Halle’s Smooooth Words o’ Wisdom

This is an outtake from a bon bon story yours truly shot for Powder Magazine last spring. Thank you Dave Reddick. Not all photographers might consider this a bon bon. Me? Hell yes! I would have done the trip regardless of the assignment. Hence ‘bon bon’, a term I learned from a German DP working on a job for Addidas a few years ago.

Our goal here was a 4-day traverse of the Eagle Cap Wilderness, aka the Wallowas*, in northeastern Oregon from Halfway to Joseph. We succeeded although a tad more quickly than planned. Spring conditions were expected but, as often happens in the mountains, we got spanked. We had no chance to skin laps in the sun and position athletes with radios let alone dry our drawers, boot liners or sleeping bags. ‘My kingdom for a synthetic fill bag,’ was an unspoken refrain by night two.

I don’t recommend this trip when ma nature swings her paddle. Still we managed, had a ton of fun and only one in five came down with the nasty foot predicament.

*Wallowa is a Nez Perce word “used to describe a structure of stakes set in a triangle used to support a network of sticks called lacallas, for catching fish.” -Oregon Geographic Names by Lewis A. McArthur & Lewis L. McArthur

For one day this season we were ok with El Niño. Superbowl Sunday. Chris and I had a surprisingly good day skiing der Hood. We ditched the car in Govy, stuck out our thumbs and the first car up Timberline Rd. obliged. The clouds lifted and the snow up high was as good as Hood snow gets.

Darlene cuts my hair. Shaves my head is more like it. Seven bucks a whack. I give her a 10 and she keeps the change. She’s been around Portland awhile and each time she whacks me(my hair!) I am reminded of a bygone era. An era that’s fading fast. We have a shoot scheduled for December which is part of a project titled Voices of Et Cetera. I’m really, really looking forward to it.

Claudia and I experienced a banner day picking today. Chanterelles are more pleasant and are easier to clean when dry!

A Chicago photographer, Lyle A. Waisman, sent me an email today and informed me that my studio and dog Jane are in PDN. Cool. Cranky interweb trolls crack me up!

Lanny & Leela Shuler have a blog! Check it out: here or subscribe to the feed.

One of my favorite things about Mt. Hood Ski Bowl besides the lack of lines at the upper bowl chair, the WPA era warming hut and the overall friendly vibe is the proximity of Mirror Lake. Enough said.

The feeder outside our kitchen window froze solid during the last arctic blast. The Hummingbirds seemed to protest by chirping loudly and incessantly. Food must be scarce for them this time of year so we attempted to regularly thaw the feeder and place warm sugar water in it from time to time.