Classical Skills

SKILLS

"Zither, chess, book, painting, sword.
These symbolize classical skill.

There was once a wanderer who cared nothing for fame. Although he
had many chances for position, he continued to search for teachers who
could help him master five things : zither, chess, book, painting, and
sword.

The zither gave him music, which expressed the soul. Chess
cultivated strategy and a response to the actions of another. Books gave
him academic education. Painting was the exercise of beauty and
sensitivity. Sword was a means for health and defense.

One day a little boy asked the wanderer what he would do if he lost
his five things. At first the wanderer was frightened, but he soon
realized that his zither could not play itself, the chess board was
nothing without players, a book needed a reader, brush and ink could not
move on their own accord, and a sword could not be unsheathed without a
hand. He realized that his cultivation was not merely for the
acquisition of skills. It was a path to the innermost part of his being."

-  Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao: Daily Meditations  

Standard 32 Sword Form: Black Dragon Whips His Tail

Portland City Dining: Fogo de Chão

We celebrated April's 41st Birthday by seven of us going to downtown Portland to the Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse.  Our quality table was adjacent to the huge barbeque kitchen.  It was a dramatic and dynamic scene.  

Dozens of specialized grilled meats were brought to our table.  I enjoyed one cut of lamb and top sirloin the most.  The buffet offered some enticing items, some new to me.  Vegetarians could find plenty of delicious foods to eat.  The many drink and pastry choices were excellent.  

The many lovely ladies, including our own, with such nice clothes were a beautiful sight to behold.  Some young lovies wore scanty revealing clothing.  A few folks were in costumes.  

Every table was filled, and even people with reservations were waiting over a half hour to be seated.  It was drizzling and quite cold outside and people were crammed inside the bar and waiting area.  I could not hear well amid all the cross-conversations.  

Figure on $85-$100 a person for this extravagant, unique, and meat-lovers dining experience.  

There are many tall buildings surrounding this restaurant.  Sheer glass faces, 20 stories high, in all directions.  

Dramatic Downtown Portland!!!  May this delight go on for centuries more!

Happy Birthday, April

First Signs of Spring

A Cloud Hands Blog repost from February 26, 2010:  

“A little group of thatched cottages in the middle of the village had an orchard attached; and I remember well the peculiar purity of the blue sky seen through the white clusters of apple blossom in spring. I remember being moonstruck looking at it one morning early on my way to school. It meant something for me; what, I couldn’t say. It gave me such an unease at heart, some reaching out towards perfection such as impels men into religion, some sense of the transcendence of things, of the fragility of our hold on life.” - A. L. Rowse 

 The thousands of acres of almond orchards in the North Sacramento Valley are all in bloom these days. A spectacular sight!

   

 Heavy rain today and Saturday will keep us indoors most of the time.  

Time for indoor chores and reading. I will start working on the Deer Frolic Qigong this weekend. 

rain-soaked
olive branches droop—
ground fogs rise 

 Daily rain—
from the deep well
this glass of water.

- Above the Fog, Haiku by Mike Garofalo 

For some Green Way Wisdom, please visit The Spirit of Gardening.

 

Feathered Friends, Shell-Fish, and Epidemics

"The feathered tribe are numerous, and during the season flock hither in clouds: white and black swans, white geese, Canada geese, brant, sheldrake, cormorants, loon, mallard, ducks, red-head, gray and canvas back ducks, teal, curlew, snipe, plover, pheasant, quail, pigeons, crows, and robins. During the summer months pelicans are plenty, and go sailing round in the heavy, lazy flight, occasionally dashing down into the water in the most clumsy manner to catch a fish, and at all times an easy prey and an acceptable banquet to the Indians, who swallow their coarse, fishy, oily flesh with the greatest avidity. Innumerable flocks of gulls of various species are constantly to be seen, and at times, when attracted by any quantities of food, appear like clouds. These birds, also, are readily eaten by the Indians, who never are at a loss to find means to appease their appetite."

- James Gilcrest Swan, 1852, Willapa (Shoalwater) Bay, Southwestern Washington, from his book "The Northwest Coast: Or, Three Year's in Residence in Washington Territory, 1957."

