Drive By Shooting - 09/30/11 10:15 PM
Drive by shooting….got your attention, didn’t I?  Well, this one didn’t hurt anybody, but it sure made MY day!
 
This is a small collection of what I get to see on my drive from Fishhawk Lake in the big city of Birkenfeld Oregon (ha!) to the bigger city of Vernonia Oregon where my real estate office is located.
 
 
 
Mist is located 8 miles from my home on Fishhawk Lake. This was one of my first "shootings".
 
Right after this home is where Highway 47 goes through Mist and heads into Clatskanie, Oregon.
 
… (29 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-I Calls 'Em Likes I Sees 'Em! - 09/29/11 09:01 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-I Calls 'Em Likes I Sees 'Em!
 
That might be a down-home, "Ah Shucks" way to say it, but it's the truth!
When my neighbors give me the ultimate compliment of asking me to represent them as their listing agent for properties at Fishhawk Lake or Vernonia, I wanna do right by 'em and give them the low-down, the straight story.
I don't feel you need to smack someone over the head with the blunt force truth, but I do think you need to TELL THE TRUTH in a kind and sometimes humorous manner. If their house … (8 comments)

Girlfriends at Fishhawk - 09/28/11 07:39 PM
Girlfriends at Fishhawk
There is something pretty special about girlfriends. And after living here at Fishhawk Lake for the last 6+ years fulltime, I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life and part of that is because of girlfriends.

 
We girlfriends check in on each other, call if we’re heading into town and ask if we can pick up something for each other, share big pots of food if we have plenty to go around or call for that seasoning we’re missing.
 
 
A good part of the … (23 comments)

Vernonia Pioneer Museum-A New Addition to an Old Heritage - 09/27/11 05:27 PM
Vernonia Pioneer Museum-A New Addition to an Old Heritage
This Vernonia Oregon historical building  is recognized nationally,  and is registered as an Historic Place being described as the Oregon American Lumber Company Mill Office. Built in 1924, it is #52 on the Walking Tour.
 
 

 
The Vernonia Pioneer  Museum includes artifacts from throughout the county. You will see a variety of rocks and other items from the local Native American tribes. Admission is free and it is a wonderful place for families to visit. Vernonia Museum is an ADA accessible building. We welcome groups, but appointments are encouraged.
 

 In addition to … (8 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Monday Morning Success Story - 09/26/11 12:09 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Monday Morning Success Story
You get an e-mail from someone interested in your niche and you think, oh a new client--terrific! But, this one in particular had all the earmarks of the layers of success from building up my niche at Fishhawk Lake.
This was the actual e-mail I woke up to this morning:
Hello Gayle,
My wife and I have been thinking about a vacation home for a while and recently stumbled upon Fishhawk Lake. We drove out there today[Sunday] and confirmed our suspicion that it is a great place. While driving around we met Glenn … (13 comments)

Weather or not...is Fishhawk Lake the Right Place for You? - 09/25/11 06:48 PM
Weather or not...is Fishhawk Lake the Right Place for You?
On one of my localism posts lately, Deb Brooks commented: Gayle...don't laugh. I made my husband read about Fishhawk Lake and look at your photos the other day. I told him, "this is where I want to retire".  He doesn't like the cold winters. What's it like there with your seasons? I would rather hear it from you now instead of googling Fishhawk Lake and finding you anyway!
Which got me to thinking about WEATHER and Fishhawk Lake. We have many things to offer vacationers as well as fulltimers here and weather … (14 comments)

Fishhawk Lake-Managing Forest Fires in Our Community-Volunteer Efforts - 09/23/11 06:08 PM
Fishhawk Lake-Managing Forest Fires in Our Community-Volunteer Efforts
 
I was listening to Science Friday, NPR’s radio program hosted by Ira Flatow, on my way into work today. They were doing a live panel discussion in Flagstaff, AZ about wildfire management. I feel that it is paramount to be aware of how truly dangerous this can be for people, animals, and our habitat and how to avoid it in the first place.
 
At Fishhawk Lake, last year we decided to make ourselves a “Firewise Community” and deal head-on with lessening some of the dangers for forestfires to be created in … (12 comments)

A Poem That Spoke to Me - 09/22/11 01:09 AM
A Poem That Spoke to Me
On a mid August evening, Jeanean snuck this beauty in...and it was one of those gentle pieces that I immediately fell in love with. It captures the essence of why I love where I live and I wanted to honor that by sharing it with my friends who may not have been graced by it the first time around.
 
