A Full-time Life

Category: Birds and Wildlife

Summer before it sizzled

Eugene Oregon is seriously HOT right now. We are also under a hazardous air quality alert because of a wildfire in the eastern sections of Lane County, so I'm posting some memories from the earlier and prettier part of the season.

Just like for almost everywhere these days, extreme heat and wildfire are both pretty much normal now for at least part of our summer months. The current fires are not a danger to us here in the City, except for the smoke and air inversion. We can only offer hope for the people affected by the flames. For our own health, we stay indoors as much as possible. Instead of any new day trips, one of us is planning for the future and the other is documenting the past. As usual, I'm the memory person and Bill is the planner, but we do work together on both.

All of the pictures in this post are very recent memories. I'm still working on some posts from our June trip. The ones directly below are from our son-in-law and daughter's yard back in July:

The butterfly was quite cooperative taking its time at each nectar stop. I'm usually not that lucky with these flighty beauties.

The pictures below are even more recent — from our trip to the Coast earlier this month. (We probably should have stayed there — it is always cooler at the Ocean!) To be perfectly honest, even without the heat and smoke we would probably be staying close to home right now anyway. We actually do a lot of that — I just don't often blog about it.

This is Simpson Beach at Shore Acres State Park. The eerie tree trunk in the center picture is along the path leading from the beach to the "tamer" part of the Park.

At the end of one of the forested paths from the beach viewpoint, you arrive at this small gate. On the other side, in just a few yards, you are in the middle of the precisely landscaped gardens of Shore Acres. The entire park, including the beach, forest, lawns and gardens, was once the estate of the Simpson lumber baron family. Heirs donated the property to the State for public use.

We were kind of between flowering seasons at the Gardens, but there is always beautiful color and the Japanese-style garden and pond are so calm and restful. We visit Shore Acres almost every summer — one of my favorite State Parks. I like the combination of wild and tame.

Store front mural, Bandon Oregon

I am grateful for the memories and enjoy planning for future ones. But this week I'm especially grateful for not-so-simple things that don't get blogged about — the shade trees around our home that keep the outside temperature a little lower than the official reading and the air conditioner and air purifier that continue to keep it comfortable indoors.

LINKING THIS WEEK (and next) to these sharing opportunities:

THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS ; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; and MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

August 17, 2023
It’s Been Verified

Yes it is absolutely true — the Pacific Ocean is still there. We can personally verify it since we just returned from a lovely weekend getaway to Oregon's South Coast. There was sunshine!

We stayed in Coos Bay — at a Hotel! The first hotel stay in how ever many centuries it has been since Covid restrictions began. Really, we visited the ocean several times during those years, because we could use our camper trailer and not worry about other people.

I love camping, but of course it is a treat not to have to pack food or make up our bed. This was a birthday trip — we are both August Leos. But thanks to the Travel Planner the trip happened on my actual B-Day. I'm lucky. And grateful.

The Oregon Coast is special because of the way trees and greenery grow right down to the sand. The above pictures are from Shore Acres State Park.

Weird and wonderful rock formations on the beach at Shore Acres. They look like a giant's playground.

Driving from Shore Acres to Simpson Reef. The fawn crossed in front of us — his mother followed .

Simpson Reef is home to about a thousand sea lions — give or take a few hundred. That dark line at the edge of the sand is solid sea lions. Sadly, my good camera ran out of juice before I got pictures. They were too far away for my little one. (But I certainly was glad to have it.) The next picture is from an earlier trip (and the bigger camera). But it is from the same place.

Shore Acres and Simpson Reef are two of our favorite spots on the Oregon Coast. Although I really can't think of any place along "our" Coast that does not meet that qualification!

Linking this week to the following. Thanks to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

August 21, 2022
Delta Ponds, Goodpasture

The (best) walk of the week started at the Goodpasture Island Road entrance to Eugene's Delta Ponds. Great walk for photos, not for exercise — I stop a lot!

Great Blue Heron

That's OK though because I'd rather take pictures. It was cooler than it has been since we got home and slightly overcast. I haven't yet been able to motivate myself to walk early in the morning. On hotter days, by the time I get out there the birds are wisely hiding out.

Pied Billed Grebe

So this day was pretty much perfect because the birds were happy with the cooler weather too.

Green Heron

Guessing on the photo above, but I think it's a green heron. Too far away for a better ID (highly cropped obviously).

Scrub Jay

The 2022 World Track Championships are currently taking place here in Eugene. an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 visitors are here watching these world-class athletes — and spending time and money. It's a big deal for our small city! No coverage on this blog because we aren't really track fans and we are still trying to stay away from crowds. But it's impossible not to be interested and we are following coverage on-line and in our local newspaper (which is also on-line these days of course.)

