tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60669771361476214722024-03-04T13:27:13.814-08:00Ramblings from Fink Family FarmA journal of life on our Oregon farm...Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.comBlogger786125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-45285911510346190232024-03-04T13:26:00.000-08:002024-03-04T13:26:41.636-08:00March Madness<p> <span style="font-size: large;">March has come in roaring like a Lion, as the saying goes... although it's more like the piercing howl of a Snow Leopard. For the first time this winter, we have had lots of snow ever since March arrived. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">At first, it was just enough to make the local maxim... that it always snows when the daffodils bloom... come true.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgwjwLRveEhXOHWyEnT3RRMEs7_fVrpvAFae9wS8moWEmvEkeWgwSHDFkTx430ILPlAH_6JMhw7OfQNROtbPTiI1ekS51MPCKjatnU4tLGIMwxNGkG4GNmZGziQY42ZT8TNBA4hitun0z5nqrjvb9OsN4HZnFj43TAvkIFmoHn9h3AEUsaw1tiIDZWsVv/s809/DSCN3269_9454C.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="809" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgwjwLRveEhXOHWyEnT3RRMEs7_fVrpvAFae9wS8moWEmvEkeWgwSHDFkTx430ILPlAH_6JMhw7OfQNROtbPTiI1ekS51MPCKjatnU4tLGIMwxNGkG4GNmZGziQY42ZT8TNBA4hitun0z5nqrjvb9OsN4HZnFj43TAvkIFmoHn9h3AEUsaw1tiIDZWsVv/s320/DSCN3269_9454C.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Then it managed to knock trees down across our driveway. Johnny (with very little help from me) spent all day Sunday, March 3rd, sawing down those trees and many others that were threatening to fall. He hauled them to the goat field although the goats are not much interested in foraging in the snow. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today, March 4th, was truly impressive. It snowed all night and all morning. It is melting now, the afternoon of the 4th, and sheeting off the roof, but still several inches deep on the ground. I took some photos this morning from the barn, looking toward north and west and south. And I took photos from upstairs in the house of the snow sheeting off the roof after melting began. All day we have been having thundering snow slides from one roof down to the next. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the photos... I will let them tell the story.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The Red-winged Blackbird that owns our pond and its cattails arrived a couple weeks ago and sings daily from his tree in the pond. He sang through the snow this morning until it got so heavy, even he gave up and left. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnJ9SpVDQr-nNjh5WNbsQFeq9u229Dx4zJK_VBY7I0xjFROs5yF2xXValqCBjmX-_JEYwpjwoT-j_wwI5kVynRuNzXbx8lZWdttT-T7aMEQwDLcG76Vg7Cch_8rfdkrQ_TBzRodZk4a_tnNWhqB6O5xzOir4BRKXiarul9kSGemqlYGeiKu9LGpRRFpPU/s1024/DSCN3275_9460c.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnJ9SpVDQr-nNjh5WNbsQFeq9u229Dx4zJK_VBY7I0xjFROs5yF2xXValqCBjmX-_JEYwpjwoT-j_wwI5kVynRuNzXbx8lZWdttT-T7aMEQwDLcG76Vg7Cch_8rfdkrQ_TBzRodZk4a_tnNWhqB6O5xzOir4BRKXiarul9kSGemqlYGeiKu9LGpRRFpPU/s320/DSCN3275_9460c.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">From the aisle of the barn, where I was out of the snowstorm, I took photos of the farm. <br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUY57mkutUzc6-WRLZw8pPM1QTO4CgYTfcyncbN-pgPRnZ9Ko7kWCDPZIj7afFLbYjnTqNJZVVPAY-V1AofV1TyK0rHW-C8AECsyeb3kWKJxo6H4nzg2wDjvBASmPVkqPG5OIv42dn1STcwVR4JOwDMipD3-up7MGQZ5eAxIvJ2usrhtJLAfIfnQOSj2DT/s1024/DSCN3278_9463c.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUY57mkutUzc6-WRLZw8pPM1QTO4CgYTfcyncbN-pgPRnZ9Ko7kWCDPZIj7afFLbYjnTqNJZVVPAY-V1AofV1TyK0rHW-C8AECsyeb3kWKJxo6H4nzg2wDjvBASmPVkqPG5OIv42dn1STcwVR4JOwDMipD3-up7MGQZ5eAxIvJ2usrhtJLAfIfnQOSj2DT/s320/DSCN3278_9463c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny's shop with the overhang that serves now as a horse and dog shelter. In years past it housed sheep and later llamas. Now just Nightingale (horse) and Annie (dog) hang out there during inclement weather.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_tlPWD7mau4mku6BBYknPyE817fqxs3yVvdQhc3HHWj-NPoTjgyZwM9obRbAoRDfI__-dMDg5In1r8ua0KxwMkxZ36Dx6soQPI-Q_VkY_sBjnSfjVEOQd_BRYvQeH39RFlNCyBkQ1UzC2L0VAET-9augzeb1MCWEXdop6kTSsibmZz32_exHBGQJfrVF/s1024/DSCN3279_9464c.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_tlPWD7mau4mku6BBYknPyE817fqxs3yVvdQhc3HHWj-NPoTjgyZwM9obRbAoRDfI__-dMDg5In1r8ua0KxwMkxZ36Dx6soQPI-Q_VkY_sBjnSfjVEOQd_BRYvQeH39RFlNCyBkQ1UzC2L0VAET-9augzeb1MCWEXdop6kTSsibmZz32_exHBGQJfrVF/s320/DSCN3279_9464c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "carriage house" sits west of Johnny's shop on the other side of the arena. The carriage house is a grandiose name for a building with a tack room and open bays for horse trailers and horse-drawn cart and surrey<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7p8mJJZxnbFK6DDS2poZ9AaqGpGQlDjUza3JJkSRkokXe8m7h3mgUSZ9SQFYfB64Tdx_8SQBsocw9SXLC51kS2oWtaHyW9mNJ2fVb0iU_E_tRbYqXDuGeQx0nPeOaCZH7q8WUV1uLL5bxodVdYyQY8IlY8ZvbJRxdg1Szk2phW1U4pg-uSC7hj6wL7xL/s1024/DSCN3280_9465c.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7p8mJJZxnbFK6DDS2poZ9AaqGpGQlDjUza3JJkSRkokXe8m7h3mgUSZ9SQFYfB64Tdx_8SQBsocw9SXLC51kS2oWtaHyW9mNJ2fVb0iU_E_tRbYqXDuGeQx0nPeOaCZH7q8WUV1uLL5bxodVdYyQY8IlY8ZvbJRxdg1Szk2phW1U4pg-uSC7hj6wL7xL/s320/DSCN3280_9465c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This lone sequoia sits at the corner of three fields, planted soon after we moved here almost 50 years ago to provide shade for the animals. The goats have kept it pruned up off the ground.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9dLa_hnzJHk2KGb4I9CswTdQVur7FwYxzGRo-oRk30gfX_Z_0k0hJo5NWSzvc4y94vcdrGrvkNGKwpGi9Mvq5x0c5BXPOKkti4E2zepTChJ0KWpMJFPXAuzfmdiNroRvMUbTg3Bl8MazrC4PM8xcmuQPBPQhTjORo2NR-6FJfx2y7OTbtRxnclyNAsCd/s1024/DSCN3281_9466c.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9dLa_hnzJHk2KGb4I9CswTdQVur7FwYxzGRo-oRk30gfX_Z_0k0hJo5NWSzvc4y94vcdrGrvkNGKwpGi9Mvq5x0c5BXPOKkti4E2zepTChJ0KWpMJFPXAuzfmdiNroRvMUbTg3Bl8MazrC4PM8xcmuQPBPQhTjORo2NR-6FJfx2y7OTbtRxnclyNAsCd/s320/DSCN3281_9466c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pond is to the left with a bench on the walkway across the dam. The walkway leads to the orchard and horse barn, which now only has one horse and her dog when the weather is good. At night I bring them back to the shop overhang by the arena. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTCPhbgBWbUs1VptXAqlb_YD1NJRPRsGI08afD9vZSmqlGgv_ynKFmci61Xm69hslknRG9Nwl2Ju18wrGUmUgdBj29exE8mbQ528BP8nnpIma7Squ55o0-ECTW-TurKRl79d4dv645eUWw8elJVm2ZtFNVdseacOlvQYKa4VCWorS_Tl3YucEEoykWC4w/s1024/DSCN3282_9467c.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1024" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTCPhbgBWbUs1VptXAqlb_YD1NJRPRsGI08afD9vZSmqlGgv_ynKFmci61Xm69hslknRG9Nwl2Ju18wrGUmUgdBj29exE8mbQ528BP8nnpIma7Squ55o0-ECTW-TurKRl79d4dv645eUWw8elJVm2ZtFNVdseacOlvQYKa4VCWorS_Tl3YucEEoykWC4w/s320/DSCN3282_9467c.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The above photo was taken from the upstairs of the house, looking south across the side yard between house and barn. Those curled sheets of icy snow reached three feet in length before crashing to the roof of the greenhouse/jungle room below. The one sheet coming off the roof to the right, visible farther out, grew to five feet before collapsing to the ground below. All made tremendous booms when they fell. And are, at this writing, mid-day on Monday, March 4th, still falling and booming. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Winter is not giving up without a snowy... and loud... March tantrum. <br /> <br /></span></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-89417671115872428522024-02-29T10:51:00.000-08:002024-02-29T10:51:15.545-08:00Catching Up...<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Bird surveys have taken up most of February so far. Again, it has been challenging to find days when it's not raining or foggy. One non-rainy day I took photos of some of the birds that come outside the milk room for feed every morning. I post "incidental" lists on e-bird of the birds I can see from the milk room windows while milking and feeding goats. Here are some of them: <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCwVGFoq9lt90Ledy-fGwzH5Lvzhmbdf5iV06A0_ujTzyh8dwes1zfJAual2o0n-i8hV2hmPfEvYUFV6w6TkMiSOQL_y9WsUWrw9ZaPJwLLaafTKgUbQfyEkW41P6YjcRpLv5PlcSuZPAQcsEmyrTP0rJu4cBqESSc6a5hu2v5Fzd6IvMUeWpWhrBk8gB/s961/9218C.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCwVGFoq9lt90Ledy-fGwzH5Lvzhmbdf5iV06A0_ujTzyh8dwes1zfJAual2o0n-i8hV2hmPfEvYUFV6w6TkMiSOQL_y9WsUWrw9ZaPJwLLaafTKgUbQfyEkW41P6YjcRpLv5PlcSuZPAQcsEmyrTP0rJu4cBqESSc6a5hu2v5Fzd6IvMUeWpWhrBk8gB/s320/9218C.JPG" width="256" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vuO6A7IkJfGP3bOLnCaUIcSYgCFwqwTgPaMZRhZyVY1BC3UiWwHDHOnWS1mvXEd3uVvKaGTipLyLpUIxaGyHpWOHbFhgCIe1WwqlBK0mlX7ZZ4vV4mziVUVXraCRef1mU5Ues_VmFnwt7Hl8AeXsqDjqJhM5RCTMNwlV_9iRyYdf7dnLMMyjZp_ITfA9/s1024/9220C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vuO6A7IkJfGP3bOLnCaUIcSYgCFwqwTgPaMZRhZyVY1BC3UiWwHDHOnWS1mvXEd3uVvKaGTipLyLpUIxaGyHpWOHbFhgCIe1WwqlBK0mlX7ZZ4vV4mziVUVXraCRef1mU5Ues_VmFnwt7Hl8AeXsqDjqJhM5RCTMNwlV_9iRyYdf7dnLMMyjZp_ITfA9/s320/9220C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">California Quail by the score...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ese69X1Wz2L7AG6P9Xe_AVXg_tARMrRyROgff9eB-p2Mphxbjn_bKWlSH24JtipKzOj-_4-_xF8eSZWsBBXeA-U9xZArga63aZiuS25nZNcbSnMtpjHOEeeRCt07dPSfMGU6VGwR0cVTHXjVqLOOYBru7EbqHbsaL6_gpouKNgGaiPjr0fGS6wQmxt1x/s965/9228C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="965" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ese69X1Wz2L7AG6P9Xe_AVXg_tARMrRyROgff9eB-p2Mphxbjn_bKWlSH24JtipKzOj-_4-_xF8eSZWsBBXeA-U9xZArga63aZiuS25nZNcbSnMtpjHOEeeRCt07dPSfMGU6VGwR0cVTHXjVqLOOYBru7EbqHbsaL6_gpouKNgGaiPjr0fGS6wQmxt1x/s320/9228C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mourning Dove<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2dp4xv8c8bx5VJCCQ4oAmJp-y15B2G7AnHZYwxmnafaz2-ss6i9WaTiX7OmF7VdyhHzKrncWlQEXHQV5owK3GLbMlliAdUsO2s1_8FuokW1Zf8yA0lYPZPtEPqWbeP2c0_baal4jg_ImNPiWdwhu32Ur52EcK88B9-n-sdgJpven5Uk2yS6Z-39eGCgD/s866/9230C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="866" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2dp4xv8c8bx5VJCCQ4oAmJp-y15B2G7AnHZYwxmnafaz2-ss6i9WaTiX7OmF7VdyhHzKrncWlQEXHQV5owK3GLbMlliAdUsO2s1_8FuokW1Zf8yA0lYPZPtEPqWbeP2c0_baal4jg_ImNPiWdwhu32Ur52EcK88B9-n-sdgJpven5Uk2yS6Z-39eGCgD/s320/9230C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden-crowned Sparrow<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIvzm2VwNlLv1UJ04RsF91hGpOAJaWJtvXu9oMzE9wO295Zg8c3bNB1zzOUly2TCeiekwPhylmZolYJBfqQKkomzly9qwebod2BIqsnKzg-g4hm1ilqgYayDZ51wbXSuTQVz_a-XQsIv0ATCI5dt9o0_4NHG9nl-EMOtkt0eioNXAM9SUsbcaWmiRtEuB/s1024/9232C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIvzm2VwNlLv1UJ04RsF91hGpOAJaWJtvXu9oMzE9wO295Zg8c3bNB1zzOUly2TCeiekwPhylmZolYJBfqQKkomzly9qwebod2BIqsnKzg-g4hm1ilqgYayDZ51wbXSuTQVz_a-XQsIv0ATCI5dt9o0_4NHG9nl-EMOtkt0eioNXAM9SUsbcaWmiRtEuB/s320/9232C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted Towhee<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkZEeM-WX1EDN5TkOciFLUQ0tSpUP6Kb3XvO9dlJdQ3M_ZMyNIxeO66ZwdpKDJoCE3ZVXaH6ntjOQT-pq6bu0z808pKY-vSzR-HEubokYrCw_T5fZNnSEkNkNuVsP-pO8y6xuDEWgtR-eLHnt0-fUOKpynFNnOnxkVVFowB4Ay2SoGaXsQMlScZJh5ZCT/s1022/9233C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1022" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkZEeM-WX1EDN5TkOciFLUQ0tSpUP6Kb3XvO9dlJdQ3M_ZMyNIxeO66ZwdpKDJoCE3ZVXaH6ntjOQT-pq6bu0z808pKY-vSzR-HEubokYrCw_T5fZNnSEkNkNuVsP-pO8y6xuDEWgtR-eLHnt0-fUOKpynFNnOnxkVVFowB4Ay2SoGaXsQMlScZJh5ZCT/s320/9233C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark-eyed Junco<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeim_4DsLFLnjWFpWT6NOcmhyphenhyphen9orNuCYDtO8zbA67cFUCcFZBNwBAcJvxzvOwMZxOGtMgS8gxlhyphenhyphendZLoo0kDZ4OSeMW37Ij5SNm2fB2qhcZQYfmEmDxuV5dC-0LW4BUR_6nSg4XcHUiuKLXgVn9XrvAbZQ3vyw1GW46hgCptnuYgUoL-VNrwa717CDL5T/s1024/9236C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeim_4DsLFLnjWFpWT6NOcmhyphenhyphen9orNuCYDtO8zbA67cFUCcFZBNwBAcJvxzvOwMZxOGtMgS8gxlhyphenhyphendZLoo0kDZ4OSeMW37Ij5SNm2fB2qhcZQYfmEmDxuV5dC-0LW4BUR_6nSg4XcHUiuKLXgVn9XrvAbZQ3vyw1GW46hgCptnuYgUoL-VNrwa717CDL5T/s320/9236C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-winged Blackbird<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipF4jZqKVH0ai4yjVQcZMni1txFaZ32Lru4fuu6k8aOupPr4PxXCk-VL74ta_iRaxlXczp__rV7_agVM5FBtYjX3iSw_knuK03ptT2QEL3K7lwDGnJFDTXQ0v2wt3H2cYEulSBwJLZQG1W5yfJUwpvHD2PeNMwnX63KJ348KaCvTAw0faCcPdBwP_ZS3Kv/s973/9250C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="973" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipF4jZqKVH0ai4yjVQcZMni1txFaZ32Lru4fuu6k8aOupPr4PxXCk-VL74ta_iRaxlXczp__rV7_agVM5FBtYjX3iSw_knuK03ptT2QEL3K7lwDGnJFDTXQ0v2wt3H2cYEulSBwJLZQG1W5yfJUwpvHD2PeNMwnX63KJ348KaCvTAw0faCcPdBwP_ZS3Kv/s320/9250C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steller's Jay<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWw4mSMY8o9R7sQf_GyjHzKec2zuq8eOT8RJtJzj5yCQA742gbHREnr-cf7zOIg3UUmVvy1xKLQgpNmG7yKPkNFIlIODF1mDUI3ux6fwXb1nSd4_Z3Is5kAgm8d8L1imHl_gnf6CK8I8Mo9nizsTDDXZNvKs2IN85PDRyUhDRhDTGPQuL_7zploTkfMuN/s966/9261C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="966" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWw4mSMY8o9R7sQf_GyjHzKec2zuq8eOT8RJtJzj5yCQA742gbHREnr-cf7zOIg3UUmVvy1xKLQgpNmG7yKPkNFIlIODF1mDUI3ux6fwXb1nSd4_Z3Is5kAgm8d8L1imHl_gnf6CK8I8Mo9nizsTDDXZNvKs2IN85PDRyUhDRhDTGPQuL_7zploTkfMuN/s320/9261C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chestnut-backed Chickadee<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TAv0y8-5qJ3hh-uiODuKFKSFkgmlqW8GrcX6lXBrkjELslznnvqlNgS6gATSHNP_CtEvxSqkLmfVY2CXXeVrouAhijwyz0eO7fbv6hPCzbD0ue_pZN04GV6f9OfdaiG8N0ffH_Wpr0DkH4l5I8U-cRm0jSOgSbzWH6Sp9zHf0Q7FtPUPk7wJCZ33IvRa/s891/9264C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TAv0y8-5qJ3hh-uiODuKFKSFkgmlqW8GrcX6lXBrkjELslznnvqlNgS6gATSHNP_CtEvxSqkLmfVY2CXXeVrouAhijwyz0eO7fbv6hPCzbD0ue_pZN04GV6f9OfdaiG8N0ffH_Wpr0DkH4l5I8U-cRm0jSOgSbzWH6Sp9zHf0Q7FtPUPk7wJCZ33IvRa/s320/9264C.JPG" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-breasted Nuthatch<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2RgYfYpwD4ReBiXuUdsSi5IEteQJWOXwN2j4iGmMDLZV_8YsDkHVkDuXauuVOsP5A0YUrhcieOJP91xXt9Aan6EAiIvGl9moDQU42aJrbf5itY9T24SjftZGSGtJ077ZVD6snRKN1tFUnF4y4YsBAHvcSwXb_ysSrpbLWtuyKk-Di-uoTrQ9otVeYCQs/s1024/9225C.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1024" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2RgYfYpwD4ReBiXuUdsSi5IEteQJWOXwN2j4iGmMDLZV_8YsDkHVkDuXauuVOsP5A0YUrhcieOJP91xXt9Aan6EAiIvGl9moDQU42aJrbf5itY9T24SjftZGSGtJ077ZVD6snRKN1tFUnF4y4YsBAHvcSwXb_ysSrpbLWtuyKk-Di-uoTrQ9otVeYCQs/s320/9225C.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fox Sparrow</td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> I don't know how to do anything with my wonderful camera but point and shoot, so that's what I do. Birds manage to come out recognizable even in the rain through dirty milk room windows. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Today, Feb. 29, 2024, a new bird for the year appeared outside that window while I was milking... a Great Blue Heron. It flew from the pond and perched high in a tree far away, but my camera was up to the challenge.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_ERnOb3b7OtO7pVfb0oQc2YJYV-qV6cKMtcmJIfdMGSRTjyNy-qPwft16d2X4uecqUAEpKcduLAgfUsFq9P9JF3d3nBpDE-LWgMJoMlFcHzCSFobWC52J5kUZlzn7HB3cHCN-wTTEeCOmRVWkS2CSTlZV62TmV-RI_CJf5ZY4Z1hbOwGSRXx6OhzcOf5/s937/DSCN3260_9445C.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_ERnOb3b7OtO7pVfb0oQc2YJYV-qV6cKMtcmJIfdMGSRTjyNy-qPwft16d2X4uecqUAEpKcduLAgfUsFq9P9JF3d3nBpDE-LWgMJoMlFcHzCSFobWC52J5kUZlzn7HB3cHCN-wTTEeCOmRVWkS2CSTlZV62TmV-RI_CJf5ZY4Z1hbOwGSRXx6OhzcOf5/s320/DSCN3260_9445C.JPG" width="262" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And the Red-winged Blackbird that visits daily sang and showed off his bright red wing spots.<br /> </span> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiMSuUDBzal6REp0P1Nxm42HUIOujpjSCYtZhK1Y7YAXwvk_CoI6pNJKseM1A_jat81y47c6jKE_uM3SBMLX9hgYFbzFv3WgQZTiGY1rUrxFZysX_B0xqlHxDpWOCWJj8zhvyTBPq5S_8b1HnV4lJATDch4Rjou76pZdtLqc_TwAy2sQkAS7JtJGYu76V/s831/9447C.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiMSuUDBzal6REp0P1Nxm42HUIOujpjSCYtZhK1Y7YAXwvk_CoI6pNJKseM1A_jat81y47c6jKE_uM3SBMLX9hgYFbzFv3WgQZTiGY1rUrxFZysX_B0xqlHxDpWOCWJj8zhvyTBPq5S_8b1HnV4lJATDch4Rjou76pZdtLqc_TwAy2sQkAS7JtJGYu76V/s320/9447C.JPG" width="296" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those were the happy events of the month. There was also much sadness when good friend Blythe, who introduced us to Qi Gong and did Ren Yuan with us every Sunday she was able, fell into a coma and died ten days later, on Feb. 28. Over twenty years of chemotherapy for her lymphoma dampened her immune system and made her vulnerable. Blythe was a vibrant, kind, giving person, the sort of person who makes everyone around her feel good. May her beautiful spirit remain with us forever.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-88498207667965252202024-01-22T16:07:00.000-08:002024-01-22T16:07:24.005-08:00Wacky Weather<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Our last Christmas Bird Count of the season was on the last day of December. The weather was reasonably good but cold and foggy... which is better than pouring rain. We had a hard time figuring out what some of the birds we saw were so I took photos and sent them to the compiler, Paul Sullivan, who identified them for me. I'll bet he's glad most of his team can identify their own birds! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My bird id photos are not blog worthy, but here is one of a pretty stream in our sector of the count. This is one stream where we have seen Dippers in the past but they eluded us this year.<br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEY67NUOuE7QwOP-dK-5ICrWm1WugFORPDANmec8g30Vil1RqzCeigfdPn-NrNRz1HluDXXpj0-DlczwowVZVxPZPW4uFa4Xls3WLhawImk_ydxUEdQehi4eyte3y19CS5lysV9sEQf5QhT-DGlHoP7omSYzcL6IPXvNl1g35DRkdoU3cMWITpaMN5bgw/s4608/DSCN2859_9034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcEY67NUOuE7QwOP-dK-5ICrWm1WugFORPDANmec8g30Vil1RqzCeigfdPn-NrNRz1HluDXXpj0-DlczwowVZVxPZPW4uFa4Xls3WLhawImk_ydxUEdQehi4eyte3y19CS5lysV9sEQf5QhT-DGlHoP7omSYzcL6IPXvNl1g35DRkdoU3cMWITpaMN5bgw/s320/DSCN2859_9034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Then it was January and the weather did not improve. It was challenging to get raptor surveys and beach
surveys done in this wacky weather. I do not go to the beach for a survey
when there are huge waves and high tides, which is most of the time
these days, it seems. I hit one good day for tides and weather on
January 3rd. But the ocean had left its mark and I hurried through my
beached bird survey while nervously eyeing the ocean and the dune that
the ocean had carved back considerably since my last visit.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2h_Z0qpIHKFXKY-ASDj40iroKyAlKfZo03ifjBVpd_oV6MeNooP5lLFoR4b-XwpyiyERLT6qutwbwFxmxf_G3IHJueCbczIpGB0md_e9LKA-Ezew4kc4yrHKyqO1NVomBaXvCq03SI77M-ENuqEQn_r7ousrM21Jra3uPGk4Ao5mR7qox9pTXvjvysq2y/s1024/9062%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2h_Z0qpIHKFXKY-ASDj40iroKyAlKfZo03ifjBVpd_oV6MeNooP5lLFoR4b-XwpyiyERLT6qutwbwFxmxf_G3IHJueCbczIpGB0md_e9LKA-Ezew4kc4yrHKyqO1NVomBaXvCq03SI77M-ENuqEQn_r7ousrM21Jra3uPGk4Ao5mR7qox9pTXvjvysq2y/s320/9062%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBL7MvhbPB2MRiOK9Vc-BvEMOCtRZHjGavxHGIBJDjGNlTPxDSpS11pm2q9FC_-fHr1BdJi5S5OF6v7Hh2SoYYk8XxHqpDQNf6Px9rsypSeFWjC0RUJZygSVTe0r5ws9QXemK0AAdf0D0s-mQdbAem6e_ToChvG35O96tPdieW_L9ZAVc2PU3-3XQyJt_C/s4608/DSCN2882_9057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBL7MvhbPB2MRiOK9Vc-BvEMOCtRZHjGavxHGIBJDjGNlTPxDSpS11pm2q9FC_-fHr1BdJi5S5OF6v7Hh2SoYYk8XxHqpDQNf6Px9rsypSeFWjC0RUJZygSVTe0r5ws9QXemK0AAdf0D0s-mQdbAem6e_ToChvG35O96tPdieW_L9ZAVc2PU3-3XQyJt_C/s320/DSCN2882_9057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>As can be seen by the foam clear up to the dune, the ocean had only recently retreated. If a wave had come while I was on the beach and carved that dune as it did before I arrived, I would have been washed back into the ocean along with all the wood and wrack that was probably there before the waves reclaimed them. I hope February is kinder for my beached bird survey.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The next day the weather was still moderate so we did our Grand Ronde raptor survey. Again, I took lots of photos so I could stare at them on the computer later and try to figure out what we saw. The eagles I could tell without a photo so I didn't take any. Too bad because the other photos are crummy. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On the 9th with icy weather threatening, we drove to Portland to help a recently widowed friend winterize her pipes. She had already moved nearly all her hundreds of cacti and succulents from their huge greenhouse into her house to keep them from freezing. Every place indoors was lined with plants... on tables, along hallways, up the stairs. It was beautiful! I told her she should give tours. Johnny made a list of all the things she needs his help with and has been getting materials together ever since. We'll go back up as soon as the weather allows.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch... a preliminary ice storm had downed a dead trunk of the hybrid poplar in our front yard, completely blocking the front path. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpvOmu9GvT7CqP_H_4IJdAjA9Ua3NWrLQgpksNr6AsKq9TatnPbROKFWeUwYbx2dGmA7Jf9LEUHSSJexMIWokuwCRfM6TF6OG6CjINy2hyVXzTM0AR_LvgItMGYlgtoqOVTKwbJGohH11BB8t0t_yRjkYFj9_piVTYT7Sy6JZKTLaaiw0VWIrck9CoumE/s1024/DSCN2912_9087%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpvOmu9GvT7CqP_H_4IJdAjA9Ua3NWrLQgpksNr6AsKq9TatnPbROKFWeUwYbx2dGmA7Jf9LEUHSSJexMIWokuwCRfM6TF6OG6CjINy2hyVXzTM0AR_LvgItMGYlgtoqOVTKwbJGohH11BB8t0t_yRjkYFj9_piVTYT7Sy6JZKTLaaiw0VWIrck9CoumE/s320/DSCN2912_9087%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> But inside the greenhouse, orchids were... and are... blooming. I moved one into the house. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Bs37qbRG0BVLStfTmgQra1YdBIGN__Y0b2xnqCxdIRirf_TlVA4B4YinLxRCcNg2cQQ95xxyGVcpRqBdRLdCRTNMDIOmvZWSTg3e5r0CaJC6iDHTamf6a9pZ7H-ttxNKmaB5SU78Zl6cL7yRwA1Ij3IZju_lNNXSaGn1Jii0piHxza0yCJWyQlLMBwaZ/s1024/DSCN2930_9105%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Bs37qbRG0BVLStfTmgQra1YdBIGN__Y0b2xnqCxdIRirf_TlVA4B4YinLxRCcNg2cQQ95xxyGVcpRqBdRLdCRTNMDIOmvZWSTg3e5r0CaJC6iDHTamf6a9pZ7H-ttxNKmaB5SU78Zl6cL7yRwA1Ij3IZju_lNNXSaGn1Jii0piHxza0yCJWyQlLMBwaZ/s320/DSCN2930_9105%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn22lMUKUyLWzhyphenhyphenYzl2tyLLbVPlOy8G4w6EYjhLTga1oGppHgpnhP9MMFxXhSQDkmdvDQrz4FOUnsNHakXo80LxO9kmq90z86utuU2GQGpMJd_wp3jVPJAK9tchW_zpa7oX1K80A5hZujigFpo1aPvrMWTdiEZDZvFOy4A82tt_pu4iUkicwQbIoewKWRc/s4608/DSCN2926_9101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn22lMUKUyLWzhyphenhyphenYzl2tyLLbVPlOy8G4w6EYjhLTga1oGppHgpnhP9MMFxXhSQDkmdvDQrz4FOUnsNHakXo80LxO9kmq90z86utuU2GQGpMJd_wp3jVPJAK9tchW_zpa7oX1K80A5hZujigFpo1aPvrMWTdiEZDZvFOy4A82tt_pu4iUkicwQbIoewKWRc/s320/DSCN2926_9101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br />A jade is blooming in the greenhouse, too.<br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsKPkr6y7rPUhvaE5YCrBqrqvCZ-wde3iWcdit4ph4_S772csnJGqHQgcGABks3p5tLRR98lrEJa_-dkLimhVt149jn5Iw7uuRI6HflttWO0K_0RSTCvtDK4wnNI_fVNOZV4EX6TS2pNLuYnW2letAapulQphXwxcpOryL7H9rQmRAOSipBF5VimdX8xn/s773/9103%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="773" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsKPkr6y7rPUhvaE5YCrBqrqvCZ-wde3iWcdit4ph4_S772csnJGqHQgcGABks3p5tLRR98lrEJa_-dkLimhVt149jn5Iw7uuRI6HflttWO0K_0RSTCvtDK4wnNI_fVNOZV4EX6TS2pNLuYnW2letAapulQphXwxcpOryL7H9rQmRAOSipBF5VimdX8xn/s320/9103%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Outdoors, the winter-blooming jasmine had climbed along the top of the wood door, annoying Johnny who has to bring the wood into the house through that door, but looking pretty in the sunshine.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwM48eyOU_siK9I4wXSTcI5SBO6phCIBasCLyH6SWmmBDwpHfBfPrrIqxAK2j3U8WyodoN5eEwYOZfMfLqAJrkUxPrzI3QMSNulcWHpK0DMolAg6vtjbPHgDwHrkVobboJ7DGvmd4hBN41BH8hdplTW2-MRnLA2nwJPLy8ksgaOn1IOJZ72Ovz-RjmecWX/s1024/9096%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwM48eyOU_siK9I4wXSTcI5SBO6phCIBasCLyH6SWmmBDwpHfBfPrrIqxAK2j3U8WyodoN5eEwYOZfMfLqAJrkUxPrzI3QMSNulcWHpK0DMolAg6vtjbPHgDwHrkVobboJ7DGvmd4hBN41BH8hdplTW2-MRnLA2nwJPLy8ksgaOn1IOJZ72Ovz-RjmecWX/s320/9096%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Down in the woods, Agency Creek was running high and muddy.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5dY5IYAxgMhHXNReuTDhwj6sKmPTsAUf0F3nd1E3W-OtgCxML0OrQf3H6eyPgq08xK0wETCGImEFSj_BFRb4LaoHVh1KiCmx1ECS0v1hT6r4J3gTCKccbQk_LI0ZjaJl2L8Gvzux5gp8fn22yZz78CdhOrEEY_IgY3oJBz4tlKWyaxXhaYWDauF9-WlJ/s4608/DSCN2914_9089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5dY5IYAxgMhHXNReuTDhwj6sKmPTsAUf0F3nd1E3W-OtgCxML0OrQf3H6eyPgq08xK0wETCGImEFSj_BFRb4LaoHVh1KiCmx1ECS0v1hT6r4J3gTCKccbQk_LI0ZjaJl2L8Gvzux5gp8fn22yZz78CdhOrEEY_IgY3oJBz4tlKWyaxXhaYWDauF9-WlJ/s320/DSCN2914_9089.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> Then came the real ice storm. Temperature dipped to 17 degrees. Kitchen sink drain froze, making the washing machine and dishwasher also unusable. We kept the woodstove going day and night, burning through a lot of that wood Johnny had filled the woodshed with this fall. Now he spent a lot of time thawing water for the goats. An electric space heater in the milk room kept that water from freezing. With the ground covered first with snow and then ice on top, the goats stayed inside the barn. I put on Johnny's old forestry boots with spikes on the bottom to keep from falling on my way to and from the horse/dog shed and goat barn.</span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On January 15, the sun shone so I walked to the creek and took photos of tracks in the snow. I think this is a Gray Fox print.</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeshu2PDbnarYTMyvm8sMvVszKQ6PVsUH3I0ldxCNXOTiFNy0DpkgC2BJgB3MU2guleIrw2UFw3HfLhOYs5MzK_4qIMIPVOrSDAEta_rM5wFBftRsnMPpHdz2BmGPHslXndEcMCN3Z-05176_Aa6GG5fTQjU733T2xcLf-DbJPWfgyPQrkkUH9hPkEykzf/s1024/DSCN2934_9109c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeshu2PDbnarYTMyvm8sMvVszKQ6PVsUH3I0ldxCNXOTiFNy0DpkgC2BJgB3MU2guleIrw2UFw3HfLhOYs5MzK_4qIMIPVOrSDAEta_rM5wFBftRsnMPpHdz2BmGPHslXndEcMCN3Z-05176_Aa6GG5fTQjU733T2xcLf-DbJPWfgyPQrkkUH9hPkEykzf/s320/DSCN2934_9109c.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">I was hoping for some pretty farm-in-the-snow photos, but it wasn't particularly pretty... just cold!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CFDCsRtiHW7Gc1lLZj4KZlDwLB9dWmASLXX85xMhwzhoLzqCk1yy4KzK6E0cpMAmlQowSdJzmsiGMdHl4Z_zvAh55krkEfMvRzMWA9w7P7tXxkKu4YwaO2-I2_tonQJ6ipLMmr8faOlwJ9gE7NayHyt6GY_YAK8aaG9eOBMvPjBGEQZWn1TR_zJYMwwB/s1024/9107%20C.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CFDCsRtiHW7Gc1lLZj4KZlDwLB9dWmASLXX85xMhwzhoLzqCk1yy4KzK6E0cpMAmlQowSdJzmsiGMdHl4Z_zvAh55krkEfMvRzMWA9w7P7tXxkKu4YwaO2-I2_tonQJ6ipLMmr8faOlwJ9gE7NayHyt6GY_YAK8aaG9eOBMvPjBGEQZWn1TR_zJYMwwB/s320/9107%20C.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Finally, on Friday the 19th, we were able to get out the driveway to do our North Santiam raptor
survey. Snow and ice were along the roads all the way to Salem, and then
it was like a miracle... roads were clear, and just a little ways
eastward where our route took us, there was no snow alongside the road.