A Poem by Jeanean Gendron - The River of Knowing
 
    I am
the water flowing,
the stone that caresses the swirl,
that which smoothes and polishes,
made round and complete.

 
… (21 comments)

Fishhawk Lake-Location!Location!Location! - 09/21/11 03:34 AM
Fishhawk Lake
 
 
Location! Location! Location!
 
In real estate this is a perfect phrase. But, this phone call put a whole new spin on that phrase today. This man is a photo shoot location scout and producer and he found out that I was the “expert at Fishhawk Lake” (his words) and wants to see about doing some apparel shoots out here!
 
I have often thought this would be the PERFECT LOCATION for a movie or photo shoot.
 

 
Fishhawk Lake has such a delightful array of  lake cabins, flora and fauna and terrific backdrops that our … (19 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate Locals-Hobbits and Mushrooms - 09/20/11 01:30 AM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate Locals-Hobbits and Mushrooms
Gary Woltal (in my post yesterday) suggested I go back and find hobbits. Well, I went around my local area at Fishhawk Lake and just happened to find those as well as mushrooms.
 
You have to be quiet and sneak up on them, 'cause they both can be shy.
 
 

 
I didn’t capture all of the mushrooms I would like, so I will pull a photo of one that we grow around here and tell you a bit about it.
Chanterelles are a wonderful fall delicacy among mushroom aficianados. There's a mushroom … (14 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Birkenfeld Oregon--Today's Drive on Highway 202 - 09/18/11 11:17 PM
Fishhawk Lake--Today's Drive on Highway 202
Today was a day of driving in the rain. Going along country roads, seeing old buildings.  Thinking of my “Barn-ey Friends” in ActiveRain.
 
I saw  scads of elk but they were so far away, there was no reason to take their picture. Not this time. The Elk Reserve is in Jewell Oregon...doesn't that sound lovely? About 17 miles from Fishhawk Lake and Jewell is one of the school districts for Fishhawk Lake children.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I saw a red barn (my favorites) … (12 comments)

Fishhawk Lake--Like a Fish--You're HOOKED! Paying it Forward to My Supporters - 09/18/11 12:22 AM
Fishhawk Lake--Like a Fish--You're HOOKED! Paying it Forward to My Supporters
 

 
Do you know how exciting it is to write about my little community; my Slice-of-Paradise, Fishhawk Lake and continually have people really want to visit or buy property here???
 
I’ll read comments on my posts or listen to what potential buyers say and think, Yeah, this person “gets it”. I had a client today say, “I’ve got goose bumps looking at this [the lake] and it’s not because it’s cold out”.
 
There are plans being made for future trips for some of my ActiveRain … (17 comments)

No Cell Service? No Computer? No Problem! Things to do with Kids at Fishhawk Lake - 09/16/11 10:01 PM
No Cell Service?  No Computer? No Problem! Things to do with Kids at Fishhawk Lake
 
Yup, folks that’s what I’m talkin’ about…what you can do with your kids that doesn’t involve technology. Buying at Fishhawk Lake gets you much more than just a vacation property.
 
Here’s a smattering of some of the “simple life” you can experience with your kids at Fishhawk Lake when you own property here:
1.Take a walk around the lake—it’s roughly about 3 miles. Good for beginners.

 
2.Watch the salmon spawn. This happens every year in several of our creeks  at Fishhawk … (16 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Annual Local Event "DockCrawl" - 09/15/11 10:44 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Annual Local Event "DockCrawl"
Dock Crawl is one of those time-honored events that happen yearly here at Fishhawk Lake, which is for members of Fishhawk Lake Recreation Club, a private man-made lake community off the beaten track in Birkenfeld Oregon.
 
 All of the adults look forward to this as a marker of “true summer” having arrived here. It happens in August, on the same day as our Homeowner’s Association’s Annual Meeting for Fishhawk Lake and is an afternoon-to-evening gathering. Essentially, it is a progressive party with hosts who open up their homes
 
 
 or outdoor spaces for … (23 comments)

Spending a Morning in the Rain Washes Away Your Sins - 09/15/11 12:39 AM
Spending a Morning in
 the Rain Washes Away Your Sins
I’ve been sinning lately. Not trying to, just in a passive way, sinning, so maybe it’s mini-sins that can be forgiven readily.
 
 
Lately, I’ve not been as good a friend to my fellow ActiveRain bloggers as I normally am. Guilt has run rampant through my AR veins. I’m playing “catch-up” with all of those faithful blogging buddies who unfailingly keep up their comments on my daily dutiful posts (since I signed up for yet another damned contest). And I have NOT KEPT UP.
 
