Ramblings from Fink Family Farm: One Sunny Day

Yesterday was it. A day with sun and no rain. For awhile, the forecast called for nearly a week of no rain, but that didn't last. The forecast changes faster than the clouds scud over our farm. So I just keep on trimming horse hooves, clipping goat udders, digging out invasive marsh marigold that is giving a virus to my hellebores, deadheading daffodils, weeding flower beds... and getting wet. Between times, I take photos. Mostly of flowers and birds.

On April 28, it finally stopped raining long enough for me to take a walk in the woods and arboretum. I found this pollen-laden bumblebee in the arboretum.

A pair of Bewick's Wrens were conversing alongside the house.

Purple Finches keep the sunflower seed feeder empty and wait nearby for me to fill it up again.

And in the woods... flowers are blooming at last...

Pacific Bleeding Heart

Red Elderberry

Twinberry

These Oregon Bluebells are almost open...

Horsetails (Equisetum) are everywhere in the marshy areas. I think they're pretty, too.

Sessile Trillium

Wood Violet

Serviceberry

Lawn Daisy

Another day of little rain found a blue butterfly...

Echo Azure

...lots of logs in our portion of Agency Creek...

and blooming Oregon Grape...

After 2 days of not too much rain, the grass was dry enough to mow on Sunday. And the ground almost dry enough to drive the tractor over to the horse barn with 7 sacks of horse feed. I made it without falling into the pond or the washed out hole on the other side of the dam. Johnny is gone for a week helping the kids up north with a zillion projects. So all the farm chores are mine. Tractors scare me.

Johnny usually does the run-to-town-for-stuff chore, (as well as tractor work), so I went on Monday for goat feed and managed to get it unloaded in only light drizzle.

Tuesday it was more than light drizzle, but I went to the coast, anyway, for a tidepool clinic. It was very informative and the drizzle actually slowed considerably for us. Most of the participants were from the Lincoln City area... I could tell they were Oregonians because they said "What a nice day!" when it was only drizzling.

I didn't take photos except this one. The little black things between the barnacles are baby mussels. They will grow and dislodge the barnacles eventually.

One of the best things about this clinic was learning that these wonderful tide pools are right down the street from our favorite restaurant... the Jasmine Thai. And we never knew they were there! They are totally underwater except at very low tides. It was a minus tide on Tuesday.

From Lincoln City I drove north to Bob Straub Park in Pacific City to do my monthly beached bird survey. No canoeing needed (as was necessary to get to my previous beached bird beach). Just a long hike on hard sand. And no dead birds so far! But the mist had turned to rain.

Happily, there were live birds to see through the rain.

A Sanderling...

Three Whimbrels...

And small groups of Semi-palmated Plovers, Western Sandpipers, Dunlin (that I could identify). The Semi-palms are the cute ones, with the black bibs. The Westerns have rufous heads and dark legs. The Dunlin have black bellies (this time of year).

There are always interesting things to see on the beach. Pretty shells...

Pretty on both sides...

Art work...

Lots of Velella velella on the beach. These jellyfish relatives wash up every spring.

A strange huge ship just sitting motionless off Haystack Rock... ?? I later learned that this ship was anchored there laying cable.

And a beautiful spider. Don't click on this to make it big if you are an arachnophobe. The spider is in the very center of the photo.

But after several hours of walking in the rain, it is always good to see this sign that tells me where the trail is back to the parking lot and my car. These signs are numbered up and down the coast for rescuers to know which beach access to use to help whoever needs help.