There was even some sunshine! And unfrozen water!!<br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXoBxDqEWFxHLAFDr5jL9bRkeZVSr3bG4J1h3jG6XbfJyrd8d_BhCbM_nXoHLkjHpPFgqwpIw-pLrYFIKlPQ8HEdZXkqadg3LDN9HnMEFGdRBzBmn8vy-Uwp4wXR7mq9RuNSwXgKtGKZIAJNguhZ5opwP6REuE3ST3MmfYhy2wWl5nMW77SHOVCwZ4IgX/s4608/DSCN2944_9119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXoBxDqEWFxHLAFDr5jL9bRkeZVSr3bG4J1h3jG6XbfJyrd8d_BhCbM_nXoHLkjHpPFgqwpIw-pLrYFIKlPQ8HEdZXkqadg3LDN9HnMEFGdRBzBmn8vy-Uwp4wXR7mq9RuNSwXgKtGKZIAJNguhZ5opwP6REuE3ST3MmfYhy2wWl5nMW77SHOVCwZ4IgX/s320/DSCN2944_9119.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Weather was a little warmer for Johnny's 81st birthday on January 21st. The driveway was slushy enough for friend Mary to join us to do Ren Yuan, eat a birthday lunch, and watch a nature documentary. Later that day Johnny had happy birthday calls from friends and kids, so it was a good day.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today, the 22nd, we woke to 50 degree weather and nearly all the snow and ice gone!! Rain didn't start until early afternoon so I managed to get manure (some of it still frozen) spread on the field... finally... while Johnny sawed up the tree still down across the front path. We hauled off the limbs and all the greenery the tree had taken down with it... to the burn pile in the lower field, where the seasonal pond is full to overflowing and no longer iced over.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The forecast is for rain for the rest of January but that's better than freezing rain and below freezing temperatures. The rest of the country is suffering with cold now but maybe they will warm up, too. Or maybe we will all just have to get accustomed to wacky weather.<br /></span></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-81596442285077096412023-12-23T20:40:00.000-08:002023-12-23T20:40:47.059-08:00December in Photos<p><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">In early December, we had heavy rains. So heavy our "bayou" filled up to overflowing. The flood apparently was a bit much for Matilda, the alligator. Her tail flipped upside down.</span> <br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWi6I-D1M4KBQbbLaWRqSqST8-uvqqr2juEBwSJPM3s23mpBUFjhyphenhyphensLDwPTxPxZ8Pq7mqFafQBKnzcNSfF_yQSy1Y0H2Rg4yPFrcJrw-EJdGrIUUS7dA92SVvu7YRV8GiN-6JKP9fjzZxmu1npoFTtS0hmOWqtaOVxjTwSoRvlX-gSjXILVknsuJtcug3/s1024/8879%20compressed.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWi6I-D1M4KBQbbLaWRqSqST8-uvqqr2juEBwSJPM3s23mpBUFjhyphenhyphensLDwPTxPxZ8Pq7mqFafQBKnzcNSfF_yQSy1Y0H2Rg4yPFrcJrw-EJdGrIUUS7dA92SVvu7YRV8GiN-6JKP9fjzZxmu1npoFTtS0hmOWqtaOVxjTwSoRvlX-gSjXILVknsuJtcug3/s320/8879%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> <br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNPR1HPfD9w3zMWs6BM22koffRUb_JIERo2a8QIhaTEjMOhNwH-wgcebXGNNJNStOdmMZE62FHmdcNDUHlcbD_iewJzuH2gXVZ76g-1qZSsB668RnwtMhv5eahhba-W9LBBw84rxXS2w3uK6dhe3H5cgxkjk3M8b3PMwQnZUyJ3jIlnJGM89MWNvDJAVp/s891/8880%20compressed.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="891" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNPR1HPfD9w3zMWs6BM22koffRUb_JIERo2a8QIhaTEjMOhNwH-wgcebXGNNJNStOdmMZE62FHmdcNDUHlcbD_iewJzuH2gXVZ76g-1qZSsB668RnwtMhv5eahhba-W9LBBw84rxXS2w3uK6dhe3H5cgxkjk3M8b3PMwQnZUyJ3jIlnJGM89MWNvDJAVp/s320/8880%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7u-yu6J_RORNqQ_yoQf3ZtavCe8ghQB9Jz8JfAxSKCetp1LRFvlt1i4j392PqHO00XkjpnenYUX7driB-SpTu0BLQjUF8gY-TYnUmj5TnOcGnl3m2eszj_d4SBjTKbtPD1GtTjAVlVy0d4OVBc0kOXfZkaR3QMGsLThZliraHXOKD8nGBRqlTF9Mbsxd/s4608/DSCN2745_8881.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7u-yu6J_RORNqQ_yoQf3ZtavCe8ghQB9Jz8JfAxSKCetp1LRFvlt1i4j392PqHO00XkjpnenYUX7driB-SpTu0BLQjUF8gY-TYnUmj5TnOcGnl3m2eszj_d4SBjTKbtPD1GtTjAVlVy0d4OVBc0kOXfZkaR3QMGsLThZliraHXOKD8nGBRqlTF9Mbsxd/s320/DSCN2745_8881.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> But eventually, the rain stopped, water went down, and Matilda was repaired. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We had many bird surveys to fit into the few dry days. And one CoastWatch survey that is not a bird survey... but naturally, I took photos of birds anyway. A Belted Kingfisher was fishing over the ocean from a tidal rock, something I've never seen before. Johnny saw it kiting over the ocean. Such high hopes!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofn1SuXjLIJa7zzC8-VcUQyMnOWFcupWVJ8if_wn93VOXUjBGuZggUV7UbSCOeDHG_NNuT1AcSdpPep0gmFYjYcnMrK3u0kBuXV-Rs0MyGG8R6U4Fr4Ljojli6c7OEmyg72hmrzumYZ_ZhOuZtUdI3Fq8nrpf8L1GmlkTy_l8MXM8AR1DuyNpzo6Dk8Oi/s4608/DSCN2799_8970%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofn1SuXjLIJa7zzC8-VcUQyMnOWFcupWVJ8if_wn93VOXUjBGuZggUV7UbSCOeDHG_NNuT1AcSdpPep0gmFYjYcnMrK3u0kBuXV-Rs0MyGG8R6U4Fr4Ljojli6c7OEmyg72hmrzumYZ_ZhOuZtUdI3Fq8nrpf8L1GmlkTy_l8MXM8AR1DuyNpzo6Dk8Oi/s320/DSCN2799_8970%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi6TTcsuKq0FpwgBeFRJFDVfjksXEjyqpvSZouLCWVt_-YI4mcaTjaE9I9K53FRpKe74gFRboke9XKtjLTrT4YoSHLMuP9O5KPv65Toi3yFPwV6rva89mMnvnGHVjlECtz2YN1kGcSIZ7eiTBDpUNcs6Mf2YaJMq4YpnOcbjuikhPEGE47LYiOJ6gNpmT/s1024/8971%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi6TTcsuKq0FpwgBeFRJFDVfjksXEjyqpvSZouLCWVt_-YI4mcaTjaE9I9K53FRpKe74gFRboke9XKtjLTrT4YoSHLMuP9O5KPv65Toi3yFPwV6rva89mMnvnGHVjlECtz2YN1kGcSIZ7eiTBDpUNcs6Mf2YaJMq4YpnOcbjuikhPEGE47LYiOJ6gNpmT/s320/8971%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0RPyivLBx4G3aN22iDQ4aXxesi2DpG_y_PK7BlXySuwS67-OJj9lkA2Fd5RSAfjgjalBttl-U6ZOO48VMSR8wZ7uK5_yvotnTVutIaaFVteJ9n_P_OyQ_8WXXprBVCfWbRnn7iKzDlO0uKUenoJy5iEaHHwCmXaRJRruSBTRKdftONpVgPlR-DZ_l7gp/s1024/DSCN2796_8967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0RPyivLBx4G3aN22iDQ4aXxesi2DpG_y_PK7BlXySuwS67-OJj9lkA2Fd5RSAfjgjalBttl-U6ZOO48VMSR8wZ7uK5_yvotnTVutIaaFVteJ9n_P_OyQ_8WXXprBVCfWbRnn7iKzDlO0uKUenoJy5iEaHHwCmXaRJRruSBTRKdftONpVgPlR-DZ_l7gp/s320/DSCN2796_8967.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Of course, I had to take a photo of a Black Oystercatcher, who is supposed to be on rocky shorelines, feeding on shellfish. </span><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wF_VynjA24YiAu4TOrxH3j7ssnVvt2hyphenhyphenfIiV_JqTGNGx5w3xRpBKIxJbmUNTqz_ezA00dmm-eq4YUsVF-WrUqMLUVxr5IIJ_COu1kBUNMgJnBRQQXTlVYIubrRdmIzl3_Y_t2SbPGs-iV2uiI15KsoOeAjkSlJ6LuxONn0i25rCDN2-kvzRyqiidZ9KT/s1024/DSCN2804_8975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wF_VynjA24YiAu4TOrxH3j7ssnVvt2hyphenhyphenfIiV_JqTGNGx5w3xRpBKIxJbmUNTqz_ezA00dmm-eq4YUsVF-WrUqMLUVxr5IIJ_COu1kBUNMgJnBRQQXTlVYIubrRdmIzl3_Y_t2SbPGs-iV2uiI15KsoOeAjkSlJ6LuxONn0i25rCDN2-kvzRyqiidZ9KT/s320/DSCN2804_8975.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>On the way home, we stopped at Gunaldo Falls, our traditional stop. Thanks to all the rain, it was visible through the trees. In the summer, it disappears.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjDweurNfeyz970ps8TGH2qhghXwvcztAJd7CpBI2p0js80PIsFTcYB-OYJXs1pT2DuAu9LrAraTawEjY0Wudi33ZP8fjszw3LhWnYZDs8MjYeVnkoLCV7NGZvxbcN2WzHZZBW_WDskPuIx87WPOBcpEuwV6kfMYoIKoVgMrdZx2f7HtElUuIxx-XGpMf/s4608/DSCN2808_8979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjDweurNfeyz970ps8TGH2qhghXwvcztAJd7CpBI2p0js80PIsFTcYB-OYJXs1pT2DuAu9LrAraTawEjY0Wudi33ZP8fjszw3LhWnYZDs8MjYeVnkoLCV7NGZvxbcN2WzHZZBW_WDskPuIx87WPOBcpEuwV6kfMYoIKoVgMrdZx2f7HtElUuIxx-XGpMf/s320/DSCN2808_8979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then came the Upper Nestucca Christmas Bird Count on the Solstice. The weather was decent if you don't mind fog; the Forest Service roads were very good; but the birds were silent and few on this the shortest day of the year. I got no photos of birds. So I took one of a spider web catching the sunlight in a spot that happened to have some.</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqb13N4mJt_X-e3uPYrLw6BVKW4XerOnZfg2e6vQkqIEeaNVlmTf7P1C3h-IvkCZf74jSnQm6wyK0dIMETJnd5rb_beB-cAPN_gKgS3ubdTQHrFhlaGORedx4Fyyt7BWLaXX8Uo5CgVDSP06ddI-YZjO172g6_LbGhwu5rPC28aQSz0JcyJR98PoZHUhO/s4608/DSCN2814_8985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqb13N4mJt_X-e3uPYrLw6BVKW4XerOnZfg2e6vQkqIEeaNVlmTf7P1C3h-IvkCZf74jSnQm6wyK0dIMETJnd5rb_beB-cAPN_gKgS3ubdTQHrFhlaGORedx4Fyyt7BWLaXX8Uo5CgVDSP06ddI-YZjO172g6_LbGhwu5rPC28aQSz0JcyJR98PoZHUhO/s320/DSCN2814_8985.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here Mary and Johnny trudge up the Forest Service trail in one of our areas that we call Raven Hill. We saw four ravens flying across the top when we got there. That unit seems to be on their flyway. Those were the only ravens we saw all day.</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYJN8j7mpspvsJZ3J7dtitDS96hFP9dZxfnt-vEezJhT_razLVOr0EZR1fBXw5nd2I9Q-G50S8BOFdKfFRF-V60T-K3tXCAaFQLkHcsCnG1r8m-6uRfe7jP0cbVbeWy4LfqM8ffAofRn4dMwtNJWrt30FjboCHUFNidFVMXJTaQkUo4NpdN3ZtRhqKyUw/s4608/DSCN2815_8986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYJN8j7mpspvsJZ3J7dtitDS96hFP9dZxfnt-vEezJhT_razLVOr0EZR1fBXw5nd2I9Q-G50S8BOFdKfFRF-V60T-K3tXCAaFQLkHcsCnG1r8m-6uRfe7jP0cbVbeWy4LfqM8ffAofRn4dMwtNJWrt30FjboCHUFNidFVMXJTaQkUo4NpdN3ZtRhqKyUw/s320/DSCN2815_8986.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">With few birds to be seen and none willing to be photographed, I took a photo of a rock wall along the road I was hiking. It was in the sun during one of the rare moments when there was sun.</span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5eVvRIpd52m_RxP_r4783WdVy1EQoQEbYe6NN_sYMvI8ni9yz7cNctIEaFX-JkmcX6IgMVYztwl5mRnzYZjuISeHzu3ySrXNZUk9M_8QrQqvNqKXAkyyGVVk08qkmKi_xvLLtOXjVVr7SYqw2SmviphIgrrMpIqu-Y22nGFLCUz9UhfAed56oxGpt_R7d/s4608/DSCN2812_8983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2891" data-original-width="4608" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5eVvRIpd52m_RxP_r4783WdVy1EQoQEbYe6NN_sYMvI8ni9yz7cNctIEaFX-JkmcX6IgMVYztwl5mRnzYZjuISeHzu3ySrXNZUk9M_8QrQqvNqKXAkyyGVVk08qkmKi_xvLLtOXjVVr7SYqw2SmviphIgrrMpIqu-Y22nGFLCUz9UhfAed56oxGpt_R7d/s320/DSCN2812_8983.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In spite of the lack of birds in our sector, some of the
sectors had plenty and we all (or most of us) got together in the evening for food and
stories of the day in a local restaurant in Willamina. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We have one more Christmas Bird Count to go... that one on New Year's Eve day. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But first will come Christmas Day... with the unwrapping of the beautifully wrapped gifts from Jessica (and family, but she does the wrapping). What else we will do is anyone's guess, since it depends on this completely undependable weather. </span><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSQHkKEGJdjo6GEQlbiK9AazZgtKr6A3T9byj37tH2o5i_OQ7x1F6VocMX9YerGqR_dxjh-xFbCVIh_z0XaHp32gpZkBPazkTISzeaZk4oOFoS001NQPwryVnKS53EAT-63AJdiDksZ86FNCYgReN_ZlMhHUb4W5fsWcxs_hg9BQbYvnHA07JO6wGtBvQ/s4266/DSCN2816_8987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4266" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSQHkKEGJdjo6GEQlbiK9AazZgtKr6A3T9byj37tH2o5i_OQ7x1F6VocMX9YerGqR_dxjh-xFbCVIh_z0XaHp32gpZkBPazkTISzeaZk4oOFoS001NQPwryVnKS53EAT-63AJdiDksZ86FNCYgReN_ZlMhHUb4W5fsWcxs_hg9BQbYvnHA07JO6wGtBvQ/s320/DSCN2816_8987.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Happy Holidaze anyway!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-48312473083130372272023-12-23T15:24:00.000-08:002023-12-23T15:24:29.227-08:00Thanksgiving Day<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">It seems I have not written a single blog entry in December. That shows how busy this cold and rainy month has been here. When it rained, I made wreaths to send to family and friends... in November and December... until they were finally all distributed or mailed. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLeuJlnGJ0qrd7FLRUkr9IoGEe6WCNZe0IGZUoO3EaE3vzNSkAr-apZEbcNJ7vcldPwPktMTXjrqWz40vsel6H_rOoaqqWBXl4v5f0_2LS55gRddCPWg9tUMlKw3M0I8f5sW6KZYiu64qbrby-r-PS9QC4QXBkx0gishbj3tLPviYF72LKDYWDSW9yNzd/s879/DSCN2749_8885%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="879" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzLeuJlnGJ0qrd7FLRUkr9IoGEe6WCNZe0IGZUoO3EaE3vzNSkAr-apZEbcNJ7vcldPwPktMTXjrqWz40vsel6H_rOoaqqWBXl4v5f0_2LS55gRddCPWg9tUMlKw3M0I8f5sW6KZYiu64qbrby-r-PS9QC4QXBkx0gishbj3tLPviYF72LKDYWDSW9yNzd/s320/DSCN2749_8885%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">On Thanksgiving Day (which did not make it into my November in Photos blog post), we were visited by a bobcat in a field surrounded by Johnny's new very high fencing. Friends told me that bobcats are "cats" and fences are things to climb, like trees.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tifZE8udnBfbBZG6PSlBlTAX9O0zqxnM3mLhcVg7-QM3a_IbVQi2STJschLsQar6iFVoFylsISAYz9EKvA_54_oOaOnWjEqARnj1N5SUoMMfjXBUBPIK3yawC4xDx8vyC7ZqbC2XPnD6cd3cRjgNkCZCS1SLMVASSKUzTpINGCCS-3kNaALKb5mTWDWD/s970/DSCN2732_8653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="970" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5tifZE8udnBfbBZG6PSlBlTAX9O0zqxnM3mLhcVg7-QM3a_IbVQi2STJschLsQar6iFVoFylsISAYz9EKvA_54_oOaOnWjEqARnj1N5SUoMMfjXBUBPIK3yawC4xDx8vyC7ZqbC2XPnD6cd3cRjgNkCZCS1SLMVASSKUzTpINGCCS-3kNaALKb5mTWDWD/s320/DSCN2732_8653.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Before the bobcat arrived, we had driven up Agency to look for Dippers, our standard holiday excursion. The first thing I saw was this strange and magical structure in the woods alongside the road. It wasn't until we drove back that I saw it from the backside... and realized what it was. I won't spoil the surprise yet.<br /> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaSKZ6ZOaa5Oen-6CYbfb4JiYmtPYxv49HpFUYzDNFYOCRPrRr4Afva0WSZgSbDeP-_8inGpBQwd79JyoSMmONlnizGaW1RHXHBqQtrK6RCH2K3v4w7hMiBlbqnqNs_g4UNdqQKPoC84BZChnkKcIsweX3jtZU-8ZjtvtCUEdqG2PylbxWogxysOdie8-/s4608/DSCN2725_8646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaSKZ6ZOaa5Oen-6CYbfb4JiYmtPYxv49HpFUYzDNFYOCRPrRr4Afva0WSZgSbDeP-_8inGpBQwd79JyoSMmONlnizGaW1RHXHBqQtrK6RCH2K3v4w7hMiBlbqnqNs_g4UNdqQKPoC84BZChnkKcIsweX3jtZU-8ZjtvtCUEdqG2PylbxWogxysOdie8-/s320/DSCN2725_8646.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />We did finally find a Dipper that consented to having its photo taken.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDF2baM32jZfYFcmLCNrqKWjD9KQmJh12bmEYtrttnyooqgEsQm19JNNydlRLkw01ue0rFU2RJLxkanb7e1qZd69_DU_LHjwhPz-W95VqGRmDVptUgJ-KUJzGdI6u_STdVz7edzc8DpdbZB83xTmVTwsC3Ky_KwKaBSw_ZmOe1zWMv8HtDLQjQD-ToRcE/s4608/DSCN2722_8643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDF2baM32jZfYFcmLCNrqKWjD9KQmJh12bmEYtrttnyooqgEsQm19JNNydlRLkw01ue0rFU2RJLxkanb7e1qZd69_DU_LHjwhPz-W95VqGRmDVptUgJ-KUJzGdI6u_STdVz7edzc8DpdbZB83xTmVTwsC3Ky_KwKaBSw_ZmOe1zWMv8HtDLQjQD-ToRcE/s320/DSCN2722_8643.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">All along the way there were Bald Eagles perched near Agency Creek. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdswkRm9XGRz1w5r55w3NqeSVSY4_o7F4NA_FT35eBNJFbtRQN5ColD5hAdEi0i46u26x7kK1uvozvC9ZyBDy86gQSwhXbRCioeONMuQP-KNrTT3lLmgKWhD3kt_lQ9vUp6saOTTSuHO96RzCgkhRu3mRUxZ2hDgA5SKqyFUhCEFIScFOxdykYlTMt8oxZ/s1024/DSCN2713_8634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdswkRm9XGRz1w5r55w3NqeSVSY4_o7F4NA_FT35eBNJFbtRQN5ColD5hAdEi0i46u26x7kK1uvozvC9ZyBDy86gQSwhXbRCioeONMuQP-KNrTT3lLmgKWhD3kt_lQ9vUp6saOTTSuHO96RzCgkhRu3mRUxZ2hDgA5SKqyFUhCEFIScFOxdykYlTMt8oxZ/s320/DSCN2713_8634.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">When we looked down over one bridge, we discovered why. The tribe gets spawned-out salmon from hatcheries and throws the dead fish into the creek wherever there is a bridge to throw from. The eagles come for salmon dinners. But enough of the carcass escapes into the water to help replenish the nutrients needed to support salmon fry.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrbAHucBQpFB2q7dVKYDl9W71etZiiB3_fV29r4OOt09q_0KlUvIel-5t-BIkymz5nSkvt0LeFW3rAlPWN-CW1cjDo639icHq9qsj0R6regvoJrMAcBGeV7pSWmJ9CqDTVhQuwZa0IwTJRsXyKBxUp1h_NVIcirO7rZt4OhZJHp9QCxgVqXoSOtNgMlka/s1024/DSCN2711_8632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrbAHucBQpFB2q7dVKYDl9W71etZiiB3_fV29r4OOt09q_0KlUvIel-5t-BIkymz5nSkvt0LeFW3rAlPWN-CW1cjDo639icHq9qsj0R6regvoJrMAcBGeV7pSWmJ9CqDTVhQuwZa0IwTJRsXyKBxUp1h_NVIcirO7rZt4OhZJHp9QCxgVqXoSOtNgMlka/s320/DSCN2711_8632.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here Johnny looks for Dippers off Asinine Bridge, so named because as you may be able to tell by the curve around the cliff on the left, beyond Johnny, the bridge was built in reverse to the curve of the cliffs so it had to blast the cliff out of the way as it made an S to get over the creek. Someone read their blueprints wrong, if they had any.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBbssJHUVvIZrIaXo0T4_gPfRmzdCd4t2orgnctvRWc42zt1SIPg0HEWgXPJ4hJlE2ObKvQfMFFhd85FPsfCNG5Hho8EGRmqythmLiSz0Puwg2tmenRSTXSu8oL9jJtHoe55nfZ_wOdfcwiGEay1UjdIZ596anrHhBM_89-2l12Zt7f2OnfJtu9NqFWY7/s1024/DSCN2710_8631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBbssJHUVvIZrIaXo0T4_gPfRmzdCd4t2orgnctvRWc42zt1SIPg0HEWgXPJ4hJlE2ObKvQfMFFhd85FPsfCNG5Hho8EGRmqythmLiSz0Puwg2tmenRSTXSu8oL9jJtHoe55nfZ_wOdfcwiGEay1UjdIZ596anrHhBM_89-2l12Zt7f2OnfJtu9NqFWY7/s320/DSCN2710_8631.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">An adult Bald Eagle is up high with a juvenile lower, maybe digesting eagle remains.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPMvrw5N54_g0eNNwIKhkLJt3v9fnkFOmZaKpaLdIOzKRnJALZNmXHGGhCOSfE0fT1C1-s7187pDs8ewbJSXXBvJFnF7Z13MXdvjV_DARcfF39X0Q_R5KtjxLjVtXN5Q_olQTo5uJvs1j1BTOjyQzbK2khTuxMmVx7jfRuEP9XDtkrRNu5VzyNP0rJ9xp/s833/DSCN2707_8628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPMvrw5N54_g0eNNwIKhkLJt3v9fnkFOmZaKpaLdIOzKRnJALZNmXHGGhCOSfE0fT1C1-s7187pDs8ewbJSXXBvJFnF7Z13MXdvjV_DARcfF39X0Q_R5KtjxLjVtXN5Q_olQTo5uJvs1j1BTOjyQzbK2khTuxMmVx7jfRuEP9XDtkrRNu5VzyNP0rJ9xp/s320/DSCN2707_8628.JPG" width="295" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Johnny wore out while I was hiking and took a little rest by the road.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfdUiw1JHnqJe-LuM9DNokgYy5FQbAHGQG4PhGxN1kSmOL7aEHCwCZOyNLX0SXUDEu0c-M1CMXhPafoTQcOgufzeksK7xcUA3UoJhSZav10ytGwVKhTstAC1sv88agtGEHFVvyes-p-9t1GE5tz5I_JAXkU5eoHHPACER4rfkUZZbc0a0HCXJvO-dP4Oi/s1024/DSCN2701_8622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfdUiw1JHnqJe-LuM9DNokgYy5FQbAHGQG4PhGxN1kSmOL7aEHCwCZOyNLX0SXUDEu0c-M1CMXhPafoTQcOgufzeksK7xcUA3UoJhSZav10ytGwVKhTstAC1sv88agtGEHFVvyes-p-9t1GE5tz5I_JAXkU5eoHHPACER4rfkUZZbc0a0HCXJvO-dP4Oi/s320/DSCN2701_8622.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the many small waterfalls on Agency Creek.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnX511LK_laIixXOf4GCJXGOtM_BVZywUSQWiqq7MMRRURIxD52LREXnHeLU_4DCL-vygxtXQ3j8Iidm6tBxEXztr2TYUuk_VI14zMTXjYl6A638ouxiRQe8idkO_ExhyjiFQFaFpwGtmWiYaS8BubKOJ6MVNU9ST7yN6tWGAjDRJprMvh1PuRWk2zsyIa/s1024/DSCN2697_8618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnX511LK_laIixXOf4GCJXGOtM_BVZywUSQWiqq7MMRRURIxD52LREXnHeLU_4DCL-vygxtXQ3j8Iidm6tBxEXztr2TYUuk_VI14zMTXjYl6A638ouxiRQe8idkO_ExhyjiFQFaFpwGtmWiYaS8BubKOJ6MVNU9ST7yN6tWGAjDRJprMvh1PuRWk2zsyIa/s320/DSCN2697_8618.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div> <p></p><p>...And "The Chutes" where the water squeezes through a narrow passageway...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjtIVzVdMytYBnACltNNBioeetL0L1hDPBXW6Zf2xH0TdNztEU_06rXRauTM8djbfOwfV88GEkqUonAZLRQZLuv-EAEpkvijEfr9Nx72PYpNRnCNwVMqME_4OPzy9toTpL0s5kYKl0Ma17I79kMpgR8zzAEaH_ZUaq7Ua0HM5Too2Rqf3TCH2878MVE-X/s1024/DSCN2729_8650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjtIVzVdMytYBnACltNNBioeetL0L1hDPBXW6Zf2xH0TdNztEU_06rXRauTM8djbfOwfV88GEkqUonAZLRQZLuv-EAEpkvijEfr9Nx72PYpNRnCNwVMqME_4OPzy9toTpL0s5kYKl0Ma17I79kMpgR8zzAEaH_ZUaq7Ua0HM5Too2Rqf3TCH2878MVE-X/s320/DSCN2729_8650.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><p>On the way back home, we stopped at the strange structure I'd seen on the way up. I got out to take photos and get closer. Believe it or not, it was the roots of a tree that had fallen. I prefer to think of it as a woodland fairy home.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWP2-VLYiJiCeRjlcz321r2hkLCVWhpc6aQcp88r7ZnziR-QXGX0jn0TWMC4ZEMY37QenOnhKdpqjMLCz-ZH92dPKJ5e-T6WClszUIGgq5eXCJvENqqD82ukHkfSqGWrsV2jAikKqqWlmWHuD_VLWi5GhHsTMTNMlF4cfhVqNl419T6dNPyFK3JpxV1b-6/s4608/DSCN2726_8647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWP2-VLYiJiCeRjlcz321r2hkLCVWhpc6aQcp88r7ZnziR-QXGX0jn0TWMC4ZEMY37QenOnhKdpqjMLCz-ZH92dPKJ5e-T6WClszUIGgq5eXCJvENqqD82ukHkfSqGWrsV2jAikKqqWlmWHuD_VLWi5GhHsTMTNMlF4cfhVqNl419T6dNPyFK3JpxV1b-6/s320/DSCN2726_8647.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> And then we drove home and shortly after, saw the bobcat. I went out to take a photo. It did not see me or if it did, it paid no mind. But when I looked away and looked back, it was gone. It must have gone over the fence in that few seconds as it was no longer in the field. <p></p><p> A magical Thanksgiving Day.<br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-66514900283781892852023-11-18T20:57:00.000-08:002024-01-04T20:29:01.376-08:00One Week in November<p><span style="font-size: medium;">For once, I have no photos of this past exhausting week. Instead I'll copy excerpts of what I sent to a friend in explanation for my long silence...</span></p><p>Sorry we missed the Art Tour. Ian and Kellin had only that weekend to
visit. Ian had not been here for a year... not since Johnny's bday in
January last year. He is very busy with school and job. I had hoped to
take them to the Art Tour... Kellin is an artist. But to my surprise
they arrived Friday with Kevin! Turns out it was a surprise
birthday/thanksgiving weekend. They brought a ton of food: some desserts
from Jessica and a huge turkey with all the trimmings. They cooked
spaghetti Friday night and then the turkey dinner on Saturday. We have
lots of food frozen from all the leftovers. It was great to see them
all. They left Sunday morning to drive back home. </p><p></p><p>(I did take photos when Kevin and Ian were here so will insert those in this blog post...)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaPYXwidfSZ4-vTCgiVnY7nGqp7iGviYrSKLpok9M0Nh4o5UHW5erS0FJIXRd1RsvJrOPvkedIP2-x8_RtIUdsdvOj5jcF25RKcKmkvmJWpqJxfLv1x8b4hyphenhyphen5WV86a5iZlXWAz9CKl-z2CBSQtJOF9kqwpr0kriD18k46p3VSM_wnL1cpYNh-XIpiC_n7/s1024/8559%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibaPYXwidfSZ4-vTCgiVnY7nGqp7iGviYrSKLpok9M0Nh4o5UHW5erS0FJIXRd1RsvJrOPvkedIP2-x8_RtIUdsdvOj5jcF25RKcKmkvmJWpqJxfLv1x8b4hyphenhyphen5WV86a5iZlXWAz9CKl-z2CBSQtJOF9kqwpr0kriD18k46p3VSM_wnL1cpYNh-XIpiC_n7/s320/8559%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik49nT6oJdQfI5BIl_F87DXq6_9y3Pq3mbNwvn5OWlW1vfvsG42mzrAG5mwagchW0MzrbetFBB-Xce-zlcZDKfNh7pVcldSpCIAd8OrzZmJEk-Z2I2T-aGi71NJeM3xxh_H41sg7dhckB7AX_Xko1ES8rwa4IXuklVTb3xU9X_MroAuZx4-kIohLYV8lFP/s1024/8565%20compressed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik49nT6oJdQfI5BIl_F87DXq6_9y3Pq3mbNwvn5OWlW1vfvsG42mzrAG5mwagchW0MzrbetFBB-Xce-zlcZDKfNh7pVcldSpCIAd8OrzZmJEk-Z2I2T-aGi71NJeM3xxh_H41sg7dhckB7AX_Xko1ES8rwa4IXuklVTb3xU9X_MroAuZx4-kIohLYV8lFP/s320/8565%20compressed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br />
<br />Monday we drove to Gates to pick up 2 1/2 tons of hay from friends who
bought Mom and Dad's ranch. We did not get enough hay put up this dry
summer to last the winter. We had no trouble getting there and back home
in Dad's pickup pulling the flatbed trailer he had built. Tuesday we
unloaded the hay into the shed behind the shop where we store the horse
hay now. That was a chore as the bales weigh 85# each. All I can do is
roll them to the open door and push them in to Johnny. But we did it.