Willapa Bay  A Hyper-text Notebook by Mike Garofalo

Brown Pelicans

In 2022, I will be Yurt camping at Grayland Beach State Park twice and Pacific Beach State Park once during the spring bird migration fly-by. Millions of birds rest and eat in the shallow bays, wetlands, marshes, sloughs, sandy islands, and rivers in Grays Harbor Bay and Willapa Bay.  Looking forward to visiting Bottle Beach and other bird watching locations.  



A Birder's Guide to Coastal Washington. By Bob Morse, 2001. Featuring Ocean Shores, Long Beach Peninsula, Forks, Westport, Tokeland, and 160 Birding Hot Spots. Detailed coverage of birding locations near Westport and how to get there. Excellent resource!  RWMorse, 2001, 270 pages, ring-bound. VSCL. FVRL.  First Choice!!

Coastal Washington Shorebirds and Waterbirds. By Ruth McCausland. 116 pages.

Birds of Washington Field Guide. By Stan Tekiela. Adventure Pubs., 2001, 332 pages.

American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of Washington. By Dennis Paulson and Brian Small. Scott and Nix, 2020, 368 pages.

Birds of the Pacific Northwest. By John Shewey and Tim Blount. Timber, 2017, 560 pages.

Birds of Washington State. By Brian Bell and Gregory Kennedy. Partners, 2017, 284 pages.




"The shoals are covered with shell-fish, among which the oyster is the most abundant, and constitutes the primary article of export. Several species of clams, crabs of the largest size, and of a most delicious flavor, shrimps, mussels, and a small species of sand-lobster, are in the greatest abundance, and furnish nutritious food, not only to the different tribes of Indians who resort to the bay at different seasons to procure supplies, but also the white settler, who is this enabled to greatly reduce the expenses of living when compared with those settlements on the Columbia River and interior where provision of all kinds are usually scarce and high."
- James Gilcrest Swan, 1852, Willapa (Shoalwater) Bay, Southwestern Washington

Fort Vancouver (1824-1845) and Portland (1845-) were the settlements inland on the Columbia River.  

By 1851, epidemics of disease (1795-1845) had decimated the Chinook and Chelais Indian tribes on the Shoalwater (Willapa) Bay coastal area. In 1856, for example, a large tribe of Chelais Indians were camping in Westport and digging clams. A smallpox epidemic erupted and killed hundreds of Chelais Indians of all ages, and the Indians never returned to Westport.

In 2022, tens of thousands of people go to dig razor clams on fixed approved days on the sandy beaches of Twin Harbors and the Long Beach Peninsula.  My son and his wife are expert razor clam diggers.  And, we all have been challenged by our own COVID flu pandemic in America the past three years.  

Most of us enjoy finding ways and means to appease our appetites, despite any obstacles.  

Willapa Bay 

Grayland Beach

Four Days in Grayland

Travel Notebooks by Mike Garofalo

Daodejing, Laozi, Chapter 65

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 65 

"Those who, in ancient times, were eminent for the practice of Tao, abstained from enlightening the people, and kept them simple.
The difficulty of governing the people arises from their excess of shrewdness.
He who employs shrewdness in governing a State, becomes a robber of the State;
he who does not do so, is a blessing to it.
The man who knows both these things presents an ideal of good government, and a knowledge of this ideal
constitutes Sublime Virtue.
Sublime Virtue is deep and far-reaching, and is in direct opposition to all objects of desire;
thus it is able to bring about universal accordance with the Tao."
-  Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 65    

"In days gone by, those who knew how to follow the Dao did not seem enlightened but ignorant.
The reason why people are hard to govern is because they know too much.
And so to use knowledge to govern a country is to be its curse.
Not to use knowledge to govern a country is to be its blessing. 
There are two primal principles, and to understand them always brings the deepest virtue (De).
How hidden, deep and far-reaching virtue (De) is.
It makes all things return to their source and so attain oneness."
-  Translated by Tim Chilcott, 2005, Chapter 65  

"The ancient Masters
who understood the way of the Tao,
did not educate people, but made them forget.
Smart people are difficult to guide,
because they think they are too clever.
To use cleverness to rule a country,
is to lead the country to ruin.
To avoid cleverness in ruling a country,
is to lead the country to prosperity.
Knowing the two alternatives is a pattern.
Remaining aware of the pattern is a virtue.
This dark and mysterious virtue is profound.
It is opposite our natural inclination,
but leads to harmony with the heavens."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 65  

