Muddy Saturday Mornings are the Best!

Last Christmas I received the wonderful (best) gift of time with Rick and the island. This past Saturday I pulled out my sexy mud boots and headed off to the island.





I share with Rick his love of searching for arrowheads. And the love of doing the happy dance when we find one. This trip we came across a nest of Killdeer Bird eggs....



....and Rick explains to me what the Momma bird was doing flapping around 15 feet away (she wanted us to keep on walking!).




And so we did. Up and down the muddy rows. We each found two (well, actually Rick was 2.5 and I was 1.5) and a pocket full of pieces.



Heading back Rick takes a turn and pulls off the main road. He wants to pick some flowers for one of his favorite ladies who is currently in the hospital (does this "George" never cease to amaze me?).




I felt like I got "promoted" when Rick said I could now keep my arrowhead hunting knife and official arrowhead finding box.



A morning spent with "George", walking in the mud and talking about life and experiences. Sharing the thrill of the find and doing the happy dance. Two tiny bits of carved stone that bring that very much loved giddy feeling....




.... and watching him pick those flowers. He makes me want to be a better person.

Thank you Rick for a fantastic Muddy Saturday Morning!

George Malley and Arrowheads

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from my niece Lynda which read, "Are you free Sat or Sun for a few hours? Rick wants you to come walk in the mud with him."

Rick is Lynda's husband. I've written about him before. He's the guy that knows she's an artist and he "buys her chairs". He is her George Malley from the movie Phenomenon.



My heart skipped a beat. Walking in mud means only one thing....searching for Arrowheads and other Native American artifacts. It's right there with searching for T-Rex bones!

Lynda said I would need to bring a flask to offer up to The Gods. I didn't have a flask but I did stop off and buy some mini-bottles to fill my pockets! My hair in braids and we were off....



Through the mud,



and more mud ....



.... and then he spotted the first one. A beautiful pinkish one. An hour later and I spot my first. A mind blowing brown one. I was ecstatic!!!!



I spot something else sticking out of the mud, he laughs and says it's a Bobbie Bryan artifact (it's nothing more than the top of a wine bottle!)



Throughout the day we find bits and pieces, I treasure them all....



At the end of the day, we leave muddy boots in his garage and sit at the kitchen table. He shows me a rock that he had previously found. A weight that the Multnomah tribe had used on their fishing nets. I am nothing short of awestruck!



He gave me that rock. And as I drove away from one of the best days I have spent in a very, very long time, I realized that Rick....the gentle giant our family knows him to be, is actually THE ROCK of our family.

Thank you Rick for a wonderockin' day!!!!