<br />
<br />Wednesday it still wasn't raining here but looked iffy in Gates so we
did our Grand Ronde Raptor survey. </p><p>(I took photos on the survey so will insert a couple here...)<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJH72pQtylvVKmeQHqqSspNSzCVu9QcX4T3Ma47VMMCiCYa8OM3V6sd6VjJmRsKSMcNFKQDhCsyoyUv8kE_2j84Xpvi9-dVqV8oX84I-8xUPH9pe_gOOQvUd-TQN_qQfIaEtA-J7fQj2fo5NV6PLPq61_i8T9Zi7QE7yfn7LhWlhXeKt6NYxiYQDIX6KL/s4608/DSCN2674_8588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJH72pQtylvVKmeQHqqSspNSzCVu9QcX4T3Ma47VMMCiCYa8OM3V6sd6VjJmRsKSMcNFKQDhCsyoyUv8kE_2j84Xpvi9-dVqV8oX84I-8xUPH9pe_gOOQvUd-TQN_qQfIaEtA-J7fQj2fo5NV6PLPq61_i8T9Zi7QE7yfn7LhWlhXeKt6NYxiYQDIX6KL/s320/DSCN2674_8588.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0gSWvb8dj4m-lvA_rBZ6WJBv8XBLs_Oa_rxgB_KIOGi0pjgFcpl1I04oDrsyTTIPHsvaGe5UFH7EyTyQBuM4VcYt6X2jdVjTRPtQiFo_-VzbuXt2dgQq4NpzQAd3KgIlCLBDpu5NWlCOKx0-maMfkymSh65WUQVwm714H0OrH3BYX3JP3QhR8SjeBXC-/s1024/face%20and%20fall%20color.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0gSWvb8dj4m-lvA_rBZ6WJBv8XBLs_Oa_rxgB_KIOGi0pjgFcpl1I04oDrsyTTIPHsvaGe5UFH7EyTyQBuM4VcYt6X2jdVjTRPtQiFo_-VzbuXt2dgQq4NpzQAd3KgIlCLBDpu5NWlCOKx0-maMfkymSh65WUQVwm714H0OrH3BYX3JP3QhR8SjeBXC-/s320/face%20and%20fall%20color.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJCI3DawrwL6LOLtIM-fyKQvcrvRnTx9Xu5XkSobELlX5birDHsqrlIXW3uzlN0MEOf0vkyj8cy0RPPczMK2gh0mP3wwTXBEQK4WWlxrza4lg4hyPfvE8vu8Crefz6cwx9McrdST8tYD0cvR0Xi8cPrZ39sMONfL2o7tKpCkB2wI-MZQMWHXiGkyCFz_H/s1024/the%20face.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJCI3DawrwL6LOLtIM-fyKQvcrvRnTx9Xu5XkSobELlX5birDHsqrlIXW3uzlN0MEOf0vkyj8cy0RPPczMK2gh0mP3wwTXBEQK4WWlxrza4lg4hyPfvE8vu8Crefz6cwx9McrdST8tYD0cvR0Xi8cPrZ39sMONfL2o7tKpCkB2wI-MZQMWHXiGkyCFz_H/s320/the%20face.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> We had another 2 1/2 tons of hay to
pick up in Gates when the weather looked safe. It did on Thursday so we
went up and they loaded the hay onto Dad's trailer. All went well until
we were at the stop light on 22 by I5. One tank of gas ran out so Johnny
switched to the other tank but the pickup would not start, and no lights
or anything else worked. We could not get out because we were in the
middle lane with cars whizzing past on both sides of us. I called our
insurance company but they were out to lunch or something so I called
911. Very nice lady took all the info and called the police. Eventually
a trooper arrived, assessed the situation, directed traffic around us
(although I think by that time everyone had figured out we weren't able
to go anywhere) and called a towing company. Two tow trucks arrived. One
pulled our truck onto his bed, the other hooked to our hay trailer and
both went to the towing company yard by the airport. Then came a very
long wait while the nice lady at the towing company negotiated with our
insurance company (State Farm) and finally got the go ahead to have us
towed home. So both tow trucks got us and our pickup and trailer with
hay back home. Long, stressful day.
<br />
<br />Still nice weather on Friday so we unloaded the 60 bales into the loft
of the goat barn... with great difficulty. I waltzed the bales to the
hay elevator (hope you can visualize what I mean) and Johnny had a
wheeled gizmo that the bales dropped onto and he wheeled to where he
stacked them no more than 2 high because they are so blessed heavy!
<br />
<br />Today, as you know, Johnny went to town to do errands. I stayed home to
do chores, clear a fence-line to keep our blasted dog where she belongs,
washed my hair and fell asleep in my chair... was still asleep when
Johnny got home. I woke up in time to do chores and eat supper. And now
I'm going to bed.
<br />
<br />So that's what our life has been like recently. Hope it settles down
now. ...... I figure my back will recover in a week or so. I'm
still not back up to 100# and wrestling 85+ pound bales was a bit much.
But we did it!
<br />
<br />Looked like from the papers that the art show was a great success. Sorry
I missed it.
<br />
<br />Linda <span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> <br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-20676013367235119872023-11-05T19:55:00.000-08:002023-11-05T19:55:39.188-08:00November in Photos<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The trees have finally turned color and the farm is lovely when the sun comes out. Or at least when it's not raining. It is oddly warm, however, and I worry that the plants will think it's spring and start growing, only to be zapped when a seasonally appropriate cold spell hits. But, for now, the colors are wonderful...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Aa2P_es8JVKbRenymksFPCl3o1OgmgPm823x95U4Pou7hmleqBvTjORLWahFjdpnyCMkMNNaS_AbUuIoof3HdTq9_taEuuU8T3QAvh9eIJVClUgCITm4tjS3fo7WQkIK3DSaxkV7XilrXU28bE5WFUeH8vMVLP9cBY0Mi6eAgnZ-_9hYUOhlQMzM4opv/s4608/DSCN2588_8481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2836" data-original-width="4608" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Aa2P_es8JVKbRenymksFPCl3o1OgmgPm823x95U4Pou7hmleqBvTjORLWahFjdpnyCMkMNNaS_AbUuIoof3HdTq9_taEuuU8T3QAvh9eIJVClUgCITm4tjS3fo7WQkIK3DSaxkV7XilrXU28bE5WFUeH8vMVLP9cBY0Mi6eAgnZ-_9hYUOhlQMzM4opv/s320/DSCN2588_8481.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Hw4kNK0dtq2mSOwGpfibRLLn9Uq8d4N2ek0n6Pk-B2kjNWzaae9og3c3AI7BLsin4eWwA44IeeB4Bcx852gGPzjHJSyN8np0GkRiYQN8uJuyz1A8Kc6L9YTSoLDOXMn7pILx4j_Cl5uY6NaufUY-r29dFWnYa5wq-JbWEvphU8k9S6-dl2B-0DoTCuiq/s4220/DSCN2605_8498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4220" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Hw4kNK0dtq2mSOwGpfibRLLn9Uq8d4N2ek0n6Pk-B2kjNWzaae9og3c3AI7BLsin4eWwA44IeeB4Bcx852gGPzjHJSyN8np0GkRiYQN8uJuyz1A8Kc6L9YTSoLDOXMn7pILx4j_Cl5uY6NaufUY-r29dFWnYa5wq-JbWEvphU8k9S6-dl2B-0DoTCuiq/s320/DSCN2605_8498.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNW0s2PiupM6HOvsZqZOEqMPyFa_F9nf7-cl51O3XKYXs7TaUrUJOFwquWZElROq99nYwp98t1wxMFiaY4gCnHd3MLM74eSKMlxwag20cfl_zHsaXlKXx_MedmFavOldMIWzRuJQsTUt6Cu0xqqTJoTi5H7CpmsMTCiOXpS6RDJT0ZFUK7FsxCTCgm3Hv2/s3456/DSCN2608_8501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNW0s2PiupM6HOvsZqZOEqMPyFa_F9nf7-cl51O3XKYXs7TaUrUJOFwquWZElROq99nYwp98t1wxMFiaY4gCnHd3MLM74eSKMlxwag20cfl_zHsaXlKXx_MedmFavOldMIWzRuJQsTUt6Cu0xqqTJoTi5H7CpmsMTCiOXpS6RDJT0ZFUK7FsxCTCgm3Hv2/s320/DSCN2608_8501.JPG" width="287" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCLpUf5SBGWWFAq3qvHEIjXRWxoZ7sXorN75BU5RAuiUEnHszPnLGwdsv7jfDVMGt-3VGcRRUca8R8l2_IePhudrOimrNDmrCMgItYEj-YctcnIg9hRkVpkyP6lscydFPnKULLLFiK8FKWa9r8Rc_269hEJDfyTRhbzWqB0u24NnVc_atMOkH4jHjPAOm/s4608/DSCN2610_8503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCLpUf5SBGWWFAq3qvHEIjXRWxoZ7sXorN75BU5RAuiUEnHszPnLGwdsv7jfDVMGt-3VGcRRUca8R8l2_IePhudrOimrNDmrCMgItYEj-YctcnIg9hRkVpkyP6lscydFPnKULLLFiK8FKWa9r8Rc_269hEJDfyTRhbzWqB0u24NnVc_atMOkH4jHjPAOm/s320/DSCN2610_8503.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb8ozsBypOJVoajXkHKWr6CI4g25aOEh1fQmjTAhnWPURVfnvX-qeEJ4tBmHwFaIDdHnedSJ3h8KPp4gQO3WVAm0_3ntz9Ibj98QzqL0zQEO3xFH8r9xAJsDLofhzMb6JZLt8RHTDcx2wsHzNiM8zN9quhak42CUuoj6xwSpgccduimvUUMNk-DrJiN00/s4608/DSCN2619_8512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb8ozsBypOJVoajXkHKWr6CI4g25aOEh1fQmjTAhnWPURVfnvX-qeEJ4tBmHwFaIDdHnedSJ3h8KPp4gQO3WVAm0_3ntz9Ibj98QzqL0zQEO3xFH8r9xAJsDLofhzMb6JZLt8RHTDcx2wsHzNiM8zN9quhak42CUuoj6xwSpgccduimvUUMNk-DrJiN00/s320/DSCN2619_8512.JPG" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoL3kNcGNAxkGTwarJkJQKZcqQS4SYydTMzHmYIC3iYBzlspkqNOMD4pv4tP2Ala1pRE4qkE1YG2EibtSojexJPiZqff2tWvOLFwinQpazhYY3WR4p0e4tqniOu7THhTjrMBNgQkSPjmpOGqzYCi_yDaSdLkFmLHNEi_RAA69lP5xrDofPBUkqjKOKDzg/s4026/DSCN2604_8497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1935" data-original-width="4026" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoL3kNcGNAxkGTwarJkJQKZcqQS4SYydTMzHmYIC3iYBzlspkqNOMD4pv4tP2Ala1pRE4qkE1YG2EibtSojexJPiZqff2tWvOLFwinQpazhYY3WR4p0e4tqniOu7THhTjrMBNgQkSPjmpOGqzYCi_yDaSdLkFmLHNEi_RAA69lP5xrDofPBUkqjKOKDzg/s320/DSCN2604_8497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /> </span> <br /><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-33176481526476241312023-10-30T07:40:00.000-07:002023-10-30T07:40:16.882-07:00October in Photos<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">October is almost gone and I have not written a single blog post. It's harvest season. Johnny has made lots of cider. I've canned ugly tomatoes and lots of pears. Halloween approaches and here is what it looks like on the farm... and at Huddleston Pond...</span><br /></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbXjIbysyjDbsG9Tj7yrAGxKmpxi3zMIqsGlUKWvH_cSGIQRmpb4ZohP1-6hHTPyE9rCmQsdSBXVWBjwh6RbRpP8RaBWnE1uSpQInjfxluhXW8UgKQKgas9jsxb-qSYBut6ErPMQRPjXAZEXJFZB3bWOmq7cB1APmKm37UE3qBKsGJ48FXW0iqSIsk-uO/s4608/DSCN2514_8382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbXjIbysyjDbsG9Tj7yrAGxKmpxi3zMIqsGlUKWvH_cSGIQRmpb4ZohP1-6hHTPyE9rCmQsdSBXVWBjwh6RbRpP8RaBWnE1uSpQInjfxluhXW8UgKQKgas9jsxb-qSYBut6ErPMQRPjXAZEXJFZB3bWOmq7cB1APmKm37UE3qBKsGJ48FXW0iqSIsk-uO/s320/DSCN2514_8382.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Giant Pacific Salamander appeared in the orchard one morning. It was about a foot long.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><br /><br /><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQVmlmh_2K4QMi-vznQu16S9MvHbCzXpeYpRhdNfz97hpiDcQLjzA5XIQw6du8eUsWrmJBUZaD5zHZmDPq_R1H0SBIDu95YZ_KVFp-BYT5_VRsfbJzQINcqZEDeFOs2YhCFlrQz7GItMV6b3kNke8617hSatmSnNcYDevB29CLBD9aHBHb0TASwmgxWKI/s3999/DSCN2519_8387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="3999" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQVmlmh_2K4QMi-vznQu16S9MvHbCzXpeYpRhdNfz97hpiDcQLjzA5XIQw6du8eUsWrmJBUZaD5zHZmDPq_R1H0SBIDu95YZ_KVFp-BYT5_VRsfbJzQINcqZEDeFOs2YhCFlrQz7GItMV6b3kNke8617hSatmSnNcYDevB29CLBD9aHBHb0TASwmgxWKI/s320/DSCN2519_8387.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the salamander<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_4TzH6WNw4qWwfRz2talf5qA0VX6AXrFddpZkVEE_5Ed_XWXGwZzY2eJPuoTlIUSYAvxuL9P_UF2uRkQEPEPyke_lsbi84wzNz-tV8WA0R7vJKRB9a0SRlna2SwHuE8PJ9PxG0e313OcN5T_HOGXTvCv9dmhj4d4a1Ra-8CCVdKKX5DkPuxOPelXJbur/s3443/DSCN2521_8389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2643" data-original-width="3443" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_4TzH6WNw4qWwfRz2talf5qA0VX6AXrFddpZkVEE_5Ed_XWXGwZzY2eJPuoTlIUSYAvxuL9P_UF2uRkQEPEPyke_lsbi84wzNz-tV8WA0R7vJKRB9a0SRlna2SwHuE8PJ9PxG0e313OcN5T_HOGXTvCv9dmhj4d4a1Ra-8CCVdKKX5DkPuxOPelXJbur/s320/DSCN2521_8389.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here's the foot<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One fine day I birded Huddleston Pond in Willamina with a new birding friend...</span><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHCCxTrY4IETtvxh0nRGTbVf8V9smJL3LwkBBq0TveIwwQfLHBIjHOjczusfzmm5C-aqoyf7_eqxX88h8jP3Tk7gQqZAuDu5BjaMti4Gom8x457v4HdRtkjrNO9eivjN-scU_PFekm8MGGruzH3QU_vBTl0CSMHmzbhnKjJ1-qOlw_0Vv7v71-YD7AX5J/s1024/green%20heron%20and%20habitat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHCCxTrY4IETtvxh0nRGTbVf8V9smJL3LwkBBq0TveIwwQfLHBIjHOjczusfzmm5C-aqoyf7_eqxX88h8jP3Tk7gQqZAuDu5BjaMti4Gom8x457v4HdRtkjrNO9eivjN-scU_PFekm8MGGruzH3QU_vBTl0CSMHmzbhnKjJ1-qOlw_0Vv7v71-YD7AX5J/s320/green%20heron%20and%20habitat.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Heron and fall colors<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kjirBJOkZBjiiWIxNWKa2AnGhtVExekI5ER0n1kDtdyK_622BLWNz-iNTT6CrsMrOaucIYVMlVlpXavA8DxUDzDkWc1N9rRVSh24kIbMH0REObI6nwOTfmFQFfPT-7wGOC2Z0bZ_WbXEqwYj4a2kaGXL3-b6Tku6cqK3bF0GJKUWR6rVhyphenhyphenN4teQN0X4O/s832/green%20heron.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="832" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kjirBJOkZBjiiWIxNWKa2AnGhtVExekI5ER0n1kDtdyK_622BLWNz-iNTT6CrsMrOaucIYVMlVlpXavA8DxUDzDkWc1N9rRVSh24kIbMH0REObI6nwOTfmFQFfPT-7wGOC2Z0bZ_WbXEqwYj4a2kaGXL3-b6Tku6cqK3bF0GJKUWR6rVhyphenhyphenN4teQN0X4O/s320/green%20heron.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Heron up close<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqCZDv7pwJt8NRKy4tzzBGcOZJr2sZyevsthBR_ahR1IkfbUoCSdt-ChzpfPPOD5ly-3hubrZm6EMPDY6nMwWk5I2Bv5Cld4OE5XQvuqr6aqlGhcX-ARgE-XQzpL8kgeImqhmCQJVRfkMQmjxZUQ1c-OLPC9NLYPOj7pKrLpBk5MxqIKj5SIwLxIKcJ-u/s912/pied-billed%20grebe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="912" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqCZDv7pwJt8NRKy4tzzBGcOZJr2sZyevsthBR_ahR1IkfbUoCSdt-ChzpfPPOD5ly-3hubrZm6EMPDY6nMwWk5I2Bv5Cld4OE5XQvuqr6aqlGhcX-ARgE-XQzpL8kgeImqhmCQJVRfkMQmjxZUQ1c-OLPC9NLYPOj7pKrLpBk5MxqIKj5SIwLxIKcJ-u/s320/pied-billed%20grebe.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pied-billed Grebe<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: medium;">As Halloween approached, so did the local ghosts and bats...</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF5TT-BZj18tk7CsELTx2kyAbiAqjly9mLecsQNu0U-ObeVwaFS6VICJJOCDWtJx0Zcq7IRkJ-dRihtR_uW5VlweXowPEWXoiaTo_w5dgUK_1IPgORLcQq22kIH16T0fhPvhiXURttFP_OR9JCWLXf9xQnWxmJ1C9wnIYfY2oBGHAlX3grKJotzRCparl/s772/DSCN2541_8428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF5TT-BZj18tk7CsELTx2kyAbiAqjly9mLecsQNu0U-ObeVwaFS6VICJJOCDWtJx0Zcq7IRkJ-dRihtR_uW5VlweXowPEWXoiaTo_w5dgUK_1IPgORLcQq22kIH16T0fhPvhiXURttFP_OR9JCWLXf9xQnWxmJ1C9wnIYfY2oBGHAlX3grKJotzRCparl/s320/DSCN2541_8428.JPG" width="318" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCem7xEIvM370gnO5rHCjks09H6plfMk_mXQKNzcFJ8t7SbzhRvpd-ye1GEja17zFkXnW5M_4TL82wHPTV066CNKE_YUrMbYF-8EA4T6AIz1Es2YntGacymt3sEHy7vEwqWE69Vl2NPHbOWdJf8CykEu8TECjAd9oGWeW7USTc-3tqUjOWP3Y4SAlRndQZ/s1024/DSCN2543_8430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCem7xEIvM370gnO5rHCjks09H6plfMk_mXQKNzcFJ8t7SbzhRvpd-ye1GEja17zFkXnW5M_4TL82wHPTV066CNKE_YUrMbYF-8EA4T6AIz1Es2YntGacymt3sEHy7vEwqWE69Vl2NPHbOWdJf8CykEu8TECjAd9oGWeW7USTc-3tqUjOWP3Y4SAlRndQZ/s320/DSCN2543_8430.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga545bg_FIdYx_HSysx-TcOEb4HR_2kjKt8tcqWHbtJIGfX8E8S7MyDbfI5Z4smaqqMJHckMrmmm97hWs5lP5RrwHn0viQ8AcFgeEHh5ojbU-ZpIsC_26_EF_0ISTkdrt5fXaaL8lPrun0ZyNEz6DNbgaaDa_TSYL_t6bAG-xGva9l8sslpnY8z7xW9Pjl/s1024/DSCN2544_8431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga545bg_FIdYx_HSysx-TcOEb4HR_2kjKt8tcqWHbtJIGfX8E8S7MyDbfI5Z4smaqqMJHckMrmmm97hWs5lP5RrwHn0viQ8AcFgeEHh5ojbU-ZpIsC_26_EF_0ISTkdrt5fXaaL8lPrun0ZyNEz6DNbgaaDa_TSYL_t6bAG-xGva9l8sslpnY8z7xW9Pjl/s320/DSCN2544_8431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioIP2aYIGXTs82ECC7olBSlejd6fAhJf8PaY5bGyTTaFJ90GybrAb20JX_O9kNYecfG9zZO_wCoPKx4YCv33ztyjbbhPCUmaidAVa9Vd4mJ-olkLOW_cgEhl3DoFiGEkkoBgD0Vdlf1_ZhDVGMsyJE6DfGDxu0s7cxmhIF30az9aLQJs2SS0y0dtEmFCe/s1024/DSCN2545_8432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioIP2aYIGXTs82ECC7olBSlejd6fAhJf8PaY5bGyTTaFJ90GybrAb20JX_O9kNYecfG9zZO_wCoPKx4YCv33ztyjbbhPCUmaidAVa9Vd4mJ-olkLOW_cgEhl3DoFiGEkkoBgD0Vdlf1_ZhDVGMsyJE6DfGDxu0s7cxmhIF30az9aLQJs2SS0y0dtEmFCe/s320/DSCN2545_8432.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRg-o6itaL7AWhymNxhoq7m6q1ThV_zFfY-_YVpgpEIp0VeA4NnkU2J0Bzh8RiwkFOAg7WQ4wpY_kXpdhnLY5UkNb4OT-kgamADSvYq1v6LkeWY_VdC-3ReNAdFaetNsNw5sWpsmkXqOV55KO-F1ARuAiOUBr2w0ii5_CcG7KKengy5WLiXVNPc7AJnHB/s1024/DSCN2546_8433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRg-o6itaL7AWhymNxhoq7m6q1ThV_zFfY-_YVpgpEIp0VeA4NnkU2J0Bzh8RiwkFOAg7WQ4wpY_kXpdhnLY5UkNb4OT-kgamADSvYq1v6LkeWY_VdC-3ReNAdFaetNsNw5sWpsmkXqOV55KO-F1ARuAiOUBr2w0ii5_CcG7KKengy5WLiXVNPc7AJnHB/s320/DSCN2546_8433.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWP5HYZeA61WPGM1UmeHZS8bHtXIFe0dzdrAK-JYhxjZBCANTf4gq_r95T1hPL72l6GhvwsMvBEycpl_adQ1E5gFEyofXLyxuNSxV232VznvfmVELvufP97ixo4iFMjXYzHj0oUPcoHqFv9Rylp89XxED68F7fYyOxEua58LmWk8P0KKFFAgY2LOBMrUw/s1024/DSCN2549_8436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="1024" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWP5HYZeA61WPGM1UmeHZS8bHtXIFe0dzdrAK-JYhxjZBCANTf4gq_r95T1hPL72l6GhvwsMvBEycpl_adQ1E5gFEyofXLyxuNSxV232VznvfmVELvufP97ixo4iFMjXYzHj0oUPcoHqFv9Rylp89XxED68F7fYyOxEua58LmWk8P0KKFFAgY2LOBMrUw/s320/DSCN2549_8436.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The lawn llama dressed for the pumpkin and witch season....</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkGx1jCOp2qigPESNsj7I1EHUvKR0q9sdRAWXf4rMA8gSPwkCcznbipXFbB7TywjiqtG21xw_uyVdlbOFUJx96Pm8yrEq4vigXjn31YGuKvc81IidvEu8QRaaoBpgztQ0qrh7qy7JcguDK9pfsEgKniVAsbLQNdw8uUhCJfeoa08tTuCf81L72E6cVLA1/s3456/Halloween%20llama.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3017" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkGx1jCOp2qigPESNsj7I1EHUvKR0q9sdRAWXf4rMA8gSPwkCcznbipXFbB7TywjiqtG21xw_uyVdlbOFUJx96Pm8yrEq4vigXjn31YGuKvc81IidvEu8QRaaoBpgztQ0qrh7qy7JcguDK9pfsEgKniVAsbLQNdw8uUhCJfeoa08tTuCf81L72E6cVLA1/s320/Halloween%20llama.JPG" width="279" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-6608772450134949112023-09-25T15:42:00.005-07:002023-09-26T10:04:08.043-07:00Build It and They Will Come<p> Well, we built a bayou and one swamp critter came. What's next, I wonder?</p><p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAGn636zXs5AxdUAk2Is-tuvPq9hvkh8KfQEmd4BTVz6tW0WdTq_HQu7R4UYPEoIfrOZSU-U5rgWJmTCzW2dPGCB5vKUjHh3vX-8MBBEjh9G5zbs_kLDwy2CYQHQkyZTJu8bqJfmvbQ4yurn6KQTOkbr0jF9fHiJ7faMWFnX0p0PYx57h7_IuRoUzl1T3/s4608/DSCN2440_8286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAGn636zXs5AxdUAk2Is-tuvPq9hvkh8KfQEmd4BTVz6tW0WdTq_HQu7R4UYPEoIfrOZSU-U5rgWJmTCzW2dPGCB5vKUjHh3vX-8MBBEjh9G5zbs_kLDwy2CYQHQkyZTJu8bqJfmvbQ4yurn6KQTOkbr0jF9fHiJ7faMWFnX0p0PYx57h7_IuRoUzl1T3/s320/DSCN2440_8286.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkmhobtFj1O4HvQko0SFS3MDW_I4k8_vFs50CIQQ0oT5e5XhwCfIfSjs6Y9dDpjyMBnot1mDY9n3uPTAf7h_tPyFPofYqkkp3xBOsNnsYDXWYvTSD6cMsPqB5nOeajU1eip50ZGFzrApUsEXd__1gWYEcGOBdr-5dNApqX-nd6WlLH0JWah9JR36-4bLB/s4608/DSCN2441_8287.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkmhobtFj1O4HvQko0SFS3MDW_I4k8_vFs50CIQQ0oT5e5XhwCfIfSjs6Y9dDpjyMBnot1mDY9n3uPTAf7h_tPyFPofYqkkp3xBOsNnsYDXWYvTSD6cMsPqB5nOeajU1eip50ZGFzrApUsEXd__1gWYEcGOBdr-5dNApqX-nd6WlLH0JWah9JR36-4bLB/s320/DSCN2441_8287.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-15992225432055080872023-09-23T14:02:00.013-07:002023-09-23T20:07:10.324-07:00The Great Pond (Bayou??) Project<p>Our farm pond turned into a swamp, full of cattails and invasive yellow iris, among other things. What was missing this dry summer was water. So Johnny decided to do something about it, since we irrigate the garden from "the pond". Or try to.</p><p>Never to do anything halfway, he borrowed a friend's big excavator and persuaded his nephew to fly here from Illinois to operate it. Jeff is a jack of many trades, including an experienced big equipment operator, and has done many pond projects. And so he arrived August 24 and dug right in, so to speak.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVr1cpIdUfFBkbwlRuN6Z7Dx-9kTDy8uLvm1BGKQf89NdJVt5zJUtBaj1b9-HINvK4nFcY6Eh1Iaeu-sLpInafqNHmm2YtqyPJ2cMMdwv9o8vSpCXlMP7ixZB2QwxU-OWSn4Np_JqdZkofAJ1duHGBCNfF0-3NiBMkNoQsO78I-GlwmmcvFZZIsXU4oqW/s4608/DSCN2253_7836.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVr1cpIdUfFBkbwlRuN6Z7Dx-9kTDy8uLvm1BGKQf89NdJVt5zJUtBaj1b9-HINvK4nFcY6Eh1Iaeu-sLpInafqNHmm2YtqyPJ2cMMdwv9o8vSpCXlMP7ixZB2QwxU-OWSn4Np_JqdZkofAJ1duHGBCNfF0-3NiBMkNoQsO78I-GlwmmcvFZZIsXU4oqW/s320/DSCN2253_7836.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Before Jeff arrived, Johnny had done a ton of preparatory work to divert the water. The pipe in the above photo ran all the way from upstream, where Johnny had built a temporary dam to hold the water and put in a pump so I could irrigate from there. The pipe drained the water through the dam and out the downstream side.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc56kuNiWVWGkOkCxHgcvvY3RCPSxjUV5Ajrn-OYrS-UnGfUdynwWIlGC8igIJoLn3OFQ1o-IbVRPW-LZGFjtlqFdmympX4QN15t0xud2YU1sOh4dAn1pyCmCBqwvWZNz8LuP5nUt12vjz2NlDrluffJ_VF3ycU5S7Y5Dfs-mNlG9dodgFWzUw5M5TBtCn/s4608/DSCN2254_7837.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2769" data-original-width="4608" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc56kuNiWVWGkOkCxHgcvvY3RCPSxjUV5Ajrn-OYrS-UnGfUdynwWIlGC8igIJoLn3OFQ1o-IbVRPW-LZGFjtlqFdmympX4QN15t0xud2YU1sOh4dAn1pyCmCBqwvWZNz8LuP5nUt12vjz2NlDrluffJ_VF3ycU5S7Y5Dfs-mNlG9dodgFWzUw5M5TBtCn/s320/DSCN2254_7837.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The pond gunk was dumped into a kind neighbor's trailer and hauled down to a lower field to dry out and, hopefully, kill all the invasive plants. <p></p><p><br /> Here is the dam and little pool that I irrigated from. The pipe you can see in the first photo ran all the way out of this pool through the swamp and dam and out the downstream side of the dam.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9XOnLSHS91KzNHkP5dbz6vUy3xRdF8JTC6ZAX4vRbyn31U2l_dal3zwt75rlCc-PCicsjgAWd-nJD7U9CPJmFGhfnMqVhrHTykS96JO6oj1A-36Dkx-GIqEYVONQ_jW89ZAT_JhMbABEKsA_Le5MHhjq-4ufq6Upesx6gNNwuW78D4Kxtmxy3-ebFmu8/s4608/DSCN2428_8219.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2187" data-original-width="4608" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9XOnLSHS91KzNHkP5dbz6vUy3xRdF8JTC6ZAX4vRbyn31U2l_dal3zwt75rlCc-PCicsjgAWd-nJD7U9CPJmFGhfnMqVhrHTykS96JO6oj1A-36Dkx-GIqEYVONQ_jW89ZAT_JhMbABEKsA_Le5MHhjq-4ufq6Upesx6gNNwuW78D4Kxtmxy3-ebFmu8/s320/DSCN2428_8219.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><p> Two days after starting the project, Jeff was done with the pond. He spent the weekend at the music festival nearby. Then moved the equipment to the culvert under our driveway. The culvert was 3/4 full of sand and gravel. Johnny wanted it cleaned out before the rains arrive. So Jeff dug what he could with the big excavator and Johnny hauled off the leavings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZLfncO1LKBT6X9QA0sOjrIYC2cwl_gPLX0LmQlg8rdOg9IuLOTn9ZCPz-jZe3PIm5pctQU09Vz1iaf6W3_zixZYS5TMhcS7B2XvJ0bmAoDJCgh7FyV6KLVlP8WYub02U_eKCRgAbWl3OlcA0KgmDVwmy_Pd9x3mBXQc54tZTHHrkgV0IXXaZwv0LwKGT/s4608/DSCN2265_7848.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZLfncO1LKBT6X9QA0sOjrIYC2cwl_gPLX0LmQlg8rdOg9IuLOTn9ZCPz-jZe3PIm5pctQU09Vz1iaf6W3_zixZYS5TMhcS7B2XvJ0bmAoDJCgh7FyV6KLVlP8WYub02U_eKCRgAbWl3OlcA0KgmDVwmy_Pd9x3mBXQc54tZTHHrkgV0IXXaZwv0LwKGT/s320/DSCN2265_7848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZYcxxzk6y9jBUFHG2QnxG7laW4rQbOpAPfqJ0SHy4RxVC3GjRXWWdzVboaQHcDYrkfGFQ1Nmv7W4bkGBUQdhYKHg5if5NuBXHmSjAmUfARgrDppnyFrd9NN1jrDySsT5HQSFBw2dqIWtNtFklM2wbmUSxR005KsM5tjjfTRFky1J_JRiIznd3Hh9qT0j/s4608/DSCN2282_7865.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZYcxxzk6y9jBUFHG2QnxG7laW4rQbOpAPfqJ0SHy4RxVC3GjRXWWdzVboaQHcDYrkfGFQ1Nmv7W4bkGBUQdhYKHg5if5NuBXHmSjAmUfARgrDppnyFrd9NN1jrDySsT5HQSFBw2dqIWtNtFklM2wbmUSxR005KsM5tjjfTRFky1J_JRiIznd3Hh9qT0j/s320/DSCN2282_7865.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1wgGXmrLqDbrxPgmgc2e_dt95rIcAphOS-EWhC9xyL-9PekkMGrwEGHn_1Y8MdNqohWwBHz9XlrXGgBiHyFO3b_dtXwzNA1zJp319qhr9cw8qPVt3IYKloxcKMt9sGL2oyVWfMF6AcXbqw14sFB02sSY8Fzk1kAyVD-Uw-9INd5cKF3QA0pIhG-Uh1gn/s4608/DSCN2283_7866.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1wgGXmrLqDbrxPgmgc2e_dt95rIcAphOS-EWhC9xyL-9PekkMGrwEGHn_1Y8MdNqohWwBHz9XlrXGgBiHyFO3b_dtXwzNA1zJp319qhr9cw8qPVt3IYKloxcKMt9sGL2oyVWfMF6AcXbqw14sFB02sSY8Fzk1kAyVD-Uw-9INd5cKF3QA0pIhG-Uh1gn/s320/DSCN2283_7866.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy with their completed project, Johnny and Jeff<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Jeff flew back to Illinois one week after arriving. Johnny spent the next two weeks trying to get the two-foot deep gunk inside the culvert, where the excavator could not reach, cleaned out. He had lots of work-saving ideas but what ultimately worked was lowly hand tools like hoe and shovel while lying on his belly on long boards laid from bank to bank. Once pulled out with hoe, he shoveled the sand/gravel/dirt mix onto the banks. He had to get creative to remove two big branches in the center of the 20 foot long culvert. The culvert still has sand/pebbles on the bottom third, and in the middle since his hoe couldn't reach that far, but hopefully more will wash out with a heavy rain now that it has an excavator dug hole to flow into.