So Much To Do - 7/25/15

Or: So Little Time for Napping!!

Busy days, these. Entertaining Carol's Canadian Cousins (C3?) and now, today, another bird walk. Oh, it's tough being me....oh, so terribly tough. Yes, it is.

Hahaha, as if!! We had a great time seeing Brian and Lorraine and wish them a safe trip back to The True North, Strong and Free or, as I like to call it, America's Ice Box, Eh!?! Hahaha, I know, lame, right??

And as for the walks, they are always fun and always interesting. We've gotten to see so many different places just from these walks. Plus, we learn something new each time we go out. 

Individually, each of those is a good reason for going on the walks. Together, well, it's a no-brainer. So even though I didn't feel too well last night and I managed to sleep in until 0830 this morning, we both got it together so we were at the walk at 0855. If you ain't early, you're late, folks.

And so we were there and ready for another interesting walk...this one through the Friends of Wildwoods & Trails, Open Space.

There were 14 of us for the walk this morning. Ian gave us an early morning pep-talk and an orientation about the Open Spaces before we began our walk.

He is one knowledgeable young man, he is. He got his degrees in Fishery but he's also well-versed in forestry and zoology. 

Hey, look!! There's the Ol' Faithful Mini behind Ian and Caren.

As soon as we were finished with the orientation and the introductions, we set off. And what a kick it was. Who knew there was this park, this rain forest of a park right here in the center of LCO!?!

Here, through the Magic of Google, you can get an idea of where the Open Space is...not exactly smack-dab in the middle of the city, but close enough for government work, y'all.

Oh, and on an unrelated note, I've ordered two kayaks and in about a week or so, we'll be off and kayaking around Devils Lake!!  Woo-Woo!!

But, seriously, let's stay with the task at hand, shall we!?! Hahaha, we shall.

And we were off. What a beautiful park.

It had rained overnight and it was still kinda drizzly when we started our walk so we were all aware, even I, that there probably wouldn't be to many birds out and about this morning. In other words, those words coming from our intrepid leader, Mark, we were going on more of a bird listening walk than a bird watching walk.

OK, fair enough.

And so, knowing how poor my hearing is, I figured my chances of hearing any birds not closer than 10 feet away were slim to nada. With that in mind, I thought I'd just look at what I could see around me and, remembering that sage advice from a long ago forgotten photographer to always, on overcast days, shoot down for the best pictures, I shot down.

And knowing Carol's penchant for webs, I shot them. And there were plenty there in that forest.

Lots of different variety of trees, too.

CB

And, in addition to shooting down, Carol and I have added shooting small. There's a whole other world there when you can shoot macro. And look what Carol can do with her little cell phone camera.

I know it's barely visible here, but Carol blew up the bottom drop of sap and found a small spider, stuck inside.

Amazing.

CB

And there was plenty of small to shoot today.

From sap to really small mushrooms growing on the sides of a tree. The misty rain sure didn't bother the compositions, either. Hahaha, usually, when I get home and download my pics, I find myself wishing I'd brought a spray bottle of water along with me to help the pictures along. 

Today Nature provided that little extra for me.

Ian had told us that just the day before, right in this very Open Space, he had accidentally stepped on a ground wasp nest. He said he had several stings on his back and arms for this minor faux pas. So we were, as much as we were able, on the lookout for any suspicious mounds or holes while we were on our walk. We also tried to stay right in the middle of the trail, too.

It seems Ian and his crew were bushwhacking the trail back a bit when he met the wicked wasps.

And then, to our delight, we spotted this!! A wasp's nest, conveniently place high up in a tree. Everyone commented on how it looked like newspaper wrapped around. Painful, stingy newspaper.

Fun Facts: Wasps first appeared in the Jurassic, and diversified into a number of surviving superfamilies by the Cretaceous. They're a successful and diverse groups of insects, cousins to the bees and the ants. There are tens of thousands of described species. Wasps are known in every part of the world except for the polar regions. 

