Happy Solstice!

Winter, such as it is, has begun and daylight will now begin to return. It has been a very strange fall, warm and dry until recently, when it has rained off and on. I still have a few edible tomatoes on the window sill where I brought them in to ripen a month ago.

Although we have fed many buckets of apples to the goats, made lots of apple cider, stored plenty in the fridge and eaten lots of them, we have given up and let the ground be carpeted in apples. Some trees are still holding on to a few zillion. In December. Bizarre.

These photos were taken on December 18. We need bears and deer. But I think they are full of apples... even some of the wild trees in the woods are still loaded.

Also on Dec. 18, I took photos of the wild sky. The weather goes from wildly stormy to dry and calm, over and over again most days.

Christmas Bird Counts happen on the appointed day, rain or shine. This year, it has been both, but not enough shine to get me to take photos. Two counts are done, both with a lot of hiking. My legs were sore after the Upper Nestucca Count from all the miles walked. On the Lincoln City count we walked through a swamp... and I discovered a leak in one boot. I had a wet, cold foot. That prompted a trip to Jim's Trading Post, the Grand Ronde store run by friends that is closing after 50 years selling books and tools and anything that struck the fancy of the auction-loving owner. Everything is half off right now so we stocked up on rubber boots. It is nice to have dry feet.

We managed to find two fairly rain and fog free days this week to run our two raptor routes. The North Santiam route was pretty raptor poor compared to last month's good numbers and variety, but I did get photos of ducks on the ponds at Lyons City Park. I love that park.

A pair of Shovelers spent most of their time tipped over, foraging off the bottom of the shallow pond.

This lone Ring-necked Duck (which should be called Ring-billed but isn't) stood on something just under the water and posed with his reflection.

A handsome Hooded Merganser kept moving but I managed to get photos anyway.

Here he is with his mate who periodically disappeared under the water.

Gadwalls are always on these ponds. I love their subtle gray brown color and contrasting black butt.

Most of the time, they are butt up.

 Our Grand Ronde raptor route had good numbers of raptors but no bobcats this month. I was happy to see two Red-shouldered Hawks in the bobcat area. One screamed its keer keer keer keer keer etc. call at the other. They are vocal hawks. We also had a white-tailed kite there, same as last month, and also kites at the same three other locations as last month. No good photos, though. They were too far away.

By darkening the background of this very distant shot, you can almost tell it's a White-tailed Kite.

 We will do one more Christmas Count (and possibly another!) before the season ends on January 4. More hiking and more sore muscles. Whoever thinks Oregon winters are for staying indoors out of the rain is not a birder.

CBC Season Has Arrived!

For some wacky reason, I volunteered Johnny and myself for three Christmas Bird Counts this year. We usually do two, the Upper Nestucca and Lincoln City. Why I volunteered for the Dallas count, I don't know. Maybe because the coordinator wrote a marvelously inviting plea for volunteers and mentioned forested areas that are seldom covered. I'm all for hiking in the woods, so I said we would do it.

Today we scouted the areas that the coordinator mentioned could use coverage. Plus one place I simply wanted to scout because I saw "Berry Creek Falls" on the google map within the count circle. And it was in one of the seldom-if-ever covered areas.

Off we went to the first stop, the waterfall area. It appeared to be just below the bottom of a new clearcut. Johnny had to stay by the van because his knees are not up to climbing over downfalls up and down steep hills, which is what this hike to the falls entailed. I, in fact, fell several times on my way in. One time I cracked my face on something hard and said ouch! But I'm not sure it really hurt, just felt like it should. When I got home and smiled in the mirror... as I try to do every time I see myself in the mirror, because that makes me laugh and laughing makes me happy... I noticed that part of a tooth next to my two big front teeth is missing. Now when I smile, I really laugh.

It was not a very long hike... just down through the new clearcut and down through timber to Berry Creek. The first fall of water I came to was pouring over and under several huge logs that had fallen across the creek. I wondered if this was Berry Creek Falls? I took photos...

That looked more like a log jam than a waterfall, so I kept tripping my way downstream. And then the real waterfall appeared with a roar... or part of it. I could not see the bottom from where I was.

 I kept inching my way down the steep moss-covered rock bank trying for a better view...

 Finally I could see the bottom drop through the trees...

But top and bottom drops are so far apart that, when both drops are in the same frame, the waterfall looks much smaller than it is. So I took a photo of the top alone.

Berry Creek Falls! I did it! And managed to clamber up the steep rock bank and then through the brush and clearcut littered with downfalls to reach the van without breaking any more teeth.

We then drove our scouting route and more or less figured out where we will go on count day, Dec. 27. Between now and then we will do the Upper Nestucca CBC on Dec. 14 and Lincoln City on Dec. 16. Plus our two Raptor Routes before the end of the month.

Rain is forecast for the foreseeable future (or snow in the mountains). I am glad we managed to find Berry Creek Falls today, without rain or snow... and with only one partially broken tooth.