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtAjOyBkAWeSeA4iAZDpI_m3UHl1xHypd36f9FAHorU1dGUChgGAIBy6fHefmKwyWVatrO3tAtHFVM1-cWPY7jh-SkGkV6GZCsCQrMJXQC877s3CGTgyS1mOnPyUJtE7M101e7KxBT1prLBXBmqv22ardWVeJfuQsKVhbIkh9tcUz_7FzPW48aKYZYwE9/s4608/DSCN2411_8203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtAjOyBkAWeSeA4iAZDpI_m3UHl1xHypd36f9FAHorU1dGUChgGAIBy6fHefmKwyWVatrO3tAtHFVM1-cWPY7jh-SkGkV6GZCsCQrMJXQC877s3CGTgyS1mOnPyUJtE7M101e7KxBT1prLBXBmqv22ardWVeJfuQsKVhbIkh9tcUz_7FzPW48aKYZYwE9/s320/DSCN2411_8203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_JAG58lVCWdhMdmSaU6vATwU-xqDUx_RjAukxyiRyEVqwvyG0Agqiv7p-1rQ-9R0SqGQJ2msR0m8h2Pjg8i6tfoB4YdtEkQzQV-lpCkMzzqexYq1nWafPnr732FyiauIExNV0qKG2HvWsqOb7_Js3sm8-7zullpNwOExMI2aXUgMeOcFxvXHab-5JL5X/s4608/DSCN2410_8202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_JAG58lVCWdhMdmSaU6vATwU-xqDUx_RjAukxyiRyEVqwvyG0Agqiv7p-1rQ-9R0SqGQJ2msR0m8h2Pjg8i6tfoB4YdtEkQzQV-lpCkMzzqexYq1nWafPnr732FyiauIExNV0qKG2HvWsqOb7_Js3sm8-7zullpNwOExMI2aXUgMeOcFxvXHab-5JL5X/s320/DSCN2410_8202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Above is his work platform on the downstream end of the culvert. The water was too deep here to stand in and clean out the culvert so he had to lie on those boards and reach into the culvert with his hoe.<br /><p></p><p>Below is his work platform on the upstream end. The upstream section has a rock bottom so he could stand on the bottom and lay over the one board to clean out the culvert.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6yqEge3CWYnnxNsg7IKJpXPbVxPNI6lUffjW8Jd3QTfB-QqxQoapcU8BX9gEZCDUqYWbwQ68CqfOsM-j4AU2R31jmdgHiGQdLy5DOj_gu_plDwoOpJzThco7wfWkOfM_ie2UQd-1T4OKWq0wbbeZC29yRiO0K5cbnhHiylQyq4X5qVi8dM846MSyXwO6/s4608/DSCN2413_8205.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6yqEge3CWYnnxNsg7IKJpXPbVxPNI6lUffjW8Jd3QTfB-QqxQoapcU8BX9gEZCDUqYWbwQ68CqfOsM-j4AU2R31jmdgHiGQdLy5DOj_gu_plDwoOpJzThco7wfWkOfM_ie2UQd-1T4OKWq0wbbeZC29yRiO0K5cbnhHiylQyq4X5qVi8dM846MSyXwO6/s320/DSCN2413_8205.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>The water trickles slowly in from the narrow upstream section of the creek, on the right in the photo below..</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVaqU1AlLmkMCFwnqbZXp0X-LrUL6G3nyA8kmXbZauv6W_rJ33YkGRCSfXSXIn2jB4-VBN2mhVo5V2moB4EdE0HwymosXX_IE69yE18prQ0mZrONZ3xIQRlDerLvT1n7ac1AjditDrpTnwd_393-4j4m9zpTkgO4_J2KTzOr6Vz9kUU4iCAKo7ede7Jqw/s4608/DSCN2416_8208.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVaqU1AlLmkMCFwnqbZXp0X-LrUL6G3nyA8kmXbZauv6W_rJ33YkGRCSfXSXIn2jB4-VBN2mhVo5V2moB4EdE0HwymosXX_IE69yE18prQ0mZrONZ3xIQRlDerLvT1n7ac1AjditDrpTnwd_393-4j4m9zpTkgO4_J2KTzOr6Vz9kUU4iCAKo7ede7Jqw/s320/DSCN2416_8208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>After Johnny removed his drainage pipe, the pond filled, but not to overflowing, since the earth was very thirsty and soaked up the creek water, plus there is a leak beside the dam that lets water continue to flow into the creek below the dam. But I was again able to pump from the almost-full pond... with a brand new pump Johnny installed. And then we waited for the rains to arrive, fill the pond, and wash everything floating on the pond over the dam and downstream...</p><p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58-9ERIT4N1VoGTiMYO-7gQuFjGEJ9dvzQL8Xu4symv9coH70oIJwyKdqRU-uI3qP9CYpSkTQ9M2smFAihpKSnTL9Ep-wEF-l3tDm-ocjWeLSeGiyMZlb8zuYVe098RnbEDq0ZurklVCk2lFFH06Dl8q1X950Y1tQOUtyBNNLgPu-R81QbgJNztkJSMLh/s4608/DSCN2429_8220a.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2276" data-original-width="4608" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58-9ERIT4N1VoGTiMYO-7gQuFjGEJ9dvzQL8Xu4symv9coH70oIJwyKdqRU-uI3qP9CYpSkTQ9M2smFAihpKSnTL9Ep-wEF-l3tDm-ocjWeLSeGiyMZlb8zuYVe098RnbEDq0ZurklVCk2lFFH06Dl8q1X950Y1tQOUtyBNNLgPu-R81QbgJNztkJSMLh/s320/DSCN2429_8220a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlciQv7EJVcNKdT6KyyxWMi8N02UYIJL2DNcYBXRe01FO5sVMIIkg0V1AEEXXhSH0_h8gdF8KQ-mFKqpT76zpFXfP4KJg0owJFra9UrSYcmOBx3VYNXMisYQ2qtZCG4Qq0IA7DgeRgp6zQLdMgTn6GtkiTfdr5y9ivUr0qUffEBL1kSAxulIFuuM1Rc9gG/s4608/DSCN2431_8222.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlciQv7EJVcNKdT6KyyxWMi8N02UYIJL2DNcYBXRe01FO5sVMIIkg0V1AEEXXhSH0_h8gdF8KQ-mFKqpT76zpFXfP4KJg0owJFra9UrSYcmOBx3VYNXMisYQ2qtZCG4Qq0IA7DgeRgp6zQLdMgTn6GtkiTfdr5y9ivUr0qUffEBL1kSAxulIFuuM1Rc9gG/s320/DSCN2431_8222.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>But the ground eventually soaked up all the water it wanted, apparently, as the dam began to overflow just a little, enough to wash downstream the gunk that had formed atop the water. It was beginning to look like a pond! There is still a huge area of cattails and sedges and, alas, parrot feather... making it look more like a southern bayou than a northern pond. </p><p></p><p>Who knows what critters may be attracted to this bayou of Oregon? Let the rains begin! <br /></p><p><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-35138791730167140922023-08-29T18:52:00.001-07:002023-08-29T18:52:55.055-07:00The Hot Water Heater Eruption<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">On Saturday, August 19, our hot water heater erupted. Our hot water heater is on a platform at the highest point of our two story house... for a reason. Johnny had it plumbed for solar originally and also for the hot water from the wood stove downstairs. Since hot water rises, the water warmed by the wood stove circulates upward to the tank, theoretically lowering our electric bill. The cooler water at the bottom of the tank circulates downward to be pre-heated by the wood stove. This time of year, that's a moot point.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was watering in the greenhouse when I heard a thump which I assumed was Johnny doing something. He also heard it and thought a bird had hit a window. He went outside and saw water gushing out of the roof. He hollered. I went upstairs and saw water gushing out of the hot water heater, all over the floor and everything on it... which in my messy office is a lot of stuff.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So that began the Great Hot Water Heater saga. He hollered for me to turn off the hot water heater circuit breaker. He turned the water off and hooked up a hose to drain the tank safely out the upstairs window into the back yard. We mopped up the flood upstairs and rescued what was being soaked. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And Johnny investigated what had happened. He says the lower heating element had blown out of the tank. It was an 80 gallon tank so there was a lot of water... 80 gallons worth. We were lucky to be home and inside when it happened! If we'd been gone for the day our whole house would have been flooded and I dread to think what would have happened when the still plugged in tank ran out of water to heat. After some gratefulness time, and a lot of cleaning up, we tried to find another 80 gallon tank to replace this one, installed new in 2010.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">After much searching on the internet and finding only horrendously expensive tanks, Johnny went to town... and learned that nobody sells 80 gallon tanks anymore because they are "dangerous". They are still made but are "boilers", not hot water heaters. And not for installation in homes. So he bought a 50 gallon tank.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And then commenced the Great Tank Remodeling Project. But first the old heater had to come out. Happily we have friends and neighbors who are big and strong and volunteered to help. I did not watch the proceedings so do not know how they managed except Johnny said they had no problem. He had built a wooden platform from ladder to tank cupboard to see what had happened to cause the tank eruption and also, when he deemed it was not repairable, to cut four pipes holding it in place and the electric wire. That wooden structure served as a platform to get the old heater out and to a place where the two big guys could get it down. We opened the big window at the foot of the stairs and put up a wooden ramp to slide the heater down.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then Johnny went to work remodeling the new heater to accommodate the solar and wood stove connections.Those same strong friends returned to put the new tank into place. Photos show the scene...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_HswOgXYm9QL2bStUmYfleY5EkIcgJ5Pg62isDG8hVBRn0j-LmjUMtiCAnDJZRRRz3T45Oyz6t1kG762ZsDA0kHObVs4Kx9h7l72ZZ8c6Y57LksDayalnCwKLZmlNYPwNgnnvNaMOXkPFMRT3IrcWAS9ka_HW20uI-CbASi8uejYbXOFTH82N2aHBSJy/s3713/7787a%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3713" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_HswOgXYm9QL2bStUmYfleY5EkIcgJ5Pg62isDG8hVBRn0j-LmjUMtiCAnDJZRRRz3T45Oyz6t1kG762ZsDA0kHObVs4Kx9h7l72ZZ8c6Y57LksDayalnCwKLZmlNYPwNgnnvNaMOXkPFMRT3IrcWAS9ka_HW20uI-CbASi8uejYbXOFTH82N2aHBSJy/s320/7787a%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOx49B37HHqfIchFFWLDBPiFld1-yGpBWHM-Qtzf3m4VbsFn956chtOd2UB7l8EtE0A1i6-wbNu9htTjh5T8T3Kf4kRyXSdLGYer6yWRc6fnonZYDazchx-fEJ4aPQW_IRtHqBWXydMri6d3Px9RbWVBfCkuZsH8cbkrNfTqDRhXKUNZK2d28HSJ3bvhZ/s4608/DSCN2243_7788%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOx49B37HHqfIchFFWLDBPiFld1-yGpBWHM-Qtzf3m4VbsFn956chtOd2UB7l8EtE0A1i6-wbNu9htTjh5T8T3Kf4kRyXSdLGYer6yWRc6fnonZYDazchx-fEJ4aPQW_IRtHqBWXydMri6d3Px9RbWVBfCkuZsH8cbkrNfTqDRhXKUNZK2d28HSJ3bvhZ/s320/DSCN2243_7788%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It takes a lot of tools to perform surgery on a hot water heater<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIU8i19ADLZlQHuvpfqcMcC9ZqDBBcyjpvXk8jFbDKiz4lN1P_gewA0Fi-dgTSHysWdl1d_EdbJfLSd3eEQL4JyM4sT9-bT0Pd6ORoFHdeHZe_TkDZf1P6LiH6WKZoQw-yWdR7SE8FtiOIdMzuGhJgDuN9bBSXLbvWBaCMKWxXkpxN_WGaId0YmfDl3jQ/s4608/DSCN2245_7790%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIU8i19ADLZlQHuvpfqcMcC9ZqDBBcyjpvXk8jFbDKiz4lN1P_gewA0Fi-dgTSHysWdl1d_EdbJfLSd3eEQL4JyM4sT9-bT0Pd6ORoFHdeHZe_TkDZf1P6LiH6WKZoQw-yWdR7SE8FtiOIdMzuGhJgDuN9bBSXLbvWBaCMKWxXkpxN_WGaId0YmfDl3jQ/s320/DSCN2245_7790%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the banished 80 gallon hot water heater<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> It's very nice to have hot water again. But the upstairs is still full of tools and ladders, because Johnny says he is "not quite done" messing with the new heater. Sigh.</span><br /><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-90528759477899544452023-08-12T12:02:00.033-07:002023-08-12T17:50:15.793-07:00Summer Wrap Up and Trail Camera Photos <p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Black Oystercatcher monitoring season is over. The Road's End nest successfully fledged their one chick. I was never able to find any BLOY at Cape Kiawanda so who knows if any nested there. My big toenails fell off and finally healed and have new nails growing in. My hips that were overworked with all this hiking steep trails have improved and only scream occasionally. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, back on the home front, Johnny finished putting up the high fences around our 4 fields, with gates we can open to let the wild things through. I put up a couple trail cameras to see what wild things we have. That has been exciting! Here's a sampling...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, I set one up first to catch whatever had been raiding our strawberry bed and eating all the strawberries, even though they were covered with mesh. Naturally, it was a raccoon. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhGxZIa_D3iMNwGCH0xTX9PugO_rwNzjPKeLyu4YA6C2jxx8OEu7pjz1DHpy_UUxddOVdKb_EHk_47gK35gIfoLmOrFU1NgyWg2zZ-3NpaOQa42YoDkpxTwC4DYqdQa5KVmNKyxEJ9_sbZOv5uuDt4jFUWYmNyA2foMHDF7dEgPt5frKmKHKZYDoAE3he/s2688/IMG_0012_7235.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhGxZIa_D3iMNwGCH0xTX9PugO_rwNzjPKeLyu4YA6C2jxx8OEu7pjz1DHpy_UUxddOVdKb_EHk_47gK35gIfoLmOrFU1NgyWg2zZ-3NpaOQa42YoDkpxTwC4DYqdQa5KVmNKyxEJ9_sbZOv5uuDt4jFUWYmNyA2foMHDF7dEgPt5frKmKHKZYDoAE3he/s320/IMG_0012_7235.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We weighted the mesh down with firewood. That seemed to work. Then the strawberries ended and I moved the trail camera down to a path where we had been seeing little scats full of berries and suspected the gray foxes were back. We got horse and dog and deer... plus eye shine at night from something or other.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHpIBosCjetVYhBVOrkVM5wQFkxNMo1hrWauevVJWfNNc4mXVbr0l4r_5lYOaK2AfpYKIlLzxdnWGDE26tjonUZSb1Zt0H8mWYGwN2KM72ICLi-J6LUjPkJxp8HAcmFrKqJc96l3e7kbHF5nFX5FoYpX6elVfq9HnvI5fylk6n8irL-V3NesiHqjkZg2I/s2130/IMG_0013_7524.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2130" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHpIBosCjetVYhBVOrkVM5wQFkxNMo1hrWauevVJWfNNc4mXVbr0l4r_5lYOaK2AfpYKIlLzxdnWGDE26tjonUZSb1Zt0H8mWYGwN2KM72ICLi-J6LUjPkJxp8HAcmFrKqJc96l3e7kbHF5nFX5FoYpX6elVfq9HnvI5fylk6n8irL-V3NesiHqjkZg2I/s320/IMG_0013_7524.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KshTNtGixzqQJXUgFLAwLy0kJuJm6oKstfHGhJK4YmY0bhF5kNhA3cY620IxeanErhKKlIYCuWKtVDoJ4oa14FnfFvO2Ya5nVIiMFGtSB3Ut2Ei0a3V7QCUKDu2bhj9lIGs9r-53YzxfyzkorpRHPY-Po804xSqwt_cHWKaFtt_IUrcpsVBHBAQwSTRr/s1783/IMG_0023_7534.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1783" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KshTNtGixzqQJXUgFLAwLy0kJuJm6oKstfHGhJK4YmY0bhF5kNhA3cY620IxeanErhKKlIYCuWKtVDoJ4oa14FnfFvO2Ya5nVIiMFGtSB3Ut2Ei0a3V7QCUKDu2bhj9lIGs9r-53YzxfyzkorpRHPY-Po804xSqwt_cHWKaFtt_IUrcpsVBHBAQwSTRr/s320/IMG_0023_7534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtaGmZLjpd9gVJP26g4CVmyYMvFD1Jb44a3IkPjy5mlB5M3Xa7EwdkyM5CWXXKbZPug_F2rhEOZwGSOAnk-o5I28DDkh8R3qlbFhMDRbcKPzU_llVSZFKR_tT3z0WqxHyJ30Ms0sQc1LZCJauFGBMU_K0incbVrWVk_FkaHb9CcZHQMr5q-9s7U26Mfzq/s1616/IMG_0046_7557.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1616" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtaGmZLjpd9gVJP26g4CVmyYMvFD1Jb44a3IkPjy5mlB5M3Xa7EwdkyM5CWXXKbZPug_F2rhEOZwGSOAnk-o5I28DDkh8R3qlbFhMDRbcKPzU_llVSZFKR_tT3z0WqxHyJ30Ms0sQc1LZCJauFGBMU_K0incbVrWVk_FkaHb9CcZHQMr5q-9s7U26Mfzq/s320/IMG_0046_7557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNlcopG6NFQ2G-s8y6r5gtEnohgkENwrkhtxu5_vmAtJ8fDoKUu_wNbDGzo-Jdt0pyFlBmzUymZ6XRhKLkbI2jCECaV3lG4yCESqP4PCcle01j3UCKMQGvElH0UWwo3nVhHVV1wqoZldYdCcpfIYX3c01dDZHdepefNtAz1hoLLW0D0_94hPCpHEVlQTv/s1859/IMG_0047_7558.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1859" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNlcopG6NFQ2G-s8y6r5gtEnohgkENwrkhtxu5_vmAtJ8fDoKUu_wNbDGzo-Jdt0pyFlBmzUymZ6XRhKLkbI2jCECaV3lG4yCESqP4PCcle01j3UCKMQGvElH0UWwo3nVhHVV1wqoZldYdCcpfIYX3c01dDZHdepefNtAz1hoLLW0D0_94hPCpHEVlQTv/s320/IMG_0047_7558.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I moved the trail camera to the horse paddock which is unoccupied at night, has horse and dog during the day. Eureka! I like the fuzzy antlers on this young buck...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHZNmHP5-ffFvWchru5jN8N0mo3geMOjmgAKzjcA0NNswiHSOB05dbbKaCWXpEKkvImCV_eAa1XPNzviu72ZyPbeWWSXxDjhqzIX9GwzIVEPfyHUWCk3GlutLARiq97hpf4gafMQjnvS4eFeuwRuKknvVy1lra2V_7CyUdDDDV6PudqfaaanH3AWG20Ie/s1011/7496%20cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHZNmHP5-ffFvWchru5jN8N0mo3geMOjmgAKzjcA0NNswiHSOB05dbbKaCWXpEKkvImCV_eAa1XPNzviu72ZyPbeWWSXxDjhqzIX9GwzIVEPfyHUWCk3GlutLARiq97hpf4gafMQjnvS4eFeuwRuKknvVy1lra2V_7CyUdDDDV6PudqfaaanH3AWG20Ie/s320/7496%20cropped.JPG" width="144" /></a></div>a bigger buck...<br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqUcT3HMjPeWq7kHIqtiA2vGYFfJrdCOBLYsfyS1T0MBi0WvVw1cqpFW31zvQ2fJlwNw680HKfE7RDl9UCAxldKVLZvvUc8WAC2GNaIO8HPTeVMnJ5EkWCaeoIYrgz9eLJ_ThWXSTnIanab1QC14B_sB1YTsWcKGHZMp9S0_5mpWiGkVoF6Ul6zVDyLXt/s1512/IMG_0041_7613.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1140" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqUcT3HMjPeWq7kHIqtiA2vGYFfJrdCOBLYsfyS1T0MBi0WvVw1cqpFW31zvQ2fJlwNw680HKfE7RDl9UCAxldKVLZvvUc8WAC2GNaIO8HPTeVMnJ5EkWCaeoIYrgz9eLJ_ThWXSTnIanab1QC14B_sB1YTsWcKGHZMp9S0_5mpWiGkVoF6Ul6zVDyLXt/s320/IMG_0041_7613.JPG" width="241" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But there was the problem of where to aim the camera to get a low animal like a fox or a tall animal like a deer... and to avoid gates and railings and bushes...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNx7cQSh6PcLWE9CATvcyZ8XOGp-OolLOF5FPx_sJstMuKWcw5cqvCVnkzyP9w3qXLibDmg1NdIg59bpmq2X_-CC2YV3Ypz9i9AZGSybDqcshQ5ZUyjYIlIhdRgb5FWs0hE3vThuGaVO8Z-on1I2gFlAjiiCoktjpupTlA3JD1IDnwRZSxyge0UvLvhPJ/s2688/IMG_0002_7626.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNx7cQSh6PcLWE9CATvcyZ8XOGp-OolLOF5FPx_sJstMuKWcw5cqvCVnkzyP9w3qXLibDmg1NdIg59bpmq2X_-CC2YV3Ypz9i9AZGSybDqcshQ5ZUyjYIlIhdRgb5FWs0hE3vThuGaVO8Z-on1I2gFlAjiiCoktjpupTlA3JD1IDnwRZSxyge0UvLvhPJ/s320/IMG_0002_7626.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZ_AyR3tHtz9a1rC4dJU94HM0lwAhox8ghRzHnK2R1wkESumt-mSWmMdW0rtKEcO17AFlr_qXcbG-UiLWU34si6Mbd3jI5iCtU9ViNAL1KHM0ZGur4Ta6AtrabOtxIZLe-8qck4HlJO5Wb31yxHB13I61yDVGn0W4wW7HlgB8qIHYRXg9uXuGjjI89KTQ/s2688/IMG_0004_7628.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZ_AyR3tHtz9a1rC4dJU94HM0lwAhox8ghRzHnK2R1wkESumt-mSWmMdW0rtKEcO17AFlr_qXcbG-UiLWU34si6Mbd3jI5iCtU9ViNAL1KHM0ZGur4Ta6AtrabOtxIZLe-8qck4HlJO5Wb31yxHB13I61yDVGn0W4wW7HlgB8qIHYRXg9uXuGjjI89KTQ/s320/IMG_0004_7628.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Doing better! But what I wanted was a fox... Camera is still too high...<br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGU1btz4cuG0aNARq_IDK4cR_bsaHsmJnwSPzUSYsqWL6BertalEUnqFCUpP51dHBw2S-U1lWJ3D2uMiA1urEcGNScsLv1VZLOO9rQz3l60E8i-ZJV0Lqt5kkA6FFY1u1eEtvrY6sCbryJ2M85GfaMkwvo32EiMBElnyoVwqAErJBm5XDHqLe-seNYQTR/s2688/IMG_0006_7639.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGU1btz4cuG0aNARq_IDK4cR_bsaHsmJnwSPzUSYsqWL6BertalEUnqFCUpP51dHBw2S-U1lWJ3D2uMiA1urEcGNScsLv1VZLOO9rQz3l60E8i-ZJV0Lqt5kkA6FFY1u1eEtvrY6sCbryJ2M85GfaMkwvo32EiMBElnyoVwqAErJBm5XDHqLe-seNYQTR/s320/IMG_0006_7639.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The reason we love the gray foxes is because they eat rodents... and not chickens. They are pretty small and so eat small things. And they climb tree</span>s!</p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Success</span>! Black tip to the tail tells me it's a Gray Fox</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVyhKAaDC86B7HgHeerXE6azKSrQwp61lSDfcdl8gxQOkTv3mT3ASWPaHbE4uT0BbT2GQVrCI5-ERJM0xDCFNt4zRe_dqIvA7vCL3DfzXo30SbbuRgsSReCxKYJb0f1FfBVObFWbsZsN3bHHAmYLPMcSiFBQDUjgSG4dpHb7Kf3v8JzjPJ_mX4tcpNtOD/s2688/IMG_0008_7679.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVyhKAaDC86B7HgHeerXE6azKSrQwp61lSDfcdl8gxQOkTv3mT3ASWPaHbE4uT0BbT2GQVrCI5-ERJM0xDCFNt4zRe_dqIvA7vCL3DfzXo30SbbuRgsSReCxKYJb0f1FfBVObFWbsZsN3bHHAmYLPMcSiFBQDUjgSG4dpHb7Kf3v8JzjPJ_mX4tcpNtOD/s320/IMG_0008_7679.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJdaBV_apzFxcvZKVPHPEKsGw2uObaeeAzhD6vso5wq9lDpjjAJ18THEYiJ3FdcGbQAAIOEeeJp0shYNPixV909U46m8j76W1-HkWkOrMEA5r_fhhv1IwAmQTtnmjjLGomJVQMjwKx5o7daYD1xu4JHRcqnIqC47qG4riywtchIAPW7A9VMCGfgyXHoVg/s2688/IMG_0009_7680.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJdaBV_apzFxcvZKVPHPEKsGw2uObaeeAzhD6vso5wq9lDpjjAJ18THEYiJ3FdcGbQAAIOEeeJp0shYNPixV909U46m8j76W1-HkWkOrMEA5r_fhhv1IwAmQTtnmjjLGomJVQMjwKx5o7daYD1xu4JHRcqnIqC47qG4riywtchIAPW7A9VMCGfgyXHoVg/s320/IMG_0009_7680.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p>Then I found some bigger scat I could not identify in the arboretum. So I set up a second trail camera along the deer path behind our A field. And captured a spotted fawn. I have now moved that camera to the open gate behind the B field, since that's the only way the deer and everything else can get into that field, thanks to the new very high fences, and jump from there to the A or C fields, over lower fences.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKI1Ih0SshHvNo3y7RuvuJQJEb9Zm526BoqW5m4YQsjBBzRwQ7lvJqlAhzxGbXAAjWdGLF_joT0P795gbpRMr4bLvR2uu6-Pba_fxnceRJWUzXq37uZnvul_zwT4NzeiorKoMzkJc-ZqV58760ERsF-cdVaCqd4FDU4XdV_pcupv2fxDS9Dpzu3SzeiNzw/s2688/IMG_0009_7696.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKI1Ih0SshHvNo3y7RuvuJQJEb9Zm526BoqW5m4YQsjBBzRwQ7lvJqlAhzxGbXAAjWdGLF_joT0P795gbpRMr4bLvR2uu6-Pba_fxnceRJWUzXq37uZnvul_zwT4NzeiorKoMzkJc-ZqV58760ERsF-cdVaCqd4FDU4XdV_pcupv2fxDS9Dpzu3SzeiNzw/s320/IMG_0009_7696.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, back in the horse paddock, the fox was still moving through...</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMm14ZEIdpmf8tFw0IjyMJH7cRe2nGHUApx7n27H3rvzNZtalHZ_z-h_tv28gb71JgRx_QFuawn9Hn1Nh_vyr9L9eJMFKqMZk6D38umUOn01he867uWXeisKcfQeSI9HKLtVveGbtZNfQS0-FxDrStY2TbQ4hF83VAadnxzPSvN_LBWrw8kRazI2Ipx67/s2688/IMG_0003_7716.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMm14ZEIdpmf8tFw0IjyMJH7cRe2nGHUApx7n27H3rvzNZtalHZ_z-h_tv28gb71JgRx_QFuawn9Hn1Nh_vyr9L9eJMFKqMZk6D38umUOn01he867uWXeisKcfQeSI9HKLtVveGbtZNfQS0-FxDrStY2TbQ4hF83VAadnxzPSvN_LBWrw8kRazI2Ipx67/s320/IMG_0003_7716.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p>And so were the deer...</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTy9Y-AgcYX1v-aeuQfk2u159Lw6HxalgaAvAEX6WlHbl957gBPdh-3KTChQjClpNaBJZAXFvbLx2LqWThomxiNsLgFiwUvTz54j0ZW5d2SA-J39iJCL79WHtJxBph-2q82qwxz8YTShUO9SS81xGZrC7Swf-ZNKuVOxopGJDvBkhHSbDHf3nmqSXPyak/s2688/IMG_0004_7732.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTy9Y-AgcYX1v-aeuQfk2u159Lw6HxalgaAvAEX6WlHbl957gBPdh-3KTChQjClpNaBJZAXFvbLx2LqWThomxiNsLgFiwUvTz54j0ZW5d2SA-J39iJCL79WHtJxBph-2q82qwxz8YTShUO9SS81xGZrC7Swf-ZNKuVOxopGJDvBkhHSbDHf3nmqSXPyak/s320/IMG_0004_7732.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQK0UHqf7arR_3gaqHvplYNiiZ92IB7Y6sRAn29StQtepZi0H9PrH52sbSN_i__6iO9S3WqvANuln8xW5yfbvfSf2y9AbgeseS4wdYOwlDFr1YZcBEXvV4-vKrenZ1S1rz5s-N0M2_Ir-KkY3Q_-yZ39BMOVy73jUSWpcGaJ6hpAy3LGYMQaA8XRd_1Wlr/s2688/IMG_0011_7739.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQK0UHqf7arR_3gaqHvplYNiiZ92IB7Y6sRAn29StQtepZi0H9PrH52sbSN_i__6iO9S3WqvANuln8xW5yfbvfSf2y9AbgeseS4wdYOwlDFr1YZcBEXvV4-vKrenZ1S1rz5s-N0M2_Ir-KkY3Q_-yZ39BMOVy73jUSWpcGaJ6hpAy3LGYMQaA8XRd_1Wlr/s320/IMG_0011_7739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJBwHdhvEbImmW5v8DRor2t4oIEylNp6ohK-OTG7qMr3RCZnQZm_IS5W05FZAQ-1CgncSD-50O8opr_BueWdEcUL6LRxXarp1qRlrRKWjEWkaXUxPHI-uKvNuKXYzQQvw4C5NLBGeJJtC8_pXCQzjJ_r4rnJ1ujcIPDaNtN8bJKUGBgy7N1wpZCl3aQDF/s2688/IMG_0013_7741.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJBwHdhvEbImmW5v8DRor2t4oIEylNp6ohK-OTG7qMr3RCZnQZm_IS5W05FZAQ-1CgncSD-50O8opr_BueWdEcUL6LRxXarp1qRlrRKWjEWkaXUxPHI-uKvNuKXYzQQvw4C5NLBGeJJtC8_pXCQzjJ_r4rnJ1ujcIPDaNtN8bJKUGBgy7N1wpZCl3aQDF/s320/IMG_0013_7741.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I look forward to seeing what the trail cameras find in the future. In another month, the bears should start showing up...<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-69151082750694987922023-08-03T16:39:00.079-07:002023-08-11T18:41:58.640-07:00Where Did July Go?? Or... Our Amazing Grandchildren<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Where did July go?? The highlights of the month seem to have revolved around grandchildren. No, they did not visit nor did we... but technology is a wonderful thing and we enjoyed a Zoom concert by Kestrel singing and playing guitar and Cedrus accompanying him on the piano... his new piano. The occasion was a request from me for Grandmother's Day (a fictitious holiday I made up). Kestrel sang "Imagine" at my request. He also sang a Portuguese song that he has sung locally at an open mike. Cedrus is simply amazing on the piano and gets more amazing every time we hear him. There must be some incredibly fortuitous combination of musical genes on all sides of the family... generations removed. Those genes skipped right over Johnny and me.