古之善為道者, 非以明民, 將以愚之.
民之難治, 以其智多.
故以智治國, 國之賊.
不以智治國, 國之福.
知此兩者亦  式.
常知  式, 是謂玄德.
玄德深矣遠矣.
與物反矣.
然後乃至大順.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 65 

ku chih shan wei tao chê, fei yi ming min, chiang yi yü chih.
min chih nan chih, yi ch'i chih to.
ku yi chih chih kuo, kuo chih tsê.
pu yi chih chih kuo, kuo chih fu.
chih tz'u liang chê yi chi shih.
ch'ang chih chi shih, shih wei hsüan tê.
hsüan tê shên yi yüan yi.
yü wu fan yi.
jan hou nai chih ta shun.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 65  

"In olden times the best practitioners of Tao did not use it to awaken people to knowledge,
But used it to restore them to simplicity.
People are difficult to govern because they have much knowledge.
Therefore to govern the country by increasing the people's knowledge is to be the destroyer of the country;
To govern the country by decreasing knowledge is to be the blesser of the country.
To be acquainted with these two ways is to know the standard;
To keep the standard always in mind is to have sublime virtue.
Sublime virtue is infinitely deep and wide.
It goes to reverse all things;
And so it attains perfect peace."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 65  

"Los antiguos que seguían el Tao
no necesitaban esclarecer con ello al pueblo,
ya que lo conservaban en su sencillez natural.
El pueblo se volvió dificil de gobernar
cuando recibió el adoctrinamiento.
Quien gobierna adoctrinando
arruina el Estado.
Quien gobierna sin servirse de la astucia
enriquece el Estado.
Conocer estas dos cosas
es conocer la verdadera norma.
Conocer esta norma
es poseer la Misteriosa Virtud.
La Misteriosa Virtud es profunda y extensa;
es lo inverso a todas las cosas,
pero por ella todo se armoniza."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Tao Te Ching, Capitulo 66

"Sound old rulers, it is said,
Left people to themselves, instead
Of wanting to teach everything
And start the people arguing.
With mere instruction in command,
So that people understand
Less than they know, woe is the land;
But happy the land that is ordered so
That they understand more than they know.
For everyone's good this double key
Locks and unlocks equally.
If modern man would use it, he
Could find old wisdom in his heart
And clear his vision enough to see
From start to finish and finish to start
The circle rounding perfectly."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 65 

Chapter 65 of the Tao Te Ching

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching

English Language Translators' Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List 

Walking Meditation

“In Bodh Gaya, India, there is an old Bodhi tree that shades the very spot where the Buddha is believed to have sat in meditation on the night of his enlightenment. Close by is a raised walking path about 17 steps in length, where the Buddha mindfully paced up and down in walking meditation after becoming enlightened, experiencing the joy of a liberated heart.

In his teachings, the Buddha stressed the importance of developing mindfulness in all postures, including standing, sitting, lying down, and even walking. When reading accounts about the lives of monks and nuns in the time of the Buddha, you find that many attained various stages of enlightenment while doing walking meditation.

In walking meditation, the primary object of attention is the process of walking itself. In other words, to sharpen awareness and train the mind to concentrate, you pay close attention to the physical act of walking, the way you take one step after another. Thus the object is more obvious and tangible than in the more refined meditation techniques, such as focusing on the breath or a mantra, which are often used in traditional sitting meditation. Focusing the mind on this more obvious object helps to avoid sleepiness (or restlessness) that meditators sometimes experience during their sitting meditation.

The guidelines for walking meditation are similar to that of sitting meditation: Choose an appropriate time and decide how long to meditate; for beginners 15 to 30 minutes may be suitable. The walking path can be either inside or outside, depending upon your preference and the area available. Also, whenever possible, it is better to practice in bare feet, although this is not essential.

Stand at one end of the path and hold your hands gently together in front of your body. The eyes remain open, gazing down along the path about two yards ahead. The intention is not to be looking at anything in particular but simply to see that you remain on the path and know when to turn around.

You should now try to center yourself by putting aside all concern for the past and future. In order to calm the mind and establish awareness in the present, abandon any preoccupation with work, home, and relationships, and bring the attention to the body. The meditation exercise is simply to walk at a slow, relaxed pace, being fully aware of each step until you reach the end of the path. When you arrive at the end of the path, stop for a moment and check to see what the mind is doing. Is it being attentive? If necessary, reestablish awareness. Then turn and walk back to the other end in a similar fashion, remaining mindful and alert. Continue to pace up and down for the duration of the meditation period, gently making an effort to sustain awareness and focus attention on the process of walking.”

