Winter has retreated and spring’s thaw turns pasture land around the Sunriver Nature Center into ponds to contain the snow melt. Our walking trails are about the only thing still above the water level right now.
There are an abundance of birds and water fowl taking advantage of the expanded flood plain. Ducks, mostly mallard pairs, and of course flocks of Canada geese. To the year round residents there is a marked increase in song birds, particularly robins and red-winged black birds. The black birds are aggressively staking claim to territory with red flashes from their shoulders and loud calls. There are also small birds that flit too fast for easy identification, but are adding their voices to the choir.
The willow groves offering cover for all this increased bird activity are starting to bud. Marsh grasses and cattail that poked brown stalks out of the snow banks show tinges of green and seem to be standing more upright in response to the April sun.
Each day’s visit presents new treasures to observe and we’ve taken to adding binoculars to the camera gear packed for our walks these blustery spring days.
It may have been years since you tried Green Goddess dressing. I remember bottles of a Kraft version that showed up in our family fridge in the 70’s . I guess it was popular on the SoCal sprout salads of the day. We recently came across a version of this dressing as part of an oven-roasted green veggie salad … it was better than I remember and actually easy to make.
The way we are making it is with a hand blender which allows us to do very small batches but it can stay in your fridge for a few weeks if you wanted to do larger portions. The recipe attached is weighed out in grams to make this process easier.
Mix this with some of the green goddess and spread over a bowl of salad greens, some wilted kale or even a mix of both.
The day begins with coffee, 
We opt for the Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge, offering a perfect location, just off Highway 31 near the the town of Summer Lake and to the north end of the town’s namesake.
As the main salad maker in our family, my goal is to ensure we eat fresh veggies every day. A quick, mixed green salad fits the bill nicely. So why do I hesitate when it’s time to make a salad?
Weather wise it has been a very odd start to our spring. There was the late winter snow fall. Then…this week, within one single day, it started with snow, ended with warm sunshine, and included thunder and lightning with freezing pellets.
The Crooked is a very fishable stream, easy enough to wade and small enough to get to any spot a fish might be holding. There are quite a few people on the river, but you rarely bump into anyone and at most see another fisher up or down stream a few hundred yards.
