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April 3, 2022April 3, 2022

Spring Bugs

Rolling hills in the Deschutes River Canyon are draped in spring green

This week found us on the Lower Deschutes River near Maupin. The river is still running crystal clear, but the fishing was slow. One of the reasons to ply the Deschutes as spring starts, is to see what stage the stonefly and caddis hatches are at.

Starting early spring, I’m picking at the river’s bottom looking for Skwala, Golden and Dark Stonefly Nymphs. As the river temperatures rise, these bugs (order Plecoptera) start their march to the river’s edge. Eventually these aquatic insects climb onto rocks and bushes to transform into large Stoneflies and present excellent dryfly fishing.

The canyon vegetation has started to shift from winter’s dull browns into spring greens. Wildflowers are also starting to emerge. patches of tiny little pink petals, clumps of yellow blossoms from Balsam Arrowroot, as well as buds on the trees and bushes. With new flowers are butterflies and a variety of insects.

Mixed in with all the fresh plant growth were Woolly Bear Caterpillars coming out of winter’s rest.

Folklore has it that a longer black band is a predictor of more severe winter. Not saying we hold to folklore but our caterpillars seem have mostly black. For now these guys are just eating a bit more in preparation for their transformation into Tiger Moths.

Central Oregon is putting on it’s Spring regalia … which we’ll enjoy before the dry summer weather sets in.

March 27, 2022March 26, 2022

The Equinox

This week we marked the first day of spring. The earth has started it’s annual tilt toward our galaxy’s brightest star, making the light part of our day slowly get longer.

The seasonal shift also means there will be increased activity at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge. That is where we headed on the first of what will be a couple of spring drives to this excellent birding spot.

Fremont Point (right), located west of Summer Lake and Abert Rim (upper left) is south

Over the course of a few months the population at Summer Lake ebbs and flows. various groups of migratory flocks move in, stay a few days, then move on. From late March to May. northern movement is at its peak.

Coots are residents of Summer Lake year round.

Early in the morning you can find a wide variety of birds resting up for their next journey. By midday the migration starts. Conversely, at the end of the day you catch new arrivals settling in.

Trumpeter swans and Canada Geese at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge

There was enough wind to push clouds of mosquitoes out of our way. A light cloud cover allowed the sun to warm the day to shirtsleeve weather. Perfect conditions for a birding expedition.

These reeds offer good cover for nesting birds.

It’s still early in the season, but Red-winged Blackkbirds have started staking claim to patches of reeds and cat tails along the canals. Trumpeter Swan numbers have grown since January.

We also caught sight of a pair of Sand Hill Cranes and watched flocks of Red-billed Gulls perform aerial acrobatics in the sky overhead.

There are still a large variety of ducks paddling and diving in the ponds. Though this close to the end of hunting season means they’re still rather skittish.

There are a couple of camp sites where you can scan groves of willow and poplar trees for a variety of small birds. This trip we didn’t take the time to do much of that type of counting. Did catch sight of some flickers and followed the flight of some raptors. By the time we headed home we’d noted a couple dozen different bird species.

March 20, 2022March 24, 2022

Art of the Nap

Boo, one of four cats who run our household

As the pandemic ebbs, mandates ease, and business attempts to crank back up to normal, we look back on some of the lessons learned . . . hopefully to be taken forward.

It was discovered that napping is an excellent means of self-care. The best practitioners would be our cats. Besides the efficient distribution of hair to all corners of a house, cats are innately adapted to finding and filling small, quiet spaces. All around us are examples of the cat nap.

“think I’ll rest up a bit before lunch … “

Social distancing measures certainly aided in slowing the daily pace. Retirement also removed a lot of daily pressures associated with work. We completely understand how getting pulled out of the daily grind has given people a new prospective. There isn’t so much an unwillingness to work as the realization life has many more important aspects.

Nearly 16 years ago we took in a tiny black stray. Long story short, she was pregnant and we kept the entire litter. Over the years we have fostered, adopted and rescued 19 dogs and cats, most of whom have lived out their lives with us.

The nap is a natural component to quieting your life. Wading into a moving stream, watching the flight of a raptor, or picking up a good book are points of meditation. Napping may be less an indicator of old age and more the culmination of life lessons teaching us to take a moment.

March 6, 2022March 6, 2022

Orange Jam

So it was another uneventful week at our house. Not a lot of activity to post about. However, the canning projects are progressing as there are still a few things we want to get into jars this winter. Thought we’d share a super easy recipe that makes an incredible orange jam.

Nothing like bitter, chunky Marmalade … this is a sweet, tart jam.

With citrus in season oranges are easy to find fruit, even these days. This is an excellent way to preserve some of that juicy goodness for later.

Print Recipe

Orange Jam

Quick and easy sweet orange spread

Equipment

7 small navel oranges
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp pectin
2 lemons juiced and zest grated

Instructions

Wash jars and lids, place jars in pot fully submerged in simmering water, recipe makes 3 to 4 half pints (4 oz) jars
Peel oranges, remove pith (less pith, less bitterness in jam) and cut into small pieces and add to a blender
Blend into a smooth juice
Put sugar, lemon juice and zest in a saucepan over low heat and stir to dissolve, about 5 minutes
Add blended oranges and pectin to the saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes
Turn off heat, remove jars from water bath and wipe rims with vinegar soaked cloth
Fill jars to one inch head space, add lids and rings, finger tight, and return to water bath.
Process on a boil for 10 minutes, remove and allow to set for 24 hours. remove rings, check seals, label and store

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022

Soup Saturday

Regardless of world events, this has been a very weird week. As I’m writing this Sunday morning, it’s 40 degrees and raining. However, just four days prior, it was minus 3 degrees with three inches of snow on the ground and the wind was howling.

We’d just posted about the unusual spring-like weather, when an arctic cold front dropped onto Central Oregon. With it came freezing temps and snow. Mostly we just stayed home, sat by the fire, and caught up on our reading. So there’s nothing to post about, sorry.

We do want to share this image of chili getting canned as part of an ongoing winter canning project. We started making soups for Saturday dinner and that evolved into a canning project. Mostly . . . we wanted to get away from commercially canned soups that have shot up in price, have way too much salt, and are actually getting harder to find. Once you have the soup cooked it’s not that hard to load a few pints into the canner.

Over a steamy hot bowl of “Wendy’s Copycat Chili” we are planning next week’s adventures. There is rain forecast, but we’ve got some road trips mapped out. Enjoy your week!

Print Recipe

Wendy's Copycat Chili

Super easy chili recipe that is very tasty ...

Equipment

2 lbs ground beef
29 oz tomato sauce one large can
29 oz kidney beans 2 cans (15 oz)
29 oz black beans 2 cans (15 oz)
1 cup onions, diced 1 medium
½ cup diced green chili 1 small can
¼ cup celery, diced 1 stalk
3 med fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp cumin
3 Tbsp chili powder Gephardts is our fave
1 ½ tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2 cups water

Instructions

Brown the ground beef over medium heat, drain off the fat.
Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea size pieces (a potato masher works too)
In large pot, combine beef, plus all remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat.
Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2-3 hours.

Canning

As the chili simmers, prep your pressure canner and warm 6* pint jars and lids
After cooking for 2 hours, ladle chili into jars, clean rims with vinegar, set lids and screw on canning rings finger tight. Place canner lid and vent steam for 10 minutes. Bring pressure to 10 psi and hold for 75 minutes. Allow to cool naturally, remove jars, and let sit for 12 to 24 hours.
* If you don't plan to have a meal from this recipe, you can get 7 pints from a batch.