Category: Nature

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A Patio Visit

Morning hatch on the Crooked River

It really felt like fall this week. We managed to get in a fishing trip, as usual, but the majority of our week was spent getting a start on winterizing.

Red Rudbeckia, aka black-eyed Susan, was a big success in this year’s garden.

Central Oregon winters can be fickle weather-wise, but there is the guarantee of one good snow dump. For that reason, you need to button up the exterior.

Petunias, a favorite of mule deer in our neighborhood

We’ve transformed the patio from a basic BBQ spot to a retreat, complete with a host of herbs and flowers. This has been a great place to share a morning coffee or evening cocktail.

Brief stop between watering sites

The patio gets crossed by neighborhood cats and there is a resident family of chipmunks that skitter across. The chipmunks seem to be using the bottom of our grow towers as watering spots.

In recent weeks there has been a small clutch of Mule Deer Stags feasting on neighborhood greenery.

Interrupted mid-munch (petunias, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes are top contenders)

We’ve seen a decrease in foliage on flowers and trees. We watch them nonchalantly strolling through the neighborhood streets.

However, we’ve not been successful in catching these tree pruners in action  .  .  .  until this week.

Continue reading “A Patio Visit”

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Rainy Days

This week was a change. We went from “Red Flag” warnings and heat waves, to weather reminiscent of winter. It’s not unlike any late summer day in Central Oregon.

As this is getting written, the sun is beaming in my window and it’s around 70 degrees outside. But for most of this week we’ve been watching storm clouds roll in from the Southwest bringing down pouring rain.

We didn’t do any long trips, but we did get out a couple of times  .  .  .  driving through the storms. In the high desert you can see weather coming and watch thunderheads bring rain to you.

Clouds are broken by blue sky drifting in behind the storm  .  .  .  then, it all starts again.

This probably marks the end of summer. The forecast for next week has clear skies and much lower daytime temperatures.

We’ll likely get out on the river and do some road trips. There are plenty planned, and fall is a great time to be out in the woods.

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Eye of a Storm

Sunrise through the smoke plume

The week started with a wildfire burning east of Redmond and headed for Sisters, with another one burning north near Oakridge.

Both of these conflagrations managed to spread plumes of smoke over the area  .  .  .  well, actually it was fickle wind patterns.

Dry fly presentation over a morning hatch on the Crooked River

In the middle of these smoke-filled days, there was a trip to the Crooked River.  Opportunity pushed Prineville outside an “unhealthy” AQI (Air Quality Index) shading on the weather map.

Apple Weather and Watch Duty get regular scans on our phones  .  .  .  tracking wildfire activity and air quality.

The Crooked is a welcome respite from thick smoke-filled air and fishing was good too. It is the height of summer season and the lush vegetation, juniper trees and snags are busy with bird activity.

A young Osprey is getting better at hunting, eating, and keeping the gang of Magpies at bay. The Magpies really are a marauding gang. At any point a dozen of them swarm over the trees.

Off to grab another of his 3 to 5 fish per day diet

With just a skreech from one, a few more come flying. They menace the Osprey but don’t really do much damage  .  .  .  if you don’t count making meal time stressful.

Nice little Redband Trout

Our day begins before the sun hits the water. All morning I’ll fish over the caddis or mayfly hatch.

By noon activity on the river’s surface has tapered off. By now it’s getting hot, even in the shade, so we pack up and head home.

Tip napping in the shade of an old juniper tree

The Apps suggest that smoke will wane in the next couple of weeks, so that’s good news.

We’ll wait till the Labor Day crowds thin before venturing back out.

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Summer’s Refuge

High Desert morning looking south from Sunriver

The heat of summer has settled in so our daytrips have shifted to early morning departures.

The high desert cools overnight and offers a chilly morning  .  .  .  light sweater cool. This is true even when we hit ninety plus afternoons.

The sun was just cresting over Fort Rock as we passed on our way to Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge.

The Pacific Flyway has already started to show signs of winter migration. The distinctive honks of Canada Geese have been overhead often during the last few weeks.

Summer Lake is a 45 minute drive, so with an early start we got a good bit of birding in and were home before the oppressive heat of the afternoon settled in.

This trip we encountered an unusually large number of Ibis  .  .  .  flocks of them.
An Ibis feeds at the pond’s edge

Mostly they bolted from the canal ahead of our car, but occasionally we caught one wading a pond or picking its way among the reeds.

Looking southwest from the refuge towards Summer Lake

Winter’s heavy snows seem to have benefited the refuge. Even this late in the summer the marsh grasses, cattails and reeds are still brilliant green.

This lush growth on ponds edge is contrasted by sunburnt field grasses that extend up the edges of Winter Ridge.

Black Birds stake claims with song and a physical presence.

Black Birds, Red Winged and Yellow Headed, are in typical large numbers and quite vocal. The other species we found in large groups were Killdeer.

Which as you might remember are similar to Snowy Plovers  .  .  .  of which we saw one.

There weren’t any other people there, birding or camping. We had the large expanse of Summer Lake to ourselves.

We enjoyed the solitude and being able to park wherever we liked.

Tip keeps watch as Jack gathers sound files for the video

Just before noon we spotted a couple of cars coming in as we made our way out. A good time was had by all.

 

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Summer Storms

Early morning fog rolls off the Little Deschutes and filters our sunrise

We’ve moved into August and onto summer’s end.

These late summer days can turn from sweater-cool mornings to blazing hot afternoons. Thus, departure time and destination are carefully planned out.

Fishing has been good on the Crooked this summer.

Early morning trips to the river have been particular enjoyable this week. First, there aren’t a lot of people around before eleven, and second, the fishing has been good.

But equally as important as the quiet are the cool mornings. We’re still starting the day in hoodies and sipping coffee on the streambank.

Black Billed Magpie inspects my hat.

We pack up around noon and are home for an early supper in the comfort of our climate controlled home  .  .  .  or under the shade of our patio awning  .  .  .  tall glasses of ice tea in hand

A new wrinkle has entered our summer afternoons  .  .  .  thunderstorms. About 3:00 pm the thunderheads, with their charcoal gray centers, push in from the southeast.

Prelude to a storm.

It starts with the distant claps of thunder and if you stand on the porch there are usually streaks of lightning marking the storm’s advance.

In fire season, we’re not keen on lightning rolling across tinder-dry Juniper and pine forests.

Raindrops collect on a poppy’s petals

So far the storms have brought rain  .  .  .  torrents of rain.

The last one even brought small hail stones. By 5:00 pm the clouds have pushed past and no longer feature that menacing dark tone at their core.

After the storm pushes by our Aspen tree dries in the sun

These blasts of weather, especially the accompanying rain, are a welcome relief. The air is filled with the clean smell of wet pine while dust and pollen has been washed away.

Just before sunset, we arrange the deck chairs and sip cocktails on the porch. It is a perfect way to bring a summer day to a close.