Category: walkabout / local

rDay Five-Hundred-Thirty-Six: Critter

This morning as we walked through the dense brush on the bank between the Rinehart Canyon cliffs and the Grande Ronde River, I heard a yelp up ahead, not sure whether it came from Kim or Charlie, who were perhaps 30 yards in front of me, invisible. I could only see a few feet ahead as the foliage was about head-high and the path was tightening, so I saw nothing out of the ordinary. But in a couple of seconds my phone rang and Kim was reporting that Charlie, walking ahead of her, stepped right over what she presumed to be a dead rattlesnake, but as she got near, it suddenly coiled and emitted an audible warning. She said that she dove through the brush at the side of the path to get past, and advised me to do the same. Some visuals:

More photo doc from Rinehart Canyon to follow.

rDay Five-Hundred-Thirty-Five: A Swift Conclusion

Tried again tonight, joining about half a dozen other diehard watchers.  In the space of just under an hour, we saw two swifts darting about and circling.  One finally appeared to dive into the chimney.  The other was not seen again.  We went home.  Will mark our calendars to revisit the scene in September 2017.

P.S.  This is an example of what was supposed to happen, what we were trying to see (this from September 2013 in Portland):

rDay Five-Hundred-Thirty-Four: Not Too Swift

This afternoon I slipped down to Max Square as rumor had it that hordes of migrating swifts would be plunging into a local chimney on the five-floor Foley Building downtown.  At 4pm, I saw about fifty birds circling the rooftops for a few seconds, then they disappeared.  Charlie and Kim joined me an hour or so later, and by that time, a fairly large crowd was assembling.  Matt Cooper (classical and jazz pianist extraordinaire), in a show of versatility and sensitivity to local tastes, provided entertainment with the help of his bluegrass band.  Food vendors were on hand.  And lots of people with dogs.  

Earlier I had chatted with a gentleman who pointed out the chimney to watch (he turned out to be mistaken, and I missed much of the main event) and tried to make me believe that between 10,000 and 40,000 swyfts were expected.  I ended up seeing no more than 40 – 50 at a time, and except for the early sighting, those didn’t appear until about 7pm, some two hours after the predicted and advertised time.  Nevertheless, we did a good deal of people and dog watching, took in the sunset and were able to connect with Nik for a few minutes around 7:30pm after he came off his work shift.  We intend to try again tomorrow night, but with proper placement at a vantage point that will allow for a more generous viewing than tonight’s.  

You may contest this statement, but several photos below, particularly of the chimney views, do include up to 20 or 30 birds each in the distance.  You may have some difficulty picking them out — what we have here is a Failure to Photograph.  But there is tomorrow night …

rDay Five-Hundred-Thirty: Labor Day

Today, Labor Day, saw our morning mostly given over to rest and relaxation and reading, both aloud and silently of the previously-discussed works of Jane Gardam and Sarah Bakewell.  And more of The Ascent of Woman in the evening. The afternoon and early evening were a bit more eventful …

The Matter of the Deer

Of more pressing concern than cougar presence would be the activity of the marauding herds of deer that seems to greatly increase starting about this time of year. If you walk around the neighborhood, you will easily see several of the creatures, almost on any block, grazing in front and back yards, resting by the sidewalks and under trees and even crossing well-trafficked streets. There are almost as many deer on each residential street as there are Subarus.

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In  the past couple of years, Kim has found a novel way to impede this insurgency and ward off the deers’ goat-like behavior of eating all foliage in sight. Her method has been to attach strips of reflective foil at the top of fencing, apparently scaring off the animals as the strips flap in the breeze and bounce flashes of light about. However, because the solution is not particularly durable, Kim is experimenting with the use of old CDs, hanging in pairs with their reflective sides out. So this Labor Day we started outfitting the front gate, and will soon follow with the backyard gate and the adjoining un-hedged strip of fence. And Kim has now secured the west gate that they have been pushing aside to enter alongside that end of the house.

Charles the Invincible

Picture this: Our afternoon/early evening dog walk often finds us on the grounds of the nearby high and elementary schools. The upsloping terrain presents a soccer and sports practice field, a full-sized track and a football practice field with adjacent playground, all contiguous but on different elevations. I generally am doing laps around the central track, while Kim and Charlie run throughout the rest of the area. This is a popular dog venue, and Kim often has to exert some discipline to keep Charlie from inappropriate encounters. On one of my laps, I suddenly saw Charlie bolt at extreme velocity up over the rise from the field below the track, then lost sight of him, then he reappeared again in a blaze of speed, being hotly pursued by a trio consisting of a Lab, a German Shepherd and a slightly smaller unidentified breed. Kim later told me that she witnessed the entire spectacle and saw Charlie outrun his pursuers, despite having legs of about half their length. And when they gave up, Charlie turned and gave chase to them, but their owners soon took custody of the beasts and Charlie returned to the company of his mistress. Some time I must get some video of Charlie at speed; it is something to behold.  Especially in contrast to his Shade-Dog alter-ego.
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Epilogue

For the customary late afternoon stroll, we walked about the neighborhood, exploring some seldom-seen alleys and back streets and trying to keep The Charles out of trouble.