Summer in Central Oregon starts out full of sunny, warm days that transition to the dog days with sweltering afternoons. There is a shift in how long it takes for the morning chill to burn off.
By August we’ll seek AC spaces for midday retreats. This week we took advantage of one of those slowly warming summer days to sit along the river.
The Crooked River canyon has started to shift to the brown tones of summer. Along river’s edge there are still green grasses and a few remaining blossoms.
While the migratory birds have moved on, the juniper trees and willow bushes are still alive with activity. We even manage to catch glimpses of Osprey stalking the river and raptors hunting the canyon edges.
The day is balmy and we don’t even need to move camp chairs into patches of shade until the late afternoon sun really starts to beat down. Fishing is pretty good and our iPads are full of reading material. We fill cups from a thermos of ice tea and munch on crackers spread with Mettwurst (German spreadable smoked pork sausage) and cream cheese.
By late afternoon the wind picks up so we pack the car and head home. There will be lots more trips to the Crooked. In the weeks to come, we’ll be more dependent on shade trees and actually look forward to afternoon winds coming off the river.