12/19/14

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We've been learning a great deal about Oregon history and having fun. We're getting more comfortable giving tours to guests, though they are generally few and far between. Don's been editing one of the documents used to train new hosts. It was written in 2007 an a few things have changed since then, plus he is adding photos so readers can better relate to the subject matter. Penny and Don have also been helping archive the equipment stored in one of the out buildings, so it can be moved and the structure of the building can be repaired.

Part of our job is to help with some of the animals that live on the property. There is a cat named Bucky, that lives in the mill and is essentially the mill mascot. Unfortunately, Bucky's allergic to wheat and lives in a wheat mill. We have to give him eye drops every day. He doesn't care for them but knows he'll get tuna as a reward, so he doesn't fight them. He does help keep the mouse population down as part of the deal. We also feed the ducks, chickens and turkeys that live here. In the picture below, you can see Penny with her new best friends, going to breakfast one morning.

 

Yesterday, as we walked out of the outbuilding we were working in, Penny saw two bald eagles in the trees at the south end of the property. There was a young one and a mature one. They sat in the trees for quite a while before they flew off. We were guessing that they were hoping to find dinner amongst the ducks on the property.

 

Penny has decorated the trailer for Christmas and we've started making Christmas candies. We will be spending Christmas day with some of Don's family in nearby Albany, Oregon.

This weekend is supposed to be interesting with the significant amounts of rain expected. We will be trying to keep on top of the flood control job we have at the mill. We don't expect any problems though.