May 24, 2004
Happy birthday Janie and Don!
Last Thursday marked the birthday of Janie Civille, who has devoted a large portion of her adult life to the study of the invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in her beloved homeland of Washington. Proceedings kicked off with a fine lunch at Fuzio's, where I spotted the nest of a Nuttall's Woodpecker (see next posting for pics). The celebrations continued in the evening with a feast of shrimp, cheeses and wonderful Willapa Bay oysters. Several glasses of wine and a whisky later, and I was most grateful to John and Diana for a lift home! And thanks so much to Janie for spoiling us rotten!
Saturday evening saw me put aside my bins and put on my apron to bake cookies. This attempt was somewhat more successful than my previous effort (when I discovered my oven didn't work and instead tried to pan-fry the cookie dough - not clever!). The cookies were my contribution to a potluck/bbq marking the 60th birthday of ecologist extraordinaire Don Strong. He is pictured below looking resplendent in his University of Oregon PhD robes (a collective present from his research group).
The evening was great fun - wonderful food, good wine, and conversation on such diverse subjects as Pokemon and Essex girls - thanks to Debra for hosting and to the Strong lab for excellent company!