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Tag Archives: walk

November Walks

The mostly gray weather has not kept us inside at all. We try to get at least one walk everyday. The dogs (and I) would go stir crazy if we didn’t get out regularly.

 

Ken’s friend Bill came up from Yakima with his dog Rani
Black and Blue
Ahhhhhh
Sky wanted Rani to be her mentor but Rani would have none of it. She has become a curmudgeon.
Hairy Woodpecker listening
And looking
Listening
And pecking
Oregon grape in front of an unnamed pond.
Nice fall colors and reflections
Buffleheads and mergansers
Reeds and reflections
Sky makes her way through tall grass
Another view of the same pond
Nice color
Sky keeps up with Mary Ann

Frosty Morning Walk

Oh this puppy is growing! She’s now over twenty pounds and was just ten when we started with her almost four weeks ago! And the cuteness is growing just as fast. At some point she will become a teenaged dog and we will yearn for these days.

A sunny morning was welcome after the last couple of gray days. It was a good opportunity to try out a new ‘superzoom’ camera too. It goes out to 600 mm and is small enough to easily carry around.

 

Mountain Chickadee
Frosty bitterbrush
Following her nose
Oh! What’s that?
Mt Robinson, I think
Hey! Whatcha doin?
Goat Peak
Zoomed out to 600, I can see the lookout
Love the sun shining through the trees
Up the driveway
A boy and his dog
And let’s not forget about Luna.

Walk by the River

One evening last week we enjoyed a quiet stroll along the river. It is running quite high, normal for this time of year, and the side channels are all full too. Cottonwoods and aspens are as green as they can be. Grasses are lush. Spring.

 

It’s nice to have the footbridge to access this piece of state land

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It was built by the previous owner

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That thing in the side channel counts salmon smolts as they pass by

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Pretty clear water for this time of year

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Lush

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Where the side channel meets the river

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Evening sky reflections

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Ken threw rocks in water

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San Poil Moments

Along the way, Luna and I stopped in the San Poil valley to visit Dixie and her people. It’s a beautiful valley and sparsely populated. Our friends live on an old ranch with about a mile of riverfront – excellent habitat for birds, bears, moose and other animals. We walked and walked while Luna and Dixie ran and jumped and rolled in the mud! After the agility trial where dogs don’t get to play with other dogs, Luna was entirely relieved to see her old pal Dixie and bounded out of the car when we arrived.

 

 

On July 20th, a huge storm known as a micro-burst hit this area and tore down thousands, if not millions of trees. You can read about it here. Power was out for a week or more. Everywhere you go, you can see the damage. One area I saw looked like it had been clear cut.

 

Now that the wet season has started, people are burning debris leftover from the storm

 

Old farm machinery

 

They have draft horses to pull this sleigh and also for farming and logging.

 

So much dog fun!

 

Dixie is a McNabb, similar in appearance to a smooth-coated border collie

 

Rope growing moss. How cool is that?

 

Canada Geese flew off the river

 

The front yard. Peregrine Falcons nest there. Rattlesnakes den in those rocks.

 

A well-constructed beaver dam

 

These trees are full of birds in the spring and summer. Pretty quiet now.

 

Very pretty place

 

More moss

 

The neighbors’ cabin does not have indoor plumbing.

 

 

Early Morning Birdwalk

I was up early and out on the wet hillside this morning, hoping to hear birds and try to figure out which ones were singing. It was a glorious morning after all the rain we’ve had this week. Rubber boots were the fashion statement of the morning. I meant to take the big camera but, somehow managed to leave it behind so once again, Instagram to the rescue. Really, I mean to get serious about photography again. Soon. Really.

 

That’s our nicest pine tree

 

The ground is starting to heal nicely after the April 17th brush fire

 

Sunrise!

 

I think these are Douglas sunflowers

 

I don’t think the pines down in the draw are going to survive

 

Here’s something new

 

Lots of chokecherry blossoms this year

 

Target practice?

 And birds. Here is the list of birds I was able to identify by sight or sound:

California Quail

Dusky Grouse

Red-tailed Hawk

Mourning Dove

Rufous Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Western Wood-Pewee

Willow Flycatcher

Say’s Phoebe

Warbling Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Common Raven

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

House Wren

Western Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Western Tanager

Black-headed Grosbeak

Brewer’s Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Cassin’s Finch

Pine Siskin