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High Drama On The Mountain

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Ok, so maybe not an over abundance of anything remotely resembling excitement.  Wouldn’t wanna disturb his nap!  He loves to sack out in the sun room.

The flower garden by the front door is in full bloom at the moment.

Iris, Bleeding Heart, Oriental Poppy, and the poor chewed upon Rhododenron. The Daffodils are done, as is the Daphne.

Vivid yellow Iris. No idea what variety this is, the blooms are less than half the size of the purple ones.

Purple Iris, multiple blooms on each stalk this time around. It's amazing what feeding the plants will accomplish.

Oriental Poppies, even in shadow these are a brilliant, deep color.

The Bleeding Heart is huge this year, almost covering the iris next to it.

This Columbine hasn't been munched flat yet. The bunnies sniff around it, but so far, no taste tests. It's really just a matter of time, though.

While the flowers are faring well, the vegetable garden can’t say the same thing.  First to go were the lettuce, swiss chard, and beet plants.  Left alone were the spinach and cabbage plants, and I joked with Dan about what that meant.

Evidently, they were saving those for the second course.

We bought some floating row covers and put them over the top of the remaining Chinese Cabbage plants, and the beans.  This seems to be helping so far, because they are still alive!

The weeds are ferocious though, and that is going to be a couple of years’ worth of work to get them under control.

The pocket gophers are starting work on the pepper plants.  Where once a pepper plant was, now a pile of dirt exists.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to eat all the peppers.

The other morning we had a new visitor running around on the sidewalk.  Our sidewalk is a huge hit with the Chipmunks.  They run races up and down.  Much more convenient and fun than trying to wade through the grass.  We couldn’t believe our eyes, though.

A baby Yellow-bellied Marmot! These guys live in the rocks, down the hill from us. He was standing on the sidewalk, "Wow, nobody told me the world was flat!" He kept running back and hiding under the deck outside the sun room.

This little guy has evidently been asked to find his own rocks for his home.  Note the bare spot on his back where somebody bit him, to encourage him to move along and find his own place to live.  These guys have one of the oddest lifestyles.  They are awake and moving around from mid April, going back to sleep in late July, beginning of August.  I told Dan I hoped he would find a home close by, and Dan’s comment was something along the lines of just what we needed was yet another rodent species in our yard.  This was a good point.

Oh well, he’s still cute in a rodent sort of way, and I hope he fares well.

Lots of babies running around these days.

A White-tail doe and her fawn. The fawn doesn't weigh as much as Mishkin, though his legs are longer.

The cement wall behind the fawn is twenty-four inches tall, so that gives a really good scale for this little guy.

There was a bit of drama revolving around this fawn yesterday.  We saw him in front of the sun room, creeping into the brush, and disappearing.  They have amazingly protective coloration when they are still and laying down. There was no sign of the doe at all, and this baby is way too young to be on its own.

A few hours later, a Raven was circling around the patch of bushes, evidently not fooled by the protective coloration for our little fawn buddy.  The Raven had a birds-eye-view of the baby hiding in the bushes.  I asked Dan if the Raven would attack the baby, and he said, yes, even kill it if more Ravens showed up.  I was ready to go do some protection duty, and asked Dan if he could chase the Raven away.  Dan figured the Raven would laugh long and hard at our feeble attempts to make it do anything.  The Raven did eventually leave,

Still no sign of the doe, and I fretted all afternoon.  Then, about 8 hours after we first saw the baby creeping into his hiding place, the doe and fawn crossed the yard, the doe was licking her baby, and re-assuring it.  Then they wandered off up the driveway.  It was nice to see them reunited.  We found it amazing that she would leave her baby alone that long, and that the baby would stay put where she told it to for so long.

Mish is now sleeping in my chair in the living room, so all is well up on the mountain.

First harvest

Our first garden produce was, predictably enough, radishes.

Delicious, sweet and spicy.

This makes us very optimistic for the other things we have planted.  I over-did it a bit with the corn, and have a lot of thinning to do in the very near future.

