Back to Oregon

In early October Dad and I decided to head down to the Chamberlin Cemetery near Monmouth, Oregon to meet up with family and get to work on clearing the long grass and blackberry vines that had begun to overtake the historic site.  We hadn't bargained on the drought-like conditions that greeted us, which made it impossible to run machinery or power tools for any length of time.  In the end we regretfully canceled Kylie, Connie, and Vern as the long drive would not be worth it to them.  Despite Dad's ailing back we did what we could by hand.

The following three pictures represent the dry, unkempt scene that greeted us...

There was one large issue that had to be taken care of, however, and that was the danger tree in the middle of the cemetery...it was a half-rotten fir that had fallen and was hung up in other trees. Dad got to work with some expert falling:

See the results here:

The tree was definitely dangerous as it was half rotten but it still had some decent firewood in it. We had to yard it out to the edge of the cemetery to cut up another time, as we wanted to minimize saw use this trip. First we sawed it into three long cants...

Then we yarded them out using a block and the truck and stacked them for future attention.

We then got a visit from my brother Matt, his fiancee Che, and her father Peter who were on their way through from a trip to the Coast. It was my brother's first time at the cemetery and he really was taken by it. Colleen arrived from Albany shortly afterwards and got to meet Matt for the first time.

It didn't take long for Colleen to hit her stride and bring the newbies up to speed on the history of the cemetery!

Matt and Che with the original Matriarch Catharine.

Soon enough it was time for the guests to mosey on but not before a group shot of the Chamberlin and Collins decendants...

Some random pics on the way down the hill...

Dad and I then set about doing some hand-pruning to take advantage of the amazing weather. The cemetery was peaceful, with a light breeze...the absence of power machinery actually made for a very pleasant afternoon.

When we got back to Canada Dad and I quickly planned another trip, hoping to meet up with as much family as possible at the cemetery. Knowing they are eager and waiting to get together makes us all the more eager to get back and get back to work! Hopefully the rain will come between now and then to allow a full-on assault on the blackberries and long grass.

Till November...