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March 1, 2026February 28, 2026

Winter Refuge

The perfect spot for shore birds . . . except this day

Winter may actually come to Central Oregon in the next couple of weeks, but at the moment it feels more like spring (false spring to be honest).

With a break in the weather, we decided to take a drive over to the wildlife refuge at Summer Lake. There’s no anticipation of great birding,

It’s between migrations. However, the sun was out, the roads were dry, and we really needed a road trip.

Summer Lake, even in the winter, has some avian population. After all, there are year-round residents, just not many. The draw this time of year, well anytime of year, is the quiet solitude.

You hear wind in the reeds, water bubbling between canals and the occasional bird song. Most of the time there are no other humans around.

Hunting season is over so the loop gate is open allowing access to the eastern dike road. This narrow track, literally the width of the dike, runs between two ponds that always have at least a thin layer of water.

This is also a stretch that on most days would have a variety of shore birds; Stilts, Avocets, Dippers and the like . . . not this day.

We got the scope on a couple of hawks, Red Tails, we think. They were a distant challenge, even for the spotting scope.

There was a bevy of swans, paired up, but still too early for cygnets. There were plenty of ducks and a couple gaggles of geese.

Wildlife was keeping a distance from humans and cars. That’s fine . . . we were there to take in the day.

The telephoto lens and spotting scope offered plenty of opportunity to watch the action. It does make us more anxious for the spring migration to start.

We definitely will be back . . . Summer Lake is our refuge as well.

February 22, 2026February 22, 2026

Ancient Oregonians

Lake Abert . . . below Abert Rim another site of early Oregonian finds.

Southeastern Oregon contains a northern section of the Great Basin.

It is an endorheic basin or closed drainage system, just over 200 thousand square miles of mostly arid and desertlike landscapes.

Ancient lakes did fill these spaces, thousands of years ago, helping to shape what we see to day.

The salt marsh lowlands between Summer Lake and Lake Abert were bountiful areas for early inhabitants.

Ice age lakes have receded to saline marshes or small land locked bodies of water fed from mountain snow melt but never draining to an ocean.

Fort Rock juts out of the sage steppe, visible for miles in any direction

Native people, the Ute, Mono and Goshute tribes, adapted to a harsh environment living a mostly nomadic life. Their ancestors likely came here via the Bering land bridge.

There is ample archeologic data to support human habitation in Oregon as far back as 20 thousand years.

Waiting patiently for JQ to get her photos

Excavations around Fort Rock, a tuff ring located on an ice age lake bed, uncovered a cache of sagebrush sandals among other human artifacts. Archeologist discovered the site in 1938 and returned in the late sixties.

Looting and outdated archelogoical practices hampered precise dating but the presence of Mazama Ash over the top of artifacts suggests they are at least seven thousand years old.

Petroglyphs celebrating hunts 10 thousand years ago.

Some of the people weaving and wearing those sandals likely walked over Picture Rock Pass a divide between Fort Rock and Summer Lake. This is the site of a set of petroglyphs dating from the same era.

There’s no missing Fort Rock as you drive to Christmas Valley or Summer Lake

Recently an archeological site in the south east corner of the state unearthed tools “…unmistakable as having been crafted by humans.” Artifacts from this site have been radiocarbon dated at 18,250 years old. One of the oldest human-occupied locations in North America.

The Crooked River carves its way through volcanic formations at Smith Rock.

Current events hold a different importance when measured against the whole of human history and are truly insignificant when placed on a geological timeline. We find comfort in that thought

February 15, 2026February 9, 2026

A Garden in Winter

There are a lot of things to like about the High Desert, but it is not a garden friendly environment. The growing season is short and the soil is volcanic sand. While sunshine is abundant, it’s dry and hot in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter.

In our case there are a couple of additional obstacles. Our house sits on a small urban lot, unfenced and landscaped for the desert environment.

Also, we have a mule deer population undeterred by human presence and able to strip a plant to its branches . . . usually just as it’s starting to bloom.

That said, we have attempted to cultivate some crops in small raised beds.

We’ve managed a yearly harvest of garlic, onions and root vegetables. It worked because they store well and aren’t as attractive to the deer.

Our efforts at gardening this side of the Cascades are regulated by how much effort one is willing to expend.

Last year we added vertical planters on our porch, Green Stalk. Basically stackable soil bins that you irrigate via a top mounted reservoir. They sit on rotating bases and occupy very little space.