We had a bear visitor the other evening,about a half hour before sunset.  Terry spotted the visitor first.  If we end up deaf someday, we can blame living in bear country as a contributing factor.

The concrete wall at the base of the garage is two feet tall. So this is a small bear, barely (bearly), peeking over the grass and looking at the house to see if they could spot the source of the loud sounds.

That is the way we see the bear.

A concerned bear.

That is the way Terry sees the bear.

A bear who paid attention to momma, "If it sounds like it could eat you, leave."

Terry was once again victorious at scaring away dangerous predators and protecting the flock.  Mish missed it as he ran upstairs to his bedroom at the first scream from the peanut gallery.

A Bear and Sunset

This morning Terry announced a bear was in the driveway.  Actually, the way she said it was ‘THERE IS A BEAR IN THE DRIVEWAY!!!” followed by scrambling around on her perch and generally carrying on.  Opal and Mishkin were both justifiably concerned by this announcement.

While the bear was frozen with shock at the unfamiliar sound coming from our house, I nabbed the camera.

"I'm outta here, that is loud and sounds scary!"

"Feet... don't fail me now"

Dan was a little miffed as he didn’t get to chase this very large black bear off with a well-placed bb-gun shot to his posterior.  Terry thought she had done a good job notifying her flock (and everybody within a mile of our house, no doubt), of the danger.  Opal thought the Raven that flew over later was scarier.  Mishkin wondered what all the noise was about, but he wondered from the top of the stairs where it was safe and he couldn’t see anything.  Oro just thinks Terry is hysterical sometimes.

The day has been full of excitement.  Dan woke me up early today, needing help removing a mouse from under the large speaker, where Mishkin had trapped it and was playing with it but not interested in actually catching his little buddy.  Mouse Rodeo first thing in the morning is one way to wake up, but a hot cup of tea is better

Another sunset.

Lots of drama in the skies around here, at times.

P.S.  We just added a Mallard to our yard list, which is a sure sign it’s raining too much!

Late May Sunset

Weather plays such a huge part in sunsets, and this time of year we have nothing if not weather around here.  Today the high temperature is +44F, and it has been raining heavily.

When this weather moved in, and before it socked in, misty rain was falling to the west.

Golden sunsets are my favorite, I think, until we get a rose color, and then that's my favorite.

Sizing the full sized picture gives a dramatic contrast between light and dark, above.  Looking closer gives a very different view.

Tiny drops of water catch and reflect the sunlight, and transform the hills from brilliant green to gold.

If it snows tonight, I won’t be amused.

New Life Species

There are two schools of thought on birding, and the lines are drawn between those who keep a life list and those who do not.  We are in both camps, listing and just being outside watching birds, listening to them and seeing what they are up to.  Our recent birding trip added a new life species to our list, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; a rare visitor to the refuge we were extremely lucky to see two of them in the same little tree.  This species proved elusive for the last 30 or so years, a very cute little bird flitting around in a small Juniper near our campsite.  We added fifty plus species to our annual list.

Dan teased me about all the things I packed for such a short camping trip, but I didn't bring the kitchen sink. I just thought about bringing it.

Brandon met us at Malheur, our most favorite place to go birding.  It was the first time she’s ever gone on a birding trip.  Mainly she was there to see us, and for the camping and to see the scenery.  I’m not sure if we have converted her to the dark side, but by the end of our trip she could identify a Robin.

Speaking of Robins, a pair was tending a nest full of babies in the large Juniper right behind our tent.

We had decided not to camp in our favorite campground as that campground had to be evacuated several nights in a row in the few days preceding our trip in the middle of the night due to flooding caused by heavy thunderstorms.  More storms were predicted for the weekend we visited and that sounded like too much potential for drama.  The storms materialized, but not as heavy as earlier in the week.  Water levels around the national wildlife refuge were already very high, and several of the roads into the refuge were closed, being underwater as they were.  Birding was limited to the fringes.  Even so, it was wonderful.

