Bad Weather and a Wonderful Friend from Afar

 Long time friend Suue (known as Sue to everyone but me), flew in to Portland for a conference. She works as a volunteer at a wildlife refuge near her in Maryland. The organization that provides volunteers who work at refuges have a conference somewhere every year. This year it is in Portland, Oregon, so Suue decided to fly out early and visit us. Alas, the snow storm hit when her flight arrived in Chicago and the Portland Airport shut down. However she was able to get here the next day when the airport reopened. She rented a car and drove bravely down here. Johnny had plowed out our driveway so it was navigable.

Our electric EZ Go (golf carts) turned out to be excellent snowmobiles so we were able to drive her to the barn to see handsome buck Freddie and through the arboretum. She had been here four years ago but, as I reminded her, never in the snow! 

I was scheduled to pick up native plants that I had ordered on Saturday, way down in Corvallis. So we all swooped down there in amazingly sunny, dry weather. (Made me realize that we really do live in the Coast Range mountains and valley dwellers have different weather.) "Swooping" is what a gang of friends in college did during college breaks. Suue and Johnny and I were all part of that gang. Suue and I had been horse-crazy friends in high school and were roommates in college. 

We took the back way home and stopped in Dallas (Oregon, not Texas) for delicious Mexican food at our favorite restaurant there. Suue says there are no good ethnic restaurants in her area of Maryland. And they also don't have all the ethnic food trucks that we have. (And Easterners think we live in the wild west?)

Strangely, I did not take photos until she was about to leave. I love this photo of Suue and Johnny in the greenhouse. (I just have to point out that's an orchid blooming behind and right of Suue,  a master gardener.)

 

 

All three of them are far more photogenic than I am. But here I am with my forever friend Suue anyway.  Who knows when she'll get here again...