Mystery Critter is the Post!!!!

Ok, parents, no helping on this one. The clues are good, and a bit of sleuthing will get the bird.

In Portland is a relatively famous though otherwise ordinary elementary school. It however is the stopover for a very large flock of birds who fly down the chimney to sleep at night. The school is Chapman elementary.


It sits in the northwest hills of Portland with a view that is stunning.


While one might think that Mt. St. Helens might be the real star of the show, it in fact is the Chimney.



The mystery bird is sometimes called the flying cigar.



As these little guys come home to roost, some 35,000 of them, the sky begins to fill with them.


Also, often this is followed by the appearance of predators such as the Coopers Hawk and the Peregrine Falcon.



The Coopers Hawk in particular seems to be intent on scoring dinner the easy way.





This guy was particularly persistent, and eventually came off the lip of the chimney to go after a bird, the flock mobbed it, and then the rush was on to get into the chimney.



So here is the video. It is amazing to see them circle counter clockwise just like our toilets flush in the northern hemisphere! What is the mystery critter?

Farm House Progress/Local Artisan's

A variety of things are happening at the Farm House. Lot's of labor going in to making it arrive at the dream we have. Nathan and Garth are working on the landscaping which is certainly proving to be a big job, but looking great. I am waiting for a bit more progress before unveiling.

One of the great things about living where we do is the talented people around us. Jenna Bayer, a very well recognized landscape designer is our neighbor and the Farm House is her second project for us. Rainbow was the first. It is growing in really beautifully now that we are two years in.

Down the road is Otto Freund. The son of an Austrian father and Indonesian mother, Otto and his son Jade have been doing the floors. He clearly loves wood, stone etc., and has really put his heart into this job. Upstairs we chose to use #2 Red Oak. Alone, that would have been beautiful, but Otto walked through with us, spent time just "feeling" the house and rooms, and in the end did a specific design for each room. Lots of finish work is still undone, but I think it is time to show the floors.

Room 1. This was the large room that Paula and I first used as our bedroom 25 years ago when we moved into this largely unfinished monstrosity. Over the years it held guests, both long term and short, and most recently was the girls room. I can still picture the pink ballerina painting on the wall. Otto created a log cabin/Celtic knot pattern that is subtle but very beautiful.

The border is a parquet log cabin, with the Celtic knot border out of a full 4 inch board. The knot's turn at every corner.


Room 2 is very interesting. Using purple heart, Otto created a unique border that allows a sunburst at every corner. This was the room that was last the living room for Brig and Chelle when they first came back from Hawaii and were living in this room and room 1. Before that it was the room that Kevin had done murals on the wall. I kinda miss those days!






Room 3 is the smaller room that was last occupied by Kevin just before his mission. We have created a bathroom out of the old closet, and created a closet out of a portion of the old bathroom that was just outside the door. The starburst pattern in the entry of this room is a continuation of the pattern that is found all over the house and signifies the expanding spokes of family. The log cabin border here is a simple 4 boards.



Room 4, last occupied by Nathan before he got married, had a bath shared by room 3 which is now gone. Instead we have created a very large bath out of the old nursery. Because the bath in this one is very lavish, Otto chose to keep the floor relatively simple. 4 board log cabin border with no other frills.


Ok, at this point it is time for the mystery critter. This is of course a bird. In this case a pair of birds. A mating dance of sorts was occuring. The birds were just up the road from the rainbow house. First to get it wins.



Room 5 is the former master bedroom. It is a very large sunny room, and will no doubt be very popular. Here Otto felt the "majesty" of the room with a double walnut border, one of the layers of which contains a Celtic knot.



Finally the last room upstairs is room 5 a. It was originally a deck off the master bath, but leaked horribly and after about 5 years we closed it in. It now provides a really nice sitting room, and will be a way to create a jack and jill bath type arrangement for a family. In this room, Otto mirrored the angles created by the railing around the entry vault by turning the main field inside the log cabin border at a 45 degree angle.




Another neighbor about whom we have blogged previously is Mike Welsh. He is our "panel" artist. He finished the "girls" insert into the deck panel last week and is working on the "boys" now. The idea is that the girls are represented by does, and the boys by bucks. There are 4 does in the panel and each is to represent a girl member of the family. There will be 9 boys represented by 9 bucks on the remaining panel which should be ready in a few days.


Take a look at the 4 does and try to figure out which one is which daughter. Chelle, Hai, Tiet or Alicia? Ultimately we will let the boys assign the girls and vice-versa. But for now....



I am really beginning to feel this house coming alive again.

Tucker Weston Beesley

Yesterday is now another Vial family historical day. Tucker Weston Beesley was born. Nathan by the way won the pool, guessing both the fact that it was a boy and the date. Interestingly, Kyle had used a Viet trick to determine what the sex was going to be. (The trick was tying a ring to a bit of the hair of the pregnant mother, and if when it is dangled over her hand it moves in a circle it is a boy if it moves side to side it is a girl. It said boy!) We didn't know until the moment, and Tucker had the honor of announcing, but I am getting ahead of the story.

It has been interesting weather here. Hot for a couple of days and then very cool. A few days ago on the full moon, I too had a feeling this was going to be a boy.



On Sunday, Alicia and Tucker took some pictures in the back yard at Rainbow. That is when we were doing the pool guesses.




Everyone thought that with this belly this was going to be one huge baby. Stay tuned for the stats however, I don't want to get ahead of myself again.