A Short-eared Owl, perched on a fence post. These gorgeous large owls flit across the landscape like giant moths, effortless and ethereal, clapping their wings underneath their bodies, applauding their own performance during their breeding flight.

The headquarters for the refuge is a birding oasis, the only trees for miles around, it acts like a magnet for tired migrating warblers, and all sorts of perching birds.  When we checked in on Friday afternoon, the trees were dripping with Townsend Warblers, Lazuli Buntings, Western Tanagers, Bullock Orioles, and all sorts of cool species.  The refuge has seen over 320 species of birds.

Taking a picture of a warbler is dependent on them staying put long enough for the millesecond it takes for the shutter to click. Alas, sometimes that isn't long enough. By Saturday morning, all the Townsend Warblers have continued their migration to the north, and a couple will end up in the Aspen grove behind our house.

The first time Dan ever took me to Malheur was in the fall, and one of my most vivid memories of that trip was the first time I ever saw Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  They were in a field of newly harvested corn, scrambling around in the stalks, and as we drove by several hundred of them rose into the air at once, filling the air with color and sound.  Dali would have loved the spectacle, it was so surreal.

These guys sound like a rusty gate when they sing, a loud very rusty gate.

A sleeply slightly fluffed Red-winged Blackbird, not displaying the vivid bright red wing patch which gave them their name.

Every year a pair of Great Horned Owls raises a brood in their next in the fire watch tower adjacent to refuge headquarters.  When their babies fledge, they move them to the tall trees by headquarters.

A baby owl pileup, cuddling and napping.

A watchful parent, in a Ponderosa Pine tree, near the Cottonwood where the babies were sleeping. Another baby was cuddled underneath the other parent, sheltering from the rain.

The Buena Vista Overlook is a great spot to visit to check out the lay of the land.  A spotting scope is useful for identifying small birds playing around in the reeds and cattails.

Overlooking a portion of the refuge, these large ponds are normally a lot smaller and usually host a couple pairs of Trumpeter Swans. The water was so high this spring, the swans were elsewhere, no doubt on the larger lake.

A pair of Canada Geese flying over the marsh.

Strong, graceful, these birds mate for life. We saw newly hatched babies accompanied by their proud parents. At least until they can find another set of parents to babysit their brood. Once we saw a pair of adults surrounded by 200 babies. "I don't remember the pile of eggs being this high, do you?"

The geology of this area is one of the most interesting aspects of visiting.  Multiple lava flows show the volcanic history.

The most recent lava flows cap buttes which rise above the marshes.

The Steens Mountains tower above the area. A fault uplift mountain range created 15 million years ago, the road that loops around this face is not open for travel until late June or early July, and we've never been up the road very far. The far side of these mountains is a mile high drop down to the Alvord Desert. Rumor has it the road will not be opened this year, due to the heavier than usual snowfall last winter.

Back to the car from the overlook, we drove down to road which skirted between the ponds we had just been viewing from above.

Now to some other bird pictures.

White-faced Ibis were fairly common in the marshes.

A Willet, one of the large wading birds common to the area. We also saw Long-billed Curlew but not close enough for a picture.

A Great Egret, and a successful hunt for breakfast. They are in breeding finery with long fancy feathers. These birds were severely endangered by hunting them for these very same fine feathers, for ladies' hats. Thank god that went out of style as people would have cheerfully killed every single bird for such a stupid reason, and not have given it a second thought.

Breakfast consists of a large frog which is midway between being tadpole and being a frog, most likely a Bullfrog based on the size.

A Sandhill Crane, one of our favorite species. They have the neatest call, very prehistoric. A couple hundred pairs of these nest on the refuge each year.

Popping up to take a peek.

And a second later, it looks like there is just one Crane in the tall grass.

A pair of Shovelers, paddling around in shallow water.

A male Redhead, keeping a watch on his girlfriend.

A Pied-billed Grebe, a small diving duck. We also saw Western Grebes, Clarks' Grebes, and Horned Grebe.

A Forester's Tern, flitting around over the pond near the Round Barn.

A goose in the background, admiring the flying skill of the tern.

