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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fishing wasn’t great but Tip and I covered a lot of stream to to be sure. We spent most of that time wading. The reparian is still pretty lush as the river level remains high. A few more weeks of this and the resevoir will be all but dried up and we’ll see a dramatic shift in stream levels.