Real Oregon Ducks

We are on the other side of town from the University and Stadium area so haven't noticed much increase in traffic. The area's largest shopping mall is within walking distance and it is being used as a park and ride shuttle for ticket holders. Like most malls these days though there's tons of extra parking, so I don't think even shoppers will be inconvenienced.

They're everywhere! Canada Geese.

All said and done, I'd much rather watch birds than sit in a crowded arena watching people, no matter how talented they are. But there is something for everyone here in Eugene this week — and that's a good thing!

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

NATURE NOTES; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; WILD BIRD Wednesday;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B' BIRDING

July 17, 2022
Happy to be here

Happy to be back from an unintended vacation from blogging. We have been busy and well — the time away was caused by computer failure. My poor PC gave up the ghost! After several trips to the "not-quite-as-Best-as-it-used-to-be" store, my new machine is finally here. And installed and ready to go, thanks to the in-house computer person (the one in our household who is not me).

And now all I have to do is remember how to use it. I'm thankful to be back and to have new pictures to share. And very grateful that my old ones were safely restored.

Ruddy Turnstone

Except for the memory collage a little way below, the pictures in today's post were taken on Captiva Island last week. It was our first real boating excursion in over two seasons.

We stayed two nights (aboard our boat) at the historic Tween Waters Inn. It is located on Captiva Island be'tween' Pine Island Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Click on the sign to read some of its history.

It was kind of a bitter-sweet time because we went with good friends who have sold their winter home on the Canal and will not be back next season. They are the ones who really helped us get to know the good places to boat here in SW Florida.

Brown Pelican

We have had so much fun together, boating and ashore, during our twelve seasons here. We will miss them.

This collage is not from last week, but is just a few memories from past boat trips with these (and other) friends.

We didn't let the bitter over-rule the sweet on this trip and we had fun together. By this time in our lives, we all know that change happens.

Ospreys on historic Tween Waters cottage

Here's to happy times: Past, present, and to come!

More Sunset from Tween Waters Beach, Captiva Island (Pine Island Sound)

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

May 1, 2022
In the Jungle

In the jungle, the urban jungle …

the monster sleeps tonight

You never know what you might find in the jungle. But things aren't always what they seem, especially when seen through a zoom lens. Here's the way the monster (an anole lizard) looked with the naked eye.

Points if you can identify the acrobatic bird in the first picture (or if you can even tell it IS a bird). More points if you even see the bird in the center picture. (Against the jungle background, the anhinga's wings look disembodied.)



The same heron as in the collage above — in a more normal (and more attractive) pose.

Waterways wind through the jungle.

Common Galllinule (Moorhen)

There were several moorhens, but they all refused to turn around for me. I did like this picture because it shows its weird feet. I've heard a lot of people call this bird a "duck", but those feet prove otherwise. Yes, it's a swimming bird. But not a duck! Things are not always what they seem.

And this whole post is really not what it seems … this jungle is really part of a County Park, within the city limits of Fort Myers. And within sight of these condo towers. All pictures were taken on a walk at Lakes Park — another nature fix on a run-of-the-mill errand day.

Ending with another beautiful SW Florida sunrise (from our backdoor). Grateful for the daily reminder that every day is a new beginning.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

February 27, 2022
WE ARE STILL HERE!

In Blogland, we've been away for awhile …

but in real life we're still here on earth.

Happily, we're now at home, getting re-acquainted with our little corner of the world here on the Caloosahatchie River in Florida. But that's not where I took the above photo. I did the familiar "stop, gotta get a picture" yell as we passed through Earth, Texas — really just a rather run-down wide spot in the road — on the second leg of our cross-country trip. (The sign was the only photo-worthy part of the town.)

All of the rest of the pictures in today's post are from Colorado — our favorite stop on our trip.

The Autumn color was a feast for the eyes and the company was wonderful as always in beautiful Colorado. We visited our son and daughter-in-law in a part of the state that was new to us — Lisa and Geoff had moved into a brand-new home, on the Western side of the Rockies, just a couple of months earlier. We really enjoyed our stay — we always have such a good visit and it was fun to explore new territory. The gorgeous scenery was a huge bonus — the State really lives up to the motto "colorful Colorado" this time of year.

I'm not ready to post about the whole trip in any kind of chronological order yet (pictures to label and sort and real-life getting organized still going on here). Above are some more Colorado pictures featuring blue skies and more golden Aspens. (And our youngest son getting very close to the edge of a cliff.) By this time in my life, he didn't even scare me too much.

Gunnison Sage Grouse

An "accidental sighting " on one of our exploring days. I wasn't even looking for birds, but this one practically asked me to take its picture.

