Nature – Page 32

November 21, 2019January 6, 2020

Sunriver Nature Center

One sunny afternoon last week we headed over to the Nature Center at Sunriver Resort.

The idea was to check on the new trumpeter swan cygnets and maybe get a glimpse of the river otters JQ spied earlier this month.

The swans were in sight, however no river otters. Instead we were treated to a close up view of a Great Horned Owl, Joe.

He was hit by a car and is blind in one eye, thus he’s become a permanent resident of the nature center’s rehab and education facility.

November 17, 2019December 16, 2019

Back on the Crooked

November is turning into a really great month, weather wise. We’ve had sun and mild day temperatures for the last few weeks. Mornings are frosty but by 10 am the sun has taken the chill off.

This week we headed out to an old favorite, the Crooked River, to do some fishing and take some photos of the canyon in fall. Had the place to ourselves, set up the camp chairs and really enjoyed the day.

Fishing was good even got into an afternoon dry fly session. As you can tell from the post the canyon was very picturesque.

The other activity was to put up a ‘Flybrary Project’ card.

You likely saw the post on Instagram @jstv. Essentially this is a fly sharing project to encourage people to share their pastime. You can check it out at www.flybraryproject.com and if you are interested, catch an episode of ‘huge flyfisherman’ on YouTube, it’s hilarious.

November 14, 2019January 6, 2020

Walking Circles

The initial frigid fall temps have moderated and we’re currently enjoying an “Indian Summer” of sorts.

Hiking is thirsty work. For every step we take, Tip takes four. He runs ahead, then runs back. We stop frequently to keep the little guy hydrated.

Taking advantage of these mild fall days we’ve re-started fall hiking trips that were put on hold when it seemed like winter was upon us.

March snow delayed walk for another time.

In spring of last year we’d attempted to walk the Rim Rock Springs Loop trail but it was buried in snow. It’s not a summer hike destination as it’s way too exposed to high desert sun … but Fall is perfect.

It’s a relatively easy hike, taking off from a wayside East of Madras on Highway 26. There are a couple of observation points to get a look at migratory bird habitat and some great vistas of the Cascade Peaks. The first half of the trail is even paved.

The were no other hikers so we enjoyed the solitude, shot a bunch of photos and generally took in the scenery. Finished up with a picnic lunch for a perfect November day trip.

The spicy aroma of sage permeated the air.

We’ll hike this trail again in hopes of seeing more wildlife and taking in a sunset over the Cascades.

November 10, 2019December 16, 2019

A Peek from the Peak

Bend is surrounded by amazing sights. Perhaps one of the best places to take it all in is Pilot Butte, an extinct cinder cone located within Bend’s boundaries.

A lot of people choose to hike up, however our first trip was by car. The view is really spectacular.

In the center of the observation deck is a bronze disk aligning all the prominent points.

We got much better acquainted with our surroundings and had excellent views of the city of Bend.

It was well worth the short trip up it’s narrow road.

October 2, 2019December 16, 2019

Fall at Summer Lake

In Central Oregon Fall seems to have gotten skipped over and we’ve moved directly to winter or at least the cold part. That said we took off for Summer Lake this morning hoping to catch some migrating waterfowl.

The weather was overcast with temperatures just above freezing as we drove south Fremont highway (US 31) past Fort Rock on to the high desert.

Took a brief side trip a few miles up USFS 2901, which would eventually take you to the rim of the cliffs that border the west side of Summer Lake. Snowy roads persuaded us to turn around before they got worse higher up.