6:15
6:30

6:35

6:40

6:45

6:50

7:00

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled painting tomorrow, but I’ve spend the last couple of days down in Reedsport giving a training for work and I have some great photos to show.

September 8 – Elk Viewing

September 9 – Site Visit

At Canemah

Doe with two fawns…

This stream is not even a trickle…

Pretty little thistle…

Katydid?

At Metro rehab site

Water levels are low…

Lots of fish fry in the water.

Dry and windy…

Today I had to go to the doctor for shoulder pain. I got a shot and strict instructions to rest for a while; particularly repetitive movement has been outlawed. I probably shouldn’t even be typing tonight… so I’ll just do a photo essay of my trip down to see my mom last weekend.

Saturday – Seals at Whale Cove

Mom and I were going on a little adventure, exploring a new park to the south. We were just out of Depoe Bay at Little Whale Cove when I yelled, “Stop!” I spotted this huge group of seals on the cove below. I told Mom there were “hundreds”; I actually count closer to 40. But that’s still a lot! I even saw a black one.

Saturday – Beaver Creek

After the seal sighting we traveled south to Beaver Creek State Park, which is a park just to the inland of Ona Beach State Park. Neither Mom or I had ever been there before, but there were a lot of cool bugs in the marsh. Lots of birds too, though this egret and a nest of ospreys were about the only ones to make an appearance worthy of photography.

Sunday – Cascade Head (and Camera (really operator) Failure)

Mom has been taking a series of photography classes that combine a hike as well. I came down to join her for this one to Cascade Head. I promptly messed up the settings on my camera (typical me) so my shots are… well… unusually exposed. But the photography teacher was able to tell me what I did and I learned about the manual setting on my camera and how to manipulate the settings!

This morning I went out to the Bybee Lake area for a class put on by Metro called “Introduction to the Language of Birds.” This is the second time I’ve taken a class through Metro, and this was was really great as well.

We started out with a quick lesson about the types of bird calls:

• Alarm
• Song
• Young/Begging
• Contact

Then we walked into the woods where it was our job to listen for the various calls.

The class was less about identifying birds than recognizing the different bird types. Still, I saw a bunch of new birds.

• Greater Yellowlegs
• Green Heron
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Wilow Flycatcher
• Western Wood-Pewee

Unfortunately i was using a borrowed camera, so I didn’t get any really great shots.

After we learned about the various calls, we sat for 1/2 hour by ourselves along the path and made a “call map.” The idea was to let the various birds settle down and really listen to their calls. It was a really neat exercise and I wish my sketched map would scan in for me to show you.

At the end we went over our observations and then Dan (the Metro leader) showed us a little skeleton of a predator (maybe a mink) and explained that during one portion of the walk this could have been a type of predator we just didn’t see.

Even though it was hot and summer, I was really surprised by the variety of birds we saw and heard. I’ll look for more classes on this subject in the future.

Today was the Clackamas River float and barbeque put on by the director of our agency. It’s just a fun trip she puts on based out of her home and I’ve really been looking forward to it. I was even more excited when I learned I was going to be in my very own little kayak-type boat for the ride.

My boat is the little red and white one in the middle.

After extensive preparation, we gathered for a safety talk and some pictures.

Then off we went.

We had been warned that the day could be rainy, and it started off overcast, but did move into full-blown rain as the day went on.

As they say, the worst day on the water is better than the best day at work, but there were a few minutes there when we were all a little too cold and wet for real happiness.

Unfortunately, I, in particular, struggled.

I had been quite worried about things like sinking (because of being overweight), falling out (because of being overweight), falling in general (because of being overweight), and other embarrassing tragedies. What I didn’t know about the day was that we would be going down a few “rapids.”

Now these are not the kind of rapids you see in the movies. They were mostly fast little places in the water. Think of the walkways at the airport: if you just stand on them they are so slow, but if you walk on them it feels SO fast. These rapids were like walking on the walkways. A little exciting, but nothing too challenging.

I’ve read a few books that have rafting in them. I’ve heard the basics: If you fall out, don’t panic. Put your feet downstream and just ride them out. We were all wearing life jackets. I didn’t feel too apprehensive.