Ouray County, Colorado

More to come from Oregon, Colorado, Florida and points in between.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

November 7, 2021
OLD FAVORITES

It's kind of in-between seasons here in the Eugene area. Too late for summer and too early for Fall color. And no wildlife sightings. I took not a single outdoor picture last week. In fact, I took no pictures at all anywhere. That really doesn't happen too often in our world! But thankfully there are memories to share as we get ready to make some new ones.

Autumn Flyover – Snow Geese and Sandhill Cranes – New Mexico, 2006

This was our second visit to the amazing Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge.

Last week, I didn't have any pictures to link to Skywatch Friday nor anything to link to Saturday Critters, so this post is definitely trying to make up for those omissions. As always I appreciate the hosts of all the sharing opportunities.

Immature Little Blue Heron and Roseate Spoonbill

Corkscrew Audubon Wildlife Refuge, Florida

Corkscrew is just enough out-of-the-way from our Florida Canal Cottage that we don't go there regularly, but it is always a joy when we do. It's definitely on the list for next time.

Colorado

Feeding Moose, Mountain Goat, and Elk in or near Rocky Mountain National Park

Pictures are from three different visits. Our Colorado family has moved to another area of that beautiful state and we are excited to see them and learn more about the new area. I'm sure the camera will come out of hiding there if not before!

So yes, we are planning to hitch up soon and head off for a (still) socially-distanced and masked road-trip. We always enjoy the journey but also look forward to visits with other people we know are vaccinated. I'll be taking a break from posting for a little while. But I will be reading and catching up with other blogger's adventures as we travel. When the tiny trailer is parked for the night and it's too early to go to bed, our IPads are the source of the evening's entertainment. Your posts are far more entertaining than the TV set that we took out of the trailer so that we'd have more storage space. I haven't missed it at all.

Grateful for everyone who visits and comments here at Full-Time Life. Thanks for your interesting posts and a special thank you to those who host the sharing opportunities where I link. This week, these:

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

September 12, 2021
WILD MEMORIES

Sticking close to home this week doing some fun stuff that I don't document well with photographs. You know, like cooking, eating, reading, walking, visiting with local family. Of course I do take pictures sometimes when I do the latter two things, but photo-worthy nature subjects are hard to find around here on hot, dry August days. I might have to teach myself to take decent pictures of food and people at least during the height of summer.

We are also hopefully planning some not-too-distant travel (and I think everyone knows by now what I mean by "we" in this context.) I am grateful to the Travel Planner. I am also glad our weather here in Oregon seems to be cooling down some and I look forward to a few more good photo walks here. Meanwhile, while the other half of us is planning for the future, I'm collecting memories from the past. Obviously, I've also been trying to sort through a million or so digital photos.

I do better making family portraits of birds and animals than I do of human ones. Here are a few:

Top row: hungry baby Great Blue Heron and mom – Wakodahatchee Nature Center Florida; Pie-Billed Grebe family, Fern Ridge Lake Oregon; Swan Family, Germany River Cruise

Middle: Sandhill crane family, Upriver RV Resort Florida; Wood stork with baby in nest, Wakodahatchee; Whistling Ducks, Florida.

Bottom row: Burrowing Owl family, Cape Coral Florida; Stork Family, Wakodahatchee; Ospreys, Florida Keys

Pronghorn Antelope, Hart Mountain Refuge Oregon

The above is not my best or favorite animal picture by far but it is from the one and only place I didn't post about after our July trip to Eastern Oregon so it gets a separate picture. Below are some pictures that really are candidates for favorite animals — and favorite places visited.

Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado; Bison, British Columbia; Brown Bears, Alaska;

Moose, Rocky Mountain NP; Mountain Sheep, Colorado; Musk Ox, Prudhoe Bay Alaska

Mother and Baby Moose, Cook Inlet Alaska; Stone Sheep, British Columbia; Caribou, Alaska

Virtual nature viewing is almost as much fun as the real thing! I love the way digital cameras make it possible to capture all these memories. Here's a fly-in memory shot from another trip:

Happy September everyone.

Don't forget to say Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit on Wednesday.

Addendum from Wikipedia: "Rabbit rabbit rabbit" is a superstition found in Britain and North America wherein a person says or repeats the words "rabbit", "rabbits" and/or "white rabbits" aloud upon waking on the first day of a month, to ensure good luck for the rest of it. The origin of the superstition is unknown.

LINKING to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; WANDERING CAMERA; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS;

August 29, 2021
GOING COASTAL

We enjoyed a lovely three-day getaway to the beautiful Oregon Coast last week.

It is always a joy to be at the ocean and I never tire of the Pacific coast. An added benefit this time was getting out of the heat in our valley.

These pictures are all from Yachats State Park, one of the best places to view this wild coast. We had a a perfect day for it.

