I try, when I can (which usually means when it doesn't inconvenience me too much), to be environmentally conscious. My kids can attest to this from their own personal experience growing up with Ol' Smilin' Jack.
I was, to put it mildly, frugal. Very, very frugal. And so my strong desire to conserve energy dovetailed nicely with my even stronger desire to conserve my money. And these two combined to make me a fierce advocate of "Turn the light off!!", " Who left the door open!?!", "You don't need to watch TV and listen to the radio!!" and, finally, "Close the refrigerator door!! Decide what you want before you open it!!" And I did it all primarily in the name of conservation. Honest.
All this preamble was to logically lead you into my story about combining three trips into one on today's adventure. You see, we'd learned about a bird walk being held every Wednesday at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Well, to us, that's like waving a hamburger at Jughead Jones...it's irresistible.
Not wanting to just drive down there for the one thing, we planned our shopping there at Walmart. It was time to restock the larder with all the essentials...chips, candy and soda. Hahaha, no!! Turkey hamburger, whole-wheat bread and 2% Low Fat Milk. I'm totally health conscious. Until I drive by a McDonald's.
So there we were, two trips for the price of one. I was feeling good. Then, to my absolute delight, the Newport Freddy Meyers called and said the recliner we'd ordered a week ago was there and so...POW!! We now had a third errand to add to the list as we made our drive, all 25 or so miles of it, to Newport.
Hahaha! Shazam!! I was transformed into Captain Enviromento, just like Billy Batson transformed himself into the amazing Captain Marvel!!
Fun Facts: (Cuz I always stay on track in my stories and never go off on a tangent) When there was danger afoot, Billy Batson would speak the magic word "Shazam" and transform himself into Captain Marvel with the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight and other amazing abilities.
In classic Captain Marvel (CM) stories, the word is an acronym of the six figures form whom Billy's magical powers derived: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.
CM was the first comic book superhero to be adapted into film, in a 1941 Republic Pictures serial titled Adventures of Captain Marvel.
Popular in the 40s, he even outsold Superman, they stopped publishing Captain Marvel comics in 1953 because, in part, of a copyright infringement suit alleging that CM was a copy of Superman.
CM was ranked as the 55th Greatest Comic Book Character of All Time by Wizard magazine. IGN ranked CM as the 50th Greatest Comic Book Hero of All Time stating that he will always be an enduring reminder of a simpler time. Shazam, Captain Marvel!! That is entirely true.
Hahaha, that was fun. Now let's get this train back on its tracks, shall we!?! We shall. So we now had a third reason to drive on down to Newport and I was feeling pretty smug with myself. And so, with our plan in place and an adventure waiting to happen...as well as a new, comfortable recliner to pickup, we set off....
....to the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) in Newport. Stop #1 for today's adventure.
Fun Facts: During its nearly 50 years, the HMSC has evolved into a leading marine lab distinguished by its collaborative research partnerships. It started as a marine lab for Oregon State University (OSU), HMSC is now a resource for Visiting Scientists and Marine Science Students, combining expertise, location and infrastructure, including a world-class seawater system, experimental wet labs and OSU's Guin Library.
Plus they have some really great interactive exhibits set up for the kids. You'll see.
They have a 47-acre campus set up for the facility and there are plans underway now to establish resident housing for about 450 students here. Big plans for the future.
But always time for a flower or two, right!?!
Not sure of where to meet up for the bird walk, we went into the visitor's center and, WOW!! They have got quite a set up in here...and it was busy, too. Full of rug rats having fun and learning something, too.
And that, that thing hanging from the ceiling, is a Sperm Whale Calf skeleton. Now that could catch a kid's attention. For a couple seconds anyway.
They're big on hanging skeletons from the ceiling here. This one is a California Sea Lion. Looks a bit more scary as a skeleton than when it was alive.
But then it was time to go. We were directed to where the guide was and we hooked up with the others.
This is Nancy Edwards, our guide for today's walk. She does the bird walk every Wednesday and there's another man who does a walk around the estuary there every Thursday.
