Road Trip!! The day started out gray and wet but soon metamorphosed into something resembling a kinda nice day. In fact, as you'll learn, it became so warm, I regretted wearing my light sweat-jacket.
And that's definitely out of place for this area ... so far.
But, first, let's go back to the beginning to get started. You can sit on the couch and watch reruns of Forensic Files for only so long and then you start to get antsy and want to do something. Yard weeding had been taken care of. Shopping was done for the week. Too wet to go out and weed-whack. Bird-feeders were refilled and the dog's water dish out by the street was cleaned and filled. In other words, there weren't nuttin' to do around the homestead and so, our eyes turned to the south ... specifically to Fogarty Creek.
We've been to this park before; it was the one where I thought Carol had found the skull rock and so we thought we'd head back to it and see what was happening there today.
But first, Carol had to get all the bird poop off the Mini. It's unfortunate, but our parking place is directly under a telephone line and, evidently, it is the favorite place for crows with rampaging cases of chronic diarrhea. These bad boys have like miles and miles of telephone lines to choose from and yet they constantly land on the 20 feet or so directly over my Mini and then loosen their bowels.
Another reason to hate, despise and loath those jackdaws and magpies. Other than that they raid the bird-feeders and steal the dog biscuits I put out for the pooches.
Fun Facts: Crows, or corvids, can be found all over the world except for the southern end of South America. They originated in central Asia. The oldest corvid fossils have been found in Europe from 20-25 million years ago. Pretty good track record for survival. Kinda like cockroaches.
Crows will mate and remain together for years and some until they're parted by death!
They're fearless fighters, particularly when chasing bald or golden eagles. Hahaha, sometimes they'll pick up and drop stones, pinecones or sticks on people they've come into contact with.
Almost all corvids have been seen using tools. The Raven can even be taught to speak basic human language. Crows are emotional, too. They'll react to hunger and threats by vocalizing their feelings. They've been seen to display happiness, anger and sadness.
Crows are considered song-birds and possess a wide range of melodies. Some crows have even been taught to recite opera.
Crows also have an excellent memory. In fact, for their size, crows have the largest brains of all birds except some parrots. Their brain-to-body ratio is equivalent to that of a chimp and, amazingly, not far off that of a human.
I still don't like them.
And, once the poop was off the window, we were off and heading up the road to The 101.
Down through the lovely Tourist City of Lincoln and out on the open road for the short drive to the Fogarty Creek State Recreation Area.
Fun Facts: The park land, all 165 acres of it, were acquired from private owners and gifts between 1954 and 1978. The park and stream are named for Judge John J. Fogarty.
Fogarty was born in Ireland, in 1852, and settled in Oregon in 1884. From 1906 until 1910, he served on the Lincoln County Commission and later served as a judge of the circuit court. He died in 1923, but some of his ancestors still live in the area.
According to 'Pioneer History of North Lincoln County,' the creek here was originally known as Salmon Creek. Then, one Sunday in 1903, 'Mr. Fogarty, then a county commissioner, came wearing his Sunday clothes to look over a possible site for a bridge across the creek. He lost his footing and had to take an ''unscheduled swim.'' The other homesteaders wouldn't let John Fogarty forget his dunking and began calling the creek by his name.'
So that's the way to gain immortality!! Fall into a creek. Heck, I've done that or something close to that maybe two dozen times in my life. Ain't had nothing named after me yet.
Ratz.
But we were there and we were enjoying it.
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| CB |
Spring. It's a blast. Each of these little English, or Oxeye, Daisies are about the circumference of a dime.
Fun Facts: These beauties are considered a weed in some places. They think that the name 'daisy' is a corruption of 'day's eye', because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. Makes sense to me.
Daisy is also a common girl's name and is a nickname for girls named Margaret, after the French name for the oxeye daisy, 'Marguerite'. I did not know that. But, then, I can't recall ever having a friend named Margaret.
You see some of the best things looking down. Oh, and I've said it before but, doggone it, I do love me that zoom lenses.