-  John Cianciosi, Yoga Journal, 2007

Green Way Wisdom - Walking Meditation

A repost from this Cloud Hands Blog from November of 2008.  

The Ground is a Heart Platform

 

Technique is a Whisper

Some Thoughts from John Kells:

"Put everything into the initial connexion.
The posture thereafter must spring from that connexion.
The initial connexion has to be whole-hearted.
What happens thereafter must not be a distraction.
In other words, the heart keeps pumping out that connexion.
The technique is a whisper.
What is completed between you has the feeling of an entirety – of a being.
The responsibility is to be open.

The working of the mind is too slow to deal with real life.
To be sincere in this matter is not a question of thinking about it.
Sufficient practice must be undertaken so that basic body usage is not a grinding problem.
It is impossible to describe how thorough going your dedication needs to be.
What bit of you has the wisdom to know what is unknowable?
There is no mind to deliberate or be backwards.
If there isn't a feeling of coming home and finding a lively peace within then you are missing the point.

If there is a way of life or living it has to be joining from the heart.
The eyes are so quick to translate your heart feelings.
The ground is a heart platform.
Although important the eyes have to take second place to the heart.
Be open to the connecting of your heart with the other person's heart.
If the other person wants information about you let them open their heart.
Connecting is not a personal matter.
In any real interchange it is the Third Heart that counts.
Light and embracing, but embracing as a giving from the heart rather than capturing.
And the inspiration of the Third Heart is nutrition for your becoming.
The spirit must be allowed freedom to dart about and tempt the heart at the right moment.
To be a believer is to be a positive being – a believer is someone who is becoming.
Becoming leaves no imprint.
Becoming swallows what is commonly known as destiny.
Spirit is the effervescence of real interest in something other than yourself.

The essence of true destiny is yielding.
The essence of yielding is softness.
The essence of softness is entering.
The essence of entering is welcoming openness.
The essence of openness is heart."

Grandmaster John Kells

Steven Moore and John Kells

British Tai Chi Chuan Association and John Kells

Words of John Kells

A repost from Cloud Hands Blog from 2006

What Will Your Verse Be?

"O me, O life of the questions of these recurring. 
Of the endless trains of the faithless.  
Of cities filled with the foolish.
What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer: that you are here.
That life exists and identity.
That the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse.

What will your verse be."

Attributed to Walt Whitman in Zen Camera

A young family of four enjoying the winter day at
Cape Lookout State Park creek and beach.
What verses will they contribute to the living poem
of just two generations?
Telephoto intimacy.

You Cannot Call It Lofty

"The Way has its reality and its signs but is without action or form.
You can hand it down but you cannot receive it, you can ignore it but you cannot see it.
It is its own source, its own root.
Before heaven and earth existed it was there, from the ancient times.
It gave spirituality to the spirits and to God, it gave birth to heaven and to earth.
It exists beyond the highest point, and yet you cannot call it lofty.
It exists beneath the limit of the six directions, and yet you cannot call it deep.
It was born before heaven and earth, and yet you cannot say it has been there for long,
It is earlier than the earliest time, and yet you cannot call it old."

- The Crookbacked Woman and the Sage by Chuang Tzu
Translated by Burton Watson, 1964 Crone Taoism

A Day Became a Presence

 "A certain day became a presence
to me; there it was, confronting me -- a sky, air, light:
a being. And before it started to descend

from the height of noon, it leaned over
and struck my shoulder as if with
the flat of a sword, granting me
honor and a task. The day's blow
rang out, metallic -- or it was I, a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
saying and singing what it knew: I can."

