I Heard the Bird Sing - 8/6/15

Or: Keep truckin', like the doo-dah man...

Truckin' got my chips cashed in. 

Keep truckin', like the do-dah man.

Together, more or less in line,

 just keep truckin' on.

Grateful Dead. Let's get it started early, shall we....

Fun Facts: Truckin', by the Grateful Dead is a great song. It first appeared in their 1970 album American Beauty. It was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure. Whoa, Dude!!

Truckin', like the do-dah man. 

Once told me "You've got to play your hand".

Sometimes your cards ain't worth a dime,

If you don't lay'em down.

It was written by band members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and lyricist Robert Hunter. Truckin' molds classic Grateful Dead Rhythms and instrumentation with lyrics that use the band's misfortunes on the road as a metaphor for getting through the constant changes in life. Its climactic refrain, What a long strange trip its been, has achieved widespread cultural use in the years since the song's release.

Truckin', up to Buffalo.

Been thinkin', you got to mellow slow

Takes time, you pick a place to go,

And just keep truckin' on.

The song was influenced by a dance from the twenties called Jiggeln. It was also influenced by underground comix artist R.Crumb's drawing Keep on Truckin' that appeared in Zap Comix #1 released in San Francisco in 1968.

Truckin', I'm a goin' home.

Whoa, whoa baby, back where I belong,

Back home, sit down and patch my bones,

And get back truckin' on.

Hey, now get back truckin' home.

Hahaha, that was fun. And it was brought to my mind and then to this blog by a proposed trip to a mystical, magical place called...the Rusty Truck. We'll talk about that later on in the blog.

But before that can happen we will go on a bird walk. It's the monthly Open Spaces walk and, like the others before it, it was fun. And, unfortunately, given the small number of birds we actually saw today, it was more like a bird listening walk.

Regardless, it was a walk and it was in yet another Lincoln City Open Space. I gotta say, real quick here, that these Open Spaces are a very good thing. I think, unfortunately, this might be the last new one for us to visit. Regardless, kudos to the folks of Lincoln City for setting aside these Open Spaces for all to enjoy.

Today's walk was at the Spring Lake Open Space, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was, indeed, a lake there for us to visit.

Right after we arrived, Carol spotted the first bird of the day!! It was a Band-Tailed Pigeon. And I was off to Picture City!! I'm still trying to honor my pledge to get some pictures of birds on these bird walks. Workin' it Boss!! Workin' it!!

And, since we were about ten minutes early, I had plenty of time to occupy myself with taking pictures of the area...and I did. These foxgloves are all over the city...they're like weeds, except easier to look at. 

Hahaha, don't blame me!! I was ready to go but we were waiting around. 

Hey! I'm just a boy, standing in front of a lake, asking it to let me take its picture.

I was, as I mentioned before, very surprised at the lake here; how big it is. And, there were plenty of photo opportunities. Oddly enough, as Ian noted, this was the very first time he had not seen a Great Blue Heron or Great Egret here at this lake.

Bummer!

I reconciled myself with some pictures of the water reflections. Hahaha, I likes me some reflection pictures.

I wonder at the forces that maneuvered these two logs to this exact position. Made for an interesting photo opportunity.

We are so fortunate to live where we do here in Lincoln City. It's just green all the time. Here's 14th Street NE, the street the Open Space is located on. And there's my loyal Mini, resting on the side of the road.

Plenty of early morning photo opportunities.

But I was also looking up, too. It's not the 'True' Blue Moon from a couple days ago, but it is still a moon and it is blue-tinted. This picture was taken around 0900.  It is a waning crescent (just barely) moon.

Fun Facts: The word crescent refers to the phases where the moon is less than half illuminated. The word gibbous refers to phases where the moon is more than half illuminated. Waxing essentially means growing or expanding in illumination, and waning means shrinking or decreasing in illumination.

Look! Oh, my gosh!! It's Alice Kramden up there!!

And from the moon we come back to Spring Lake. And reflections.

Hahaha, OK. Last one because we got things together and got started on today's fun.

We learned a little from Ian about this Open Space.