The largest wasp is the Asian Giant Hornet who is about 2 inches in length. the smallest wasps are the Chalcid Wasps, some of which are just .008 inches in length.

Uh, yuck.

Well, we got by the wasps. 

OK, I admit, I had a really strong urge to heave a couple of stones at the nest...just to see what would happen. But the others dissuaded me...some with dirty looks and others with threats of actual physical harm. 

I can take a hint.

So I returned to my picture-taking. And looking down. And, of course, looking at the small.

Hahaha, I like the repetitive pattern and color. Plus, I was feeling a little artsy-fartsy.

And, while we weren't having a lot of luck in seeing any birds, we were hearing them. A couple times folks got excited about a call they were hearing until they realized it was Caren playing the calls on her cell phone.

Whup!!

Another web. 

Oh, c'mon, give me a break. You knew this would happen.

We did, finally, see some birds. I saw a couple of Stellar's Jays, along with the others. I heard them talking about a couple more they had seen. I tried for some pictures, but they weren't successful. Those doggone Jays like to jump around the trees and didn't give me any real opportunities.

Listening...and hoping. 

Random shot. This is the back part of Mark's binoculars strap. I've seen it before and just wanted a picture. I saw my chance and I took it. Literally. With my camera.

We ran across this in the heart of the Open Space. Someone had put a lot of effort into this. I can see a couple of 12 and 13-year old boys laboring away on this. Hahaha, I saw a lot of these, on a smaller scale, at the Boy Scout Summer Camps I attended.

Course, now, if you'd told those same boys that they had to build this for their household chores, they'd have complained and carped and done a crummy job of it.

Hahaha, boys are sooooo predictable at times.

There were a number of trails to choose from in this open space.

And we saw plenty of these mushrooms. 

CB

Odd little things, aren't they? I wonder if they're edible? 

Anybody?

From the tall....

....to the small....

 ....we were looking at it all.

And I was really feeling the Ol' Artsy-Fartsy. 

Hahaha, I didn't say I was good at it, just that I was feeling it.

One of the things I really like about the groups on these walks is they are elastic. The group moves at its own speed and, more often than not, that speed isn't uniform. Folks move at their own pace but in the same general direction. And the little groups are elastic, too. You're talking with someone at this tree and then, 40 steps down the path, you're into a deep conversation with another person. Or not, it's up to you.

Today was no exception. At first we tended to stay together but then as we were headed back, things got a bit strung out. 

We saw several Stellar's Jays around this tree.

And, I think, my favorite shot of the day.

I don't know what these are. But they're interesting.

We had finished the walk and were waiting for the others to catch up and so I got a couple shots around where we'd parked. This is NE 26th Street and goes down to Devils Lake. It was right across from where we had parked the Mini.

Elderberries. I know because I was smart enough to ask. Otherwise, well, just otherwise.

And another of my favorites for today.

Well, we had to leave before the rest of the folks got back. We quickly drove on over to the DQ; for a well-deserved treat and for the necessary. As we were getting to the DQ, we'd passed a ball game and so after we took care of business, we doubled back to watch a little bit of the game.

CB

This was the last day of league play. The season has come to an end. 

We watched the game for a while. There was some good ball play going on here. It's nice to see boys this young that understand the game and know where to go to play the ball. 

Plus, and this is a big plus, I got me a really good Polish Sausage. 

Mmmmmmm.....

But it was tough sitting for so long on those metal bleachers on me bum, so we hit the road before the game was over. But they had several more games planned for today. This is a really nice sports complex with several playing fields. 

Nicely done, LCO. Nicely done.

And while we watched the game, we could keep an eye on the Osprey nest. The babies were up there, stretching their wings. Then we saw Dad coming back from the office with lunch, some fish, for the kiddos.

CB

Where's Dad with lunch?

We decided to walk on over to the Osprey's light pole and get a closer look at the nest. And I was still watching the game.

But there wasn't a thing going on from where we stood.