Denise Levertov, Variation on a Theme by Rilke
(The Book of Hours, Book I, Poem 1, Stanza 1)

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 64

Dao De Jing, Laozi,
Chapter 64

"What is small is easily held.
What is expected is easily provided for.
What is brittle is easily broken.
What is small is soon dispersed.
Transact your business before it takes shape.
Regulate things before confusion begins.
The tree which fills the arms grew from a tender shoot.
The castle of nine stories was raised on a heap of earth.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Whoever designs only destroys.
Whoever grasps, loses.
The Sage does not act thus, therefore he does no harm.
He does not grasp, and therefore he never loses.
But the common people, in their undertakings, fail on the eve of success.
If they were as prudent at the end as they are at the beginning, there would be no such failures.
Therefore the Sage is only ambitious of what others despise, and sets no value on things difficult to obtain.
He acquires no common learning, but returns to that which people have passed by.
Thus he aims at simple development in all things, and acts without design."
-  Translated by Walter Gorn Old, 1904, Chapter 64  

"That which is at rest is easy to be kept hold of,

And what has made no sign, and is yet concealed from all,

Is easy to be taken care of then by proper measures,

 Break it while it is feeble, scatter it while it is small.

Act before it exists, regulate before disorder,

The mighty tree that fills the arms has grown from a tiny sprout,

From a little mound of earth was raised the tower of nine stories,

And the journey of a thousand miles began with the first step out.

He that makes mars, he that grasps loses;

The sage will neither make, nor mar, nor grasp, and cannot lose,

But people fail in business, on the verge of its succeeding,

By losing at the end the care they first began to use.

And so the sage does not desire the things desired by others,

He does not prize the treasures that are difficult to obtain,

He learns what others do not learn, he turns back to their leavings,

And helps spontaneous nature, but dares not to constrain."
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 64  

"His Restfulness is easily maintained.
Events foreseen by him are easily arranged for.
By him weak things are easily bent,
And small things are easily scattered.
He can stop an evil before it comes into existence.
He can keep a twig straight before it becomes crooked.
Behold the girth of this tree!
It grew from a small filament of a stalk.
This tower of nine stories has its base upon a small space on the earth.
The journey of a thousand miles began with a footstep on the ground.
He who makes, unmakes.
He who grasps, lets go.
That is why the self-controlled man by Inner Life can make and by Inner life unmake, by Inner Life can grasp and by Inner Life let go.
Men in business affairs come near perfection, then fail.
If they were as attentive at the end as at the beginning their business would succeed.
That is why the self-controlled man desires to have no wishes; he sets no value upon rare objects; he learns without study; he helps all beings by the outflow of his personality; and he does this without planning to do it."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 64 



"Things are easier to control while things are quiet.
Things are easier to plan far in advance.
Things break easier while they are still brittle.
Things are easier hid while they are still small.

Prevent problems before they arise.
Take action before things get out of hand.
The tallest tree
begins as a tiny sprout.
The tallest building
starts with one shovel of dirt.
A journey of a thousand miles
starts with a single footstep.

If you rush into action, you will fail.
If you hold on too tight, you will lose your grip.

Therefore the Master lets things take their course
and thus never fails.
She doesn't hold on to things
and never loses them.
By pursing your goals too relentlessly,
you let them slip away.
If you are as concerned about the outcome
as you are about the beginning,
then it is hard to do things wrong.
The master seeks no possessions.
She learns by unlearning,
thus she is able to understand all things.
This gives her the ability to help all of creation."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 64  


其安易持.
其未兆易謀.
其脆易泮.
其微易散.
為之於未有.
治之於未亂.
合抱之木, 生於毫末.
九層之臺, 起於累土.
千里之行, 始於足下.
為者敗之.
執者失之.
是以聖人無為故無敗.
無執故無失.
民之從事, 常於幾成而敗之.
慎終如始, 則無敗事.
是以聖人欲不欲, 不貴難得之貨.
學不學, 復衆人之所過, 以輔萬物之自然而不敢為.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64


qi an yi chi. 
qi wei zhao yi mou.
qi cui yi pan. 
qi wei yi san. 
wei zhi yu wei you. 
zhi zhi yu wei luan. 
he bao zhi mu, sheng yu hao mo.
jiu ceng zhi tai, qi yu lei tu.
qian li zhi xing, shi yu zu xia. 
wei zhe bai zhi.  
zhi zhe shi zhi.
shi yi sheng ren wu wei gu wu bai.
wu zhi gu wu shi. 
min zhi cong shi, chang yu ji cheng er bai zhi. 
shen zhong ru shi ze wu bai shi. 
shi yi sheng ren yu bu yu, bu gui nan de zhi huo.   
xue bu xue,  fu zhong ren zhi suo guo, yi fu wan wu zhi zi ran er bu gan wei. 
-  Hanyu Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 64