And then introductions were made. We met a couple visiting from Arizona and a Mother-Daughter Duo from Bellevue, Washington. Also new to the walk and from Lincoln City were Mike and Bron.

There were 11 of us for today's adventure. There's Carol, stylin' her new jacket.

And, all the necessary business concluded, we were off to adventure.

And we were finding it. It was just hard to see, is all.

Hahaha, it still staggers me when I look at this picture to realize this is in the middle of the city. This place is really an oasis of calm, peace and a natural beauty and it's right here. All you have to do to enjoy it is drive over to it.

And it is big. Here, they've built a small footbridge over a spring feeding the lake.

Here's Carol Anne, aka Cayak Carol, struttin' her stuff across the bridge. Proudly wearing her trusty Chucks.

Carol says "Keep on chuckin'..."

Oops!! I lied. I took another reflection picture. C'Mon, who could pass up a scene like this? Not me.

And there was some good up and down in this park. Brave little trooper that I am, I didn't whine about it...too much.

This is some thick growth for this park in the middle of this city. What must this area have looked like a couple hundred years ago?

Always hopeful. But it was tough going trying to find the birds.

I am not sure what they were looking up in the book, possibly one of the trees there. I was a distance away and so I am not sure. 

This was a great group today. Everyone meshed together well. This group of Birders was very out-going and friendly. I had a great time on the walk.

And I wasn't seeing any birds so I fell back to Plan B....shoot whatever caught my eye. I like the backlit leaves.

Plus the people.

And these Orange-In-The-Wind flowers. 

Plus these blackberries...

....ready for eating.

Hey, another leaf. There's something there.

Ummmm, help! Anybody know what these are?

OK, Carol just gave me the answer....these are seed pods on a Broom Plant.

Mystery solved!!

Thank you, Sherlock Schubert!!

Hahaha, I can get behind these kind of grants. Absolutely!!

And then, someone spotted this lady!! A Hairy Woodpecker.

Hahaha, score!! 

I was excited just to have finally seen her in the trees. Normally, I'm the guy looking at the air in front of me going, Huh!?!

And then I caught her again when she flew to another tree, a closer tree. Boo-yah!!

Since we started these walks with the ASLC, I've kind of glided into being the guy that takes pictures of the field trips for maybe being used in a newsletter or whatever. I'm sort of the unofficial pictorial recorder.

Captain's Log, Star Date: 20150806....

Hahaha, it's a job that I enjoy doing. I like having some small purpose other than just wandering about. And so, in this capacity, I suggested we get everyone together for a group picture before the walk was over.

They all willingly obliged and lined themselves up for the picture and then some wag among them (Caren), said for everyone to look at me with their binoculars.

Har, har, har!!

Actually, I fully expect to see this photo published in some form or another somewhere, sometime. 

Looking good, Bird-Watching People!!

This is what the birds get to see!!

And, after I gently chastised them, I got this picture. The Arizona couple had left early.

Winnah, winnah!! Chicken Dinnah!!

On our slow way back, we met up with this Mom and her two boys having a snack on the berries. The older one was quite outspoken and bold. He was questioning us and asking if we wanted to have some berries. I would imagine he is quite a handful for his teacher...or he will be.

Oh, OK. It was there and I shot it. 

#sueme

Besides being a pleasant picture of leaves reflected in a still pond, there's a salamander in there. Just a tad bit below center. It's tough to see...

....So I got a closer picture. 

Fun Facts: The name salamander comes from the Greek word for Fire Lizard. This was because the salamanders would come running out of the logs they'd been hiding in when those logs were thrown on a fire.

They're nocturnal creatures (so that makes me wonder why I saw him today). Some salamander species can be poisonous and some even, shudder, have teeth. Some salamanders have tongues up to 10 times as long as their bodies.

The largest salamander in the world is the Chinese Giant Salamander. It can grow to a length of 5 feet. 

And, drum roll, please, the Americas are home to more species of salamander than the entire rest of the world combined. 

Woo-Woo, we're Number One!!

Hahaha, OK, the walk was over and I was heading back to the Mini but I had to wait, Carol was chatting it up with Mike and Bron. 