Wednesday evening we had a function for Congressional candidate Rob Cornilles that Chelle, Paula and I went to. Afterward, we went to Pho Van and met Tucker and Alicia there. Here due date was actually that day, but nothing fancy had been happening, so there was no inkling. About 11:40 Paula's phone rang and Alicia's water had broken. Tucker, Alicia and Chelle who has been staying with them headed for the hospital as did we, and we arrived at the same time at approximately midnight. Here is where the story really starts.


Older sister Chelle by the way has been here since last Wednesday. She absolutely did not want to miss this event (she hates missing any parties anyway, but this one particularly) and yet managed to arrange at least one party a day for various family members!!! But when we got to the hospital, it was all business as she helped Alicia get ready for the laboring event.

Alicia started laboring immediately and was really feeling it about 2 minutes apart from midnight on.


Tucker was a rock star from the beginning as well. Helping Alicia was really a team effort, and it was really fun to be a part of it.


Nurse Coleen was great. She was there at the beginning and at the end (2 shifts!). She was great about encouraging Alicia to get up and move around and try to find a comfortable place.


The first 5 or 6 hours were tough, but there was a lot of excitement because of how hard Alicia was working. We all believed, including the Doctor and Nurses that she was really making progress. She had to be given the consistency of the contractions and her effort!


By about 6 in the morning however there was the first signs that things were not working just the way we had all hoped. She still was not dilated past 3 cm, and no matter how hard she worked, it wasn't progressing. The team was really working on this, but a new plan had to be devised.


The couple decided that maybe the tub was a good idea. I of course did not take pictures of that event, but they worked there for 3 hours. Unfortunately......


Alicia remained a true trooper, and with encouragement from Chelle, Tucker, Paula etc., she climbed back in bed to try some more.


But by noon, after laboring for 12 plus hours it was clear that it just wasn't going to happen this way. The couple made a very difficult decision to abandon the "birth plan" that had the entire event happening without any drugs, and try an Epidural. This is an injection into the lower back that helps the mother continue to have contractions without as much pain, and has become a great tool. It took another 3 hours to get it all set up, but by mid afternoon, things had really changed.


For the first time in 15 hours, Alicia was able to sleep, and did so for the next several hours while the contractions continued, and with the help of another drug, the naturally occurring Pitocin (what the brain makes to create contractions) added to the IV drip they even got stronger, and started to get the job done.

I am going to take a detour here to get the mystery critter on for the grandchildren. Someday perhaps Weston will be participating in trying to win the $10 prize by being the first one to identify the animal or bird on Grandpa's blog. Here is this blogs's mystery critter.


This picture was taken at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon in early May of this year. It is from the same family as the American Kestral.

As an aside, the pictures taken for the Weston labor and birth event we all done with the D3, with the Tokina ATX PRO 28-70 2.6 - 2.8. No flash was used, and because it was a pretty dark room, I pushed the ISO up to 1600. So let's get back to it!

At about 6 pm, the team really swung into action. Doc Strauss, shift nurse Sherrie, and the family prepped the special bed and things were ready to go?


And the PUSH was on!


But alas, after about 40 minutes of pushing every few minutes, the Doc decided that it just wasn't time, put the bed back together and told Alicia to rest. This guy was really cool, seemed to know just what Alicia was feeling, and really listened to Tucker and Alicia. So it was back to a bit of a wait.


But about an hour later, he was back and the team was cranked up this time.


Between pushes this time, the Doc had them put oxygen on Alicia, and it was amazing how she was really ready each time. She actually said that the pushing was exciting as she felt she was really making a difference. By the way, I really appreciate the fact that my girls are willing to let me photograph these events. It gives me a chance to be there for the most amazing thing in the world. I took a lot of pictures of the push stage and the actual arrival of the baby, but in the interest of keeping this a true family blog have decided not to include the next phase.


Suffice it to say that it was tense, exciting and amazing.


The supporters were there in force!


Particularly the "sistas"!


When the little guy finally emerged, Tucker announced the sex, and then cut the cord.


While Alicia just really, clearly felt the relief of a healthy birth.



They immediately placed him on Alica's cheerfully sobbing chest. The spirit in the room was incredible!




Nurse Coleen, who had arrived on her shift in time for the birth was great about letting Tucker and Alicia have all the time with the baby that they could want.


And soon it was apparent that this was a family in every sense of the word.




Kick butt trial lawyer Alicia took to motherhood like she had been doing it for her whole life. Again, I have edited for taste, but the little guy got the cholosterum immediately, portending a long and healthy life!!



It was then time for the rest of us to meet the little guy, who really seemed to like the whole crowd.


Grandma and Grandpa were counting 28 as they held this newest member of the rapidly growing crowd.


Just looking at Grandma, he seemed to know that eating was the next thing on the agenda!


All the wait and the long trip out from Vermont really made this moment worth it for Aunt Chelle


Aunt Caitlin, who had been saying 5 years was the horizon for babies was busy revising her time line. Nate wasn't there however so we will see!!



The chores started almost immediately, but Tucker didn't hesitate. He had to be incredibly tired, but couldn't get enough of tending to the little guy.


Honestly, Tucker will be an amazing dad. No fear, and a real desire to know and preform all of the functions he can possible help with.

So I know you have been waiting for the stats. Born Sept. 2, 2010 (90210!), at about 8 pm, 7 lbs. 13 oz. 20 and 3/4 inches long. Tucker Weston Beesley!!!!!!!!


I have never seen Alicia happier. This is what life is really all about.


Ten toes. I counted. Perfect!