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Those same two kids then spent weeks in the Boston area at camps. These were not your ordinary summer camps. Kestrel's was a young writer's workshop at Bard College at Simon's Rock. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> https://simons-rock.edu/academics/beyond-the-classroom/young-writers-workshop/</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kestrel has been writing novels since he was a little kid. This camp was like a coming out party for 16-year-old Kestrel. The introvert became extroverted and now has many long distance friends from camp and a whole new way of looking at story writing. Plus, he spent every weekend at nearby theaters with others from his camp watching incredibly well-acted plays. One of the plays was the best acted play Kestrel said he has ever seen... the seldom performed Shakespeare play, Henry VI Part 2. He was so inspired that he is now writing "Clyde V" -- in iambic pentameter!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Plus, on a less happy note, he got Covid. That gave him another set of friends since all the Covid kids (there were 15 of them) were isolated from the rest of the camp for the last week of the three week camp. And Kestrel became friends with all of them. Thanks to modern technology and smart phones, Kestrel is keeping in touch with his new found friends. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile Cedrus was at an arts camp, Snow Farm, for two of those same weeks, taking ceramics plus painting and drawing. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> https://www.snowfarm.org/</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZmYJmvk_5AF5Y10mStOEPPmo4ZYKMak2gevuxBwfvVbOQlgCrdAoaBBpIuzb5SshdqKA8-kzGNosLAGAA0a3X9pK8fD0NUlTg8XenvXPGDnUkWJJRciSQUdGvY0PZ7o3Xcu0w7li47fy-2-eukUlhgSsWhrOpBhDyBB1UnwxGnBubiv1r3RLY4YIxvq4/s4032/IMG_5336.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZmYJmvk_5AF5Y10mStOEPPmo4ZYKMak2gevuxBwfvVbOQlgCrdAoaBBpIuzb5SshdqKA8-kzGNosLAGAA0a3X9pK8fD0NUlTg8XenvXPGDnUkWJJRciSQUdGvY0PZ7o3Xcu0w7li47fy-2-eukUlhgSsWhrOpBhDyBB1UnwxGnBubiv1r3RLY4YIxvq4/s320/IMG_5336.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cedrus, 14, whom I have considered to be an extrovert since birth, tells me that he is an ambivert... and his mother agrees. (I had to look up ambivert.) Whatever, he is extraordinarily good with people and now has a pile of 14-18 year old friends, all of whom were as excited about the arts as is he. I think that was one thing both mostly home-schooled boys were amazed at... how many young people share their passions. Although Cedrus has been drawing and painting forever, he had never done ceramics and was thrilled to learn. And in the drawing and painting side, he said he learned how to create the same thing he has before but in a different way. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Plus he did a metal smithing workshop where he got to make rings from a sheet of copper with a blowtorch. What young teen wouldn't love that? </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cedrus is very happy that one of the friends he made at camp lives just 20 minutes away from where he lives in California. (Most of the others were from the Boston and Springfield areas of Massachusetts.) Serendipity! </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Munazza had found and arranged for these incredible camps and accompanied the kids to Boston at the beginning of Kestrel's camp, then hung out with Cedrus for that first week exploring Boston. When Cedrus started camp a week after Kestrel, she flew home. Two weeks later, Steve flew to Boston to accompany the kids back to California. What a busy summer!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our grandson in Washington is having a busy summer, too. Kevin and Jessica's son has been working all summer for a CPA (and part time during the school year). Ian is a business student at a Univ. of Wash. business school. Just this week he flew to a convention in Las Vegas for an honorary organization he belongs to: </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.bap.org/"><img class="header_logo_img img-fluid" src="https://www.bap.org/images/header_logo-347x113.png?v=3cceee12282d30fc44c74a6c9f92d51d" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Ian found time (while driving) to phone us when he returned and tell us a bit about his Las Vegas adventure. His chapter of this Accounting Honor Society is from Univ. of Wash. Bothell. Ian is vice president of that chapter. To join a student has to have 3.0 GPA, be in a certain selection of majors, plus have a certain number of community service hours and professional hours. Ian has all of that.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This convention focused on professional development, chapter development, and networking. The University paid for it. Ian graduates in June and will take the CPA exam right after graduation. It is a four part exam that has to be taken all at once... and, he was told, there is a 98% chance that everyone who takes it will fail one part. Whew.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ian is my usual partner on treks to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. However he is so busy now that I've asked him to just find a weekend to come to the farm and hang out with us. Hopefully, he'll be able to squeeze that in before school starts again. In the best of all worlds, Kevin's partner Kellin will be able to come with him. Kellin is an artist and an animal person, especially dogs, something that is much more like me than art or music or business sense! <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Grandkids, my father once told me, stretch us to learn about worlds we never knew existed. How right he was.<br /></span></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-64798542596369517172023-06-25T21:42:00.000-07:002023-06-25T21:42:03.041-07:00CATCHING UP<p><span style="font-size: large;">On June 1st, I hiked with friend Ruth up Cascade Head from Knight Park. The goal was to check for Black Oystercatchers (BLOY) at the one site I can see from that trail. Usually, I drive in from Hwy 101 on a forest service road, but that road washed out two years ago and I haven't been able to get in since. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The hike up is long and steep but we did get to where I can see north to the nesting area... where there were no BLOY in sight.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTNsNizRb7U5_k916d9H5skijpjqc7wfGqaIP1U5NubAuChBT5dcrgGL6NoA5w8uiDWMOv7Y1kmZJ4ISBYe_YS2LoYfP_yFpbvMogS4vsv0hNQnr4JXxr5oOxWChwv-fW7G7zNgaPu8fcO8_WPzRZsVPM6bRE4XVVrw9xIyqYyNCq9VVXZgcpprsxKmD0/s4147/DSCN1755_7047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2982" data-original-width="4147" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTNsNizRb7U5_k916d9H5skijpjqc7wfGqaIP1U5NubAuChBT5dcrgGL6NoA5w8uiDWMOv7Y1kmZJ4ISBYe_YS2LoYfP_yFpbvMogS4vsv0hNQnr4JXxr5oOxWChwv-fW7G7zNgaPu8fcO8_WPzRZsVPM6bRE4XVVrw9xIyqYyNCq9VVXZgcpprsxKmD0/s320/DSCN1755_7047.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The views from that trail are lovely, though. The Thumb, where I mostly monitor BLOY, is visible in this photo, with the rocks where the BLOY nest below and to the right (west):</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2XZpIZqvQ7aL7QEnEz924-GOM4AhSQmrTjJxHCzJQfAbryZRvEQWk8gZfeTcsyTXn_LSwbJTahGfhjQNnVJBXKEfy_uoeDBfmgohuDDSEeD116LehKVsVhUMQyni4Pfrw5vGPvYmRix94vGfvpm3TUQOlpZnXEdahy7Ezh3IHqwg_By4iHUCzg1mNH4H/s4608/DSCN1744_7036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2XZpIZqvQ7aL7QEnEz924-GOM4AhSQmrTjJxHCzJQfAbryZRvEQWk8gZfeTcsyTXn_LSwbJTahGfhjQNnVJBXKEfy_uoeDBfmgohuDDSEeD116LehKVsVhUMQyni4Pfrw5vGPvYmRix94vGfvpm3TUQOlpZnXEdahy7Ezh3IHqwg_By4iHUCzg1mNH4H/s320/DSCN1744_7036.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> The hike down was painful and taught me a painful lesson: trim toenails before hiking down steep trails and wear snug hiking boots. I had done neither. As a result, I have been mincing around in roomy crocs and fat socks to cushion my very black and blue and painful big toes. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">But life goes on and I was able to do my usual pick up hay bales and put them on the hay wagon for Johnny to stack. And then put them from wagon onto hay elevator. Friend Mary drove the tractor. Photos in a previous blog post.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The BLOY at Road's End still needed monitoring on the weeks when co-monitor Casey could not go. So I minced my way up the steep trail on June 9th and saw the one chick that Casey had reported finding.The adult is on the left side of the photo. The chick is on the right side facing away.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimX6Q_APAMg3MayB4NbPxt5nRhi7UqWh99yj43YZFlVSnmvUIFRVwZdNm4ROyC0NzNfifn-HSiF8bjJiU0s650rZTkfcZFwCz28_9iq9D2awmHtOFxQ9W0TfloNfW7TvaFnlcZOXmueNsdeq6cFv5a6a79O4cIO2W6xUQ8_UHP59dWTx6UfCHqOocu3F2V/s312/adult%20and%20chick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="312" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimX6Q_APAMg3MayB4NbPxt5nRhi7UqWh99yj43YZFlVSnmvUIFRVwZdNm4ROyC0NzNfifn-HSiF8bjJiU0s650rZTkfcZFwCz28_9iq9D2awmHtOFxQ9W0TfloNfW7TvaFnlcZOXmueNsdeq6cFv5a6a79O4cIO2W6xUQ8_UHP59dWTx6UfCHqOocu3F2V/s1600/adult%20and%20chick.JPG" width="312" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On June 11th a friend from Washington and his two Japanese exchange students visited and I hiked them through our woods that had not had trails cleared yet this year. It was very brushy. We all survived but I vowed to clear trails. On June 24th, I mowed arboretum and woodland trails, got the mower stuck and had to get Johnny to help get me unstuck.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The garden has been difficult thanks to the weather and my sore feet. But I made compost mounds in the garden for corn, also for cucumbers, and planted a line of pumpkins around the perimeter in the one strip Johnny managed to till, sort of. I replanted tomatoes in tires every few days as they died. Some of them are finally taking off and looking like they may live... and hopefully someday produce tomatoes. It's a tough year.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The hooves on Nightingale, our one surviving horse, have been getting long and I've been either too sick, too busy, or too sore to trim them. So I put on very big, very sturdy boots and worked on her fronts June 16. That changed the angle of her pasterns dramatically and she was walking tenderly on hard ground for a few days. On June 24, I attempted the rear hooves but managed only to even them up a bit... they have been breaking off unevenly but hopefully will wear down evenly now.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Johnny has been busy with a pile of projects. I'll try to get to some of those in another blog post. And we both still do Ren Yuan (a form of Qi Gong) on Sunday morning with a group of friends... a great way to start the week emotionally and physically.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow, June 26, I'm off to The Thumb again, with toes still recovering. Casey could not find the chick last week, so I'm hoping it was just in hiding and will reappear tomorrow. Hope springs eternal, as my mother always said... <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-45930684967816092472023-06-13T15:49:00.021-07:002023-06-17T11:30:46.103-07:00The Hay Is In The Barn!<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The hay is in the barn! And in wheelbarrows, loose... Baler was not terribly cooperative. The best thing about haying this year (besides the fact that it's done) was the cooperative weather... no rain and not too hot. However the nutty weather earlier... endless rain followed by freezing cold and no moisture at all... created rock hard soil that kept the lotus from getting as lush and tall as we would have liked. As unpredictable as the weather this year has been, maybe it will surprise us and give us rain this summer and a second cutting in the fall. Well, I can dream.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although I sure don't want to buck more bales and they don't hop magically into the barn loft. I am compensating for the diminished bale count by opening up more areas for the goats to browse. We need their help in keeping brush down anyway, because of fire danger. Photos of the hay operation, when I remembered to take them... totally out of order...<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hd3XlPv-rQzPk9whmh-aNtJW364u1Bya3lCjsPlVFUwAGtR1rvb65ietbhQsonEngot4Z6hVkTVOklAiG29SBOQlp6Nfl3mHjcVfvvPujqCrx7Bik7ecudGP73uhcMtV8Yis8ySLYOD86jQvgn9OCU2dY-0gbA_3g9GKAxpvRZRsMbVE2SW0CftHKw/s4608/DSCN1766_7058.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2086" data-original-width="4608" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hd3XlPv-rQzPk9whmh-aNtJW364u1Bya3lCjsPlVFUwAGtR1rvb65ietbhQsonEngot4Z6hVkTVOklAiG29SBOQlp6Nfl3mHjcVfvvPujqCrx7Bik7ecudGP73uhcMtV8Yis8ySLYOD86jQvgn9OCU2dY-0gbA_3g9GKAxpvRZRsMbVE2SW0CftHKw/s320/DSCN1766_7058.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny mowing the B field (2nd of 4 fields)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRux8d2gahX-mxBfqolkdDELRjM7zAZhRh8nJWdkpaTqiiJ6fLsTIfZCXq6rOiSw9lvE4K58XmJfvlz3PskVpfvqeLlLqQs247m-qYRAPQ5fUJ7WDy32nFpR10-jVy5zqKGPmzUetdN8jq6JPi-Pa35tuNlq8CjOu9NHogTC0IK7oAJ5cxKThAc4ohxA/s4023/DSCN1696_6988.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1959" data-original-width="4023" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRux8d2gahX-mxBfqolkdDELRjM7zAZhRh8nJWdkpaTqiiJ6fLsTIfZCXq6rOiSw9lvE4K58XmJfvlz3PskVpfvqeLlLqQs247m-qYRAPQ5fUJ7WDy32nFpR10-jVy5zqKGPmzUetdN8jq6JPi-Pa35tuNlq8CjOu9NHogTC0IK7oAJ5cxKThAc4ohxA/s320/DSCN1696_6988.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The herd who eat all that hay<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIVYYUqFtAnJs2JdhIMROf_p-yvfE8toqXNitN0MZCk9ibbENFLbQQ_oBa6y8x6vcQH3IHIMWqhD8MYhVnJwCCW9ow84bc6fKG47Z_HXL43Imi8WwVgjJIMO53U5TV7HEgh0nDwP6fBz5u3vFPeMrZfmKnT-SzNQkx1tI_2HDr1xw7bbcGbjQzapOkg/s2518/DSCN1733_7025.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="2518" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpIVYYUqFtAnJs2JdhIMROf_p-yvfE8toqXNitN0MZCk9ibbENFLbQQ_oBa6y8x6vcQH3IHIMWqhD8MYhVnJwCCW9ow84bc6fKG47Z_HXL43Imi8WwVgjJIMO53U5TV7HEgh0nDwP6fBz5u3vFPeMrZfmKnT-SzNQkx1tI_2HDr1xw7bbcGbjQzapOkg/s320/DSCN1733_7025.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The herd out on brush control duty<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnykpkFaAKN4WW7sMGf_ivZF36whs9ID8cVaWT2JDWavqGxc82X7WmJaFCVjAI6KZ0ufLWJ_-LMLaepJj1VgrStRZ-huELipoKU8LvurrN-H29zjUHJOU85MpY5NGgt938mymo26NeFgE0CeK8imwEXfZv9MxK147JdPZjlWnoxvKFqJMQ0NAXG4dQ3g/s3704/bale%201.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3263" data-original-width="3704" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnykpkFaAKN4WW7sMGf_ivZF36whs9ID8cVaWT2JDWavqGxc82X7WmJaFCVjAI6KZ0ufLWJ_-LMLaepJj1VgrStRZ-huELipoKU8LvurrN-H29zjUHJOU85MpY5NGgt938mymo26NeFgE0CeK8imwEXfZv9MxK147JdPZjlWnoxvKFqJMQ0NAXG4dQ3g/s320/bale%201.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traditional jumping the last bale: the takeoff<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkwUqD2Cd0dylBtsf1rOXBj1di7SBDgqfYEBcRI3X62ptMWYbI1wUmcvvNCJT4n2WC3WaXE4X3K43viTehG4BtDVgTj73dwmxF4s9hfFKMAhw30kuoRsvNp_-9WsqMJFCohdDoGZeq_fH16kKDlBFJU-5OSUinyugaRBf3_D0yM0OGfdOLrbqymIc2A/s4608/bale%202.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkwUqD2Cd0dylBtsf1rOXBj1di7SBDgqfYEBcRI3X62ptMWYbI1wUmcvvNCJT4n2WC3WaXE4X3K43viTehG4BtDVgTj73dwmxF4s9hfFKMAhw30kuoRsvNp_-9WsqMJFCohdDoGZeq_fH16kKDlBFJU-5OSUinyugaRBf3_D0yM0OGfdOLrbqymIc2A/s320/bale%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the jump start<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho83wyCmp9xhQSKy3n3Cz1Y8UxFJq7etx2gUH_qhm9qLrXtQmKJexzmrGIWQUpeYQAhMmPrePEZ3pMbM7YYdlL0FMdXvhiybPPuQjH-gKgKojcZrLp5Y7ZYtGfzXNzmuhhacjJjJQhiiOF0L7Xocpf64CSi51DlsPWD-1UWlozUir8zRgD5BFpCHd7og/s4011/bale%203.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3271" data-original-width="4011" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho83wyCmp9xhQSKy3n3Cz1Y8UxFJq7etx2gUH_qhm9qLrXtQmKJexzmrGIWQUpeYQAhMmPrePEZ3pMbM7YYdlL0FMdXvhiybPPuQjH-gKgKojcZrLp5Y7ZYtGfzXNzmuhhacjJjJQhiiOF0L7Xocpf64CSi51DlsPWD-1UWlozUir8zRgD5BFpCHd7og/s320/bale%203.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...in the air...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWw_9RAf6f05IMKRV_Aub916rq1i2zwbhl3wgCZHBnvdSlfEoyqV1br5EZ4Xt7whqqRazOzKnWeDAfMHsvG5uSR36N900mJwtDq8w0oz9_f9WvU2ROOF_0s0rhPbdvq-sgJ-DaTwwHTec_5N8IuE0AtjwvtaIE3cAUT4DPsalHKc5VpKJSyfMEgxcuQ/s4608/DSCN1825_7117.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWw_9RAf6f05IMKRV_Aub916rq1i2zwbhl3wgCZHBnvdSlfEoyqV1br5EZ4Xt7whqqRazOzKnWeDAfMHsvG5uSR36N900mJwtDq8w0oz9_f9WvU2ROOF_0s0rhPbdvq-sgJ-DaTwwHTec_5N8IuE0AtjwvtaIE3cAUT4DPsalHKc5VpKJSyfMEgxcuQ/s320/DSCN1825_7117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and the landing!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TWk7TSTuFGUhC-tCl69rzR7zm588ry8gxA_M11y0dj64P-fYIqm7hhnD235wZhEldoXHysgAZfuAT95ensxYBEVPeQQ425B9O1Yf-58m9CXPV4YWpdI_unBN3FK5rjAqtKoQ8e_uaYPbqkUs21MsgiGMWmWaPPiw1WEtxz2Kh1lKgeQedIFG6bOG8g/s3970/DSCN1780_7072.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2171" data-original-width="3970" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TWk7TSTuFGUhC-tCl69rzR7zm588ry8gxA_M11y0dj64P-fYIqm7hhnD235wZhEldoXHysgAZfuAT95ensxYBEVPeQQ425B9O1Yf-58m9CXPV4YWpdI_unBN3FK5rjAqtKoQ8e_uaYPbqkUs21MsgiGMWmWaPPiw1WEtxz2Kh1lKgeQedIFG6bOG8g/s320/DSCN1780_7072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First day friend Mary drove the tractor. She had always wanted to drive a tractor and thoroughly enjoyed it. That was a great help for us. I pick up bales and put them on the wagon, Johnny stacks.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlxn4cTVXp8hVZgzu9NfJWtVS8uPMS0wCSX69LSquzCGJXHpGj-yJOKyKSFBqVCpL7Id7VGXgc1ZCZQpPFutPs6XvmKfftn5P5K3DYy9zoW9gbcJqGcg68dx36WUUP-2gqUkmtWb0Sf9xw8OuKfJX8eqOekY4kkhyqkvxZugSx5-xjwyK7bxQAkZ-0w/s4366/DSCN1821_7113.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2174" data-original-width="4366" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlxn4cTVXp8hVZgzu9NfJWtVS8uPMS0wCSX69LSquzCGJXHpGj-yJOKyKSFBqVCpL7Id7VGXgc1ZCZQpPFutPs6XvmKfftn5P5K3DYy9zoW9gbcJqGcg68dx36WUUP-2gqUkmtWb0Sf9xw8OuKfJX8eqOekY4kkhyqkvxZugSx5-xjwyK7bxQAkZ-0w/s320/DSCN1821_7113.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny baling the South field (4th of 4 fields)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhts58jk6mwKl2qLAnqa3WqVRIu1vc5LZWr3JB5uJsXDOBDKZigmyNFrNSTcZhkMM-9Co0P6E9s2oLEkGmbUeHAUgs1UD-1f4QP74jcauv6ZxgX55sk7jea2fQrGOOCsJdYm7Jls9kYnjHHDVed2bY0j1QdKaV3Hx-hEpbZyOolS6SabQcGADfHNrBHdw/s3937/DSCN1778_7070.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3937" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhts58jk6mwKl2qLAnqa3WqVRIu1vc5LZWr3JB5uJsXDOBDKZigmyNFrNSTcZhkMM-9Co0P6E9s2oLEkGmbUeHAUgs1UD-1f4QP74jcauv6ZxgX55sk7jea2fQrGOOCsJdYm7Jls9kYnjHHDVed2bY0j1QdKaV3Hx-hEpbZyOolS6SabQcGADfHNrBHdw/s320/DSCN1778_7070.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary on her first day... grinning like crazy<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiji2fDKdcbWgwkPBk7pS2F7B2i6KFoWbR6LW0tiQsd1NVCgkTZzebxjrLo-VZRgSIOddPxpObOI5KE9wmKzVPa6y-A5kgrM-berbK5SlXcmFNEC55RJwO15WHcVPV61l84jUwuLItSwoonEIf2Ld8nUeWqphlsBibeF7wJa72MPhqZ_uATMcOy_h-hQQ/s3608/DSCN1777_7069.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2300" data-original-width="3608" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiji2fDKdcbWgwkPBk7pS2F7B2i6KFoWbR6LW0tiQsd1NVCgkTZzebxjrLo-VZRgSIOddPxpObOI5KE9wmKzVPa6y-A5kgrM-berbK5SlXcmFNEC55RJwO15WHcVPV61l84jUwuLItSwoonEIf2Ld8nUeWqphlsBibeF7wJa72MPhqZ_uATMcOy_h-hQQ/s320/DSCN1777_7069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny spent more than one day repairing the baler<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I guess I never did get a photo of Johnny raking. And the first photos should have been of him repairing the mower... that was quite an undertaking. The rake and baler are ours but we borrow the mower from a neighbor. It always needs repairs. This year one of the discs had to be replaced... Johnny finally found a suitable replacement part: a cast iron frying pan...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I told the story here: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">https://lindafink.blogspot.com/2023/05/johnnys-farm-projects.html <br /></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">post script:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Johnny, never one to let a piece of machinery defeat him, spent the better part of two days, after haying was "over", trying to figure out why the knotter on the baler didn't work right. He eventually succeeded and rebaled all the broken bales and loose hay. Three days after the alleged end of haying, we put those last 9 bales into the barn. <br /></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-67212470103146429782023-06-02T07:13:00.000-07:002023-06-02T07:13:47.525-07:00A Spectacular First Day of June<p><span style="font-size: medium;">In what will likely be my last attempt to monitor Black Oystercatcher nests on Cascade Head, friend Ruth and I hiked up the Nature Conservancy trail from Knight Park. It was a beautiful day, but I found no sign of BLOY. And destroyed my feet and hips in the process. I learned a valuable lesson: cut your toenails before hiking a steep trail. Continually ramming my big toes against the end of my shoes on steep downhill grades resulted in a black and blue toe and much pain.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But the views were lovely...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrL4OXZq1XS70ZfK4cNNPKaviN4cZv8tzOOWaZUGup1iclHrxR2-bRS125ckpdEzv9QqzIRQuOyK_XXwaiFs1SGjrlv5caK8bA-GhZTVHs3DoCd56J8MeSZHRHyp2uCTzsy-5NJ_MbYKDHVkywYwyX_sVsbZHL6OAQBri5KN6tgls_2Ob30vPY-CRMg/s4608/DSCN1743_7035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrL4OXZq1XS70ZfK4cNNPKaviN4cZv8tzOOWaZUGup1iclHrxR2-bRS125ckpdEzv9QqzIRQuOyK_XXwaiFs1SGjrlv5caK8bA-GhZTVHs3DoCd56J8MeSZHRHyp2uCTzsy-5NJ_MbYKDHVkywYwyX_sVsbZHL6OAQBri5KN6tgls_2Ob30vPY-CRMg/s320/DSCN1743_7035.