So you can blame her for this one.

There, done with the reflections pictures. And I got one more picture of these foxgloves.

Before we left, Caren had mentioned a favorite bar/restaurant over in Taft and so I suggested we all meet there at 1500 (Cuz that's when Happy Hour starts!!) for a couple beers and something to eat. That was easily settled. 

Wanna get a beer? 

Yeah! Where?

With the bird walk concluded and the place we were meeting at later picked out, we headed on to our next errand. The radio station here in town.

Carol and I are trying to help, where we can, promote the ASLC. And so we thought we'd do this by feeding promos about upcoming walks to the local Am Radio Station, KBCH, 1400 on your AM Dial, Baby.

And so we drove on over to drop off a promo for an upcoming walk.

This is a totally cool radio station. Totally small town. They have segments where they let people mention things they're selling; a weekly segment with a Police Officer; another weekly show with LCO Chamber of Commerce; a Community Forum and so, so, so much more. Plus, they play some really great music mixing it up with an array of great artists. It's just fun listening to them.

It's my hometown radio station.

And the station is inside a building on the second floor over a mattress store and behind this nondescript door.

Here's the office. The DJ broadcasts from the small room behind the desk. They use a lot of feeds, but there's enough air time given to live shows to make this really interesting, and local.

And informal. Very, very informal.

While we were there, we talked with Keith Altomare, one of the on-air personalities. Hahaha, he's the only one we've met but that's because we usually stop by at around the same time when we visit.

Very personable guy. And very versatile, too. True story....We went to the Bijou Theater the other day to see Mr. Holmes (Four Stars out of Five). Imagine our surprise when we recognized Keith selling tickets there!! Turns out he and his wife own and operate the theater.

Small-Town America!! Love it!!

Oh and that's our ASLC announcement there in Keith's hand.

And here is my unsolicited plug for KBCH....

When you're in Lincoln City be sure to set your dial to KBCH, AM 1400 for great tunes plus timely and entertaining information.

That work being done, we decided we deserved a treat and so, since the BK was so doggone close, we walked on over. Oh, that's the City Hall/Library/Culinary Center there on the left across The 101 from the BK.

Mmmmmmm, ice cream and chicken nuggets!!

Good Eatin'!!

And, as a special treat on top of all the other ones, we got to see these guys outside the restaurant as we left.

OK, we made it back home from the walk and our treats. I worked on the pictures I had taken during this morning's walk to get them ready for this blog and watched a bit of the early Republican debates. Then we left to go on over to the bar/restaurant Caren had mentioned. 

That found us driving down The 101 towards Taft looking for this restaurant, The Rusty Truck.  It is, as Caren told us, on the right as you come into the Taft District and so we were looking for the Rusty Truck Restaurant.

As we entered Taft, Carol remarked that she thought Caren had meant the Roadhouse 101 restaurant, there on the right. I agreed with her but, hey, she said the Rusty Truck and so we continued looking for The Rusty Truck...and didn't see it.

Then, just as we passed the Roadhouse 101, I spotted, out of the corner of my eye, this truck sitting in the parking lot of the....Roadhouse 101.

We made a quick turn to get us back to the Roadhouse 101. Hahaha, Caren had the Rusty Truck all right...it's the micro-brewery located here, at the Roadhouse 101 Restaurant.

Hahaha, no harm, no foul. We made it and we were even a bit early so I was happy. And we were the first ones there.

This place looks exactly like what its name says. It's a roadhouse. I admit, I looked around for a Patrick Swayze look-alike but, no one fit that bill. The place looked comfortable, though.

I apologize for the blurred pics but it was a dimly lit bar so cut me some slack, 'Kay!?!

Tom and Caren showed up next and, naturally, given my petty, mean and spiteful nature and knowing I am never one to pass up an opportunity to notch a couple points on someone else, I ragged her about The Rusty Truck vs The Roadhouse 101 snafu.

Ahhhh, keen fun!! For me, at least.