This is such a good place to play outside! There is a walking trail and when the tide is right those rocks are great for climbing and exploring. (Although we don't do as much of that as we used to!) There was one thing marring the day's perfection. We spotted a fin, which could have been a joyful occurrence, but instead turned out to be very sad.

This poor baby Blue whale died and washed up in this cove. Every year, thousands of whales migrate along our coast and sometimes they don't make it. The baby may have been killed by an orca or died of natural causes. It is all a part of nature, but for whatever reason whales are one of those animals with which we bond emotionally, so it was sad to see.



We joke sometimes that over the years we've stayed in every hotel, vacation rental, and campground along the Oregon coast. That's not quite true, but the above rental duplex just across the street from the beach above is one where we have stayed a few times in the past. Not this time though — instead, we took the tiny trailer and we were camped about 45 minutes south of Yachats at one of the coastal lakes between Florence and Reedsport.

Woahink Lake

This lake access across the highway from the RV Park where we stayed was a nice place for an evening walk.

Beaver, Egrets, and ducks on Siltcoos Lake.

We drove around the lake one day taking a long detour as we headed further south to explore Coos Bay. Somehow, I forgot to take any more pictures but it was a very pleasant day with different views and some positive changes to this familiar coastal town that were fun to see. We ate a delicious seafood dinner at a new restaurant with a lovely bay view (and Covid-protocol observing staff and patrons). Eating out is certainly a far rarer occurrence for us these days than it used to be! On the way back to Eugene the next day, we stopped at Winchester Bay and brought home oysters which Bill grilled. And that meal was even better.

LINKING this week to the following: Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; WANDERING CAMERA; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; FRIDAY BLISS; and SATURDAY CRITTERS

August 22, 2021
SUMMER LAKE AND DERRICK CAVE

All is well in our little corner of the world. It's too hot and dry here just as it is in pretty much the entire western part of the United States and Canada. We've had a few smoky mornings from the fires south and east of us but so far nothing is burning in the county where we live.

Summer Lake Wildlife Area

I'm still posting about our June trip to the other side of Oregon, an area that has not been so fortunate. When we visited, southeastern Oregon was dry with warm days and cool nights. This month it is hotter and drier and wildfires threaten some of the places we visited. One is burning near Summer Lake, where we visited the Wildlife Area.

American Avocet in Breeding Plumage

This wildlife area was established in 1944 by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife "to protect and improve waterfowl habitat and to provide a public hunting area." I wish they could alter that to add something like "public birdwatching area." I really do believe that is more important to many people these days than hunting.

Black-necked Stilt

We didn't really see a lot of game birds when we were there. Hunting is never allowed for shore birds and wading birds like the ones pictured here.

Avocets

Summer Lake is a real oasis for wildlife (and wildlife watchers) in the middle of this rather arid, desert-like part of our state. We can only hope that it will not be permanently harmed by these fires.

Summer Lake

Now on to another day's destination during this trip. (If I don't combine places, I will still be blogging about this trip when we're ready to start another one!)

At the visitor center at Fort Rock Historical Park we had seen "Derrick Cave" listed on "things to do in the Fort Rock area" so one day we set out to find it. As with everything on that side of Oregon, "this area" encompasses a lot more miles and acres than you might think. And rougher roads than you might expect. Wikipedia says "The road to Derrick Cave is very rough and there are no facilities at the site." Wikipedia does not lie! Bill drove in four-wheel drive for part of the way and, on our way out, in trying to make the drive a circle, we encountered the first dead-end road we found on this trip (but not the last). We backtracked often.

The cave is on Bureau of Land Management property and open to the public. However, we contented ourselves with the adventure of driving there and hiking in to view the cave once we finally arrived at the nearly unmarked location. They don't work real hard over there to make things easy for travelers. (Which is kind of nice in a way. We didn't see another soul on that day's journey and I'm not even sure we saw another car. )

There are eons of history connected to this hole in the ground! The tubular cave was created by lava flowing from a vent north of the cave. The exact age of the eruption is not determined but based on lava fields on the surface area is known to be between 6,845 years and 13,000 years ago.

Quite a bit more recently, but still quite a while ago, the cave was used by Fort Rock homesteaders as a summer recreation site — those pioneer families used ice formed in the cave. Then, during World War II, area residents planned to use the cave as an air-raid shelter, but it was never needed. In 1963, Derrick Cave was designated as a nuclear fallout shelter. Supplies of food and water for up to 1200 people were stored behind a locked steel door in the cave. Fortunately, the cave was never needed for this purpose. By 1970, all of the Civil Defense supplies had been stolen by vandals or removed by authorities.

Grateful for all the roads we take whether rough or smooth and all we learn from wherever they take us.

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities: Thank you to the hosts.

SATURDAY CRITTERS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS

July 16, 2021