The first three rapids went well. I would always be backwards at the end of the riffle, but I was upright and happy so all seemed well.

The group as it enters a small “rapids.”

Then we got to the fourth little rapids. This, I was told, was “the most technical.” I listened to the instructions, but honestly I’m not sure what happened and found myself in the water. I pointed my feet downriver and prepared to ride it out. Then I hit a rock and got under the water. And the trouble began.

I couldn’t seem to get situated and started hyperventilating. I knew I was doing it, but I couldn’t seem to stop. A nice calm voice in my head was saying, “Point your feet downstream. You’re wearing a life vest. If your face gets a little wet, you won’t drown. Don’t fight. Let the water and the vest do the work.”

And a smaller but fiercer voice said,

“YOU NEED AIR!!!!!!!!”

I can’t say that I was under control, but I was just getting to a point that I wasn’t getting sucked down as consistently when a lovely, calm voice said, “Tara look at me.”

It was co-worker John. He was an experience water person in a big raft he had rented for his family for the day.

In the front of this picture you can see a little yellow bag. That’s a life line. He threw it to me, I grabbed it, and he dragged me in where I could grab onto the raft and ride it to shore.

Of course, everyone asked if I was okay and was concerned. I was still hyperventilating, but really embarrassed and feeling physically sore and a little sick to my stomach from sucking in so much of the river. Fortunately we had planned a little rest here, so the group took out and we had some snacks. However, this was at a point where it was really raining, so it was a short break.

Various groups offered to let me ride in the bigger rafts, which were generally reserved for families with younger children and I didn’t want to break that up. Also, I didn’t want to let the boat scare me, so I got back in.

Things went okay until the next rapid. This was was very shallow. This time I know what happened: my boat high sided and got turned sideways, and I went in. This time everything went according to plan and I just floated (feet first) down to calmer water. Everyone said I looked like a pro by now.

There was one last rapid before we put out, and I was determined to end the day on a high note. And I’m proud to say I made it.

It was a great group and I had a lot of fun.

Co-worker Renee with her family in their inflatable kayak.

Co-worker Meta in her personal hard-plastic kayak.

Co-worker Dan with his friend in their green canoe.

Co-worker Kathy with her cute little red kayak (she’s a pro and has a car rack and everything!)

Co-worker Brandi with her husband in their borrowed little blue raft/kayak hybrid.

Abby and co-worker Cammi (Abby is Cammi’s mom) as 1/2 of a borrowed raft team.

Co-worker John (lifeline guy!) with his mom, dad, and son in their raft.

We also saw a nice variety of birds: turkey vultures, bald eagles, osprey, red-tailed hawk, kestrel, blue heron, common merganser, cliff and barn swallows. The swallows were so much fun to watch skimming along the water, right next to us.

But I’m sore tonight, and not just from my dunks in the river. That paddling is hard work. And I skinned my knees several times.

I am so proud of myself for trying this. And so ashamed and embarrassed about all my tumbles and rescues. I know, intellectually, that someone always falls out. But I wish it hadn’t been me.

Will I go next year? I don’t know. I hope to have lost some more weight. Maybe I’ll rent (or own) something a little more stable for myself, or even take lessons. We’ll just have to see.

Some weeks seem longer than others, and this one seemed exceptionally long. So to celebrate the end, we went for a short hike around a (very dry) Canemah this evening.

I saw this unusual fledgling sparrow.

I spied a kestrel sitting in a tree next to a goldfinch.

The madronas have had their bark sunburned off and are now nearly white.

And as I left I saw a lovely young doe (reports are she has two fawns, but they must have been resting nearby) having a little snack of blackberries.

Every once in a while I get an idea to go exploring. Thursday, at work, a new report came out about how beavers can be used in watershed restoration, and they mentioned some beavers were living in the Columbia Slough. This was enough to inspire me to give this a shot.

It wasn’t a good day for beavers on this hike, though the mosquitoes were fairly awesome. I did see some nice wildlife though.

Sunday morning I got up early and hit the road. I wanted to visit the Metolius Preserve.

I took 302 pictures over a 2.5 mile hike… and here’s the best of them.