And then Mike and Bron showed up. They moved to LCO way back in January. They're retired, he was an IT Guru with Ross Perot's Empire. Their kids own a rental house over in Roads End and decided they'd rather have Mom and Dad in the house rather than fussing with all the headaches of running a rental and so....here they are....all the way from Colorado!!

Oh, and I am pretty doggone sure they will become the newest members of the ASLC. And don't you think Mike has that Vice-Presidential air about him!?! Y'Know, as I think about it, so does Bron. Hey, it could happen.

We had some OK food, some good beer and a whole heckuva lot of laughs for nearly two hours. It was fun breezing with these guys. I haven't laughed so hard and so loud in a long, long time. A very long time.

And, since this is Oregon, I wasn't surprised by the most recent addition to their boutique beers.

Yeah, that's right....Reefer Hempeweizen.

Oregon. Go figure.

After we got back, Carol took a walk to the store rather than watch the Republican Debates and sent me this picture. Nice positioning of the sun for her picture. Or is it the beginning of the Rapture?

Hmmmmmm....

CB

So we had a great day. We found a new place to visit in LCO. We met some great people and made two new friends. We got to go on a pleasant walk and see and learn new things. We did something positive and then, to top the day off, we had a great time laughing and talking and smiling with friends....a lot. Oh, and we finally found the Rusty Truck!!

Day couldn't get much better than this. Nope.

A great day.

Life is good.

     Hooah!!     

Ol' Man River - 8/5/15

Or: Row, Row, Row Your Butt, Gently Oer the Sand (Bars)

What's a guy to do with two, brand-new kayaks and, literally, dozens of excellent kayaking opportunities available within a very short driving distance of his home?

Well, he doesn't stay at home watching reruns of Dr. Phil and Dawg, The Bounty Hunter!! Hahahaha, no!! Not even a JAG rerun could keep me in today. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and Ol' Smilin' Jack was loading up the Mini for another adventure with his trusty sidekick, Cayak Carol!!

Just enough room for the essentials. And Cayak Carol.

Here's Ol' Smilin' Jack. Geared up and ready to get down!!

BTW, on a sad side note, this is the last picture taken with the Selfie Stick. I had the bright idea of taking it with me on this Paddlesport Adventure. I tied it up to a line hooked onto the Cayak and then put it next to the seat. Evidently, when I got in, I sat down rather hard and, well, poor fellow, he never had a chance, really.

And, some more invectives rang through the silent forest hills.

Ratz!!

Cayak Carol wondering how did a nice Cayak like you get into a place like this?

Hmmmmmm...!?!

CB

But before we could set out, we knew we'd be needing some victuals. Where better to stop for some breakfast grub than Mickey D's!?!?!

I likes me some sausage biscuits and breakfast burritos.

Mmmmmmm....Breakfast of Champions!!

And, finally, fueled up,  we made it to Salmon River. Only to discover that we had everything we needed for a fun and frolicsome day on the Salmon River....except for the means with which to provide propulsion on said river.

That's right, Boys and Girls. Someone had forgotten to bring along the paddles. That someone had loaded the Cayaks, the PFDs (Personal Floatation Devices), the rope, the camera, the cell phone, his water shoes, towels, the tarp, rags to wipe down the Cayaks with and his hat. He'd remembered all that but, and therein lies the rub, he forgot the paddles.

Imagine, if you will, backing up to the boating ramp, getting out and starting to run through the scenario for launching the Cayaks in your little ol' noodle and realizing, right then, that you'd forgotten one of the key components of the trip.

D'oh!!

Hahaha, nothing to do but get back in the Mini and hustle on back home and pick up the Pesky Paddles for Propulsion. And then back again. 

This time, though, things worked like a charm.

We even had an audience!! 

I took a moment to scan the Mighty Salmon River before we set off on our Voyage of Discovery.

Fun Facts: The Mighty Salmon River flows from the Central Oregon Coast Range to the Pacific Ocean just above Lincoln City. About 24 miles long, it begins and ends in Lincoln County but also flows briefly through western Polk and southern Tillamook Counties. The entire length of the river is a protected National Wild and Scenic River, the only such river in the contiguous 48 states. Several portions of the river are in a protected wilderness.

