Nature – Page 8

June 1, 2025June 6, 2025

Summer Time

Small pools of water, overflow from creeks, fill the meadows along the roadway.

We spent a good deal of the week getting the yard back in shape. Planted some stuff, or should I say replanted, trees, shrubs, and flowers to fill in empty spaces.

We also hung a sunscreen on the pergola just in time for 80 degree days.

One of the 14 lakes accessible by the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway

It wasn’t all soil and shovels, we did manage to make a trip to the Upper Deschutes River.

During Memorial Day weekend, campgrounds along the Crooked River get full. Folks tend to stick around into the week, so to avoid crowds we head for a different stretch of water.

Winter’s runoff has filled the lakes and reservoirs, but there is no snow left on the ground.

Headwaters to the Deschutes River, from Little Lava Lake to Crane Prairie, is a favorite little stream.

Upper Deschutes River winds leisurely through grassy edges

There are a few miles where the Upper Deschutes meanders through pine forests, meadows and marsh lands dumping into Crane Prairie.

Cascade Lakes Highway parallels the stream offering numerous pull-outs and great picnic sites. Bonus, it’s only half an hour’s drive.

The downside this time of year is mosquito clouds.

These pests get thick in early summer and this year it’s been particularly bad. Likely due to additional water standing in all the low land between the chain of lakes.

Western Skunk Cabbage is found along streams and wet woods

What little skin is exposed gets doused in a generous layer of bug spray. This practice makes it tolerable to hike along the river bank. It will be a week or two before the bug population makes picnicking even a possibility.

The weatherman forecasts more summer-like weather for the high desert in the coming weeks. Yeah, summer is in full swing and we’ve got a long list of places to check out.

I think rockhounding is on the top of the list, before we lose the chill of a June morning.

The Salmon Flies are on the Lower Deschutes. The Crooked and John Day rivers are very fishable as well. No shortage of places to go or things to do.

May 25, 2025May 24, 2025

May Musings

May, in Central Oregon, is an anomaly to seasonal shifts. April brings hope for spring. May comes, and winter still hangs around . . . think hail storm just two weeks ago.

Then you hit Memorial weekend, the official start to summer activities (camping, rafting). It’s not summer, yet it doesn’t feel like spring.

This week was a busy finish to the month. While we didn’t do any major excursions, we did manage a couple of trips up to the Crooked River.

There is the promise of a caddis or mayfly hatch . . . which didn’t materialize . . . on top of shirt-sleeve warm afternoons.

We’re still shaking off layers of winter, but are well into wildflowers, lower river levels, and increased wildlife activity.

Some of the week was spent raking up those layers of winter in the form of yard debris (disposal offered for free).

We also pulled out old trees to replace with new bare root stock. Not real exciting stuff, but nice additions to the yard.

With the promise of summer we’ve renewed plans for adventures now that our home improvement projects, AKA spring cleaning, has been completed.

May 18, 2025May 17, 2025

Bugs

Just a beetle, not a Caddis fly . . . but still a great pic.

River levels have dropped in the last few days, so we headed up to the Crooked in hopes of catching a Caddis fly hatch.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that these early spring hatches are referred to as the Mother’s Day Caddis.

He does this a lot . . . untying and retying different patterns. Sometimes it even works.

At its peak the water, rocks, bushes, and trees are engulfed in a cloud of small gray-winged bugs.

Little Black Caddis or (for the more entomological) Gannom, are often the name fly fishers associate with the insect.

There are more than a few Caddis flies varieties that have a spotted gray wing. Many of which hatch in early summer.

Without a lot more kick-net work, it’s hard to put a name to any aquatic insect.

In my case there was plenty of time to observe on water activity as there were no fish feeding over this hatch.

So, while nothing was hooked, a lot of ‘fishing’ was done. In the end, that is the general purpose of these trips anyway.

It’s already end of season for some plants. These Dandelions are setting seed in May.

Once home I pulled out my copy of Gary LaFontine’s book “Caddisflies” and it seems, to me, these are Psilotreta / Smoky Wing Sedge or Chimarra / Little Black Sedge.

Knowing precisely which, while interesting, has little bearing on choice of pattern or presentation. for that you just need a color and size match.

Still it’s fun to catch and observe the local insect population.

Data collected will be incorporated in future fly tying and hopefully next time there will be fish feeding on the naturals.

May 4, 2025May 3, 2025

River Watch

As regular readers of this blog will note, there are places we frequent regularly, some as often as weekly.

The observation of seasonal change enhances understanding of an area. You never step in the same stream twice refers to this constant level of change in nature.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot lights up the hillside

Weekly excursions often involve a quick check on a favorite spot. While a seasonal change can be anticipated, the timing of these events isn’t a precise science.

Add to this is the narrow window high desert seasons afford flora and fauna. For example, the wild Iris bloom in the Crooked River riparian for a matter of days each spring.

Our interest is in stream flow as a measure for fishing. While an internet chart can state it’s 850 cfs, that data point is very different when standing on river’s edge and seeing just how much bank is exposed.

The hills south of Dufur are a rich green for a few weeks each spring

The crux if these side trips amounts to recon missions. While we’re already headed to Maupin for a river check, it’s easy to swing up to Dufur.

There we will catch bright green fields of spring wheat sprouts juxtaposed against a snow capped Mt Hood. This is a photo op that will not be possible in a few weeks.

April 27, 2025April 27, 2025

A New Spot on the Flyway

It’s the height of migration and the wetlands along the Pacific Flyway are filling with all types of birds.

Usually we visit Summer Lake a few times during April and May. These trips often get extended east to Abert Lake. It’s prime birding time and locations.

Last year the Klamath River was in the news as several dams were removed. What followed was the nearly instant return of ocean-reared salmon to the lower river.

We’ve been charting a trip to Northern California and southern Oregon to see early stages of this rehab project.

In that planning process, we discovered a wetland refuge to the east of Crater Lake.

Klamath Lake Wildlife Refuge is south of the park, and while it’s a large area, we’ve not had much luck finding good birding sites.

Klamath Marsh Wildlife Refuge on the other hand, is a smaller track of wetland directly east of Crater Lake. Until this week, unexplored.

A wide expanse of natural meadow borders the marsh on the Crater Lake side. Ponderosa pine forest lines it’s western edge.

The great part of this birding spot is you can drive right through the middle of it. This makes it very much like an experience at Summer Lake.

Also, like Summer Lake, it’s only about an hour’s drive from the house. Our early morning arrival was met with a wall of fog rising off the marsh. The sun burned off these clouds, but not before we captured some great footage.

The road through the marsh takes off from Highway 97 and is a dozen miles north of Klamath Lake. It continues onto OR 31 at Silver Lake, which is about 30 minutes from Summer Lake, making it a perfect birding loop.