Category: Nature

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A Change in the Weather

Everyone enjoys a day on the river

There has been a shift in the weather this week. Days are cooler and skies hold more clouds. There’s even some rain.

The start of Fall is a welcome event in this house  .  .  .  certainly not for pumpkin spice … ewwww!

A pile of stuff , , , just to go fishing?

There were a couple of trips to the Crooked River this week. This is one spot that seems immune to smoke plumes and has become a regular destination.

Seasons shift means we don’t have to start quite so early and we can linger on the river longer.

Osprey on the hunt
Magpie scavenging bugs

The other harbinger of fall is the return of migratory birds. The honking of geese has become a daily occurrence. We’ll need to work in a trip to Summer Lake soon.

The Osprey was fishing and even the Kestrel peeked out from its hiding spot.

This might be in part because we did lounge longer. Regardless, it’s always nice to see old friends.

Some warmer weather is in the forecast, but it stays closer to 70 than 100  .  .  .  and that’s a good sign.

Patterns in stalks of dry grass

As the heat of summer wanes, we’ll pick up the pace on outings, staying longer and venturing further. This is perhaps our favorite season and we’ll take full advantage of it.

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Camping . . . but not really

Border Collie incognito.

We spend a lot of time outside. None of it actually camping.

At least, not in the classic sense.

Coffee is cooked, camp chairs are set up and on rare occasions, regulations permitting, we might light a fire. However, by the end of the day we’re home and ready to sleep in a nice comfy bed.

Everyone seeks out a bit of shade

When we did ‘camp’ it was in a Westfalia, so truth is, we’ve never been hard core campers. Creature comforts over wilderness experience  .  .  .  with one exception.

A couple of years ago we discovered the cabins at Cottonwood Canyon State Park.

Our kind of wilderness experience

There are elements of camping in that you’re isolated without cell service.

Reflection of our view

But each neat little cabin is fitted with AC/heat and a comfy bed.

Plus, there is hot/cold running water nearby. It’s a perfect solution.

The down side is, you need to reserve a space months in advance, making it difficult to predict the weather or as happened last year  .  .  .   wildfire.

Cottonwood is surrounded by sage covered hills

In April we set up a stay for August 13th, which when August came around we discovered was also a peak time for the Perseids Meteor shower.

The night sky looking northwest

With zero light pollution, the setting is perfect for star gazing, which is part of every visit, but this stay turned out to be a fortuitous reservation.

Early evening sky to the south

Bundled in warm sweaters, we spent early morning hours gazing at the heavens.

They didn’t disappoint. The smear of the milky way and hundreds of constellations filled a sky occasionally streaked by a chunk of space rock falling through the atmosphere.

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Smoke Avoidance

Early morning casts

Another week of high temperature avoidance meant an early morning trip to the Crooked River. We’re also dealing with an influx of wildfire  smoke. However, we’ve managed to stay out of the worst of the plumes.

Not sure how long that will last.

A peaceful perch

The extreme heat subsided this week, giving a few more hours before shelter is required. We managed nearly four hours of peaceful stream time a couple of different mornings.

Fresh from a dive, our osprey searches for another target

The Kestrel family seems to have moved on, replaced by the Osprey. Birding action at the old tree continues unabated.

Riparian green

Fishing is good. This warmer weather wakes up the aquatic insects. The river’s edge is a lush green as summer’s heat has yet to dry out the riparian growth.

We continue to manage avoiding the worst of the smoke plumes and have some other excursions planned, but these days that means keeping a close eye on the fire reports.

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Early Morning Observations

A nose for spots in the shade

This week we found one way to avoid the heat is to get going at dawn, and of course, be home by noon.

Fishing partners

Destination:  Crooked River

Departure:   5:00 a.m.

Reward:  Pleasant morning sitting by a stream.

Wren, a tiny bird with a big voice

When you sit quietly, nature comes to you. Or more to the point, you notice what was around you all along.

Finally, back on the river

Before the heat of the day pushed us out, there were visits from a kingfisher, osprey, heron, numerous songbirds, and a collection of wrens.

Sun through spider silk

Early morning sun illuminated a web filled with spider snacks.

Stalking spent flower blossoms revealed a plethora of wonders in the frame of a macro lens.

On rivers edge there is still plenty of green

After lunch at the Tastee Treet, we headed home to avoid the oppressive afternoon sun in air conditioned luxury. Soon there will be another early morning jaunt.

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Where There’s Smoke . . .

View of the Darlene 3 fire from outside our front door.

Wildfire has always been a threat to western forest dwellers. Over the last few years there has been an increase in the number of major  .  .  .  as in thousands of acres  .  .  .  wildland fires.

To us, the off-shoot of most of these conflagrations has been smoke plumes that randomly blanket the spaces we inhabit. We have not had to deal with a direct threat

.  .  .  until this week when we looked out our front door.

Dubbed Darlene 3; because there were two previous fires in the same area, La Pine’s first wildfire of 2024 was reported around noon on Tuesday the 25th.

By dinnertime it had grown to 500 acres and level 3 evacuation orders (“GO NOW”) had been issued to a large number of La Pine residents.

The fire kicked up several times due to wind gusts. Here you can see several new plumes.

Many of the fire fighting resources concentrated efforts on reinforcing containment away from neighborhoods, and in our case we were grateful they prevented the fire from jumping Hwy 97 (located just past the small forest in front of our home).

For the past couple of days the fire has been sitting at nearly four thousand acres burned, with 40% contained. Thankfully it continues to receive a lot of attention from a wide range of state and local agencies.

All it would take is a shift in wind direction and this wildfire would rise to disastrous levels.

Topping off our gas tank at Wickiup Station off of Hwy 97 before heading home.

Some area neighborhoods remain at level 3. Luckily, other areas have been downgraded to level 2 BE SET to evacuate.

Winds continue to push east-southeast away from La Pine and our neighborhood. But vigilance and constant monitoring is our best course.

Watch Duty, a free app for computers or smart phones, has been a great help tracking the fire’s progress. The app allows you to identify and track wildfire even really small local burns that other online sources ignore until they are at disaster level.