Seven, April 15-21, 2002

Sunday, April 21, 2002

Natalie and I did walk the boardwalk along the Sandpiper Trail at Bowerman Basin in the misty rain this morning, and although a group of birders walking away from the boardwalk said that there wasn't much going on, we saw a half dozen Short-billed Dowitchers and about 40 Dunlin near the end of the boardwalk, and as the tide continued to fall we watched hundreds of Dunlin feeding directly west of the boardwalk. Then, as we watched through binoculars, the birds bunched up and started flying as one, undulating and making evasive manuevers as a raptor made an unsuccessful dive into the group. The numbers of shorebirds making the spring migration seems to be rising, but there isn't a big push just yet. However, we saw large Vs of Canada Geese moving north overhead....not a bad day for birding despite the misty weather...

After spending a few hours along the shores of Grays Harbor, we drove up the coast to walk the Homestead Trail at the north end of Lake Quinault. There weren't many birds showing themselves in the gray weather, but we did end up hearing and calling to a Great Horned Owl that was just a bit off the path near the old homestead. We watched and tried to find the source of the low, guttural hoots, but I think the owl was on the back side of a huge tree, with the only way to reach it being to trapse off the trail - not something I wanted to do in Olympic National Park.

Saturday, April 20, 2002

Although today's family get together in Longview for my grandmother's memorial was emotional, it was also good to have everyone in the family in one place. My two younger brothers and I last were together along with my parents some five years ago, when my youngest brother had his wedding.

The photo above is of the display of my grandmother's flowers from her garden alongside her photo as it was at the front of the church for the memorial service. The shot below is my family...

Thursday, April 18, 2002

I have had a hard time writing over the last week, as is obvious from the lack of recent updates to The Equinox Project. I simply fell behind from last Thursday through the weekend, but Monday I was thrown for a spin when I found out that my grandmother Huff was near death. Over the next 48 hours I heard the painstaking details of her inevitable death. And yesterday in the morning she passed away.

I will try to catch up on my journal entries here tonight, but things may be a bit slow to improve. Saturday morning and afternoon our family gets together to mark the passing of my grandmother...

Monday, April 15, 2002

This morning I found out from my father than my grandmother Huff down in Longview is not in good shape. She has been in the hospital over the last week for surgery to try and restore function to her one working kidney, but apparently there were complications to the surgery and Friday doctors found that she needed emergency surgery to repair a hole in her stomach. Since that surgery, she has not responded in any way, and there are doubts that her brain is working beyond keeping her vitals strong.

This afternoon an MRI confirmed that her brain is no longer functioning. It looks like she will be taken off life support systems and allowed to die over the coming days, and the family will be getting together soon to celebrate her life.

Besides hearing of my grandmother's clinging to life, this is tax day here in the U.S., and for the first time ever I am filing for an extension. I hope it turns out to be the right decision...

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