Sci-fi and Old Growth

Wednesday is now my day to work on fiction. Science-fiction, that is. While I have a number of partially completed novels, one of them is my favorite -- and it's almost complete. Sadly, it's novella-length which means it might be harder to publish, but we'll see.
After getting home from my writers' group, I made a delicious scallion/spinach/jalapeño/mushrooms/fake cheese quesadilla and then headed back to the Old Growth Trail with Ben as the sun set. I think I can safely say it's our favorite trail in Corvallis now, half due to its immensely large trees, half because it's covered in moss, and well, it wins an extra half just because it's awesome.

Elves and Fairies in McDonald Forest

Today Ben and I headed back to McDonald Forest and hiked the brand-new New Growth Trail as well as the Old Growth Trail. I found something that looked like purple asparagus on the New Growth Trail:

then found a compressed elfin saddle on the Old Growth Trail:

and then continued the theme of elves and fairies with this fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa):

and finally got a photo of the wild ginger that we found on last Friday's Wildflower Walk. Since Ben has better luck with the macro setting on my camera, some of these photos are by him (the best ones).

The I-5 Constructicon

Near Exit 244 on the way up to Portland:

One Hike, Many Games

For a couple of people who moved here a month and a half ago, today and the next few days have shaped up to be pretty social. Today Ben and I joined the Sierra Club for a wildflower walk along the Old Growth Trail at McDonald Forest. I learned (and might even remember) the names of a number of plants, including wild ginger which has a really unusual flower (I'll take a pic next time I see one). I did manage to get a photo of our group leader, Lon Otterby, triumphantly holding up a rough-skinned newt. Finally, a mad rush home (sorry we didn't say goodbye and thanks for the hike!) as we realized that seven people would be arriving shortly at our home for a night of board games. Turns out the number had increased to nine, only two who we'd met before, but it worked out surprisingly well and we plan to do it again (thanks, meetup.com!). Tomorrow, Portland! Sunday, more games for Ben (I hope to get some work done); and then Monday we're going to visit a couple of Ben's coworkers out at a cabin in the woods. Oregon is filled with welcoming, friendly people!

Lon Otterby, and a newt who chose to remain anonymous.

Silver Falls State Park

Trail of Ten Falls: 7 miles, moderate
When Ben and I visited Oregon last September, visiting Silver Falls made us realize how eager we were to move out here. The trail is gorgeous, even before you hike past the falls (five of them are more than 100 feet tall). We like to start out on the Rim Trail, which winds underneath giant, mossy trees that make you feel as if you've shrunk down to bug-size. You first catch a glimpse of North Falls from a distance through the trees -- and then eventually find yourself behind it on a narrow trail that circles the inside of a cavern. Today, the trail was much less slick than before, which I appreciated since I have a (I like to think healthy) fear of slick rock above bottomless drops.
From then on, it's a pleasant wander through the steep-walled canyon, with waterfalls hidden around every bend of Silver Creek. We found an abundance of wildflowers and river otter tracks and slides. At the very end of the hike, taking a break on a bench above South Falls, we were trying to ID a bird when we saw a river otter scurry across the trail behind it, about 100 feet below us. Awesome!

Chai x 2

One of my favorite things about Corvallis comes from the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op: vegan chai cupcakes (and I'm not vegan). I've paired this with a cup of homemade chai to get me through tonight's articles.
I'd list the recipe for my chai, but it's a continuous work in progress. All I can say is that it contains, in varying amounts: loose black tea, fennel, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, black peppercorns, and milk. Sometimes I hit the amounts on the nose and it's really good; sometimes I screw up and it tastes like steamed milk. My friend Deep, the source of my chai obsession, used to make it by bringing everything to a boil, but I try to avoid the resulting skin on the top by simmering it until it begins to steam.
If I ever work out the perfect proportions, I'll let you know. Until then, this is still pretty good.

A Long Day

Today seemed like a long day. I did some freelance interviewing, editing, writing; went on a short, muddy hike, and Skyped my friends back in Connecticut. I also finished Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, a book that I enjoyed more than I initially thought I would. In the book, the Earth is encased in a huge membrane that preserves it from the sun's death and suspends it in time while the rest of the universe ages. Mostly it's about how people act when confronted with something that they don't understand. I highly recommend it.

Here's a picture of our sunset today, not as gaudy as the end-of-the-world, our-sun-is-a-Red-Giant sunsets in Spin, but still pretty good:

Sunset off the deck