The Round Barn, which is, strangely enough, round, is normally a long way from water.

We headed off to the Diamond Craters, an area of volcanic craters, since we could not walk around the barn without getting very wet.

This looked like a serious cloud to our eyes, and looks were not deceiving. Shortly after we returned to the car, the sky opened up and cleaned the bugs off the windshield and the front of our car. Thanks!

Protective coloration, onthe dark volcanic rocks at Diamond Craters, was this dark charcol gray lizard. I had been trying to catch a picture of a Marmot which was in the rocks, and discovered this lizard on the rocks in front of the Marmot.

Heading home, the water levels in Lake Roosevelt are as low as we’ve ever seen.  They have drawn down the water a lot, anticipating the snow melt in the mountains which is a bit behind from the lower than normal temperatures.  Probably we are going to pay for such a cool spring when summer finally arrives.

All the fruit plants and trees we ordered have arrived and that’s going to be our project for the day, getting them planted in the garden.  We are both not really in the mood, but the plants need to be tucked into their new homes sooner rather than later.

First spring bear visitor

We’d seen evidence bears were up and around, but hadn’t seen one in our yard until yesterday.  We see bears around here, starting in May and this year is no exception.

Walking around in the fresh new grass growing next to the garden we are building.

A pretty small, probably two years old, black bear, cinnamon color. They have really thick fur.

We were watching from the window next to Oro’s cage.  Oro had been watching the bear warily but quietly, until we showed up to join the show.  Then Oro started yelling about the bear, very excited that we were watching too.

"Huh?"

The bear was 100 yards from the back of the house, down the hill, but when Oro started making commentary, it was noticed.

Looking around cautiously to see what was making that racket.

A mouth full of fresh yummy grass attests to what our bear neighbor was up to, down the hill from the house.

This is just the fellow we will want to keep out of the garden when things are growing and ripe.  We still need to figure out the electric fencing, but since nothing is growing, it is far down on the priority list.

Brandon, don’t show your boyfriend this post, or you’ll never talk him into visiting!

Gardening Saga, or…

Spring Comes To Those Who Wait.   And wait.

A local Snowshoe Hare, patiently waiting for more green grass and the garden to be constructed. They are having bunny races around the yard, which can only mean one thing. Pretty soon we will have herds of babies grazing on the grass.

Our big project for this year is building a garden and a greenhouse.  The gravel pad for the greenhouse was the first step, since the heavy equipment operator would be here anyway removing some of the old garden posts and pulling out trees and bushes.

Snow falls and the heavy equipment operator calls to say, ehhh, will be there next week. Just wait.

Our friend Jack came over, chainsaw in hand, and cut down a few trees which were in the way of both the garden and greenhouse space.

The heavy equipment operator brings in a couple of loads of gravel and dirt with which to build the greenhouse pad.

Several dump trucks arrived and left piles of "work" near the garage. And then it snows again. Heavy equipment operator company calls and says, ehhhh, it's snowing, let's wait. Tomorrow, ok?

So the next morning dawns.

What's that we spy with our little eyes? 'Tis only a few mere snowflakes, which will surely disappear soon.

Or, maybe not. Swirling snow fills the sky, and the world turns fuzzy and out of focus. Or is that our eyes? Maybe we need more tea?

The phone rings. It is the fair weather heavy equipment operator saying, ehhhh, it's snowing, let's wait.

We are beginning to sense a theme.

A small backhoe and a very large guy, who barely fits in the cab. He's very talented, a deft touch, and if we have to have somebody here with this sort of equipment, he's the guy we want driving it.

The piles of dirt and gravel disappear and become a pad on which will (someday), grow a greenhouse.

Ran out of gravel, and while we are waiting for the dump truck to return with another pile of gravel, down to the garden site goes the heavy equipment, and out come the trees, bushes, and fence posts which we were not able to remove manually.  It takes a surprisingly short amount of time before all is cleared away.

Dan removing debris pulled up by the backhoe, and stacking it up to the east of the garden space.

