Tag: Video

Posted on

A Summer Morning Walk

Summer with all it’s heat has decended on Central Oregon.

What this means is we’ve shifted our outdoor activities to the morning hours, and if we are out in the afternoon heat its near a stream with plenty of shade.

While it might approach 100 degrees by midday, it has dropped to a  refreshing 45 by the next morning.

This week we decided to explore a spot on the western edge of Crane Prairie Reservoir. There is a short hike to a birding spot on the reservoir’s banks that typically we drive by on our way to favorite fishing haunts on the upper Deschutes. This morning we started there.

Osprey Point is an interpretive trail, no camping and only one picnic table. This day there were no cars in the parking area, but the path is well worn so it’s not always so private.

The trail winds through lodgepole pine forest with twists of blowdown that would make off trail walking difficult.

Nesting platform for osprey

At the end you breakout onto the southern reach of a broad marsh. There is a crescent shaped area with willows, grasses and lots of snags for nesting that runs for half a mile of shore line and is about 500 feet deep.

There are osprey, as well as other raptors and a variety of shore birds. The middle of summer isn’t the best time to observe nesting birds. Plus, we weren’t equipped to slog across wetlands to the shore to get a closer look at a flock of pelicans. That said it was a beautiful morning and JQ did manage to find some subject material for her camera.
Posted on

At Distance, still

We’ve been “stay at home” for just about a month … except for a couple of trips to re-supply fresh produce.  Then the weather got real nice, making it that much harder to just walk the neighborhood.

Staying distant as possible, we took a road trip to the Prineville Reservoir. Mostly we just wanted to see what was and what was not open.

Turns out the BLM has gated off the places with parking lots. Campgrounds were closed to camping and the signs said to keep socially separated.

That wasn’t a problem.  Tip found a spot to cool down and roll in some dirt.

Yeah, he needed that!

The drive didn’t really cover much distance, but it did wonders for our spirits.

There are lots of places you can go and still be more than six feet … just have to be careful about parking at trail heads, boat landings and campgrounds.

 

Posted on

Tight-line Dead Drift

For a few years now we’ve been dabbling with the ‘Euro-nymphing’ flyfishing technique. About this time last year we got some formal instruction from Mary Ann Dozer. Then this week we finally broke down and purchased a dedicated euro-nymph rod.

I found an Orvis ten foot three weight that cost less than two hundred dollars. It arrived this week, so we took it out for a test cast on the Crooked River.

Euro, or tight line nymphing uses a two fly rig with weighted wet flies or split shot. As the name implies this is fished with the line kept taut through the arch of the drift.

The day was warm, for mid-February, and sunny. We hooked up to several fish and caught a couple of decent ones. There is an old adage which says, “a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.”

Well … this was a GREAT day on the river.

Posted on

Snow Boots

Right after the holidays Central Oregon got a huge boost to the snow pack.  In the few years since moving here we’ve grown accustomed to these “foot in a day” dumps of snow. The scene outside our front door can change dramatically in a matter of hours.

Luckily the neighborhood gets a regular snow plowing and our Subaru has it’s winter boots on. We’re basically ready for winter’s inevitable challenges.

As pointed out numerous times in our blog, morning walks with Tip is how we start the day. The addition of a layer of snow means you need to add traction devices to boots and boots to paws.

The latter can be a bit of a challenge. Tip doesn’t mind wearing boots, however they do add to prep time. Then there is the occasional occurrence with boots coming off in deep snow.

Often the walk will start with boots on and end with them in pockets … we’ll get the hang of this eventually. For now we don’t let it interfere with the morning’s activities.

Posted on

Stick Game

December’s snow melted away between Christmas and the first part of January. We took the opportunity to do some exploring along the upper Deschutes River.  It’s closed to fishing this time of year, meaning far fewer people and with only a hint of snow on the roads you can get nearly to Wickiup Reservoir via USFS roads.

At one spot we stopped to grab some pix of lichen and such with the macro lens.

Tip figured it was a good time to play a bit of fetch. He proceeded to pull a stick from the pine needles and insisted one of us throw it for him.

This game can last a few minutes or carry on for half an hour … today it was a brief game before we got back on the road and continued exploring.