The challenge is, as it always is in life, to discover how to use it well. I still have some distance to go to reach that goal. But I'm working on it.
And I've been bracketing my pictures, too. Trying to get the best shot.
The funny thing is, I was so far away and reaching out with my zoom that I never saw all the little buggies on these flowers. But the Rhodies were lovely.
Aha!!
I've been shooting moss on trees for a looooong time and I think I finally got one that was half-way presentable. Hahaha, well, I like it. The bracketing helped to isolate the subject and highlight the moss with what little sunlight was available.
I mentioned earlier that the park is 165 acres. The beach area is actually pretty small. It's essentially a cove along the coast where the bluffs are far enough back to allow a beach area. Most of the park is taken up with forest. They even have a 4-mile long trail there.
See what I mean when I say it is a forest. This area is just so rich in forests and each and every time it is a new experience.
A passel of Creeping Buttercups and English Daisies.
Honest, I could spend a couple hours shooting these things. But I am too lazy to get down and shoot the way I should.
Carol headed directly for the beach while I took a short walk through the forest. When I was heading out to the beach, I got to see this guy, a Northern Flicker. He was polite enough to pose for a bit before he took off looking for food.
And, finally, I made it out to the beach, too.
This beach has the darkest sand. Each grain is a different color and they're large.
And there's the obligatory basalt rock formations in this cove like there is all up and down the Oregon coast. Look at those rocks balancing up on the formation.
And tucked into the leeward side of the formation were these.
Hahaha, Mother Nature, you're a gas.
And it was pretty busy out there today.
To give you an idea of the consistency of the sand at this beach. It is all large, dark and loose. Your foot would sink into that sand with every step. There were a lot of rocks along this beach.
Here's some of the pictures that Carol took on her beach adventure with her cell phone.
Trusty cell phone.
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Someday we're going to find one of these that will make a stand for your pen. Hahaha, we'll keep on looking.
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Carol likes to collect pictures of the small treasures she finds along the beach. She can't take them but she can take a picture to remind her of these adventures.
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A tiny Pacific Rock Crab. Carol found it behind some rocks and hauled him out for a photo shoot and then put him back where he was.
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A Moon Jellyfish. We see these little guys all over. Fortunately, their toxins are not dangerous to us. Otherwise ...
Take a closer look at the composition of the beach here at Fogarty Creek. It's rough and larger.
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Carols' always on the hunt for Heart Stones. She's got quite a collection of them at home.
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| CB |
OK, when we finished with the beach, we went over to Boiler Bay State Wayside to have our lunch. We wanted to eat and look over the ocean.
And as soon as we sat down, we had an audience.
We had a pretty good spread for lunch and these guys knew it.
Hahaha, this one was the brassiest and we got him to actually come up and take the food from our hands. And he was well rewarded for his boldness.
These guys hung back and watched ... and preened.
Our picnic table was just behind the Mini so you can't see it. But all these gulls could. And they were patiently waiting to see if any more goodies would be forthcoming.
I took a walk on over to look at Boiler Bay. A pretty rough and rugged bay.
And I saw this cormorant hanging out, literally, on the side of the bluff.
What a view. Looking north towards Cascade Head and Lincoln City.
Just beyond the Bay is another beach.
I mentioned it was rugged. It is. I don't think too many people have been down this way.
More cormorants out and taking the sun.
Along with some Harbor Seals. I hadn't known there were seals at Boiler Bay. Now I do.
The tide was in and the water was rough. I stand in awe of the power of the tidal ocean. It'd be tough to keep your footing on this small patch of rock.
And there were a couple of whale-watching boats out today. We were talking about them when we saw a whale breach about a hundred yards or so from the lead boat.
Hahaha, I guess they do know where the big guys are.
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So for a quick trip, this was a lot of fun. It goes back to my philosophy that you find your own fun. And you can find it most anywhere you want to look. It's all in the attitude, I guess.
But we had a good time. How often do you get to traipse through the woods, walk along a beach, see some seals, feed the gulls and spot a whale while lunching alongside the Pacific Ocean?
It's good.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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