The Mighty Salmon River supports populations of wild steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout as well as chinook and coho salmon released each year from a hatchery at Otis. Oh, and, as we'll discover later on, they even have some crabs in there, too.

The river was looking a bit low but that was understandable as the Low Tide today was at 1039 and we were putting into water around 1045. We figured we'd hit some low water but the rising tide, lifting all boats, y'know, would not only fill the river out but, with any luck, would make our return trip a bit faster and easier. 

Hahahaha, you know, I'm all about easy.

From the picture below you can see Carol is doing her best impersonation of Caspar the Friendly Ghost. Girl needs some sun, STAT!!

As we were getting ready to launch, Carol spotted this guy floating around the boating ramp. We thought he was a Freshwater (FW) Jelly but when we checked, we found he was way too big.

CB

He was so nice that Cayak Carol had to shoot him twice.

We did find a site that studies FW Jellies and they asked for any information concerning sightings of FW Jellies and so Cayak Carol forwarded her pictures along with information about her sighting to the Jellyfish Research Institute.

CB

So from that cute and cuddly little critter to this one. A Great Blue Heron. We'll run into this guy again later on.

Eventually, after a couple of minor missteps and several loud and heart-felt invectives, we were on our way. Our first river adventure.

We shoulda waited for a higher tide.

It was a beautiful day, today!! Absolutely glorious. 

Here we're looking sorta northwest towards where the Salmon River makes its final turn into the Pacific Ocean. It was there, where the river flows into the ocean that we were headed.

Hahaha, but!!! That mean, ol' nasty but. Take a close look at the picture below. If you look closely, you'll find that you can see the river bed there, through the thin covering of water.

The tide was definitely out.

But we had enough to move along without any problems. Heck, we even had time to take a picture and then send it to our sister along with a wordy text.

Hahaha, gotta prioritize!!

Just ahead is, in effect, a small peninsula around which the river flows. Just beyond, to the right in this picture, is the final bend the river takes on its journey.

Last night, Carol and I took the NASBLA Sanctioned Paddle Sports Safety Course and took heed of the good advice given while preparing for the test at the end of the course. (Which we passed with a 93% grade!! Woo and Woo!!)

Being safety conscious, I attached a line to the prow of my mighty river-going vessel to facilitate emergencies. We're shopping around for a whistle for each of us to carry for signaling while Cayaking and we're even going to get a flashlight should we be out at dusk. 

Hahahaha, we is certified, y'all!!

It was peaceful out on the river today and we did a fair amount of just drifting along. There's Cayak Carol there, on the right. She's probably texting with her sister!!

A look up the river to the the east.

The hills in the distance are part of the Cascade Head Preserve.

Fun Facts: In the early 60s, volunteers organized an effort to protect Cascade Head from development. The Conservancy bought it in 1966 from the owner of the Cascade Head Ranch development. Because of its ecological significance, Cascade Head Preserve and the surrounding national forest and other lands have won recognition as a National Scenic Research Area and a United Nations Biosphere Reserve.

It is now considered a haven for rare plants, wildlife and grassland communities once abundant along the Oregon Coast, Cascade Head provides critical habitat for native prairie grasses, rare wildflowers and the Oregon silverspot butterfly.

Remember a while back, Carol and I went to an ill-fated Audubon Society Potluck Dinner? It was held here,  at this Community Center for the folks living along the Salmon River. They have a pool there along with a good number of Cayaks available for their members.

It was here that I was, somehow, shanghaied, keel-hauled, uh, volunteered into being the vice-president. Hahaha, great times.

As we got closer to the bend, we noticed, because our bottoms were, literally, scraping the bottom of the river bed, that the river had become dramatically shallower.

Hahaha, the going had become decidedly more difficult. It's tough scraping a heavily laden Cayak over those sand bars. I felt like I was, at times, paddling through molasses...

CB

Ah, doggone it, even though the water was too shallow, it was a beautiful day. 

Looking back up the river. Next time we're going to head up the river. Maybe. Maybe we'll go with a high tide and try to get over to the ocean.