November Raptor Run

Although the weather report for today was iffy, we decided to try to get through our Grand Ronde raptor route. It turned out to be a good weather day, only sprinkling off and on, never pouring, with sun breaks and no fog. Happily, every species column was checked except Bald Eagle (which we usually see... don't know where they were hiding today).

It was exciting to find six (distant) White-tailed Kites on the route...

A Rough-legged Hawk...

Plus a Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, two Peregrine Falcons, and lots of Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels.

Here's Johnny scoping kites, harriers, and more...

However, the most exciting finds were a first for our route and they were not birds... they were three bobcat kittens up trees in a private property on our route that we have permission to drive through. A great many crows were loudly unhappy with the cats. I tried to get a photo of all three but only managed two at a time...

I did better with individual photos...

although the third kitty was not as cooperative...

What an exciting happening on our first of the season raptor run. Who knows what the North Santiam route will turn up... if we manage to do it before the end of the week... and month.

November Fast Forward

Johnny left for California to keep the grandkids Kestrel and Cedrus company while their parents went to a QiGong training. Actually, they all went but only Steve and Munazza were trainees. The kids and Johnny just got to eat lots of food that none of them had to cook, canoe, play on trampolines, and read. Plus the kids did a little homework now and then. Such a rough life.

Cedrus also did a little painting. Johnny helped him build an easel to take before they left their home for Wonder Valley.

Canoeing at Wonder Valley

Staged for a photo before Johnny got in the back

On the trampoline

They shared a cottage with good friends who had a baby

Meanwhile, back on the farm, I kept busy with animal chores plus making Christmas wreaths from our grapevines, Mugho pines, Modoc Cypress and English Holly. And a Beached Bird Survey for COASST. And writing my usual monthly humor column for United Caprine News.

Plus monitoring the smoke index in California. The retreat location was mostly out of the smoke zone from the horrendous fires in Northern California, but where they live was right in the middle of the smoke. So I invited them to come up here after their retreat until rains came to wash the smoke out of the air.

And so, for the first time in many years, the California contingent had Thanksgiving here on the farm. On Tuesday instead of Thursday because the smoke cleared on Wednesday and they needed to get home. We made apple cider with the kids and hiked to the river. They got to drive the EZ Go and help with chores. Steve spent most of the time working from his computer as he had missed enough work already.

The kids love Shirley and she loves them. She followed us to the creek

The kids liked this tiny watermelon from our farm.

 While the kids and Johnny made cider, Munazza and I mostly took photos...

First comes washing the apples... Cedrus here

The kids took turns pushing apples through the grinder

... pressing the ground apples to get the juice out...

Sometimes the press rebelled and sent pulp flying everywhere... Here it decorates Johnny...

Then the juice is strained... Munazza taking a video of the operation...

 Next comes pasteurizing...

 Then pouring the pasteurized cider into bottles...

 The bottles with some of the apples that created the cider...

 We had some for Thanksgiving Tuesday and some went home to California.

And here they are all packed and ready to head south. Smoke had cleared at their home.

Now Johnny and I are home alone together, trying to get our two raptor runs done during this last wet week of November. That story next...

A Sunday Drive and A Monday Moon

We took a day off to drive up into the woods above us and check out the roads in our Christmas Bird Count sector. The CBC is not until Dec. 14 but it was a beautiful dry (as usual this autumn) day and we wanted to know what condition the roads were in. They were in great condition, as it turned out, and the vine maples along the trickle of a Yoncalla Creek were spectacular. I took lots of photos.

 A new trail has been cut down to the top of the Upper Yoncalla Falls. Why, I don't know since you can't see the falls from the top. But it's a pretty walk.

With lots of color...

And interesting fungal growths on an old alder...

A different sort of fungus, or one at a different stage, was at the bottom of the tree...

 There were not so many colorful maples higher, in our CBC sector. But the roads were open with no trees down across them. There were new-to-us forest roads through thinnings with more muted color below the trees...

 The next day, Monday, it was back to work. Johnny spent the day repairing a broken something-or-other under his van. I spent it finishing cleaning the buck pen.

That night the moon had a rainbow encircling it. As usual, my camera refused to pick up the ring of color. I guess you need a special filter. But I kept trying...

update... I have since learned that my camera is just fine. There was no rainbow around the moon. It was my cataracts creating that lovely color. I am scheduled to have my cataracts removed after the first of the year. The world is becoming blurry... as well as oddly colorful.

The full moon is supposed to be on Wednesday but it sure looked full to me this Monday night.

I can see the man in the moon in these photos.

I panned out again to try to get that colorful ring... almost here but it had many colors and was farther out.

As clouds moved in, my camera caught the colors that were in the ring and transposed them to the clouds. Somehow.

 There was still a lovely rainbow around the moon but in my photos it just looks to be exploding. (See update above: no rainbow, just cataract deception)

Nevertheless, it was a beautiful moonlit evening in this last day before the rains are supposed to begin... and a most colorful fall.