Bummer.

As we were leaving, we did get to see the Lincoln statue.

Fun Facts: The statue was sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington and given to Lincoln City on the condition that the town never change its name, uh, the name of the town, not the statue. 

According to the plaque at its base, Lincoln was offered the governorship of the Oregon Territory in 1849, but turned it down and returned to his law practice. He would, in his practice, tour the circuit from town to town, and along the way he would read books while riding his horse. And, no, it is not the same as texting while driving.

Lincoln City is actually five smaller coast towns that combined in the 50s. Instead of naming the new town after one of the old towns, a new name was voted on. The school children of the area chose Surfland, but local fuddy duddy adults didn't like the name. Instead, they decided to name it after Abe Lincoln.

Oh, and he always has to face West, too.

We finally got home and had lunch, some red beans and rice. 

Still, Mmmmmmm!! 

And after finishing the previous day's blog, Carol suggested we go for a walk and so we headed out to the antique shop where I'd bought a book from a week or so ago.

And we were off!!

This is NW 34th Street. Gives you an idea of what the summer months look like. Lots of folks walking all around the area.

And, hey!! I finally got a bird picture today!! This White-Crowned Sparrow was posing for me on a telephone line overhead. And posing nicely, too, I might add.

Some random, on-a-walk pictures of this beautiful city.

Still hot on the trail of my Lighthouse theme. Amazing all the places lighthouses show up at.

And I keep on looking for some flowers, too. 

I can't really help it. Oh, OK. I could. But I don't want to.

They're there and they're so easy to shoot.

And fun, too.

Another of my favorites from today.

And then we met Sharon and Nigel. 

Don't be fooled by the British name, Nigel is Italian....an Italian Mastiff.

He and Sharon live across the street and a couple houses up from us. She's retired and has several other dogs at home. She tries to rescue older dogs no one else will take. Nigel was an exception; he's younger but because of his size, no one wanted him and so....

Naturally, Carol offered to baby-sit him anytime Sharon needed some help.

There are dogs all over this place. Looking down NW 34th towards the ocean.

And some more flowers.

We made it to The 101 and walked past Lil' Sambo's, a coastal landmark for over 50 years. 

And, it's zoned for Soft Serve Ice Cream!!

Well, the doggone antique store was closed. Can you believe it!?! Right in the middle of summer and they close at 1700 every day. So, we turned around and headed on back...along a different route.

Hahaha, crazy Ol' Oregon. This mailbox was outside a Property Rental business.

Nicely done.

Whup!!

A red flower.

A very red flower.

And some seed heads.

I shoot a lot of dandelions and I was looking round the 'Net about them today and found this. It's only a minute and forty seconds long and, I think, worth the view.

Time lapse: Dandelion Flower to Seeds...(copy and paste)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ_QqtXoyQw

Wasn't that cool? Yeah, I know, Mother Nature knows what she's doing, for sure.

And, hey!! Some more flowers. That kind of a day.

And then, on the way back, we saw several hummingbirds. I have to be quicker. This was the best that I got.

But they were there. Oh, yes, they were.

I've commented before on the unusual homes here in LCO. here's a prime example of a very singular and very unusual home. Hahaha, it's got several layers to it and some unique features....like the sun room there on the right and the Widow's Peak on the roof.

And the peach colored garage door, too.

Hahaha, I'd love to see the inside of this home. Oh, and they have a lighthouse on the sign for their street number. Ka-Boom!!

They don't build them like that anymore, do they? No, no they don't.

So, to recap. We got to go on our very first Bird Listening Walk. And, like the others, it was fun. The folks we'd met last Wednesday, down in Newport, showed up for the walk and it was good seeing them plus our other friends.

Then we got to see some good baseball being played as well as being able to see the Osprey family. Finally, another walk through our city. And we got to meet Sharon! 

Hahaha, I tell ya, there is always something going on around here.

And, ya know, life is good.

     Hooah!!