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnKaKI1IzwK5PHzS_vCd3lkjm8T_Y835osOX3LhJAm08a3UQAfqagYy8I6p-nC5N9T7KOEr2tjwh5FRwqwmDOfXleD0ucfKsiXySgScaRYQdg5hMk6AnkJa0G_gRF0mIiYgdXLqKeHteLTtZ7_SUxjJCOQeUqHs9rUwEsRO2hlylt5U-vm7YC7FlQug/s4608/DSCN1744_7036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnKaKI1IzwK5PHzS_vCd3lkjm8T_Y835osOX3LhJAm08a3UQAfqagYy8I6p-nC5N9T7KOEr2tjwh5FRwqwmDOfXleD0ucfKsiXySgScaRYQdg5hMk6AnkJa0G_gRF0mIiYgdXLqKeHteLTtZ7_SUxjJCOQeUqHs9rUwEsRO2hlylt5U-vm7YC7FlQug/s320/DSCN1744_7036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2H2ZULEfeJJWRUY7PNfvlDqglZZxEycbJnT4RRvewRSKQ4LHBJy6fdMPqayXH_MrIf9Uz5FKj-alZcvYyEqm86nqgOB5k5lMt846dX5MbNNLUbT7IKLcEUgwOX4ZF1lVYPKnyuOrZpZWEQNuFeQpgtxf2Ck-upMtTa2gUTDUwHX3ZH0NWUZ-7FFQDg/s4608/DSCN1746_7038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2982" data-original-width="4147" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu86sTE7xFtP7eztzm3ztgnPSQAms4W9n8ew8lMsuQQ8359-YoB3nMyZczlVaWwY5TKQQmHvPNQGLQmk_qixsE_rTu2K9jQvRhhhDLNKugXe-f7QfibABQuSLEKb93LGVJFmtGqkBLTYA9-vq56i82bInvuMLGdcQAUdAh345psgBWWA0XBLYnI3agfg/s320/DSCN1755_7047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yqc1BChksNcHKmBSr4KeNO8luUZRT9yD-CNQ3UCfUeJhpdttghljRsAGhirgOHxynSu0_Ne7qQUiJ40xsSEFI4LOGwWqwkSG3IidNPRkXEGUAInMZtlH6NDVwLy1KsJ1mJY8gkdpekNEnPIlzgfuhDSxuqS9EA8S4273qxvwHtEW_U2KvLmeghlYhw/s2950/DSCN1764_7056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2950" data-original-width="2388" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yqc1BChksNcHKmBSr4KeNO8luUZRT9yD-CNQ3UCfUeJhpdttghljRsAGhirgOHxynSu0_Ne7qQUiJ40xsSEFI4LOGwWqwkSG3IidNPRkXEGUAInMZtlH6NDVwLy1KsJ1mJY8gkdpekNEnPIlzgfuhDSxuqS9EA8S4273qxvwHtEW_U2KvLmeghlYhw/s320/DSCN1764_7056.JPG" width="259" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNcmarr3NvJt5E3ipszAeO2507Smk7FHMG1l0bvKqav8ymshdKSy55yQ7mBkiQN4e-Zk5d6PBTtz0GRHI6hOJrK8vc9gN-vctXkjoXLfH-LbKjss98RmyD53nKXxNrz2sU9Td9_ssc3pulqfJRTltojd97hTM7LPdxLpuU4GrLTAW-4OHczToqqHqcg/s2220/butterfly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2135" data-original-width="2220" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNcmarr3NvJt5E3ipszAeO2507Smk7FHMG1l0bvKqav8ymshdKSy55yQ7mBkiQN4e-Zk5d6PBTtz0GRHI6hOJrK8vc9gN-vctXkjoXLfH-LbKjss98RmyD53nKXxNrz2sU9Td9_ssc3pulqfJRTltojd97hTM7LPdxLpuU4GrLTAW-4OHczToqqHqcg/s320/butterfly.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span><br /><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-24853526195632541542023-05-23T17:07:00.008-07:002023-05-25T13:50:33.920-07:00First Black Oystercatcher Monitoring Trip of the Season<p> Since 2005, I've been monitoring Black Oystercatchers on the Oregon Coast for various agencies. Eight years ago Portland Audubon took over the largely abandoned project, kept going only by volunteers who didn't stop monitoring even though there was no agency using our data. I kept monitoring but did skip out one year for various reasons, but mostly because of changing access to my sites. Now the access issues are even worse since the road I drove into Cascade Head washed out year before last, so I could not monitor there at all. This year I hope to hike in and at least monitor the closest Cascade Head site. As of last year, I have another monitor to take turns doing the long hike into The Thumb at Road's End. That hike is getting to be too much for this old body, so who knows how much longer I'll be doing this. </p><p>Yesterday, Monday, May 22, I made the two mile trek up to The Thumb, with the help of my trusty ski pole to lean on. It turned out to be very worthwhile.</p><p>My co-monitor, Casey, who is younger and more athletic, had hiked in twice earlier in May but seen no BLOY nesting activity. Yesterday, the BLOY cooperated for me. </p><p>Not seen or heard at first, I finally heard a quiet call and then saw a BLOY preening on the east side, the side I can see from The Thumb, of what I call Middle Rock. It is a long look and I use binocs to spot the birds, then my camera to document their location. Scanning the rock, I found a bird setting. It stayed in that place a long time which told me it was almost certainly on a nest. I took photos and will just let them tell the story (in captions). (I had North and South mixed up in my original post, so have now corrected it.)<br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUBZzyTc5m4Q0gP0BXXCNPK-Hfa23_x3ltnxUdGHX85iYR3xd6eFbL0QI07cYSskucCaJpX4c8k9t1L4oG5Y3pChVO9Y9htfMREcjJvE5V279OCnkTzbpvLsGk_Kof1gtuMQ3CTJFhZXcYey4wmkwu28EfmbvvuHNsDRv6ZDd_K9e2K1pmB5A4SFFXw/s4608/DSCN1597_6889.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUBZzyTc5m4Q0gP0BXXCNPK-Hfa23_x3ltnxUdGHX85iYR3xd6eFbL0QI07cYSskucCaJpX4c8k9t1L4oG5Y3pChVO9Y9htfMREcjJvE5V279OCnkTzbpvLsGk_Kof1gtuMQ3CTJFhZXcYey4wmkwu28EfmbvvuHNsDRv6ZDd_K9e2K1pmB5A4SFFXw/s320/DSCN1597_6889.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost there! The Thumb is visible between trees.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2D6pkHtBWHVHLFJ6tsXPO-ZqvDiEf3ZRbDh1Tdod8xtzaVO92vmpkwEU7UY1AG6jgcKrr0kIwXwGYTKjhJk90_RJOYQSREcCH7qmgqs2pKOGmiB_IMCUSC03i2tm0-NzAlksr_V6yaPIy13e_VMg8vn_YII4ZIlHquOUQriPzajz4NEfNye-qQWlgGA/s4608/DSCN1598_6890.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2D6pkHtBWHVHLFJ6tsXPO-ZqvDiEf3ZRbDh1Tdod8xtzaVO92vmpkwEU7UY1AG6jgcKrr0kIwXwGYTKjhJk90_RJOYQSREcCH7qmgqs2pKOGmiB_IMCUSC03i2tm0-NzAlksr_V6yaPIy13e_VMg8vn_YII4ZIlHquOUQriPzajz4NEfNye-qQWlgGA/s320/DSCN1598_6890.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view north to Cascade Head<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD74fJ9k9bghX5Jt7kNKuC52auiOOJpmKvsqbQKUpWft580ftCBQ2eZEjARoP-va54-melfGmkqBzpoRGnHLdnAjIli7HjGrJG9F6hq9rCocDXdQoGx0Repvd4oLk-Qkv4VuaRRQWy90tTbPl1xlU6TKKcBq_4K9sNlrHXQlUnSSwlJSjn3KJ9hXAGAA/s4608/DSCN1600_6892.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD74fJ9k9bghX5Jt7kNKuC52auiOOJpmKvsqbQKUpWft580ftCBQ2eZEjARoP-va54-melfGmkqBzpoRGnHLdnAjIli7HjGrJG9F6hq9rCocDXdQoGx0Repvd4oLk-Qkv4VuaRRQWy90tTbPl1xlU6TKKcBq_4K9sNlrHXQlUnSSwlJSjn3KJ9hXAGAA/s320/DSCN1600_6892.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A whole cliff side of these flowers were in bloom.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pQ6cNgrkkLap3vMwa3t41KKGF7iVtQqPfooB9BhATnPfqwZoOcr2JfIPbzuOk7yFfMg_R7RYaUQxTbJblV1cc-xLxPhk2KriQFzDABnKbpjIfL7U-4BCKYKpgwkyBNo4AIV-I1TMx_EzfvaizkkWn-oNjDuNcXw1ko22_GFiVnYNlPs8NkUbILcbJQ/s4608/DSCN1603_6895.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pQ6cNgrkkLap3vMwa3t41KKGF7iVtQqPfooB9BhATnPfqwZoOcr2JfIPbzuOk7yFfMg_R7RYaUQxTbJblV1cc-xLxPhk2KriQFzDABnKbpjIfL7U-4BCKYKpgwkyBNo4AIV-I1TMx_EzfvaizkkWn-oNjDuNcXw1ko22_GFiVnYNlPs8NkUbILcbJQ/s320/DSCN1603_6895.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Middle Rock, where BLOY have long nested.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LA8r-15FtDrZWMZ6nUwexZ_P-34BYH7lgMVK4u8WNM0xPkV6yL_lIfuSTyZV-iil88G5JnOYFS-DTINyM5_8Ujsx9ck2mUUAF4CsRJOzV3t49m-ML99xN1GIiGWNUYp6GMw-egGUN-d-qYqhoUgdW5IwTL3t_R8kraNfcR5c7fFGNkXQbYSHkxWxWg/s4608/DSCN1604_6896.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LA8r-15FtDrZWMZ6nUwexZ_P-34BYH7lgMVK4u8WNM0xPkV6yL_lIfuSTyZV-iil88G5JnOYFS-DTINyM5_8Ujsx9ck2mUUAF4CsRJOzV3t49m-ML99xN1GIiGWNUYp6GMw-egGUN-d-qYqhoUgdW5IwTL3t_R8kraNfcR5c7fFGNkXQbYSHkxWxWg/s320/DSCN1604_6896.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A BLOY sitting for long periods means a nest. Thank goodness for that red bill.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4YOlGAnW8V1CLK0zkDgXHE7xh9rOOPH64sCTxzGMnAxP-iVYNx1AR_bKBCDknR8BTKb4Os-a5wt3EGz_6ZvkchSCXXVb2mVq-WtZPfTGZgucRLgSEYsj4zS0t-42WWHu_abIJ65fQRNBfVR5KYqIqIGas3HwpB1g9YaObZDoz5mH_g632SzYYuJ06A/s4608/DSCN1605_6897.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4YOlGAnW8V1CLK0zkDgXHE7xh9rOOPH64sCTxzGMnAxP-iVYNx1AR_bKBCDknR8BTKb4Os-a5wt3EGz_6ZvkchSCXXVb2mVq-WtZPfTGZgucRLgSEYsj4zS0t-42WWHu_abIJ65fQRNBfVR5KYqIqIGas3HwpB1g9YaObZDoz5mH_g632SzYYuJ06A/s320/DSCN1605_6897.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is South Rock where BLOY have also nested.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqM9krK46AJ_xey92mBxcnsKDAGm2Mwd9cX9HFoMDswGlFSCaK9Flk-pEOooWUaPOM2nWeV27BmbcMlTlJCxVnuoG94xQgiZk6cmD_0Zp22RZdBuiB8tMvatpfS-qdH-D_AjUF2vB3cTiUnB-htidr-sbzgrPUVpaR6pidlsj7KVUobIwlXbqkUP-_pQ/s4608/DSCN1606_6898.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqM9krK46AJ_xey92mBxcnsKDAGm2Mwd9cX9HFoMDswGlFSCaK9Flk-pEOooWUaPOM2nWeV27BmbcMlTlJCxVnuoG94xQgiZk6cmD_0Zp22RZdBuiB8tMvatpfS-qdH-D_AjUF2vB3cTiUnB-htidr-sbzgrPUVpaR6pidlsj7KVUobIwlXbqkUP-_pQ/s320/DSCN1606_6898.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A BLOY was here on sentry duty, but looking not toward the traditional South Rock nest area, but rather toward Middle Rock. I think it is the other half of the Middle Rock nesting pair.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsaOg7rxS7BNiiwKEE_sSu7zvA3lqptvUrhR98ph3JBoGi4_EM_EreVzWGdkTWmUZA5sAEoerNP8b3Iog2QSo8sx59lQx4-lAVbWoRLvtoB2qDgqMKwd3adED72He5PEkQ4DLLDaP5LtcHHIXzEAwPKNxEnXh-zMitfgAnfysz77cQ7E37NlGff0SEA/s4608/DSCN1608_6900.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsaOg7rxS7BNiiwKEE_sSu7zvA3lqptvUrhR98ph3JBoGi4_EM_EreVzWGdkTWmUZA5sAEoerNP8b3Iog2QSo8sx59lQx4-lAVbWoRLvtoB2qDgqMKwd3adED72He5PEkQ4DLLDaP5LtcHHIXzEAwPKNxEnXh-zMitfgAnfysz77cQ7E37NlGff0SEA/s320/DSCN1608_6900.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The long view showing South Rock on the left and Middle Rock on the right with "Back" or "Black" rock behind it</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fckr7ft8XcgUTAOM9wNVSkyjcwEl972tz8lJLynYptfutOwxS8epZRLHYm2uV_W8Sf0QaVrRCitD19jERNCXkFraswJ6HPImZThEuxwXu-zUtglQyJlMfuVY7TknNG_xaG4dbIz07xAc_WGT-rCK_5IoFwIUYyZLHiV_yAxSXlhNzOUstrLmrEzN7g/s4608/DSCN1612_6904.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fckr7ft8XcgUTAOM9wNVSkyjcwEl972tz8lJLynYptfutOwxS8epZRLHYm2uV_W8Sf0QaVrRCitD19jERNCXkFraswJ6HPImZThEuxwXu-zUtglQyJlMfuVY7TknNG_xaG4dbIz07xAc_WGT-rCK_5IoFwIUYyZLHiV_yAxSXlhNzOUstrLmrEzN7g/s320/DSCN1612_6904.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having found the setting BLOY, I just let my camera take frame after frame in hopes it will capture any happenings, which it did. Way too far for me to see even with binoculars.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQNpb2v_s-j-QmBamyM5E4WZQxWC4RKycxh_Zr_A2YunLsCRbWVwUw4sOSU_bYAbTllnS9BBnBemRl9P2kUjrKUikvmwyVzGqtvJIbnILaK_I_sV1X6xo2_NRk9reP0_whWtiXYToESxxOIcD_2LJmtBCNJYwutpzGvko-3YQD-ErJYDxcmlTQfysUA/s4608/DSCN1616_6908.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQNpb2v_s-j-QmBamyM5E4WZQxWC4RKycxh_Zr_A2YunLsCRbWVwUw4sOSU_bYAbTllnS9BBnBemRl9P2kUjrKUikvmwyVzGqtvJIbnILaK_I_sV1X6xo2_NRk9reP0_whWtiXYToESxxOIcD_2LJmtBCNJYwutpzGvko-3YQD-ErJYDxcmlTQfysUA/s320/DSCN1616_6908.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second bird showed up in bottom right quadrangle of this photo. Nesting bird top left quadrangle very near the top of the photo.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPW-8xHiKX-IQ1eCA83MGYQbx1VQqWXZBt8dohsDQx7yD80YR5-BvxG1sczjKoYGvZtfoyY3Xyq_M36uMw2P2Kq5c-nlcf8bXezArMjDtA_KLUvT2x-E3XtBZqkC4x6atcRhjTcqBRILYhd2x8Q-GuwyFhDMq_Y3Mt7hgMvj_YQ4AFaK_yyjPy60wcA/s4608/DSCN1618_6910.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPW-8xHiKX-IQ1eCA83MGYQbx1VQqWXZBt8dohsDQx7yD80YR5-BvxG1sczjKoYGvZtfoyY3Xyq_M36uMw2P2Kq5c-nlcf8bXezArMjDtA_KLUvT2x-E3XtBZqkC4x6atcRhjTcqBRILYhd2x8Q-GuwyFhDMq_Y3Mt7hgMvj_YQ4AFaK_yyjPy60wcA/s320/DSCN1618_6910.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did not know about this until I got home and saw the photos on the computer. Nesting bird is putting more pebbles next to her egg.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5gph7eK04xzw1v8xv10jWMk8iGJEGshX90mulphIS05XkL4WMXnmmPXrZUoPDEwos2-g5HjFM89bFjKIgzbRWnGDY7EC3Z0Ea8QWe70ngEgfkNzVbLZFLFFAWn9PyGMeK0MMl5LpbJ1DUVqJ-nbe5wFJ7YNrYl9GF1mcpRdQOHRsD35s_Fm5li_dSQ/s4608/DSCN1619_6911.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2710" data-original-width="4608" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5gph7eK04xzw1v8xv10jWMk8iGJEGshX90mulphIS05XkL4WMXnmmPXrZUoPDEwos2-g5HjFM89bFjKIgzbRWnGDY7EC3Z0Ea8QWe70ngEgfkNzVbLZFLFFAWn9PyGMeK0MMl5LpbJ1DUVqJ-nbe5wFJ7YNrYl9GF1mcpRdQOHRsD35s_Fm5li_dSQ/s320/DSCN1619_6911.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egg barely visible here. Bird with pebble in her bill.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnb0kdDts7WfR4OMh1qJEhBRESSGKtJF6rUvvT4dzsCmmrHxYnndtYx78NBj8ivkigTbdIP3NXx0PQI83H4KSOpHFmEqd4Sa22o7JqMaXMXu9g20tH95lp74_L77klrznC_XLQ_mgpVzopvJAsU1g5a_WMBFOjjrh6EdSuv9sYn4o4Ni-gNP_crTvVg/s2549/DSCN1620_6912.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2349" data-original-width="2549" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnb0kdDts7WfR4OMh1qJEhBRESSGKtJF6rUvvT4dzsCmmrHxYnndtYx78NBj8ivkigTbdIP3NXx0PQI83H4KSOpHFmEqd4Sa22o7JqMaXMXu9g20tH95lp74_L77klrznC_XLQ_mgpVzopvJAsU1g5a_WMBFOjjrh6EdSuv9sYn4o4Ni-gNP_crTvVg/s320/DSCN1620_6912.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gathering another pebble. And now the egg is visible!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK_VbF9IelR-7HUq1st9lzGlQMfWyQE4YTkhDPLICz0f-wwHrhFOdEW3Or4NOzcpFAjUbkh7SNjkgLQ1mE9bhF3V00bqj0g8e4pmr3g_T97OJ3kX2h0zTNtnBi0j-JQruJ_9TnxkXJnz9x8NjdXmnjoPC-bFoA0JQdAny4jPd5VlU1ppFc3_NUv-faA/s3456/DSCN1621_6913.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK_VbF9IelR-7HUq1st9lzGlQMfWyQE4YTkhDPLICz0f-wwHrhFOdEW3Or4NOzcpFAjUbkh7SNjkgLQ1mE9bhF3V00bqj0g8e4pmr3g_T97OJ3kX2h0zTNtnBi0j-JQruJ_9TnxkXJnz9x8NjdXmnjoPC-bFoA0JQdAny4jPd5VlU1ppFc3_NUv-faA/s320/DSCN1621_6913.JPG" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have never documented pebble additions after egg laying before. Never knew it happened!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCS5KzFU6sDmBYNHjH4bgMVs2YUWSZFzVxrQzM2ICV-GRytUN6vW6JJHsElp6r0duqQXNNfkEcYNj57No6piKv-Of-Bm0DPlhpB_E3b-Y7fRpfEYW1OyQ1MQKydhCwi2BQSfhc_o3U33NV_iMrAHeYoSi8rpA6dYcaB6tkJgFCdXI7qHgGoLc0XyOAw/s3113/DSCN1622_6914.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2039" data-original-width="3113" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCS5KzFU6sDmBYNHjH4bgMVs2YUWSZFzVxrQzM2ICV-GRytUN6vW6JJHsElp6r0duqQXNNfkEcYNj57No6piKv-Of-Bm0DPlhpB_E3b-Y7fRpfEYW1OyQ1MQKydhCwi2BQSfhc_o3U33NV_iMrAHeYoSi8rpA6dYcaB6tkJgFCdXI7qHgGoLc0XyOAw/s320/DSCN1622_6914.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the aftermath of a nest exchange. One bird leaving, one bird about to settle down on the egg.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-csGN7n1wvoRMWkhK6Ty9IqkvBCyS6lY5PZcqlkjtyiW41IIjJIBy0YTOwFxov0xZoZJjg4QovhBC9DDxGa4RTGmznujA7mpcBhVj0PfTsOULGZRDdQHJY7mKF0ifW7P9KndBd0XKDKtaDeCcKyikOzvp-YT9D37PV34u4ezMaWd8dxa9Rwmg5KTO3Q/s3087/DSCN1629_6921.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3087" data-original-width="2406" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-csGN7n1wvoRMWkhK6Ty9IqkvBCyS6lY5PZcqlkjtyiW41IIjJIBy0YTOwFxov0xZoZJjg4QovhBC9DDxGa4RTGmznujA7mpcBhVj0PfTsOULGZRDdQHJY7mKF0ifW7P9KndBd0XKDKtaDeCcKyikOzvp-YT9D37PV34u4ezMaWd8dxa9Rwmg5KTO3Q/s320/DSCN1629_6921.JPG" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mission accomplished (almost two hours after arriving), I left. On my way out, this Gray Jay was grooming for quite some time, ignoring my attempts to get a photo. It finally held still long enough.<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p> BLOY usually lay 3 eggs, so the story has just begun. Thank goodness my co-monitor, Casey, will be going up next time. My aging legs could use a rest!<br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-66958401947230915412023-05-15T19:16:00.000-07:002023-05-15T19:16:23.367-07:00Johnny's Farm Projects<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Admittedly, I write mostly about my projects and my interests (birds and flowers) on this blog. Johnny works on farm projects that are harder to photograph and explain. For months he has been replacing our 40 year old decrepit fences with old used fencing. If that doesn't make sense, well, it's like this... Years ago we became acquainted with and friends with people who had a 500 acre spread not far from us where they kept endangered antelope and other creatures that zoos gave them to raise. They gave us permission to do our monthly winter raptor survey through their property and to come other times to visit the red pandas and giraffes and other fascinating animals. But eventually, they sold and moved their exotic antelope to Arizona, where the weather was better for those animals. Here is the post I wrote about the fencing we bought from them when they had it taken down after the animals were gone. <a href="https://lindafink.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-fence-project.html">https://lindafink.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-fence-project.html</a> The "new" fencing is 74 inches tall rather than the 39 or 48 inch that we normally used. However, 74 inch tall fencing requires 8, 9, 10 or 12 foot posts which we also got from them.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Other than the tall posts for gates described in the above, the wire has sat coiled behind the machine shed for years. Here are some of the fences Johnny has put up in the last few months with this very tall, used but quite usable, fencing. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1PcszqMFVihr4-HR4_CdQAVT5EaBMTKt6kHa8JjBsN-LK7yJ4XONsdBzECoEyRtuqSAvz_OKwa_kJPekGcyWNvwUHCr14MGy-vWLgpZUS-SksflXF2hkRseKlXPFFUewo_OYNmNaHIY-FuklLaZ2ic993gQ8mHCSN3A4vZXmUk-JG-Cg2HSAM02JXQ/s3549/DSCN1557_6849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3549" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1PcszqMFVihr4-HR4_CdQAVT5EaBMTKt6kHa8JjBsN-LK7yJ4XONsdBzECoEyRtuqSAvz_OKwa_kJPekGcyWNvwUHCr14MGy-vWLgpZUS-SksflXF2hkRseKlXPFFUewo_OYNmNaHIY-FuklLaZ2ic993gQ8mHCSN3A4vZXmUk-JG-Cg2HSAM02JXQ/s320/DSCN1557_6849.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the south edge of the "C" field, where the goats have access. The area in front is our new winter road area since the former road farther south was too muddy this winter to navigate. So nice to have a high and dry route to the lower "pump pasture" <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-vgek2yCBP1nAb-bJmXFYl3wbCCsiMqc04QXLv2XuW0KKRkEnA8IZ1Hhxho5lr9IqfBfjeOjmzScvER67uoDk19OSsw8r0wGnLalTYQxH9pfaJAW1QpRGQG3-l0VTv_nXBrYl1jBxrsMGBEIj16Jkekw-H6W_trZvRjxmgF8VltQHt8SeCDKHb4peQ/s3291/DSCN1559_6851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2718" data-original-width="3291" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-vgek2yCBP1nAb-bJmXFYl3wbCCsiMqc04QXLv2XuW0KKRkEnA8IZ1Hhxho5lr9IqfBfjeOjmzScvER67uoDk19OSsw8r0wGnLalTYQxH9pfaJAW1QpRGQG3-l0VTv_nXBrYl1jBxrsMGBEIj16Jkekw-H6W_trZvRjxmgF8VltQHt8SeCDKHb4peQ/s320/DSCN1559_6851.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The west side of the "A" field, where the dog used to escape at will. No more!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzA10w0qowtBz4QeFbEfAppKvhBi6I6IbSR4H6jkIR2wDRRc5OwCpLnvGcAeNgMZQO1EaDo_jHwj61IfRtq8CH6ny6n0wzxAyBuQeL4XrzOUvhxJta07VUzKIXwtjflAH6sC-C_oMJWZHBMgSL6vukC3JruR2lU_TzVc-3paYgxF-5ANtAs78GaOtTA/s4608/DSCN1560_6852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3029" data-original-width="4608" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzA10w0qowtBz4QeFbEfAppKvhBi6I6IbSR4H6jkIR2wDRRc5OwCpLnvGcAeNgMZQO1EaDo_jHwj61IfRtq8CH6ny6n0wzxAyBuQeL4XrzOUvhxJta07VUzKIXwtjflAH6sC-C_oMJWZHBMgSL6vukC3JruR2lU_TzVc-3paYgxF-5ANtAs78GaOtTA/s320/DSCN1560_6852.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The east/west fence of the South field from horse barn to Qi Gong wildflower meadow<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Q_UZCPVlrpEqulTAw9xurdJr9V3YcyDPv41Sa68Ib2utdTn-vLN3xYwdV6TqNkAmtCBZ0QzVp3_Y2mV9J3XIEz-ZGdcsQI7_zc8xCDR10YGa461CyWQcVDGd-OLeDx5t_FO2Yn_dOVVX_FQmM9VJxQMc5svaS1xoccmPiN_IK_o-7tO5AYQYkuntSA/s320/DSCN1561_6853.JPG" width="320" /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> This is the north/west corner of the South Field with the Qi Gong meadow to the right (west).<br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">All our animals now stay where they belong. No longer can Annie the dog get through the fences to forbidden fields, leaving "her" horse, Nightingale, screaming and running up and down the fence line hysterically. (Nightingale seems to think Annie is her foal.) And we will be able to cut hay this year without "help" from the goats since Johnny has gated all the fields and between the fields. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although we have more fences to replace, the critical ones are done, so Johnny started preparing for haying season. That means getting the equipment (all very used) ready. The mower is an ancient one we borrow from a neighbor. Every year it seems to have more broken parts. This year one of the round discs was totally mangled. I'll have to get Johnny to explain. I just take photos.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I did not get a photo of the contraption before the broken disc was replaced. But this photo shows what the mower looks like. The disc on the left is the replacement one. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCW8Jzx6fBkEob8_p013GBYr4jGZsBuM9KUYBGw98UjBOZZ1Uk7NJn6zuslIG8Xh9yUuTppk72y7jdc_5-JoeWc9GQbkRW7ImFepYIBkqTa7KbSZG9M-ZnmiAmBVbWNsQhRPlSXzc_T1xjsHd8dmVvNjdrmySaUsXWCpqLamjR9HvuVPe2RguSkFwPTg/s4608/DSCN1551_6843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCW8Jzx6fBkEob8_p013GBYr4jGZsBuM9KUYBGw98UjBOZZ1Uk7NJn6zuslIG8Xh9yUuTppk72y7jdc_5-JoeWc9GQbkRW7ImFepYIBkqTa7KbSZG9M-ZnmiAmBVbWNsQhRPlSXzc_T1xjsHd8dmVvNjdrmySaUsXWCpqLamjR9HvuVPe2RguSkFwPTg/s320/DSCN1551_6843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79eXyeZh2gwP05k6JcH7sd-jm1yptoioqfgcntsO2uGnSW9EoGQ5BKYvAG2PTVJ7W3iAiV8fB1okQLT9-ssC7zrvfzRRnJDqRsd2Vt_FXoMeI0cgiYYYXaeL7epK9Aj3SMFPoovWPENdMzi7TAkS2f1EHo2ZTmHMZdjovye8glsjj5KO05wI6YfFwUw/s4608/DSCN1548_6840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79eXyeZh2gwP05k6JcH7sd-jm1yptoioqfgcntsO2uGnSW9EoGQ5BKYvAG2PTVJ7W3iAiV8fB1okQLT9-ssC7zrvfzRRnJDqRsd2Vt_FXoMeI0cgiYYYXaeL7epK9Aj3SMFPoovWPENdMzi7TAkS2f1EHo2ZTmHMZdjovye8glsjj5KO05wI6YfFwUw/s320/DSCN1548_6840.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the rusty, mangled disc.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dfLCf4p3muGccC4rPLwFsGU2A3nIJEKUnZ1zyFPk_r8b3zFf5cUPmYkw_iBaeT0u--MauTyJ3EE0mmWpxbG23G_SJXFsnkMZ90TMfnpFq80ZCLag-yjxEftIYKP49ECKCGQ9YVYfPnLinFwNJSIYFhNE0QTYKiEEk_MbL2NXImpmlN7BSKtysIPqKg/s4608/DSCN1552_6844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dfLCf4p3muGccC4rPLwFsGU2A3nIJEKUnZ1zyFPk_r8b3zFf5cUPmYkw_iBaeT0u--MauTyJ3EE0mmWpxbG23G_SJXFsnkMZ90TMfnpFq80ZCLag-yjxEftIYKP49ECKCGQ9YVYfPnLinFwNJSIYFhNE0QTYKiEEk_MbL2NXImpmlN7BSKtysIPqKg/s320/DSCN1552_6844.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After talking to Johnny's various repair guru friends, it was determined that a cast iron fry pan, large size, would work<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnLjDcyfW216aWYg3zJ0u7gNxfkngmJCuzp0Q8V0cdfaBZ9qOyE9J8q6Fp24XQTbH_61yP0qB9EQz3hU9f0Uj4A4HSxkyGkWXYvblCHxnckXxQD0GFjDX-WDal673KAdpw2rFSuU14Js9nsApYwBSlMucdX0zRdHTJbXYaXBXwj1q-75CgcUkx3inIA/s4608/DSCN1549_6841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnLjDcyfW216aWYg3zJ0u7gNxfkngmJCuzp0Q8V0cdfaBZ9qOyE9J8q6Fp24XQTbH_61yP0qB9EQz3hU9f0Uj4A4HSxkyGkWXYvblCHxnckXxQD0GFjDX-WDal673KAdpw2rFSuU14Js9nsApYwBSlMucdX0zRdHTJbXYaXBXwj1q-75CgcUkx3inIA/s320/DSCN1549_6841.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here it is. I wouldn't let him use mine so a friend bought him a new one.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF0Wsnv4eQRWoOVd8-zEYTm7TwaWSD5yvfR60MrvrbINsa1fB9aMXFJqun15m8JwXCtcb0QY6BjkD3osaNd8-pt78LG6LxESq1_-Tj8OOfCbcSAHhXDpRnSTpn20h8b7_SXrWMzVwQKSwbOUWet8kBE5Nny3UzxGaQ8YCWYzIr3WRkasd88KbsB2Dqg/s4608/DSCN1550_6842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF0Wsnv4eQRWoOVd8-zEYTm7TwaWSD5yvfR60MrvrbINsa1fB9aMXFJqun15m8JwXCtcb0QY6BjkD3osaNd8-pt78LG6LxESq1_-Tj8OOfCbcSAHhXDpRnSTpn20h8b7_SXrWMzVwQKSwbOUWet8kBE5Nny3UzxGaQ8YCWYzIr3WRkasd88KbsB2Dqg/s320/DSCN1550_6842.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the disc repaired with fry pan bolted on.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Having the mower repaired and the weather turned hot and dry, Johnny was itching to cut hay. Our lotus fields are not ready since lotus come up later than grass and grows slower. But the grass around the barn area and pond was tall and heading out, so Johnny cut it with the repaired mower... which worked just fine. </p><p>When he came in for lunch he said he thought he should cut the orchard grass, too, as it wasn't going to get any better (or some such reason). I think he just loves to cut hay. I went upstairs to check the weather on the computer... and came downstairs laughing. "You aren't going to believe this..."</p><p>Here is what it said: </p><pre _ngcontent-app-root-c232="" class="pre-wrap">...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PDT THIS
EVENING...