"Tackle difficulties when they are easy,
Accomplish great things when they are small.
Handle what is going to be rough   
    when it is still smooth.  
Control what has not yet formed its force. 
Deal with a dangerous situation while it is safe. 
Manage what is hard while it is soft. 
Eliminate what is vicious
    before it becomes destructive. 
This is called "attending to great things at small beginnings.
A tree so big it can fill the span of a man's arms
    grows from a tiny sprout. 
A terrace nine stories high 
    rises from a shovel-full of earth.  
A journey of a thousand miles
    begins with a single step. 
Thus, one of integral virtue
    never sets about grandiose things,
    yet is able to achieve great things. 
Lightly made promises inspire little confidence.
Making light of things at the beginning,
    one will meet with failure in the end. 
Being prepared for hardship,
    one will not be overcome by it.
In handing their affairs, people often ruin them
    just as they are on the verge of success. 
With heedfulness in the beginning
    and all the way through to the end,
    nothing is ruined."
-  Translation by Hua-Ching Ni, 1979, Chapter 64 
    The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching and Hua Hu Ching.


"Lo que está en reposo es fácil de retener.
Lo que no ha sucedido es fácil de resolver.
Lo que es frágil es fácil de romper.
Lo que es pequeño es fácil de dispersar.
Prevenir antes de que suceda,
y ordenar antes de que aparezca el desorden.
El árbol que casi no puede rodearse con los brazos,
brotó de una semilla minúscula.
La torre de nueve pisos,
comenzó siendo un montón de tierra.
Un viaje de mil leguas,
comienza con el primer paso.
Al manejar sus asuntos, la gente suele estropearlos
justo al borde de su culminación.
Prestando total atención al principio y con paciencia al final,
nada se echa a perder.
Por eso, el Sabio carece de deseos,
no codicia los bienes de difícil alcance,
aprende a olvidar lo que le habían inculcado.
Le devuelve a los hombres la fluidez que han perdido,
y así, sin dominarlos,
favorece la evolución natural de los diez mil seres."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 64


"That which lies still is easy to hold;
That which is not yet manifest is easy to forestall;
That which is brittle (like ice) easily melts;
That which is minute easily scatters.
Deal with a thing before it is there;
Check disorder before it is rife.
A tree with a full span's girth begins from a tiny sprout;
A nine-storied terrace begins with a clod of earth.
A journey of a thousand li beings at one's feet.

He who acts, spoils;
He who grasps, lets slip.
Because the Sage does not act, he does not spoil,
Because he does not grasp, he does not let slip.
The affairs of men are often spoiled within an ace of
completion.
By being careful at the end as at the beginning
Failure is averted.

Therefore the Sage desires to have no desire,
And values not objects difficult to obtain.
Learns that which is unlearned,
And restores what the multitude have lost.
That he may assist in the course of Nature
And not presume to interfere."
-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 64  

Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching

English Language Translators' Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List 

 
 
 

Three Capes, Oregon

I began this cold day with a campfire.  Then a walk on the forest trail to an ocean overlook.  Then a short and quite lovely 11 mile drive to Tillamook for lunch at the Fern Restaurant.    

I drove from Tillamook to Garibaldi and back.  I drove from Tillamook to Pacific City and back.  Lots to explore in the future in these coastal and valley areas, and up in the Tillamook State Forest.  There are five rivers (Tillamook, Hoquarton, Wilson) that flow through the Tillamook Valley into Tillamook Bay.  

"In its early years, the town of Tillamook, the first community to be settled in the county, bore the unofficial names Lincoln and Hoquarton, the latter believed to be an Indian name meaning “the landing.” Its name was eventually changed to Tillamook, an Indian word meaning “the many peoples of the Nehelim.” William Clark of explorers Lewis and Clark wrote in 1806 of the “Killamox” Indians but according to research by the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes the “K” was not used in the name of the tribe. Local folklore used “Land of Many Waters” as the meaning of Tillamook. Though it is a fact that Tillamook is a land of many waters it is not the true meaning of the name Tillamook."
- History of Tillamook City   Tillamook County Formed in 1853, and City Incorporated in 1891.  

Trees to the Sea Highway

Here are some photographs by me from this Cape Lookout Trip:

Here are some images of this area found on the Internet:

The coastline from Seaside to Manzanita, and from Tillamook to Cape Lookout,
features many high cliffs, steep hills, ravines, and mountains.