It also has fitted frost coverings that allow a good deal of protection to overwinter root corps and protect berry plants.

Sealed against winter weather . . . works really well.

In the multiple planting pockets are strawberries, greens, and some root crops which seem to thrive in the relative shade of our patio.

A couple of pockets of petunias produce prolific blossoms attracting pollinators well into the fall. This next season might see the addition of a couple of tomato plants, a patio classic.

We’ve worked gardens on many different scales, sustainable to container . This small patio gardening fits our life these days.

February 8, 2026February 8, 2026

Waiting on Winter

Unseasonable weather on the Crooked River

It was, as usual, bitter cold in January. What the month didn’t offer was snow.

As we move into February, it’s been almost balmy. The wrench in these works was an unhealthy Air Quality Index (AQI) which hung around for weeks, literally. We would trade this for a good snowstorm any day.

A break did come, midweek, for a fishing trip to the Crooked River. Nearly shirtsleeve weather and good air quality made for a nice afternoon.

It was, unfortunately, an aberration and the air thickened the next day.

Fishing was good . . . weather was better

We frequently start winter time expeditions later in the day allowing the sun time to warm things up.

However, departure doesn’t really matter if you can’t get a clean breath of air. Thus, we’ve spent a majority of the week doing indoor things.

Reading material is kept up to date with an online connection, as well as frequent trips to the library. Between books there have been kitchen projects undertaken.

Our sandwich bread recipe has been tweaked, so a fresh loaf gets turned out weekly. Scones, bagels, and cinnamon rolls (Grand Central Baking’s recipe) are also in rotation.

Our small house has been filled with the aroma of something good in the oven or from the stove top. Redress for a lack of outdoor adventures

One interesting recipe we’ve worked out is a meat pie that centers around a potato crust.

We thickened a home canned chicken stew and layered on some additional vegetables and of course some cheese.

The goal was freezable meal portions. Something a shepherds pie recipe never accomplished. The basic recipe (linked below) get’s you a crust to fill with what ever is handy.

In the end you have a hearty meal . . . while waiting for winter to finally get here.

Print Recipe

Crispy Potato Crust

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs Yellow potatoes (yukon gold)
¼ cup Butter melted
30 grams Grated parmesan cheese
60 grams Cheese grated
Oil to coat the pan
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Bake potatoes until done, peel and slice into thin disks.
Coat a high sided pie pan with oil.
Layer the potatoes evenly across the bottom of the pan. Using the flat bottom of a glass, smash the potatoes down and up the edges to create an even layered crust about a quarter inch thick.
Brush the potatoes with butter, season with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle an even coat of parmesan cheese on the potato.
Bake at 400ºF for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.
Pull from oven, add chopped veggies and filling of choice (quiche recipe, thickened beef stew or pot pie). Top with grated cheese.
Return to 400º oven and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through and the top is browned.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then cut into wedges and serve. This is easy to chill/freeze and reheat.

February 1, 2026January 31, 2026

Backyard Habitat

Winter has settled in around us. At the moment, the snow has melted, replaced with a bitter cold and freezing fog shrouds the mornings.

The snow will eventually fall, as will the cold snap break. It is full on winter in Central Oregon.

As I look up from the keyboard to watch morning replace dawn, there is a new addition to the courtyard . . . just beyond the office window.

Between an aspen tree and the house is a bird feeding station. More to the point, an 8-foot metal pole twisted into the ground and adorned with various means of offering food to the local wildlife.

Up to this winter, we have not been feeding birds at this house. At previous dwellings, we had multiple feeding stations. What changed?

In time we took note of our surroundings and started to look more closely at the space around our small home.

This past summer we made additions to the pergola over a southside patio. This turned in to more time spent sitting outside.

Then this winter we started opening the window blinds in our office space. A trio of thirty foot evergreens screen a small courtyard from the alleyway.

An offset of the garage wall from the main house makes up the other two sides of a semi-private space. There is a 20-foot aspen sitting about six feet away from our office window.

This grove of trees offers resting perches and homes to a variety of small song birds. They were joined this fall by a pair of Scrub Jays, who added to the frenetic display.

As we spent more time looking outside, we noticed a couple of large gray squirrels carting whole shelled peanuts from a neighbor’s feeding station.

Hour after hour they scurried across our yard, over the road, and into the wooded lot to the east of us. It just seemed like a good time for us to get in on the action.