 
 
 
 
… (34 comments)

Fishhawk Lake-A Little Bit of History - 09/13/11 12:40 PM
Fishhawk Lake-A Little Bit of History
 
As the season of summer wanes, and we look at the fall colors beginning to be dotted amongst the trees, I wanted to take a look back at our Fishhawk Lake history.
 
 
 
This  sweet little cabin, originally owned by a Watson (first name unknown) was located here long before Fishhawk Lake was a lake and a community and the area was only a meadow.
 
It was moved to its current location to make way for the manmade private lake now known as Fishhawk Lake Recreation Club that was being developed in the late … (15 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-A Moment to Calm the Soul - 09/12/11 11:49 AM
 
 Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-A Moment to Calm the Soul
 
Just for a moment, stop your Monday world and take a break with me. Come sit on the dock and look out at the mist and take in all of the calmness that this mental timeout can bring to you.
 
 
 
 

 
Indulge yourself. Think of sitting here with a morning cup of coffee or tea and thinking of nothing more than Mother Nature adorning you with her presence.
 
See if you can let go of all of your busyness, take a deep … (17 comments)

Paying it Forward-Costco Employees-It Feels Good to Say Thank You! - 09/11/11 07:06 PM
Paying it Forward-Costco Employees-It Feels Good to Say Thank You!
I love my Costco in Hillsboro, Oregon. From what I've heard it's the largest one in the country.  Besides the great break on pricing, and plethora of items to choose from, the Costco EMPLOYEES make a world of difference in shopping there.
 
Pretty much everyone I meet there  actually LOVES working there! And it shows. There's  the guy at the gas pump who absolutely loves the fact that I listen to old rock'n'roll (loudly) and he gives me that ready smile every time and is genuinely happy to see me. We talk briefly about the … (11 comments)

Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Department Volunteer Annual Picnic - 09/10/11 10:15 PM
 Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Department Volunteer Annual Picnic
Today was a day to honor all of our local volunteers both Fire, Medical and Search and Rescue. These folks are called upon at all hours of the day and night to cover our rural areas, and do a heckuva job!
 

We had volunteers receiving awards for years of tenure, given out by Chief Dave Crawford.

There were five year volunteers like Butch (and his wife, Delores who will receive hers next year)

Butch drives the emergency vehicles and Delores is the "scribe" taking all vital information about the patient, etc. down … (11 comments)

What's in a name but....ActiveRain?? - 09/09/11 08:53 PM
What's in a name but....ActiveRain??
 
My friend and neighbor at Fishhawk Lake, Lou was in one of my posts recently.
 

 
(Lou is on the left dancing with our neighbor, Dave and some unknown hottie!)
 
 
 
 As I showed it to her, she pointed at my profile and asked,  “Rainmaker?  What’s that mean?”
 
 
  

 
 
So, I gave a brief explanation about social networking, numbers, blogging, connecting. Lou then said, “RAIN??  Why not sun??”
I retorted with, “Rain makes things grow”.
 
I stopped her in her tracks. She’s … (12 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate--This is What Neighbors Do for Each Other Here! - 09/08/11 10:32 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate--This is What Neighbors Do for Each Other Here!
Today, our Fishhawk Lake office shared this touching letter from a daughter of one of our members. This personifies the type of people we have in our community and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it!
 

 
 
   
Dear Diana,
 
Please forward this to the members of Fishhawk Lake.  Thank you. 
 
My name is Jennifer___________, the daughter of [members of Fishhawk Lake].   This morning I went for a little drive to the Club House in our golf cart with my … (10 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate--Sacks and the City-Goodwill Shopping Portland Oregon--A Real FIND! - 09/07/11 05:46 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-- Sacks and the City-Goodwill Shopping Portland Oregon--A Real FIND!
After driving into town from Fishhawk Lake to meet other ActiveRain members for a soiree at 50Plates in the Pearl District, a few of us decided that we needed to go shopping before we all headed our different directions home.
 
Melinda Peterson, principal broker located in Grants Pass (and my friend!)

 had been told about the Goodwill in downtown Portland located on SW 10th and Taylor. Her friend said that it was quite upscale and so Debb Janes, broker out of Camas, WA (also my friend)
 
… (15 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Our Portland ActiveRain Meetup! - 09/07/11 12:21 AM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Our Portland ActiveRain Meetup!
Today was our first Portland MeetUp and it was such a joy to put a face to the many names we’ve traded blogs with all of these months! Todd Clark and I co-hosted the MeetUp at 50 Plates.
 