The sand spit at Netart's Bay is a small break from the normally rugged coastline
of the Three Capoes area.  Mountains of Oregon
e.g, Neahkanie Mountain 4,500 feet

Here is some information about Tillamook Bay:

Tillamook City   Population 5,300    Images    On US 101 and Junction with Oregon Road 6 leading back east to Portland.  

Motels, restaurants, cafes, gift shops, grocery, banks, museums, dairy farms, lumber industry, hospital, gas, stores, services, supplies. 
The Tillamook area has many dairy farms on green flat land east of the bay. 

Tillamook Coast Visitors Guide

Tillamook History

Tillamook Travel Guide 1

Tillamook Library   Tillamook County Library System 

Tillamook County   Population 25,300   The City of Tillamook is the County Seat. 

Tillamook Travel Guide 2

Tillamook Heritage Route

Tillamook Restaurants

Tillamook Shopping    Images

Tillamook Creamery   Tours 

Tillamook Air Museum

Tillamook County Pioneer Museum

Blue Heron French Cheese Company

Northwest Coastal Oregon Travel Guide: Astoria to Cape Lookout.  By Mike Garofalo. 

Tillamook Chamber of Commerce

 

Tillamook Bay

Tillamook Bay Inlet

Tillamook Bay History

Bayocean Development Failure Story

Tillamook Bay Shellfishing   Clams and Crabs

Tillamook Bay Fishing

Barview Jetty County Park    Campground, picnic, hiking.  At the north jetty to Tillamook Bay. 

Oyster Farming in Tillamook Bay - A History

Tillamook Bay Environmental History

Port of Tillamook Bay  Information, History

"The bay is protected from the open ocean by shoals and a 3 mi (5 km) sandbar called the Bayocean Peninsula. It is surrounded closely by the Coastal Range except at its southeast end, where the town of Tillamook sits near the mouths of the Kilchis, Wilson, Trask and Tillamook rivers, which flow quickly down from the surrounding timber-producing regions of the Coastal Range to converge at the bay. The short Miami River enters the north end of the bay. The small fishing village of Garibaldi sits near the cliffs opening of the bay in the ocean. The rivers that feed the bay are known for their prolific steelhead and salmon runs. The mixing of freshwater from the rivers with the ocean's saltwater makes the bay an estuary.

The name "Tillamook" is Coast Salish word meaning "Land of Many Waters", probably referring to the rivers that enter the bay. At the time of the arrival of Europeans, the area along the coast was inhabited by the Tillamook and other related Coast Salish tribes. Historians believe they entered the area around the year 1400 and Lewis and Clark estimated the population south of the Columbia River along the coast at approximately 2,200."
- Tillamook Bay

Netarts Bay, Oregon

The weather, for a change, became warmer and the skies cleared.  No rain!  No wind!  Temperatures from 38F to 53F.  Cool!  

Excellent dry weather for a solo walker to roam the lovely loud beaches and lush forest trails.  

I ate breakfast at the Fern Restaurant in Tillamook on 101.  Enjoyed the hot hash browns. 

Toured the new (2008-), three story, beautiful, spacious, and inviting Tillamook County Library in the downtown area next to a new large Safeway Supermarket.  There is a Fred Meyer superstore at the north end of town, many fast food restaurants on US 101, and numerous stores and services in Tillamook.  I drove around Tillamook.  Shopped at Ace hardware and the Nectar Cannabis stores.  A nice food cart court with covered courtyard in downtown.  

Drove around Netarts Bay, the village of Netarts, and stopped at the beach and at the cliffside resort village of Oceanside with its many new expensive homes facing the Three Arches Rocks.  These huge rocks in the ocean near the sandy shore are very impressive.  I drove out to Cape Meares lighthouse.  The dangerous cliffside road from Netarts to Ocenside gives me the willies.  

Hung out at various places along the east shore of Netarts Bay.  Watched people digging clams at low tide, and fishing from small boats and roadside rocks at high tide.  The tide changes rules some aspects of life here.    

Enjoyed a codfish dinner at the Schooner Restaurant.  

During my last three monthly trips to coastal Yurt campsites (i.e., Grayland Beach, Cape Disappointment, and Nehalem Bay) it was raining, drizzling, foggy, windy, and wet.  Under these weather conditions, I don't start a campfire.  In fact, I seldom start a campfire.  In the dry months, May to September, campfires in coastal State Parks are often not permitted so as to prevent forest fires.  Or, I often just don't want to tend a smoky campfire; and, don't.  