And it was all because of those Stupid Sand Bars.

Here, this gives you an idea of where we got to, more or less. The Red Star marks where we launched from and the circle marks the approximate location of those Stupid Sand Bars.

Ah, well, Philosophical Jack says "You gotta take the good with the bad."

Infantile Jack says "Go to hell, Stupid Sand Bars!"

Did I mention we sorta drifted along for a good while. Well, we tried to drift. We'd go along and then run aground on a Stupid Sand Bar. But it was fun.

Next time, I'm thinking I will bring a radio to play some groovy tunes while we're out on the water. 

CB

Feelin' good!!

CB

Contemplative Jackie. Contemplating where I can stick this stupid PFD so I don't have to wear it.

Hahaha, I couldn't have drowned unless I really put some concentrated effort into it. Seriously, if I fell in and couldn't stand, all I would have to do is raise up on my elbows and rest my chin on my hand until help came.

Hahaha, I knew that if I really got stuck on a sand bar I'd just have to get out and walk back to the car; towing my Cayak and my dignity behind me.

Summer days on the riv....that's what we cool kids call the river. 

And we are way cool.

Ol' Cayak Carol was really into the zen of relaxin' on the Riv. Hahaha, she was takin' it to new levels. She's totally got her mind and body together in a quest for Riv Nirvana. Hahaha, she's totally put her ego to rest here.

And then a couple of show-offs came paddling up. Evidently, if you stay to the extreme side of the river you can gain a passage to the ocean. Next time. 

Carol was practicing her riverine hand signals...This one means, "I have achieved oneness with the river and am ready for the next evolution!!"

And that next evolution is a trance-like state that looks, strangely, like someone sleeping, complete with snoring sound effects.

Way to go, Cayak Carol!!

And then we saw the Great Blue Herons. There were two of them flying down the river towards us.

This was an especial treat for us to see these two. And there was a third one, too. He just wasn't with the other two at that time.

I was shooting blind here and lucked (?) into this shot. The heron is distorted by a dust mote on my lens. I'm sure you know, it's tough to track a subject using the LCD monitor. Besides the sun, it's tough finding a small moving subject and staying with it.

As we were nearing the park where we had launched, we spotted these guys, standing in the water. Sorta makes the Cayak seem a bit superfluous, doesn't it? And these guys are in the deep end of this wading pool.

We found out that they're out there looking for their lunch.

Yeah, a guy told them he'd picked up a lot of crabs in this location yesterday and so they decided to come on out and try their luck at finding lunch.

Wet suits, snorkels and a mask. Then you just get on your hands and knees, cuz it's so shallow, and start looking.

Hahaha, we made it back and, glory of glories! We actually got out of our Cayaks without taking a spill. 

Hahaha, River - Zero   Jack & Carol - Two

And, in my triumphal glory, I gazed out over my Empire....the river looking east.

There's our landing and the Cayaks along with Cayak Carol.

OK, I had checked and I knew the low tide would peak at 1039 so I figured we'd be able to float on a rising tide. We didn't. When we got back home I happened to look out at the ocean and, look at that!! It's around noon and look how far out the tide is!!

Criminy!! When we're out there walking around the tide pools that stinkin' tide seems to come back in a lot faster than it did today!!

Carol found this in the river....in the deep, deep river. She saw it and leaned over and picked it up. Got her arm wet up to just above the wrist. Maybe. 

It's a Varnish Clam.

Fun Facts: It's also known as the Purple Varnish Clam and the Dark Mahogany Clam. It's been seen in the Great American Pacific Northwest for about ten years now. The clam apparently was introduced via ballast water from Asia. The Varnish Clam is more freshwater tolerant than other species so the larger populations are found in estuaries. 

And it's kinda good lookin', too.

CB

Well, for the second outing it went pretty good. Except for the Stupid Sand Bars. Maybe next time we'll head south for some Cayak Adventuring. Who knows!?! The world is our oyster...or maybe our Dark Mahogany Clam!!

It was a good day. The high point was our successful dismount from the Cayaks. We wuz smokin'!!

It was good. Life is good.

     Hooah!!