And we were off.
And me? Well, I was looking for birds but other things caught my attention, too.
We saw plenty of cormorants and gulls. And a couple Blue Herons also. We also got some interesting information about the area and the birds themselves.
A popular hangout spot for all the really cool cormorants.
Fun Fact: Several years ago, a local saw that the Purple Finch population was in the area was waning. Ascertaining that it is due, primarily, to the loss of places to nest safely, he took action and put up a number of Purple Finch Bird Houses on all the old pilings in the bay.
You can see them on the pilings in this picture. And if it were a really clear picture you'd also see that he numbered all the bird nests, too. Maybe for rent control....something like that.
Another Queen Anne's Lace (QAL). This one is drying up into what Carol and I call a Hummingbird's Nest.
Fun Facts: I did not know this...it's a Daucus Carota. Some of its other names, besides QAL, are Wild Carrot, Bird's Nest and Bishop's Lace. But, and this is the fun part, the QAL is part of the carrot family. This plant is native to the temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia and naturalized to North America and Australia.
This wild carrot plant grows between 1 to 2 feet tall with lacy leaves. The flowers are small and dull white clustered in a dense umbels. As the seeds develop, the umbel curls up at the edges, becomes more congested and develops a concave surface. When it dries out, the umbels fall off the plant and become tumbleweeds.
The QAL is edible while a young plant, but you must be careful as it is similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock. Well, that's good to know. It's also somewhat satisfying to know that others have seen this plants eventual resemblance to a bird's nest like Carol and I did. Hahah, we're NOT crazy after all!!
(Hahahaha, thank goodness for Wikipedia!!)
OK, I honestly don't have a clue as to what these two stalwarts were searching for. I had thought they were clamming but then Nancy, the guide, said she didn't think so given the size of the bowl the guy in the white shirt was holding. Too small.
She thought they might be looking for shrimp but I just checked the 'Net and didn't see that suction tube thingie listed under "Shrimping Tools".
But they were out there and he was working that tube the whole time we were there. He'd plunge it into the mudflats, the tide was out, and then plop out what he'd pulled up. Then repeat. Again and again with no results.
Don't ask. I don't know.
They were unconcerned with us, totally focused on their task.
But here you get a wide view of Yaquina Bay.
And we got to see a Blue Heron come in for a landing waaaaay out there. We learned that these are exceedingly patient birds and will, as necessary, stand motionless for hours waiting for their prey to come along. Much like me in front of the TV....watching old movies on TCM.
The walk took us alongside the bay and towards the backside of the HMSC. Looking west, we could see the campus with the Yaquina Bay Bridge in the background.
It was lunchtime in the bay. Oh, heck, who am I kidding!?! It's almost always lunchtime if you're a gull. And when it isn't, it's breakfast time or dinnertime. They're crazy eating machines.
Nancy told us a story where she'd seen a gull eat a starfish. Whole. Took a while. These feathered rats can and will eat most anything.
These kids had their mud boots on and were amusing themselves while the adults were out clamming or whatever it is they do in the mudflats.
And these guys were into some serious digging out in the mud. We figure they are part of the HMSC doing some kind of research out in the bay. Whatever it was, they were doing it in earnest.
#hardatit
And, behind them, a gaggle.
Fun Facts: When they're on the ground, a group of geese is called a gaggle. When they're in the air they're called a skein, wedge or team. And, when they're flying in a close formation, they're called a plump.
This one just turned out OK. I believe this is a Queen Anne's Lace gone south, literally.
And then we ran across this tree, a Red Alder.
Fun Facts: This tree was considered a local Walmart by the first inhabitants of America. They used it for a lot of things. Native Americans used red alder bark to treat poison oak, insect bites and skin irritations. Blackfeet Indians used an infusion made from the bark of red alder to treat lymphatic disorders and tuberculosis.
The things you learn.
But, remember, we were on a bird walk and so I, remembering my pledge, worked at getting picture of the birds there. Even these pigeons.
