Spring is Here!

After a mild, dry,  but windy winter, Spring has arrived in the Columbia River Gorge.  I found these Grass Widows at Mayer State Park near The Dalles on January 31, 2015.  (I wrote the haiku)

And on February 2, a Red-Winged Blackbird showed up at the feeder, singing his signature territorial display song.  We have lived in the Gorge since 1997, and every year a single male Red-Winged Blackbird has shown up in February (it can't be the same guy for so many years in a row), announcing his presence loudly.  Females do not show up for several weeks, but he sings just the same.

I am ready for this year's challenge from the Friends of the Columbia Gorge -

 - 35 and Gorgeous

This year, the challenge is varied, featuring activities as well as hikes.   Activities include supporting local Gorge businesses, participating in a stewardship work party, finding wildflowers, and more.  Love it!  The Challenge officially starts March 15 - stay tuned for more!

That Big Gorge - April 2014

Again we traveled to Arizona

We saw giant insects that invaded Scottsdale, and glass sculptures

 

by Chihuly that invaded the Desert Botanical Garden

 and the view from Sedona

And, finally, the Grand Canyon 

 From the South Rim

Smelt Run on the Sandy River - March 22, 2104

Eager smelt dippers on the Sandy River - Troutdale, Oregon

Smelt return to the Sandy River this month!  A limited season provided an opportunity to dip Columbia River smelt (Thaleichthys pacificus) returning to spawn in the Sandy River.  Smelt are anadromous - they live most of their life in the ocean and return to freshwater to spawn.  Smelt are an oily fish and are the source of oolichan grease that was a valuable commodity for many Northwest native peoples.  Potlatch ceremonies of the tribes living on the Northwest coast of what is now Alaska and Canada included large quantities of the oolichan grease.  The grease was used in ways similar to butter, and was eaten, given away, and burned during the potlatch ceremony.

See link below for recipes:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Smelt.htm

Two ski poles make an extension for a net

Smelt numbers are in decline, and over the last 30 year few runs have been large enough to draw people to the banks.  The season was severely limited this year, and the State Police used their sirens and loudspeakers at noon to announce the end of the season.

Histories and Mysteries of the Columbia River Gorge

Friends of the Columbia River Gorge announce this years hiking challenge:
20 places to visit of historical or geological interest

Including such places as Celilo Falls fishing village, ice age flood remnants, fish wheels, and Lyle convict road (I hadn't heard about that place - there is always more to learn).  If you become a member of the Friends, you are eligible for prizes if you complete the challenge, which of course I plan to do.

 Here is one of our winter visitors, a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds - Calypte anna - who arrived in the middle of October and will leave before the middle of March (based on what has occurred the previous two winters).    I was busy during the recent stormy cold weather keeping the hummingbird food defrosted (it freezes below 28 degrees F.) In the summer we have  nesting Rufous Hummingbirds - Selasphorus rufus - that arrive in March and leave at the beginning of October.

 The history of ice storms in the Columbia River Gorge continues with the most recent storm on
March 1, 2014 - surely the latest in the calendar year that I have experienced. 

 Ice built up overnight and through much of the day on March1, coating everything.

Late in the afternoon it began to melt

 But there were casualties among the trees - these willows were rooted in very wet soil and the weight of the ice on the branches pulled them down.

1/17/14 100th Anniversary of the birth of Oregon poet, William Stafford

Atavism

1
Sometimes in the open you look up
where birds go by, or just nothing,
and wait.  A dim feeling comes
you were like this once, there was air,
and quiet; it was by a lake, or
maybe a river yo were alert
as an otter and were suddenly born
like the evening star into wide
still worlds like this one you have found
again, for a moment, in the open.

2
Something is being told in the woods:
aisles of
shadow lead away; a branch waves;
a pencil of sunlight slowly travels its
path.  A withheld presence almost
speaks, but then retreats, rustles
a patch of brush.  You can feel
the centuries ripple generations
of wandering, discovering, being lost
and found, eating, dying, being born.
A walk through the forest strokes you
fur,
the fur you no longer have.  And your
gaze
down a forest aisle is a strange, long
plunge, dark eyes looking for a home.
For delicious minutes you can feel your
whiskers
wider than your mind, away out over
everything

William Stafford

Happy Holidays from the Columbia River Gorge

Towhee in the snow

Ice on the edge of the Sandy River December 2009

Ice in Corbett 2013

 

 

 

Santa flies above Vista House

Into Another Gorge - Tonto Natural Bridge in Arizona

In September we went to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park in Arizona

 150 feet wide, over a 400 foot tunnel, this feature is found 10 miles North of Payson, Arizona off Highway 87.  (About one hour north of Phoenix area) It is made of travertine formed by the deposition of calcium carbonate from water that percolates through the surrounding rock formations.  Many caves are formed this way, Tonto Natural Bridge is like an above ground cave. (More here)

It costs $5 per person to enter the park - well worth it, even if you just take a look from above. 


We walked down the steep trail to the entrance.  You are warned to hike at your own risk, and you should take that seriously.

 Here is a cliff face that looks like a cave interior.

Then we decided to walk through the tunnel - looking back at the entrance

Looking through to the other side

 Water is dripping down everywhere,
the "trail" is slippery and is really a scramble over the slick rocks.

Here is another part of the "trail"

 If you slipped and fell into the pool, cracking your head on the way down it would be too bad, the ranger station is a mile away.

 Another view of the tunnel - see people in the foreground.

Arrows point the way like in Journey to the Center of the Earth

We made it to the other side where you can see cliffs inhabited by swallows and ground squirrels