However, on this trip, I did light a campfire some evenings and some mornings.  It was cold, a little foggy at times, other Yurt campers were having campfires, and the setting at my Yurt campsite was very beautiful.  The Sitka Spruce forest was enchanting for me.

Here are some photographs by me from this Cape Lookout Trip:

My Campfire at the Yurt Campground
Cape Lookout State Park

Tillamook Valley

Thee Arch Rocks

Netarts Bay at Low Tide

Sitka Spruce Forest
Cape Lookout

Here are some aerial photographs of Netarts Bay found on the Internet:

Looking South

Looking North

Clamming and Crabbing in Netarts Bay

Looking South

Looking to the Northwest

Here is some additional information about Netarts Bay

Netarts, Oregon   Population 744   Images   Unincorporated community. 

"Netarts is a small community situated at the mouth of Netarts Bay, just south of Oceanside. Found amid lush coastal rainforest, Netarts, in the language of the local Tillamook tribe, means “near the water.”  On the shore of Netarts Bay, the town is separated from the Pacific Ocean by a long, club-shaped stretch of forested sand called Netarts Spit. This was once the earliest settlement site of the Tillamook Indians. Inside the bay, at low tide, many search for different varieties of clam, and a nearby marina offers boat and crab pot rentals. Nearby Cape Lookout State Park, on the opposite shore of Netarts Bay, has tent camping, yurts, cabins, and a rewarding hike to a great, panoramic vista for whale watching."
-  Netarts Bay Travel
 

Netarts - Cafes

Netarts Bay 

Netarts Bay Trip Advisor

Netarts Bay Travel

General History of the Netarts Bay Area, By William Hawkins, 1994  PDF 

Where to Clam and Crab in Netarts Bay  By Oregon Fish and Game Department  Includes Map

Netarts Travel

Naveen's Bayside Market and Deli in Netarts

Netarts - Tillamook Coast

The Schooner Restaurant and Lounge in Netarts

Oceanside  

 

Netarts Bay Geology

Netarts Bay, at maximum high tide, is 9 feet deep on the average. 

Beach Sand Composition Geology

Zeolites of Tillamook Seashore

Northwest Coast: A Natural History.  By Stewart T. Schultz.  Portland, Timber Press, 1990, index, bibliography, 389 pages.  VSCL. 

"Netarts Bay is an estuarine bay on the northern Oregon Coast of the U.S. state of Oregon, located about 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Tillamook. The unincorporated community of Netarts is located on the north end of the bay and Netarts Bay Shellfish Preserve, managed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, is located on the south side of the bay.[1] The sand spit on the west side of Netarts bay is part of Cape Lookout State Park.  The bay is approximately 5 by 1.5 miles (8.0 by 2.4 km) and totals 2,325 acres (9.41 km2) in area, making it Oregon's seventh largest bay.[2] Of that, 812 acres (3.29 km2) are permanently submerged—the balance of 1,513 acres (6.12 km2) is intertidal land.[2] It experiences a maximum tidal range of 9 feet (3 m).  The bay is part of a watershed of 13 square miles (34 km2)[2] that is fed by at least 16 small creeks. From north to south, there is Fall Creek, Hodgdon Creek, O'Hara Creek, Rice Creek, two unnamed creeks, Yager Creek, three unnamed creeks, Whiskey Creek, an unnamed creek, Austin Creek, two unnamed creeks, and Jackson Creek."
- Netarts Bay 

"Oregon is blessed with the vision of former Governor Oswald West who legislated that all of Oregon’s coastline be accessible to everyone. This was remarkable foresight given the state’s sparse population in 1911. More than 150 years later we appreciate his commitment to beauty beholden to all."

"Another common question about our sandy beach is, “Why does sand squeak when you walk on it?” The answer is that the music is caused by friction from the sand grains rubbing against each other as we apply weight through our footsteps as we scoot our feet through the sand. However, there are certain conditions to be met. The type of sand that squeaks is usually a silicate, a feldspar, or a carbonate, the grains must be rounded (no sharp corners or edges), they should be around 300 micrometers in diameter, and they squeak best when they are dry (moisture on the grains acts as a lubricant, decreasing the friction)."
-  Jim Young, Oceanside, Oregon