But I was still looking down. The nearest I can figure out, these are berries. Yep!! I'm pretty darn sure these are some kind of berries.
Woo-Woo!! Some more birds. A couple of Finches, enjoying lunch.
That's a House Finch on the left and a Goldfinch on the right. And, yeah, for some reason I don't know, a House Finch is two words and the name for the other finch is just one.
Regardless, this goldfinch was one hungry guy. He stayed there, chowing down, for a long while.
The things you see; like this lone, rogue cloud sulking up there by itself. You wonder what he did to be excluded like that.
"None of the other clouds will play with me!!"
We were nearing the end of the tour and I was nearing the end of my attention span. My mind was beginning to wander....along with my camera.
But we finally made it back where we met this fellow.
Sad story, a Minke Whale, that was found washed up on the shore near here. Seems he had a fishing line wrapped, somehow, around his mouth and he starved to death.
Fun Facts: The minke whales are the second smallest baleen whale. Minke whales typically live for 30-50 years; in some cases they may live for up to 60 years.
And we were back in the Visitor's Center with all the exhibits. I can see where this would be a fun place to bring the kids on a rainy afternoon. Lots of interactive exhibits.
And lots of displays.
They've done a good job of laying out all the exhibits for the public. Plenty of room to move around.
And we got to see some baleen from a gray whale. Carol saw this and realized that she's seen this on our beach. Now she'll be on the look-out for it.
And, of course, a gift shop. Hahaha, I can't resist them. I rarely buy anything in them but I do like browsing.
It's a good thing I won't let myself get started with collecting refrigerator magnets. I'd have to buy a couple of spare fridges just to display them all.
Or T-Shirts. Man, there's only so many you can wear but I always feel a tug to get one at every gift shop I go in. Always.
And the visual eye candy for the kids. Absolutely useless but, boy, do the kids absolutely want them!!
Right in the center of the entryway they have a large tank for these rays. This one was enjoying the passing parade of humanity.
And, we were done. We still had several more errands to run and so we left the HMSC. I did note that they were flying their flag at half-mast for the murdered Servicemen from Chattanooga.
Well, we hustled on over to Freddy's where our recliner was loaded into the Mini. Then it was over to Taco Bell for some greasy, psuedo-Mexican fast-food sustenance (Mmmmm, good!!). And then to the Wally for shopping.
Hahaha, Captain Environmento conserves energy!!
What a guy!!
We got back and that hand cart I bought for the move came in handy, again. Bless that little green back-saver, I used it to manhandle the big box the chair was in into the house, with a little help from Carol Anne getting it up the steps.
And, we quickly got it out of the box and into position for....
....some serious relaxing.
This will become a very familiar sight to Carol.
#naptime #wherestheremote #bringmeabeerplease
And, yet, after all that energy saving, bird watching and chair testing, I still found time to make dinner. Hahaha, love the crock pot.
Tonight was Italian Chicken (you can barely see it under the mountain of peppers and onions there at the top of the plate) and some Turkey Stuffing for dinner.
Mmmmmmm, OK. I am reminded, again, that I'm not a big fan of Italian seasonings. But the Stovetop Stuffing was Dee-Lish!!
I know you're getting tired of this but tough toenails.
Hahaha, it's my moment and I'm going to milk it for all it's worth!!
The Lincoln City Newspaper, The News Guard, used my picture on the FRONT PAGE people!! The FRONT PAGE!!
OK, it's a small insert, but, hey!! It's on the front page!!
See it!?!
Shazam!!
Here, let me get closer so you can see it better.
Seriously, kudos to the responders for their quick reactions. They're all volunteers here. Way to go!! Second, thank goodness it worked out OK. The boy's family, all 23 of them, were here for summer vacation. Instead of a tragedy, they got a valuable lesson that will last with them for a long, long time. Thank goodness that's all they had to take away with them from this incident.
And so there it is. Another day and several more new adventures.
We got to see new places and we had a good time at the Science Center and learned some new things. Then there was getting a new recliner. Always fun.
Life is good, y'know, and easy.
Hooah!!
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