* WHAT...Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
* WHERE...Portions of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington,
roughly including the Coast Range Crest and points eastward.
* WHEN...From 3 PM this afternoon to 10 PM PDT this evening.
* IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers,
creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,
especially in urban areas. Debris flows are possible in areas of
the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, the 2020 Wildfires, and the 2022 Cedar
Creek Fire.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- Slow moving thunderstorms and high atmospheric moisture have
produced conditions conducive for localized very heavy
rainfall. Amounts in excess of 1 inch per hour may occur with
the most stationary storms.
- http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood </pre><pre _ngcontent-app-root-c232="" class="pre-wrap"> </pre><pre _ngcontent-app-root-c232="" class="pre-wrap"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch at 2 p.m., nary a cloud was in sight. </span></pre><pre _ngcontent-app-root-c232="" class="pre-wrap" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By 3 some thunderheads were visible to the north. Johnny paced...</span></pre><pre _ngcontent-app-root-c232="" class="pre-wrap"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span> </pre><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-80946096406362373432023-05-08T10:56:00.018-07:002024-01-07T20:28:09.774-08:00Unusual Swallow<p><span style="font-size: large;">Addendum: Apparently, the good birders think this is just a Tree Swallow. It is the brightest blue Tree Swallow I've ever seen with a black and white face pattern I have not noticed before. Gorgeous bird. </span> <br /></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: large;">This bird was flying and perched at the far end of our South field this morning when I was closing the horse and dog into that area. All I could see was an intense blue bird acting like a swallow but deep, bright blue. I went back to get my camera and walked, staying out of the bird's view, to where I could get a closer look. It looked like a tree swallow... except it was intense blue with no trace of green... and with a black mask. Is it a color morph of a tree swallow? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It was all alone. Meanwhile, across the trees and creek in our fields behind the goat barn, scads of violet-green and tree swallows were swooping around as usual, gathering stuff for their gourd nests and eating flying insects. This bird spent most of its time perched on the tall fence around the South field, near the new nest gourds I have put up which the other swallows have ignored... probably because they went up after all the old gourds in the fields behind the barn were already chosen.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0iVvrrprFXwGd4DBTcGIbJFgSatJXRPM0h0WoVBLKo7224e5ugkrL4GwIpVP2haxnl5JWeu3xhxKKW_OkjLBxV6vqZQxGv01NH5IDD-oTI0Fy4zOCeCT4NKHAHQ06_GAmV5BLBAfuoHHBmwJKkI5Tjwy_OJY10StO49An8MuheR6FFpkVM2elYPspw/s2216/DSCN1486_6778.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="2216" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0iVvrrprFXwGd4DBTcGIbJFgSatJXRPM0h0WoVBLKo7224e5ugkrL4GwIpVP2haxnl5JWeu3xhxKKW_OkjLBxV6vqZQxGv01NH5IDD-oTI0Fy4zOCeCT4NKHAHQ06_GAmV5BLBAfuoHHBmwJKkI5Tjwy_OJY10StO49An8MuheR6FFpkVM2elYPspw/s320/DSCN1486_6778.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2dXLOLUhlHod91n0KAD0lSUpzS2p-oX4UzgWmCEt9bvhioa6HaFXxlqDUo6dObWUqNjtRLiYKQ_1n3oasSanCg49tSskKwNSha89rbZ8UpmE8z67OgazOiNQUDI1whuWW0RmbA_QURndcBiMr0JCNijKnIwEjPyIhJOdiR6IXb0E6rlW78o6Vz2DaQ/s3456/DSCN1487_6779.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="2484" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2dXLOLUhlHod91n0KAD0lSUpzS2p-oX4UzgWmCEt9bvhioa6HaFXxlqDUo6dObWUqNjtRLiYKQ_1n3oasSanCg49tSskKwNSha89rbZ8UpmE8z67OgazOiNQUDI1whuWW0RmbA_QURndcBiMr0JCNijKnIwEjPyIhJOdiR6IXb0E6rlW78o6Vz2DaQ/s320/DSCN1487_6779.JPG" width="230" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WDCvQx44OUvItD-ymfy9CJtA32a3lAfIElc1JRZG9_xHyMBs2zceuxJfmyaCPTM4eEpir9s-SfBmQTOPtaMxLqURrcQkNurPbSiORVcLDWVOLYor3AYC_9oNvcRR0Zz2ElaxFd_jwV2FijRbESoa_ecubGhZTxTq5Mqf3sjSovMtEU-F2q3R0SvozA/s3456/DSCN1488_6780.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="2996" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WDCvQx44OUvItD-ymfy9CJtA32a3lAfIElc1JRZG9_xHyMBs2zceuxJfmyaCPTM4eEpir9s-SfBmQTOPtaMxLqURrcQkNurPbSiORVcLDWVOLYor3AYC_9oNvcRR0Zz2ElaxFd_jwV2FijRbESoa_ecubGhZTxTq5Mqf3sjSovMtEU-F2q3R0SvozA/s320/DSCN1488_6780.JPG" width="277" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzbaF0tIkS_dLSFn8wlwf4wexA70xn7v9LhxciEOCDESRW9lYdnZIfAtXGl0Y8ZprYhJXsUbwZNrvULs4gsIvV4mxEQfZ-ZtfqW7xW-k8gOi_a13EPmLI4P0m8PDKXGw5JLiyrrDKBtIuVYqQI4vx3xWPfoV1uwXGlslZH7WaFGulB7h2czxkwcXfaQ/s3456/DSCN1489_6781.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3364" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzbaF0tIkS_dLSFn8wlwf4wexA70xn7v9LhxciEOCDESRW9lYdnZIfAtXGl0Y8ZprYhJXsUbwZNrvULs4gsIvV4mxEQfZ-ZtfqW7xW-k8gOi_a13EPmLI4P0m8PDKXGw5JLiyrrDKBtIuVYqQI4vx3xWPfoV1uwXGlslZH7WaFGulB7h2czxkwcXfaQ/s320/DSCN1489_6781.JPG" width="311" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjb0IuCrHIEp0UL2vj6dB2JvCZIhkUv5qUrVbErrpr8W1uBv_T0RVDn59hyDyHP4ytrhaIBP-60Luk8rT4gaLbzDZHO8tNKpWAxV5BRMbOT0DUD-C73vDViHHnKSzuq2C5yWOIHM8hNyXQHuaGaWcBndxxxWK0GCGBFn_btnGkNmD2i63t52_SRk6Iw/s3456/DSCN1490_6782.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjb0IuCrHIEp0UL2vj6dB2JvCZIhkUv5qUrVbErrpr8W1uBv_T0RVDn59hyDyHP4ytrhaIBP-60Luk8rT4gaLbzDZHO8tNKpWAxV5BRMbOT0DUD-C73vDViHHnKSzuq2C5yWOIHM8hNyXQHuaGaWcBndxxxWK0GCGBFn_btnGkNmD2i63t52_SRk6Iw/s320/DSCN1490_6782.JPG" width="305" /></a></div><br /> </span><br /><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-74143385260234050092023-05-07T17:44:00.000-07:002023-05-07T17:44:48.985-07:00Spring Has Sprung<p><span style="font-size: large;">Three</span> <span style="font-size: large;">weeks of being out of commission has left me with a ton of chores to catch up on: trimming goat udders, trimming goat hooves, cleaning goat pens. Not to mention getting the garden readied. But I am working through them... except on Sunday. Sunday is my day of rest.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today is Sunday. Johnny, friend Mary and I flung feathers for the tree and violet-green swallows. We do this every year and the swallows love it. They swoop down and try to grab a feather before it hits the ground or gets snatched by another swallow. Then they try to elude their pursuers who are trying to steal the prize and stuff the feather into their gourd. All the swallows have chosen their nest gourds by now. I am running out of white feathers so will have to ask friends and neighbors for replacements... and to come join the fun.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Afterwards, Mary and I hiked around the Qi Gong meadow, where I have planted wild flowers. Happily, many native checkermallows are up near where I planted new ones. And Mary found the pea vine that is native but scarce... just coming up. She also spotted a tiny tree frog resting in the sun on our orange quince bush in the yard... so tiny and cute. Can you find it?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgh8I_rr1s0MSrdtv5eYJ0s-1NNquUhe3vIQlyLu_vAmu3MR2jHi_B-AMXsGJlO5AP6DJWBrwva0GNR5W1otZ6-uJ_RdIMKWbpjN-dU0KZPlqUJ7MgLah8rbl3Eu8tcRvTj8Rvy9litzm1_vVXmpNElCyj0RysGoa1hY4STIi16Q3hBEm1hQHozl9ow/s4185/DSCN1455_6749.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2600" data-original-width="4185" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgh8I_rr1s0MSrdtv5eYJ0s-1NNquUhe3vIQlyLu_vAmu3MR2jHi_B-AMXsGJlO5AP6DJWBrwva0GNR5W1otZ6-uJ_RdIMKWbpjN-dU0KZPlqUJ7MgLah8rbl3Eu8tcRvTj8Rvy9litzm1_vVXmpNElCyj0RysGoa1hY4STIi16Q3hBEm1hQHozl9ow/s320/DSCN1455_6749.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> On another day, I took photos of birds and wild flowers during a rest break. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This first one is a bird I had to look up... to my surprise it's a female Red-winged Blackbird. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajN56m5GNgZnCUQ30stg-x8D1ton30cDAIKwc2egsk8q4fkP-61jlDSxRyIV1rYFAKvQ1Qz9aETyV9H3Aw1z3Hp8kfxREJhGD7bK9cWb8Y5kY7kGOelw7xvbNkHGE81Hw_ofp39e8UR8OplMNIWQgVjXG2x4gbalqdxC0S3bUQrxgIy-4ONusXtGFfQ/s3541/female%20RW%20Blackbird.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2358" data-original-width="3541" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajN56m5GNgZnCUQ30stg-x8D1ton30cDAIKwc2egsk8q4fkP-61jlDSxRyIV1rYFAKvQ1Qz9aETyV9H3Aw1z3Hp8kfxREJhGD7bK9cWb8Y5kY7kGOelw7xvbNkHGE81Hw_ofp39e8UR8OplMNIWQgVjXG2x4gbalqdxC0S3bUQrxgIy-4ONusXtGFfQ/s320/female%20RW%20Blackbird.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEist1DEQxmpOYLfaZwsNtXQzZ3yezzFd4kZbvBzV4b3pdnZ6RVhGfKz40WapanOya1LylrA15pfx3A7SsJdCu5HMeER04QJqeKb7I6oX8F1RxCfPBrEqRtDsM5r1xFpUqzoPR_vOZZ3zLo-4XQHb3vXfkWwdHjkKTG2xjChbsoxpqwDvwNUCZatZYLCTQ/s3243/DSCN1390_6684.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2950" data-original-width="3243" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEist1DEQxmpOYLfaZwsNtXQzZ3yezzFd4kZbvBzV4b3pdnZ6RVhGfKz40WapanOya1LylrA15pfx3A7SsJdCu5HMeER04QJqeKb7I6oX8F1RxCfPBrEqRtDsM5r1xFpUqzoPR_vOZZ3zLo-4XQHb3vXfkWwdHjkKTG2xjChbsoxpqwDvwNUCZatZYLCTQ/s320/DSCN1390_6684.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canada Goose on our section of Agency Creek<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgQNh0lgtMBztqUBWRzBEd_6316a75E43FvSnE0qXj7rYywnjp-14vp8gXm81x1nOsvDjaS8tJcw89Gh6d7OvZDrhfHW8vc8YOm3VxoIPunTxRq1yptEFC_ScMhbzpwFZfncfPVpbkVSr7dTghApBYvVs680O0o0qhoTkK110nsHbduHr_q-NtlyOYQ/s3046/DSCN1385_6679.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2518" data-original-width="3046" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgQNh0lgtMBztqUBWRzBEd_6316a75E43FvSnE0qXj7rYywnjp-14vp8gXm81x1nOsvDjaS8tJcw89Gh6d7OvZDrhfHW8vc8YOm3VxoIPunTxRq1yptEFC_ScMhbzpwFZfncfPVpbkVSr7dTghApBYvVs680O0o0qhoTkK110nsHbduHr_q-NtlyOYQ/s320/DSCN1385_6679.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oregon Bluebell almost open<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjmnLPdzqjIu2MZbNyTgV1XlwDCOFOKCOtshdunDGfk1BzvO8fGCBnJKmAW1Ex5bEmFn-veRVGVdN5AOCaCgMMAjaiayHJ18Gjds7f25FCdEgt6pOuXQ4fm3maHiE56yjX-QPb1LOpjGMQZjRdV_jbZoNUvV2y-B7OOQdpc0bWVj2i4Q4AlIp-6w3LA/s2966/DSCN1383_6677.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2895" data-original-width="2966" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjmnLPdzqjIu2MZbNyTgV1XlwDCOFOKCOtshdunDGfk1BzvO8fGCBnJKmAW1Ex5bEmFn-veRVGVdN5AOCaCgMMAjaiayHJ18Gjds7f25FCdEgt6pOuXQ4fm3maHiE56yjX-QPb1LOpjGMQZjRdV_jbZoNUvV2y-B7OOQdpc0bWVj2i4Q4AlIp-6w3LA/s320/DSCN1383_6677.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bleeding Hearts<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStbaIOUOfOYYv4kq8xJYNd4XbhTNa-GZRSANDzbe3idKeR-HhLnRoRwEfJWDRJaPq4jdwGD330pnOt7Jd9w4zhwrkpUnEGq7m4o804VlTGupuzJI8VtBpQu8v5KJoT_X6ZLjNfcrD0KQCgYptTlEOtDgCA8HXtv96487NOgTAnTPzskAOcPxki7kM8Q/s4608/DSCN1379_6673.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStbaIOUOfOYYv4kq8xJYNd4XbhTNa-GZRSANDzbe3idKeR-HhLnRoRwEfJWDRJaPq4jdwGD330pnOt7Jd9w4zhwrkpUnEGq7m4o804VlTGupuzJI8VtBpQu8v5KJoT_X6ZLjNfcrD0KQCgYptTlEOtDgCA8HXtv96487NOgTAnTPzskAOcPxki7kM8Q/s320/DSCN1379_6673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oregon Grape<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHTalEfl5YIA6YxTgPgLx1rkVe4o9opnSzuvaHaGfeKpT_3MCs2Ytr1nUwIEHp5EjKQSNd1mnpmseOBEMN3zoOb5eTIWh5-g31gb0i-LjskhLlAM3HkUkG2cO2LsBRDQQrP8GCv5G6oY3ErcM3Y2JHH2_ua0hu6cxT90ShLVIhXvO4xJk_KZ134SCnQ/s3456/DSCN1376_6670.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3245" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHTalEfl5YIA6YxTgPgLx1rkVe4o9opnSzuvaHaGfeKpT_3MCs2Ytr1nUwIEHp5EjKQSNd1mnpmseOBEMN3zoOb5eTIWh5-g31gb0i-LjskhLlAM3HkUkG2cO2LsBRDQQrP8GCv5G6oY3ErcM3Y2JHH2_ua0hu6cxT90ShLVIhXvO4xJk_KZ134SCnQ/s320/DSCN1376_6670.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Robin<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSLAJLlALNEKEDIR9WxvHfLQc1msgf_Yxbt9R-ZidJ4img1WFEpAegKe39_3x1_IzNkUj-Hla1yLi7Wg8MO7EV9C5OdQt93NeVL1HCwC9jd89wxffDmAhzHsZGV3_kE4t-sztf1al6y37bpZ5ixIYAbuhtYydcxXFjruyLkwCc8Be-4CdROYcRJ_JSA/s3333/DSCN1373_6667.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2337" data-original-width="3333" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGSLAJLlALNEKEDIR9WxvHfLQc1msgf_Yxbt9R-ZidJ4img1WFEpAegKe39_3x1_IzNkUj-Hla1yLi7Wg8MO7EV9C5OdQt93NeVL1HCwC9jd89wxffDmAhzHsZGV3_kE4t-sztf1al6y37bpZ5ixIYAbuhtYydcxXFjruyLkwCc8Be-4CdROYcRJ_JSA/s320/DSCN1373_6667.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden-crowned Sparrows in an apple tree<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlvDmGccJaJUgaEAiuoUUuVW3Qg9mhG3aVoT9g62huQGStBfRHVJYVrK1ZAn4WeIlce29B2jdt5QBRqRW6b8DuSkuckzKHAi_JfL6yUVfxeoW0giFWqTks6lSqol-dU3AlyaUOpr2XsV1Zqf09zjg_AWrtAEvX5uAhpLB1tRMm5Bc4WvvhE2YwvzqMw/s3549/DSCN1364_6658.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2589" data-original-width="3549" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlvDmGccJaJUgaEAiuoUUuVW3Qg9mhG3aVoT9g62huQGStBfRHVJYVrK1ZAn4WeIlce29B2jdt5QBRqRW6b8DuSkuckzKHAi_JfL6yUVfxeoW0giFWqTks6lSqol-dU3AlyaUOpr2XsV1Zqf09zjg_AWrtAEvX5uAhpLB1tRMm5Bc4WvvhE2YwvzqMw/s320/DSCN1364_6658.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mourning Dove<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprrYurgbkLG-rSjOsGeVm6wkpaML6FaLQ98QLuXk2FpoWOCz2o1Aqp1ToRCg_AeUkoIYe5i6VOKc70sqE5AAUiiXFCWbovPgC6MXtUQ6Bhb_kwPhpWg5EvvUMSacaFY7spxS7i-Irtg2JH-eezRamOt6V9OkoNIU-6O96OHTKt8eOmxP0p4LinI2HLA/s2598/Bewick's%20Wren.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="2598" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprrYurgbkLG-rSjOsGeVm6wkpaML6FaLQ98QLuXk2FpoWOCz2o1Aqp1ToRCg_AeUkoIYe5i6VOKc70sqE5AAUiiXFCWbovPgC6MXtUQ6Bhb_kwPhpWg5EvvUMSacaFY7spxS7i-Irtg2JH-eezRamOt6V9OkoNIU-6O96OHTKt8eOmxP0p4LinI2HLA/s320/Bewick's%20Wren.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A singing Bewick's Wren<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Photos of "our" swallows are in the previous post.<br /> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It is raining again this Sunday afternoon, but I don't mind. The mud has dried and the spring flowers can use the shower. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Happy Spring! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-69868095147760646692023-04-27T19:03:00.000-07:002023-04-27T19:03:46.662-07:00Warm Weather!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">The rain has stopped! At least for now. Today was warm and sunny. The last several days have been dry, if not warm. But there is still plenty of snow we can see on the hills south of us. I even mowed the lawn... it was very high. The tulips are finally unfurling but I have yet to take flower photos. Instead I've been taking bird photos, now that I've regained some of the energy that disappeared while I was sick.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Every morning while milking and feeding goats, I watch and listen for birds outside the barn... well, sometimes inside now that the Barn Swallows are back. I keep lists in my little Rite in the Rain notebook, then transfer that data to e-bird under their "incidental" category... meaning I'm not just watching birds. I'm doing something else (milking goats) and just note whatever birds I happen to see/hear.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For the last two days, e-bird (a Cornell Ornithology site that birders across the nation use) has been insisting that the Fox Sparrow I list cannot be because it would be rare here at this time of year. In a normal year, the Fox Sparrows (we had three of them here all winter) would have left by now for their northern breeding territories. Two of them have. But one is still hanging out, eating the seed I throw in front of the barn every morning.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So yesterday afternoon, I went back out with my camera and took photos of the "rare" Fox Sparrow. And, while I was at it, any other bird that would hold still. We have 4 swallow species working on nests here. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Our daily "Rare" Fox Sparrow:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUGHNJOdfSmlGdydH3G7C5ajvYVVcmL7iuDeepZSHLEHp5CmdUQleaE5wFIz_-hjHMEKZYIR0gqvYapduwxUaMfEC7JraGF25NBsL_JbziaITd1spda7-fQXZYPa9zp6EhhnfUJkgS0sj-y1YCL56RkqkmRTSgmkYHJ22Dgq_rz5C4UQVtcYtY9G1Tw/s2383/DSCN1313_6590.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1793" data-original-width="2383" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUGHNJOdfSmlGdydH3G7C5ajvYVVcmL7iuDeepZSHLEHp5CmdUQleaE5wFIz_-hjHMEKZYIR0gqvYapduwxUaMfEC7JraGF25NBsL_JbziaITd1spda7-fQXZYPa9zp6EhhnfUJkgS0sj-y1YCL56RkqkmRTSgmkYHJ22Dgq_rz5C4UQVtcYtY9G1Tw/s320/DSCN1313_6590.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjC6KxXK1PLItr4w9pm61PhzZH8Qq_FhSpyxZjfl-7XzGm_yQtpS4ke32HoSGXWd4lT-wzaM97eGjk9BYKxYh78mKzfmAwMAVDEvkgQu6wkK80eBaAlNWw7PBVtQK0kw2G9M7p3fvvSJIcQbgoeAj_FhYE7-H2kuSI8TMtCeEjB1lhxCQN8OV3ITVDA/s3562/Fox%20Sparrow.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3562" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjC6KxXK1PLItr4w9pm61PhzZH8Qq_FhSpyxZjfl-7XzGm_yQtpS4ke32HoSGXWd4lT-wzaM97eGjk9BYKxYh78mKzfmAwMAVDEvkgQu6wkK80eBaAlNWw7PBVtQK0kw2G9M7p3fvvSJIcQbgoeAj_FhYE7-H2kuSI8TMtCeEjB1lhxCQN8OV3ITVDA/s320/Fox%20Sparrow.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> "Our" swallows:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowH6HmcqmJf1aS-KVGnuVtARNXx6n9ZD9AXUnT3tQkuJ8nAhng0vsavvCWJ_VzI2PVCWn8PsVM212PqZYy2oCP_OUiUEFkcDDIqbsleMrMF5XSdEFt6CDBylDw-9MWu4Ddm7S3JDQupqfLVUDlvSrhXq3gAgi3qZdRu1fd2ZCpnByo_iUH8g8cuPDqw/s3845/DSCN1322_6599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3845" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowH6HmcqmJf1aS-KVGnuVtARNXx6n9ZD9AXUnT3tQkuJ8nAhng0vsavvCWJ_VzI2PVCWn8PsVM212PqZYy2oCP_OUiUEFkcDDIqbsleMrMF5XSdEFt6CDBylDw-9MWu4Ddm7S3JDQupqfLVUDlvSrhXq3gAgi3qZdRu1fd2ZCpnByo_iUH8g8cuPDqw/s320/DSCN1322_6599.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cliff Swallows working on mud nest<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpOhDTqth8fXUl1nSTOZDojdIGgmwc33YMWdBkW3rVa3-Xd4-0VJxxS35AFr17mVKO-4J6h4gMlZom7_SNWvrKri8qj36vJa7K8Hj4xJ1lTO-RFzCVpO8QAG0BNyTvXuRXieu5teTjibJ5IH91K388kgQ4d_etKEU5Bk2T8qSf7hd7XGmEz7HrxERsg/s2553/barn%20swallow2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2492" data-original-width="2553" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpOhDTqth8fXUl1nSTOZDojdIGgmwc33YMWdBkW3rVa3-Xd4-0VJxxS35AFr17mVKO-4J6h4gMlZom7_SNWvrKri8qj36vJa7K8Hj4xJ1lTO-RFzCVpO8QAG0BNyTvXuRXieu5teTjibJ5IH91K388kgQ4d_etKEU5Bk2T8qSf7hd7XGmEz7HrxERsg/s320/barn%20swallow2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barn Swallow<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTqHM5yS7IcaSrAcpLl1i8LgLG3GT7IkDGsXcW9azaslZpiJjebafstuAZHTJRBmgmQRtFKnCZMx8HplrmeGU_I8E7COo_yB6h9k3MhEh1CpeLz1Ji_s48e9w5vym58xP6tStReoYrXdeEY6VDGgfBzLAVOcc2I8ZttY6nmmhQT4bsTsa2EN0DZGqQQ/s2752/tree%20swallow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="2377" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTqHM5yS7IcaSrAcpLl1i8LgLG3GT7IkDGsXcW9azaslZpiJjebafstuAZHTJRBmgmQRtFKnCZMx8HplrmeGU_I8E7COo_yB6h9k3MhEh1CpeLz1Ji_s48e9w5vym58xP6tStReoYrXdeEY6VDGgfBzLAVOcc2I8ZttY6nmmhQT4bsTsa2EN0DZGqQQ/s320/tree%20swallow.JPG" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree Swallow<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsyDiPDpN_fyAzyFfi61SIFQijqkGBaW-ZAd9oy0hMr5JU9Z70B9R0EkHfSRbqRLwGEO_pvMJXpdnLJgnw5M5gvazVt3fGx4TnJPfuzuXWooW7Jj4_MHGjtuPXNEFKkW6U4G-PCZbUiCVxAP47yHEiIXJgUDXvnntNZQr13eBYxHMrmcwAZtUwBFn6Q/s2463/violet-green%20swallow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2060" data-original-width="2463" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsyDiPDpN_fyAzyFfi61SIFQijqkGBaW-ZAd9oy0hMr5JU9Z70B9R0EkHfSRbqRLwGEO_pvMJXpdnLJgnw5M5gvazVt3fGx4TnJPfuzuXWooW7Jj4_MHGjtuPXNEFKkW6U4G-PCZbUiCVxAP47yHEiIXJgUDXvnntNZQr13eBYxHMrmcwAZtUwBFn6Q/s320/violet-green%20swallow.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Violet-green Swallow<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> And just in case e-bird decides all these Golden-crowned Sparrows we have should have moved north to nest by now, I took a photo of one of them... This one may have some White-crowned Sparrow in its genes since the back half of it's head stripe is white instead of gold.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9t3WncpXmyIv5KkCAHOYGw47yDsUOiI7ms_dGp7TcOtBk8xuaEegHJohHVY19xKOB_R6_jxpR518K03pY4ybiJyt0aMsYXbrCE3DZjMbhdN5rqwv2p-GC9VZaHRZxa0kPJ3D5XMiHC0athuaDSC5ocaOYEVeuEYlTx81osjLkXGdHR1CTuTa58mVXA/s3465/gc%20wc%20hybrid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2869" data-original-width="3465" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9t3WncpXmyIv5KkCAHOYGw47yDsUOiI7ms_dGp7TcOtBk8xuaEegHJohHVY19xKOB_R6_jxpR518K03pY4ybiJyt0aMsYXbrCE3DZjMbhdN5rqwv2p-GC9VZaHRZxa0kPJ3D5XMiHC0athuaDSC5ocaOYEVeuEYlTx81osjLkXGdHR1CTuTa58mVXA/s320/gc%20wc%20hybrid.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Here is a bonafide White-crowned Sparrow<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULMgLgekHjGcwCql9RK9bhOS5FntmlG_Zi0GbcwmTzwtt2K8iMWowvmU_OphiilUdI4Hvu-Op0s5Hx61Mt9EzcCQ1zERNBrszY-yEHe5ABXEFvpFzTIoO6n25yo3wzZ4NVuE874xOrxiXMKizZ3w3MgPbw7p9LYBBaaltdVcvg9GaknXjjgwKkB0mSA/s2574/white-crowned%20sparrow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2413" data-original-width="2574" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULMgLgekHjGcwCql9RK9bhOS5FntmlG_Zi0GbcwmTzwtt2K8iMWowvmU_OphiilUdI4Hvu-Op0s5Hx61Mt9EzcCQ1zERNBrszY-yEHe5ABXEFvpFzTIoO6n25yo3wzZ4NVuE874xOrxiXMKizZ3w3MgPbw7p9LYBBaaltdVcvg9GaknXjjgwKkB0mSA/s320/white-crowned%20sparrow.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> It was 80 here today, but I was at the cool beach doing my Beached Bird Survey for April. This Killdeer was perfectly happy to pose for as many photos as I wanted to take. I don't think I've ever seen a Killdeer on the beach before.<br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q6tzKED2djDANszuhF4gn7ViWMzMKxiP6Oqe667Rl392d7AKxTW7x3FYAYK-HbP92p0ImOe_g9mQWD8T6O0-0QR0UV5ARvjuyV4khjVWZ0R0R6You3HDypbRkSco_zTdLz7ySQ-axBspNVI0FrcbP2QbI_Fa_A_Dd0IlXTK3LeDAWUgAEdWeJYLzmQ/s2048/Bob%20Straub%20killdeer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="2048" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q6tzKED2djDANszuhF4gn7ViWMzMKxiP6Oqe667Rl392d7AKxTW7x3FYAYK-HbP92p0ImOe_g9mQWD8T6O0-0QR0UV5ARvjuyV4khjVWZ0R0R6You3HDypbRkSco_zTdLz7ySQ-axBspNVI0FrcbP2QbI_Fa_A_Dd0IlXTK3LeDAWUgAEdWeJYLzmQ/s320/Bob%20Straub%20killdeer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Life is good again. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing. Happy Spring at last!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-87524051991679325942023-04-12T19:10:00.000-07:002023-04-12T19:10:13.324-07:00Hard Times on the Farm<p> Into every life a little rain must fall. So said my mother. She also said "This, too, shall pass." Okay, I'm ready for the rain to pass, also the sadness and sickness. Friends have died. Goats have died. Johnny and I both got some nasty virus that had me down for 3 weeks. Johnny had to do the goat milking for much of that time. I am now functional again but not up to par. And the weather has been lousy.</p><p>So Easter passed with no giant eggs this year, the lawn llama was retired to the garden shed, and few photos were taken. Johnny, however, dyed eggs his traditional way and sent this email and photo to family:</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">"Made Easter eggs using MY Grandmother Fink's
method. Boiled them in pan with dry onion skins. They get the
prettiest brown color. My grandpa would hide them outside
around the yard just as we returned from the early morning
church service. Minutes after arriving Grandpa would rush into
the room reporting he had just seen the Easter bunny outside.