Visualizing where to place the fence posts.

The dump truck delivers the last load of gravel. Progress!

At last, all the ground work is completed, and we can begin laying out the fence boundaries, and staking things.

Employing high math skills we staked out a garden space which is 50 feet by 50 feet square.  More or less square.  Nothing on our house is actually square except the two rooms we added so we don’t stress too much about having things totally square on our garden space.

At least it has stopped snowing.  Spring must be here!  The Daffodils are almost ready to bloom.

Daffodils have a good sense of humor, for a plant.

We woke up to a few inches of heavy wet snow. And this time it stuck to the ground, trees, bushes, sidewalk. All we could think of was, thank goodness the heavy equipment operator wasn't supposed to come today!

We took the opportunity for rest afforded by the snow and prepared a planned planting location for the various trees and bushes we have ordered.  The plants haven’t shipped yet.  More waiting.

The bottom of the picture faces south.

Walking into the garden through the fence, we will walk through a rose arbor.  We have planned some paving stone paths through the rose arbor, around a circular herb/flower bed, and into the seating area under a grape arbor, with more paths heading east and west, then bending around and heading south, along the front of the bramble beds.  We haven’t decided if we will actually get around to putting down the stone paths.  This garden is going to be a many years project to get to its final result.

A couple of days later, the snow has melted (again), and we head down to the garden space to begin the work of digging post holes for the posts to live in, and we discover relatively few really large rocks.  The garden space is blessed with at least two feet of dark black soil.  The deep soil explains the presence of so many pocket gophers, but that’s going to be another story.

Our Polaris Ranger finally has the snow plow attachment removed, and it has proven to be extremely useful for hauling heavy posts down to the garden space.

A few days of hard work, and all the post holes were dug, and posts set into their new homes, tilting a bit hither and yon waiting for dirt to prop them up straight.

As each post has dirt filled in and tamped down firmly, they stand straight up, theoretically. There's only so much we can accomplish with uneven ground, and me on the level.

Taking a break, sitting in the Ranger, and trying to visualize how it will all look once it is completed.

We set about half of the posts and called it a day.  We will have to finish that part of the project another day.

The gate will be here, someday soon. We just have to wait until we get all the upper and lower 1x6 pine boards affixed to the top and bottom of the set fence posts. But we're getting there!

Fast forward many days, the boards are attached to the fence posts, the wire fencing materials have been stapled in place, and a gate has been built and installed. Let the digging begin.

Sounds fast, but this took many days of hard work.  We built the garden fence in the garage and carried it down to the garden.  Disaster struck while we were carrying it down.  The ground was saturated with water, and muddy spaces were in our path, and last years’ grass is long, and laying closely on the ground, and is slick.  I fell, and the gate landed on my knee.  I was concerned when I could barely walk that night, with a knot on my knee which was swollen and tight, but it was a shortlived injury and already I’m back to normal.  A couple of weeks later, we have resumed our walks down along the river.

While I was laid up, we have employed the help of our neighbor’s son to help Dan with digging in the garden space.  The work is going to be hard and long, but eventually it will be completed.  Our trees and bushes haven’t shipped yet, but our seeds arrived, and this weekend we will plant some of the cool weather seeds, like cabbages, radishes, and spinach, and lettuce.  It will be exciting to have something planted.

Daffodils are blooming and this morning they were standing up straight.  Amazing what a few dry weather days can do to perk them up.

They didn't seem to mind a few weeks of freezing weather, snow and ice.

The forecast today is for thunderstorms.

The day started off with a rainbow. I missed it, but Dan took a picture for me.

I love it when the sky has that peculiar green tint, like being under water.

Happy Birthday, Mishkin!

Mishkin is three years old now.  So I made him a hat.

"Well, ok, I'll wear your stupid hat, as long as nobody else sees me."

It was thirty years ago today…

We were standing in front of our bush cabin in Alaska, and it was spring.

Before...

And thirty years later, we are standing in front of our house, and it is spring.

...and After.

Some things change, and some things remain the same.