 
We had fourteen people who met for a post Labor Day gathering at 50 Plates, a pretty cool venue, located in the Pearl District of Portland.
 
The staff were wonderful and the food superb! We had salmon skewers, crab cakes, yummy gourmet stuffed mini potatoes, asparagus spears wrapped in phyllo dough, just … (25 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Down on the Farm - 09/05/11 11:44 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Down on the Farm
 
“Down on the Farm” takes on a whole new meaning with the photos I took recently at the Berg Farm. This family has been around the Birkenfeld area for generations. Nick Berg, one of my sellers has helped this community for many years. He’s been a logger for umpteen years as well as a farmer.  I keep my horse boarded there and when I stopped by the other day, I had the opportunity to wander around and get some photos. I call these BarnArt.
 
 
 

An old saw and wheels from … (14 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Vernonia School District Football and Jewell School District Football Schedules - 09/04/11 02:21 PM
 
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Vernonia School District Football and Jewell School District Football Schedules 
 It's time for football!!!!

 
Vernonia School District Football Schedule:
Head Coach Gordon Jarman gjarman@vernonia.k12.or.us
 
 
 
 Brought to you by your local realtor, specializing in Fishhawk Lake Real Estate! I also can be your realtor for Vernonia, Birkenfeld, Mist and surrounding areas!     Gayle Rich-BoxmanRealtor® Vernonia Realty Direct: (503)755-2905Specializing in Fishhawk Lake Real Estate"Your Gateway to the Lake!"http://activerain.com/blogs/gayleatfishhawklake
 
My website: http://www.lakehomesatfishhawk.com/My blog: http://fishhawklakerealtor.wordpress.com/
 
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Vernonia School District Football and Jewell School District  FootballCopyrighted by Gayle Rich-Boxman All Rights Reserved 2011 … (7 comments)

Paying it Forward-Carla Muss-Jacobs-A Strong Woman During Loss - 09/04/11 12:44 PM
Paying it Forward-Carla Muss-Jacobs-A Strong Woman During Loss
Yesterday, Carla and I cried over the phone together. She lost her sweet and wondrous companion, Poppy. This is such a painful thing to go through that for her, part of the healing process is to write on ActiveRain. She wrote a heart-wrenching piece in tribute, and still ended on a delightfully happy note with a darling video showing just how smart Poppy was.
 
Not only did Carla show humor in the midst of her pain, but she also did something I don’t know if I could have the strength to do: she … (14 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Running on Greasy Spoon Road - 09/03/11 05:38 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Running on Greasy Spoon Road
The other morning I took my dogs, Jenna and Takoda on a sunny morning run on Greasy Spoon Road, an old set of logging roads that winds its way eventually to Astoria, a big coastal town of Oregon. 
 
 Greasy Spoon Road
was named by the locals many many years ago because an Asian family used to have a diner of sorts situated on these roads for loggers to stop and eat during their long days logging the forestlands around here. Doesn’t that conjure up smells of eggs and bacon and potatoes … (15 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Annual Fun Day for the Family - 09/02/11 12:00 PM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Annual Fun Day for the Family
 
It’s that time of year again! Just before school starts (we're in two school districts--Jewell and Vernonia), and kids have to get up earlier and pay attention to that bus schedule, (Moms and Dads, too!), there is one last event at Fishhawk Lake to enjoy this weekend!  It’s going to be water-fun and a triathlon at our Annual Fun Day at Fishhawk Lake. In the past, there’s been a boat theme, like Mardi Gras, where you would decorate your boats, bring them to the clubhouse and vote on the best one.
… (10 comments)

Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Local MeetUp Coming to Oregon! - 09/01/11 11:55 AM
Fishhawk Lake Real Estate-Local MeetUp Coming to Oregon!
Our first local MeetUp of ActiveRain members is going to be in a venue in "The Pearl" (northwest Portland area)....as it has changed from the first place Todd Clark and I initially chose for co-hosting our first ActiveRain MeetUp. The owners of JoPa (our original choice) are in the midst of a remodel, so one of my contacts there has graciously suggested one of their other swanky, "cool" restaurants called 50 Plates to be our MeetUp spot for our first ActiveRain MeetUp, Portland Oregon gathering place on Tuesday, September 6th from noon to two PM!
 
50 Plates, located on 333 … (12 comments)