This afternoon, I was checking for snow peas to harvest, and encountered a little Pacific treefrog. It was patient and didn't flee while I ran inside for a camera. Always a treat to find.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
In the pea plants
This afternoon, I was checking for snow peas to harvest, and encountered a little Pacific treefrog. It was patient and didn't flee while I ran inside for a camera. Always a treat to find.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Garden report
While I was pulling the garlic, a female Anna's hummingbird came to look at me. She approached within about 2 feet, and decided that I wasn't dangerous to her, and flew over to some of my lucifer Crocosmia for a sip of nectar, and a brief rest. I've been planting Crocosmia all over the place to attract hummingbirds, so I am always happy to see them utilizing the red flowers (see below).
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Out the mouth of the Umpqua
The ocean fishing season has begun. But there are lots of other things happening out on the water as well.
Early in the salmon season, pairs of common murres are abundant on the water. The chicks have recently jumped off their colony rocks and into the sea. At this stage, they can't fly, and can't dive for fish to feed themselves. So the chicks pair up with a parent, and go to sea. The parent dives to feed the chick. Each pair has a call that the other recognizes. After the parent surfaces, they call back and forth until reunited. I have often seen larger chicks, but last week's chicks were remarkably small compared to the parents.
And yes, the first ocean salmon of the season was caught: a hatchery coho, weighing about 7 pounds. It had recently been dining on small squid.
Early in the salmon season, pairs of common murres are abundant on the water. The chicks have recently jumped off their colony rocks and into the sea. At this stage, they can't fly, and can't dive for fish to feed themselves. So the chicks pair up with a parent, and go to sea. The parent dives to feed the chick. Each pair has a call that the other recognizes. After the parent surfaces, they call back and forth until reunited. I have often seen larger chicks, but last week's chicks were remarkably small compared to the parents.
And yes, the first ocean salmon of the season was caught: a hatchery coho, weighing about 7 pounds. It had recently been dining on small squid.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Wet and wild in the mountains
We have just returned from 10 days in the Cascades. The temperatures were a little cooler than we expected for summer, but the scenery was gorgeous, and Oregonians see beauty in water, regardless of its form.
Diamond Peak, from Gold Lake.
White pelicans foraging near the Cascade Lakes Highway.
Raindrops regrouping after a morning shower.
Salt Creek Falls, through the trees.
Our new high-tech, low-weight canoe on its maiden voyage at Hosmer Lake, beneath Mount Bachelor (above) and South Sister (below).
Diamond Peak, from Gold Lake.
White pelicans foraging near the Cascade Lakes Highway.
Raindrops regrouping after a morning shower.
Salt Creek Falls, through the trees.
Our new high-tech, low-weight canoe on its maiden voyage at Hosmer Lake, beneath Mount Bachelor (above) and South Sister (below).
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Green thumb
The long awaited snow peas have started producing, prolifically. In 10 days, my harvest has gone from zero to 2 pounds 5 ounces. I might have over-planted them.
At the same time, I counted 6 or 8 artichokes that are ready for harvest. So there is something to be said for Oregon's cool damp climate: spring crops grow well here.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
How does the garden grow?
About six weeks ago, I planted the new garden box.
It looked pretty empty for a while, but we are eating out of it already.
So far, we've eaten tender young arugula and kale from the new box, and one artichoke from the old box. The green growth is living proof that the sun does occasionally shine on us.
Kale, also known as dinner.
It looked pretty empty for a while, but we are eating out of it already.
So far, we've eaten tender young arugula and kale from the new box, and one artichoke from the old box. The green growth is living proof that the sun does occasionally shine on us.
Kale, also known as dinner.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
A day on the water
Today, we headed up to Newport, to fish for lingcod between the jetties at the mouth of Yaquina Bay. Before we even started fishing, we encountered the Army Corps of Engineers dredge named the Yaquina. Now that the NOAA Pacific fleet is based in Newport, the dredge Yaquina will probably be working to clear out the Yaquina Bay channel even more often than before.
We had the great fortune of seeing an interesting selection of seabirds on our way to the jetties, including a couple of species of grebes, loons, a pair of harlequin ducks, and lots of pigeon guillemots. Although the guillemots spend the winter at sea, they come ashore here to breed and raise their young. We see them quite often from spring through fall. They often fly close to the water, which is understandable from an aerodynamic perspective. However, they don't always pay attention to what they are doing. While we were fishing, a pair of guillemots flew low over our boat and one actually flew into Bori. It hit his shoulder, dragging its wing across his face. The bird (about 13 inches long) bounced off, and continued on, unhurt. What was it thinking? This photo is a pair of guilletmots on the jetty, but not necessarily the one that hit Bori.
A bit later, I found a nice black oystercatcher on the jetty. Always a treat.
No fish were harmed by our expedition. But the boat that landed at the dock just behind us had caught 4 halibut. I couldn't resist taking a photo. These were the little ones. Their biggest was 46 inches long.
We had the great fortune of seeing an interesting selection of seabirds on our way to the jetties, including a couple of species of grebes, loons, a pair of harlequin ducks, and lots of pigeon guillemots. Although the guillemots spend the winter at sea, they come ashore here to breed and raise their young. We see them quite often from spring through fall. They often fly close to the water, which is understandable from an aerodynamic perspective. However, they don't always pay attention to what they are doing. While we were fishing, a pair of guillemots flew low over our boat and one actually flew into Bori. It hit his shoulder, dragging its wing across his face. The bird (about 13 inches long) bounced off, and continued on, unhurt. What was it thinking? This photo is a pair of guilletmots on the jetty, but not necessarily the one that hit Bori.
A bit later, I found a nice black oystercatcher on the jetty. Always a treat.
No fish were harmed by our expedition. But the boat that landed at the dock just behind us had caught 4 halibut. I couldn't resist taking a photo. These were the little ones. Their biggest was 46 inches long.
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