We'd rush outside and find eggs hidden all over. We believed
him year after year about seeing the bunny because the eggs were
still warm! The fact that some were almost hot never fazed
us. True believers never question or doubt their Grandpa!"</span></p>
<span style="font-size: medium;">...Grandpa Johnny</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMOs7oMebdI-6ASr-yHyAfbvHcq2OJoXbFfhWqMNEI7iEbNFVJAa_DX55_vKxN1CxRWyjIxe6_whPXpxAnrZppmzKEEeHofLXKTAMQ4Blrz5Buc6hhrhXsuWHkiii8r0FSS8IufcaBf6HJy8ENUwJ26B5eo1QnI6kasr-qOno8TYB2DamICy9uFqYsvA/s2908/easter%20eggs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2706" data-original-width="2908" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMOs7oMebdI-6ASr-yHyAfbvHcq2OJoXbFfhWqMNEI7iEbNFVJAa_DX55_vKxN1CxRWyjIxe6_whPXpxAnrZppmzKEEeHofLXKTAMQ4Blrz5Buc6hhrhXsuWHkiii8r0FSS8IufcaBf6HJy8ENUwJ26B5eo1QnI6kasr-qOno8TYB2DamICy9uFqYsvA/s320/easter%20eggs.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>In good news on the farm, the first doe to kid had a lovely doeling. She also had a dead buckling. And so it has gone... But the doe kid is cute and healthy.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZ-qgPai1CJF240ALOlRAqmbulVSVhHXhJfAmb_UkV9tpuV5Q8zYio1-1MAbH21EjX35gPsGkoFJxRnSb-cqvHgquFKHwcU7H3bDXF3b7wMqR5YW_iwx4nx2e2bNpbuzOQY3wx01iBJHfz4OtwX-diKMSIkDh0RNfPKF7qTt_oKfwt31DyD58mKInbg/s2967/DSCN1235_6487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2967" data-original-width="1495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZ-qgPai1CJF240ALOlRAqmbulVSVhHXhJfAmb_UkV9tpuV5Q8zYio1-1MAbH21EjX35gPsGkoFJxRnSb-cqvHgquFKHwcU7H3bDXF3b7wMqR5YW_iwx4nx2e2bNpbuzOQY3wx01iBJHfz4OtwX-diKMSIkDh0RNfPKF7qTt_oKfwt31DyD58mKInbg/s320/DSCN1235_6487.JPG" width="161" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>After several weeks of illness, I was able to drive the EZ Go down to the newly mowed (by Johnny) Qi Gong meadow, which I hope to turn into a wildflower meadow, and check on the trail camera I put up in the woods there a month earlier. I was hoping to see wild things since no domestics can get there (allegedly).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvouStErIrxWBjSnn0ZiozU6NTu0Y66X-i1Re5VfBGFo05u6ZPx85fJybcircOBYxFE5UYGwDrmDkgYHNIwkC2P9rBpfT0HRFbZfCxUxaJh2IcyKydRA8nqlVguPQJoHKq2K_BGTVXfTNdJ-gZr1ZzDL-rUifwLGBeSdvOyFX8SUaRMqWAtCQ9LDgHow/s2688/IMG_0088_6512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvouStErIrxWBjSnn0ZiozU6NTu0Y66X-i1Re5VfBGFo05u6ZPx85fJybcircOBYxFE5UYGwDrmDkgYHNIwkC2P9rBpfT0HRFbZfCxUxaJh2IcyKydRA8nqlVguPQJoHKq2K_BGTVXfTNdJ-gZr1ZzDL-rUifwLGBeSdvOyFX8SUaRMqWAtCQ9LDgHow/s320/IMG_0088_6512.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRiTIsXxiyygz3ni9Rkgfo5VzXhb67ePZ4qxFdf2wjwds05wPLthAdDfDwUhu7ZGIHUGYo04MDbCEFusuhpaliUsaVurKb5EK52KV-BUQLCsUAiIyK4RRV-XZlEH_mkPCYph_ZPjM5Vgu165IbZF8yomXOaT3LsWg2KDXKy5g5kJkFIt1Ztp8cWSJcQ/s2688/IMG_0089_6513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRiTIsXxiyygz3ni9Rkgfo5VzXhb67ePZ4qxFdf2wjwds05wPLthAdDfDwUhu7ZGIHUGYo04MDbCEFusuhpaliUsaVurKb5EK52KV-BUQLCsUAiIyK4RRV-XZlEH_mkPCYph_ZPjM5Vgu165IbZF8yomXOaT3LsWg2KDXKy5g5kJkFIt1Ztp8cWSJcQ/s320/IMG_0089_6513.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxsQxSch8lbtHw2V5WH4q5EUlBUFOCaGFOwyd_DsRDLFa_RS1KnqWd_0D2nwRMY9U9Vntu4NVN2xeYq8Z1noAL3zy2k-4GXtOfVp2KkAcvXy6zR2Ng-CvXf9kNsurGT3zRhmKI_J7vU2bIQtl4DRQP6SIZC87gLlXePsWvj65Ol561K6IpHHQ06H5bA/s2688/IMG_0093_6517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxsQxSch8lbtHw2V5WH4q5EUlBUFOCaGFOwyd_DsRDLFa_RS1KnqWd_0D2nwRMY9U9Vntu4NVN2xeYq8Z1noAL3zy2k-4GXtOfVp2KkAcvXy6zR2Ng-CvXf9kNsurGT3zRhmKI_J7vU2bIQtl4DRQP6SIZC87gLlXePsWvj65Ol561K6IpHHQ06H5bA/s320/IMG_0093_6517.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EUtvX7OwCMxKnTkeNQZorJ1qbx98Hsa2Du4qHzNMjoBr9R-dgbLxq9QlimxpT76QOV_Z0djIcsOagoxufDZl91P2ayiJrnWLsYe0qZlK-fL-HpZhRNcDCekkuQcRDwWhGR2oI_vTd8SJO61oQoRNcThY8IgfQfrG1IfKeA5chrd8MRhdREg1P0Rrwg/s2688/IMG_0108_6532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EUtvX7OwCMxKnTkeNQZorJ1qbx98Hsa2Du4qHzNMjoBr9R-dgbLxq9QlimxpT76QOV_Z0djIcsOagoxufDZl91P2ayiJrnWLsYe0qZlK-fL-HpZhRNcDCekkuQcRDwWhGR2oI_vTd8SJO61oQoRNcThY8IgfQfrG1IfKeA5chrd8MRhdREg1P0Rrwg/s320/IMG_0108_6532.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Well, there was one deer. The Black Angus calf had come through the fence from a neighbor, our dog and horse seem to be able to go anywhere, although we have tried and are trying to keep them contained.</p><p>A week or so later, the weather and my health were finally good enough for me to hike into the woods looking for birds and wildflowers... and finding both.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLa9tMfH3_mC4qp7eHfbquV22i3k1V4ZWPAsFPvqevCH-Fb_8M_bRvdyiuMXkWiCcTWUAqVmztqnAWcaSRNzB1nX4gf-2cmedjsvm4aoEiOV8GaYkrotlbVPBKSXTQOpL2bfpYts28jxKwLeioJiWBKQJMiEuwPLsWw5sxOdHIAxUnfv6XlQmSZMg60g/s2661/DSCN1273_6550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1656" data-original-width="2661" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLa9tMfH3_mC4qp7eHfbquV22i3k1V4ZWPAsFPvqevCH-Fb_8M_bRvdyiuMXkWiCcTWUAqVmztqnAWcaSRNzB1nX4gf-2cmedjsvm4aoEiOV8GaYkrotlbVPBKSXTQOpL2bfpYts28jxKwLeioJiWBKQJMiEuwPLsWw5sxOdHIAxUnfv6XlQmSZMg60g/s320/DSCN1273_6550.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyWg6g3mGRIKXkPS7uWkm8Aui7_pBQQgmsLJDT20xDU-pPdcWKh1F3lXcq0O0jGKq-mcZo9cOW3EmUz9VakKXgMgGXuhHA29rTeCkR_Jh2sEZ1JD6_Bsv2s3L5YbNjSa3xbugsXgHUreVpAPc0x3blf-sptgrs2SLmveeS_wTyVlOyvpMoqI7GpB38Q/s2983/DSCN1276_6553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2773" data-original-width="2983" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyWg6g3mGRIKXkPS7uWkm8Aui7_pBQQgmsLJDT20xDU-pPdcWKh1F3lXcq0O0jGKq-mcZo9cOW3EmUz9VakKXgMgGXuhHA29rTeCkR_Jh2sEZ1JD6_Bsv2s3L5YbNjSa3xbugsXgHUreVpAPc0x3blf-sptgrs2SLmveeS_wTyVlOyvpMoqI7GpB38Q/s320/DSCN1276_6553.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>These Ruby-crowned Kinglets were feeding in the bushes across the creek (which is river-sized now from all the rain). I took photos as I could see them and then blew the photos way up to find the bird. Not the best photos, but I did get a little of the ruby crown on this first one!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39SUIDKE_Yv1awU103lIRcDvrXoF_7SVrvvpGnTBs4XddlwieSybhSDqLAs7YAFUxBA0j34XDxIhyFRCiRu8v-wchoGw1d7zUb7g3kafD6SEyIfVSR7TES6Mm7gZ3B9Ntb_bPnnK0pSjY8DxAmPhofSj1knzHFNbsBnmAUIGuGWKTAuDEl39sbpughA/s1825/rc%20kinglet%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1801" data-original-width="1825" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39SUIDKE_Yv1awU103lIRcDvrXoF_7SVrvvpGnTBs4XddlwieSybhSDqLAs7YAFUxBA0j34XDxIhyFRCiRu8v-wchoGw1d7zUb7g3kafD6SEyIfVSR7TES6Mm7gZ3B9Ntb_bPnnK0pSjY8DxAmPhofSj1knzHFNbsBnmAUIGuGWKTAuDEl39sbpughA/s320/rc%20kinglet%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsI5vZHSn3LJg8IMKIUUQ20gF9Rnp305pRZi7cyX9Fp6y4jR0u7TuvLgwAuBh6CbSagtAjIUpdbq8EjiSmxDdVpGdc39gTbwJIRET7IITcoWEqTp8y2qfgrfcRmarKGTMixBJVTUWkHGjlaKvhe8a-S2Jt7dm23S9IMh5HVkZtHYWKRAI4utaXYSRbg/s2624/rc%20kinglet%203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="2624" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsI5vZHSn3LJg8IMKIUUQ20gF9Rnp305pRZi7cyX9Fp6y4jR0u7TuvLgwAuBh6CbSagtAjIUpdbq8EjiSmxDdVpGdc39gTbwJIRET7IITcoWEqTp8y2qfgrfcRmarKGTMixBJVTUWkHGjlaKvhe8a-S2Jt7dm23S9IMh5HVkZtHYWKRAI4utaXYSRbg/s320/rc%20kinglet%203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMf8L3dntmLlXcQymREWSBEabPdZ9El8ohlj8h2De16sRWwkhq2rtRfEWKMMx8thpvGXZljIa-facm8ty7PMVtYtAn-9ZBgJ6HGGfi1ilS1DXQhlcC7I3_h-BIbihmgsVtFoeyUxen7SQaUq8_b2PXBnaH6nodR51ifqNImpZNx2agxYgpgnEI7gKMjQ/s699/ruby%20crowned%20kinglet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="699" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMf8L3dntmLlXcQymREWSBEabPdZ9El8ohlj8h2De16sRWwkhq2rtRfEWKMMx8thpvGXZljIa-facm8ty7PMVtYtAn-9ZBgJ6HGGfi1ilS1DXQhlcC7I3_h-BIbihmgsVtFoeyUxen7SQaUq8_b2PXBnaH6nodR51ifqNImpZNx2agxYgpgnEI7gKMjQ/s320/ruby%20crowned%20kinglet.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>That sunny afternoon was a gift. The next day we awoke to snow. Here is the view out the kitchen window.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLgpv36PRXxa0qJNPX-FMf-w80b3aXDhDWUWZhg9seK_Wsx-qvHGTaz5CjeORCykfU8Gl9pnIpZDoyjhhtJ9XsgGO-cdrxBtP51pLnTXsTlkMHLbplSEzNarFeGbdgHaNKlYTmceuQG7HinwLOGpXAFrqjroWPsq7av6Cz5WRdmvNODSxgd6WWzHp8Q/s3559/DSCN1277_6554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3559" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLgpv36PRXxa0qJNPX-FMf-w80b3aXDhDWUWZhg9seK_Wsx-qvHGTaz5CjeORCykfU8Gl9pnIpZDoyjhhtJ9XsgGO-cdrxBtP51pLnTXsTlkMHLbplSEzNarFeGbdgHaNKlYTmceuQG7HinwLOGpXAFrqjroWPsq7av6Cz5WRdmvNODSxgd6WWzHp8Q/s320/DSCN1277_6554.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>And from the milkroom window in the barn...<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDWVTnMfdrCkM0pxkUKMfUU7siSK99dUuIIL07Ewe-ltpfwU23K7QiZHk_qhqJwFNdxVgxF6TrClPEyS4-h-aXLUmtfYWnKoZYZr4aO6XGTGXPGqqRUZq1CBAWXrceAtdj6EfoFDhmuEH5ugSrC3-X3O8T6dajCJRsBrOdsdT7yD0Lqgvh306nUMmWA/s4608/DSCN1278_6555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDWVTnMfdrCkM0pxkUKMfUU7siSK99dUuIIL07Ewe-ltpfwU23K7QiZHk_qhqJwFNdxVgxF6TrClPEyS4-h-aXLUmtfYWnKoZYZr4aO6XGTGXPGqqRUZq1CBAWXrceAtdj6EfoFDhmuEH5ugSrC3-X3O8T6dajCJRsBrOdsdT7yD0Lqgvh306nUMmWA/s320/DSCN1278_6555.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>But after snow flurries and light rain, the sky cleared and we had some sun again.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's to a sunnier, warmer, healthier spring from here on out.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-12046975055392609962023-02-28T11:18:00.002-08:002023-02-28T11:18:54.046-08:00Trail Camera photos!<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">For Christmas, I bought each of us a trail camera. Okay, so I bought them both for me to put up and monitor but I wrapped one for Johnny and one for me. Life, as usual, got busy and I didn't get either one up until a week ago or so. Today I finally took the card out and put it into my computer to see what the camera had seen. Of course, since it was trained on the driveway, it got lots of cars going in and out, also our tractors and EZ Go carts... 85 photos in fact. I have deleted most but thought it would be fun to see a little of the driveway activity... in the snow. I love that it gives me the temperature as well as date and time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vQwltttW91RUvKNhiUuetQWTTsB1tNzfxFXYQn8dmHbS2VK5Vp74joAOeiz9xpuLyc0Wje_pZeI8VaLmRTRbYh6q2T2yUTV0E2UnB1Z-moptj18MGWPHOrUKHwXi_fw6vtQXI5NRpD2TRMYFSJOqgi598u91wf1RuK0O2W0S-EO_92OygEkABWY1Yw/s2688/IMG_0030_6358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-vQwltttW91RUvKNhiUuetQWTTsB1tNzfxFXYQn8dmHbS2VK5Vp74joAOeiz9xpuLyc0Wje_pZeI8VaLmRTRbYh6q2T2yUTV0E2UnB1Z-moptj18MGWPHOrUKHwXi_fw6vtQXI5NRpD2TRMYFSJOqgi598u91wf1RuK0O2W0S-EO_92OygEkABWY1Yw/s320/IMG_0030_6358.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny on his way up the driveway to get the mail</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAQxeoU1Ktaeezsyl5L1QZr515hlZR7m2z0Dp6PRFbTm0JDZQ9WREdrshCsPLi9ev4YLVaywLocc0p_F7x8V0YBRzI5HqUDDr2qUP5kzh-EQbtZ5FVbcbw8DUstuLUOuBsCT3uLFMvHqmfQMWOJ1YhFGdk0h_i1AgpMmkYT7tmObvRz_q5ePe0KKGdA/s2688/IMG_0033_6361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAQxeoU1Ktaeezsyl5L1QZr515hlZR7m2z0Dp6PRFbTm0JDZQ9WREdrshCsPLi9ev4YLVaywLocc0p_F7x8V0YBRzI5HqUDDr2qUP5kzh-EQbtZ5FVbcbw8DUstuLUOuBsCT3uLFMvHqmfQMWOJ1YhFGdk0h_i1AgpMmkYT7tmObvRz_q5ePe0KKGdA/s320/IMG_0033_6361.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plowing so friend Suue will be able to drive in later (see previous blog post).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjTjclnwAr70dE3_d-LW8_5-2RabYNkdmD1mmFATAYAN48X5OiDyqNUWPJybrIC2I0hk4q7f1QYMAcMOrset3dXhF2Dmq_D6_NLsY-zcz7ESgNlLaNTWhVkDkB2KSJJPv77kYoh47DMpMMvHY5G41csySXb3sPpa3JRTMdGVKqivbafp429sPr_v_0Q/s2688/IMG_0051_6379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjTjclnwAr70dE3_d-LW8_5-2RabYNkdmD1mmFATAYAN48X5OiDyqNUWPJybrIC2I0hk4q7f1QYMAcMOrset3dXhF2Dmq_D6_NLsY-zcz7ESgNlLaNTWhVkDkB2KSJJPv77kYoh47DMpMMvHY5G41csySXb3sPpa3JRTMdGVKqivbafp429sPr_v_0Q/s320/IMG_0051_6379.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friend Suue driving in from Portland in her rental car..<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhkBAaWp25aUv7p9bVgHghwYcPAWDBvAzPsOjB1Vxw6cLxT3ADv2SV-F5VWQjkbTzGTCL8neofpX3NcdqrdNVnF6m9BdOwBiRfPLn3mN8vVBIhOlq58wwkzdfn1xBOolzPaoQyXoabhYHP_JumsSPkhqeNHY2qkGGVYQzI_h-YIxrajItUeFxOK01DQ/s2688/IMG_0064_6392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhkBAaWp25aUv7p9bVgHghwYcPAWDBvAzPsOjB1Vxw6cLxT3ADv2SV-F5VWQjkbTzGTCL8neofpX3NcdqrdNVnF6m9BdOwBiRfPLn3mN8vVBIhOlq58wwkzdfn1xBOolzPaoQyXoabhYHP_JumsSPkhqeNHY2qkGGVYQzI_h-YIxrajItUeFxOK01DQ/s320/IMG_0064_6392.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friend Suue driving out the next day on her way to the Portland convention<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjY0tuSRPj49NbEhrxwowhmdynAwU1WfCevhKIfhrNV9hFxKeyqcNFdemEHgKiYDsaEFxYu3xJnIck5FVkH1pp_LxKSSF7lEshcYp87TCluXB6UNVu3cQ90wH8qbAJrnGh_hMREQ2Xa3o1QXOeVy_JAbZJUrdfxM7k42GvMeVOX8oT1rVOJVZVMd8wA/s2688/IMG_0067_6395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjY0tuSRPj49NbEhrxwowhmdynAwU1WfCevhKIfhrNV9hFxKeyqcNFdemEHgKiYDsaEFxYu3xJnIck5FVkH1pp_LxKSSF7lEshcYp87TCluXB6UNVu3cQ90wH8qbAJrnGh_hMREQ2Xa3o1QXOeVy_JAbZJUrdfxM7k42GvMeVOX8oT1rVOJVZVMd8wA/s320/IMG_0067_6395.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny on the big tractor after sawing off 3 leaning trees<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0XN1U7sM60r6-3SQAHd7bT9fLLDO5KeVO1rXWE41Sd425a10NCO6pn9jWDCLR8DKgE-CCvh0Ld02CqNXx-is0_gGP5bwdvp0iIEbHGg7S1bvtE3OzHrRDJVkhS5TjUxXH2W_F7B2SZYJ7FFVYb0k2sqKWzDB6Ty6ThWK8O0tl3rdzx6eE4xjj7cDRQ/s2688/IMG_0081_6410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2688" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0XN1U7sM60r6-3SQAHd7bT9fLLDO5KeVO1rXWE41Sd425a10NCO6pn9jWDCLR8DKgE-CCvh0Ld02CqNXx-is0_gGP5bwdvp0iIEbHGg7S1bvtE3OzHrRDJVkhS5TjUxXH2W_F7B2SZYJ7FFVYb0k2sqKWzDB6Ty6ThWK8O0tl3rdzx6eE4xjj7cDRQ/s320/IMG_0081_6410.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny back on the Kubota spreading gravel on the driveway<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> Too bad I didn't think about having the 3 of us stand in front of the trail camera to get a photo. Suue was unsuccessful in getting a selfie of us with her magic phone... her arms would not reach far enough to capture all of us! We are so last century.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Now I will go put the cameras up where they might actually see wildlife, instead of our life. It's been years since we've had working trail cameras. It was fun to see deer and bears and bobcats, along with horses, dogs and miscellaneous birds, etc. Here are some of those earlier photo captures: <a href="https://lindafink.blogspot.com/2011/11/where-wild-things-are.html">https://lindafink.blogspot.com/2011/11/where-wild-things-are.html</a> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-33902721094094856002023-02-27T10:50:00.002-08:002023-02-27T10:50:58.011-08:00Bad Weather and a Wonderful Friend from Afar<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Long time friend Suue (known as Sue to everyone but me), flew in to Portland for a conference. She works as a volunteer at a wildlife refuge near her in Maryland. The organization that provides volunteers who work at refuges have a conference somewhere every year. This year it is in Portland, Oregon, so Suue decided to fly out early and visit us. Alas, the snow storm hit when her flight arrived in Chicago and the Portland Airport shut down. However she was able to get here the next day when the airport reopened. She rented a car and drove bravely down here. Johnny had plowed out our driveway so it was navigable.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Our electric EZ Go (golf carts) turned out to be excellent snowmobiles so we were able to drive her to the barn to see handsome buck Freddie and through the arboretum. She had been here four years ago but, as I reminded her, never in the snow! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was scheduled to pick up native plants that I had ordered on Saturday, way down in Corvallis. So we all swooped down there in amazingly sunny, dry weather. (Made me realize that we really do live in the Coast Range mountains and valley dwellers have different weather.) "Swooping" is what a gang of friends in college did during college breaks. Suue and Johnny and I were all part of that gang. Suue and I had been horse-crazy friends in high school and were roommates in college. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We took the back way home and stopped in Dallas (Oregon, not Texas) for delicious Mexican food at our favorite restaurant there. Suue says there are no good ethnic restaurants in her area of Maryland. And they also don't have all the ethnic food trucks that we have. (And Easterners think we live in the wild west?) <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Strangely, I did not take photos until she was about to leave. I love this photo of Suue and Johnny in the greenhouse. (I just have to point out that's an orchid blooming behind and right of Suue, a master gardener.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLn7jJFEiCAr4OdcXBqfrAAstz23jus42agbkqAk-bameoFC0Y0s6jAvgAagFHeqfQ71gamGOb09gYxNvdCARFn1LF8JwHoGULvx0K7AuV3wZV9ZWDhkvEo1Ldd9bYuoZVQh6Z-JoqTw8e04373_bCyCqGFhFs4oL-hLdF9d7tUDDXrErvAkdrOn-eLg/s4139/Johnny%20and%20Suue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2536" data-original-width="4139" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLn7jJFEiCAr4OdcXBqfrAAstz23jus42agbkqAk-bameoFC0Y0s6jAvgAagFHeqfQ71gamGOb09gYxNvdCARFn1LF8JwHoGULvx0K7AuV3wZV9ZWDhkvEo1Ldd9bYuoZVQh6Z-JoqTw8e04373_bCyCqGFhFs4oL-hLdF9d7tUDDXrErvAkdrOn-eLg/s320/Johnny%20and%20Suue.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">All three of them are far more photogenic than I am. But here I am with my forever friend Suue anyway. Who knows when she'll get here again...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1p35h1VvSWbIqVN6AYcdMSyc56yVfw24w2eHKCnZtoPQh8tJbepLQtzxxGnY--rCjK1J5kMcL6UvWl4ZBcZRa6yrb8SC3nR_6ffCvPCnYT8bEVMamxEmg2rFJLlxGKilHmOrKmQmdF92Gu_iqJy3eeVjxIvgubhne_Go0OeGltdSNen3qOVfhn_bJw/s4095/DSCN1152_6349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3045" data-original-width="4095" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1p35h1VvSWbIqVN6AYcdMSyc56yVfw24w2eHKCnZtoPQh8tJbepLQtzxxGnY--rCjK1J5kMcL6UvWl4ZBcZRa6yrb8SC3nR_6ffCvPCnYT8bEVMamxEmg2rFJLlxGKilHmOrKmQmdF92Gu_iqJy3eeVjxIvgubhne_Go0OeGltdSNen3qOVfhn_bJw/s320/DSCN1152_6349.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066977136147621472.post-59337055093404169052023-02-23T11:27:00.000-08:002023-02-23T11:27:06.806-08:00Snow!!!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Four inches overnight and still snowing. The Valentine's Day lawn llama is not amused.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFw3h20ipaKHlAi0bibRrtZADO_GyZTA8UVUmKjv00721KYtydSowdlg3ZFEwiX7xdd4VbjpmvJAaBQlnsIz0T6a-9djtgPyMbyv9Mb3-8iSGhZ7528NgxiNkFQCIdPzFiqxsQQ69YPS1tzl0uTy5IsJgp3B6tAuwpf_20yPkF9wFhukCVpknkiioiw/s3456/DSCN1134_6331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="2484" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFw3h20ipaKHlAi0bibRrtZADO_GyZTA8UVUmKjv00721KYtydSowdlg3ZFEwiX7xdd4VbjpmvJAaBQlnsIz0T6a-9djtgPyMbyv9Mb3-8iSGhZ7528NgxiNkFQCIdPzFiqxsQQ69YPS1tzl0uTy5IsJgp3B6tAuwpf_20yPkF9wFhukCVpknkiioiw/s320/DSCN1134_6331.JPG" width="230" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> Nightingale and her dog, Annie, don't seem to mind, although Night is wondering where her grass went.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcDJ-kanJinHDyQTxq10Wytj638l65jv0wXP1ReBwwNIo400TpDBaQNQOt-C9JC4XLTlqGj4pInvUpOAcebMx_JfiADTUEdkyzkGa3oYLMTsTRZQAceSa7FdKS1bntgcDC21EuOgwGFVaTNg3FwWTjTVsGvBnS0dXBuIbcSVujGvNNtDnsSxp4kW6Ug/s4608/DSCN1149_6346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcDJ-kanJinHDyQTxq10Wytj638l65jv0wXP1ReBwwNIo400TpDBaQNQOt-C9JC4XLTlqGj4pInvUpOAcebMx_JfiADTUEdkyzkGa3oYLMTsTRZQAceSa7FdKS1bntgcDC21EuOgwGFVaTNg3FwWTjTVsGvBnS0dXBuIbcSVujGvNNtDnsSxp4kW6Ug/s320/DSCN1149_6346.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I love it... after morning chores when I'm back in the warm, dry house...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL2nkZXsi6ra9zs0WZeKESI5s5AAXe9xcXAUVJFhP3HInPnrBT5qAdR_YXGPWet7XL2rqa-kKTppc_HERZXCTZafaihPyXWkR5-bzQIWYe2aLa9b-T1_A88McbVOjYAt347DTiID_1MVZmkcojLp9oqJw9APF2bT4-cebRTIlNxAH5980BmBJ-8CoBg/s4608/DSCN1147_6344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL2nkZXsi6ra9zs0WZeKESI5s5AAXe9xcXAUVJFhP3HInPnrBT5qAdR_YXGPWet7XL2rqa-kKTppc_HERZXCTZafaihPyXWkR5-bzQIWYe2aLa9b-T1_A88McbVOjYAt347DTiID_1MVZmkcojLp9oqJw9APF2bT4-cebRTIlNxAH5980BmBJ-8CoBg/s320/DSCN1147_6344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik15Y-aPg7wfHpSAy2cUKPIDMCdsMMtJECXwB_Vq2YfwHzUY3bBMrKuAZTbhFDFfM9Hb7JdgXJFXCZ5-R-HEcSf0u1PJFO4sOFt3n1X-HJm_8Dy_y5ZShTeT8T7UD02V6T-b0c5HftQqagashtXAaUViLE-W_xHTn8TCOARQOSmByyrYr0vFG1Qx-92w/s4608/DSCN1145_6342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1lP9bLv0_oeqUV71tnm26ljJZqxoenkjT4U2lwwr9233xFg8M5RvZgjlV9Zen8sIaCkOAoaOjbc2R6BQc_DCqh0kFd7nLVaTQI1T92y6-O2HHYMuIV4Z7L9I9pYqzq_ltrcHeXE5TbQymVtRSILQXOAAas8ehELA7Uj2AE562lTVLkLQn9gqGI2Ctg/s4608/DSCN1138_6335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1lP9bLv0_oeqUV71tnm26ljJZqxoenkjT4U2lwwr9233xFg8M5RvZgjlV9Zen8sIaCkOAoaOjbc2R6BQc_DCqh0kFd7nLVaTQI1T92y6-O2HHYMuIV4Z7L9I9pYqzq_ltrcHeXE5TbQymVtRSILQXOAAas8ehELA7Uj2AE562lTVLkLQn9gqGI2Ctg/s320/DSCN1138_6335.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">There is even snow at the coast! And Portland is shut down with snow... most since 1943... airport closed. ...Weather just gets weirder and weirder...</span><br /><br /><p></p>Linda Finkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01021136257176196322noreply@blogger.com0