Conspiracy of Raven

Just finished watering the plants in the yard and filling the water troughs for the horses.  The last couple days a Raven has been coming in to sit on the fence above the water trough.  Don't know if it wants a drink or what.  I grabbed my camera to see if I could get a photo.

No go, it took off the second it heard me.  He wasn't alone, about 6 more Ravens were out at the far end of the horse paddock.  I tried to sneak up to get a photo, but no way, every time I'd get close, they'd move.  Ah, well.

A group of Ravens is either a conspiracy of Raven or an unkindness of raven.  I like conspiracy.  I think they are a beautiful bird.  I know, they eat carrion, but some one has to do it.  They're considered good luck in some cultures.  In Great Britain the legend is that the country will not fall to a foreign invader as long as there are Raven's in the Tower of London.  But what do the Brits know?  They think a black cat walking in front of you is good luck.  All us Yanks know it's bad luck to have a black cat cross in front of you.  LOL.

Well, my camera in hand wasn't wasted, got a photo of the old man, Taro, my 18 y/o Arabian gelding.  Isn't he handsome?

Creeping Buttercup

I moved to central Oregon and the high Desert so I wouldn't have to take care of a yard.  No lawn and only two small gardens that I insist be able to thrive on neglect.  Having lived in the Rogue Valley for 40 years, where vegetation will take over your yard and your house if you leave town for so much as a weekend, I decided in no uncertain terms, no yard to take care of.

I've succeeded.  I like my two little areas, the plants pretty much take care of themselves.  Every couple of years I add a plant or two and they require a bit of work the first year but pretty much take care of themselves thereafter.

One of the plants left behind by the previous owners was some Creeping Buttercup.  It's very pretty in the spring when it blooms.  I have culled it back to one nice little bunch.  Turns out that Creeping Buttercup is on the wanted list as a noxious weed.  East of the Cascades in Klamath and Deschutes counties, we're suppose to pull it up and destroy it.

Now I've done a good job of keeping it contained.  Well, I thought so until today.  I've discovered some about 50 feet away from the main bunch.  Ah, come on, I can't just pull it all up. I spent the first 5 years pulling noxious weeds and this is the only one left.

After it's done blooming it's not anything special, but those yellow flowers are so refreshing after a winter of nothing but white.

I'll leave it for now.

Bird Watching

Well, I have to get my young gelding out and working.  I used to enjoy starting youngsters, now, it's work.

I spent the day trimming his hooves, saddling him up and doing ground work with him.  It was a long day.

Afterward I sat down in front of the bird bath to try to get some photo's of the birds coming in for a drink and bath at the end of the day.

I have the greatest bird program on my Ipod touch.  I Bird Explorer PRO.  OMG, it is the best program ever, I LOVE the thing.

You can play recordings of the bird you are looking at.  I heard several Dark Eyed or Oregon Junco's in the area, so, I played the recordings in the hopes of getting some to come to the bird bath.  Well, the little fellow above was quite intrigued.  He kept coming in and nearly landed on my shoulder trying to figure out where the other Junco might be.  He wasn't interested in the bird bath, so had to get him in the tree.  He and my Ipod exchanged calls for about 5 minutes when I stopped.  Kinda felt sorry for him.  He knew I wasn't a Junco, but, by golly I sure sounded like one.

The only bird to land on the bird bath while I was out there was this Robin.  Of course, as soon as I went in the house and turned off the camera, a whole flock of Mountain Chickadees came in for a drink and bath. I did rush back out to try to get a picture.  Got this one but the Chickadees is sooo small, he's lost on that big bird bath.  Too bad I didn't get the whole flock.

Ah, well, I'll try again tomorrow.

Trail Recon

Decided to go do some trail recon for future horseback rides into the wilderness near by.  I like to make sure that I can get my truck and trailer not only in to, but out of a trailhead.  Nothing quite as much fun as going up a one lane dirt road several miles only to discover that you're going to have to back that trailer down to the main road.  NOT.

Took the dogs and checked on one trail that I've not done and one that I have done in the past.  New one looks promising if not well marked.  Walked the dogs down the trail about a mile.  Good parking at any rate and the trail merges with the one I'm interested in.

Saw a bright splash of purple as I walked along.  Most of the spring flowers were done blooming, but this one patch was in full bloom.  The sun on the picture washes the flowers out a bit, but I liked the rocks and logs in the photo, so, what the heck.  Still getting used to the digital camera.  Full size, it's a pretty cool picture.

I have got to get a good book on wildflower identification.  Not just wildflowers though, other plants as well.  I have one for trees, the best.  It's a book I got for a class at Oregon State years ago.  'Manual of Oregon Trees and Shrubs' by Warren R. Randall.  They've updated since I got mine in 1970.  Best book out there.

After checking out the new trail we drove around and checked on one I've used in the past but haven't been up there in 3 or 4 years.  It was always a tight fit with the trailer but doable.  Not so sure I want to attempt it any more.  The manzanita has moved in on the road and was scratching the truck and when I finally got to the trailhead, it was a whole lot tighter to turn around than a couple years ago.  Doable, but a real pain for sure.

Dogs and I walked a mile or so down that trail as well.  Hey, we were there, it was a beautiful day and a walk in the wilderness is always rejuvenating.  The two terriers love to get up and walk on every log or rock. That is of course the precursor to digging under and around for what ever wildlife might be found.

Well, the dogs got to do what dogs do and I got to take a deep breath, good day all in all.

Renewal

A few years ago the Forrest Service closed 3 miles of road to motorized vehicles along the upper Deschutes.  It has become one of my favorite places to "get away".  I walk the dogs there or I ride my horse there in the early spring.

This spring I witnessed water foul headed north.  Ducks of every description, a few cranes, a bald eagle checking things out.

Yesterday I took the dogs over for a walk and saw a hawk.  I didn't get my camera out in time to catch her  in flight, but she flew to her nest across the river and I got some shots of her watching over the nest.

I think it's a Red Tail Hawk but she was a considerable distance and all that white on her chest and underside confused me a bit.  Still, I've often seen Red Tails in the area and think that is the most likely.

Nature, a place of renewal.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Ah, I do love spring and summer when the birds come to visit.  I used to live in Phoenix, Oregon right on a migration pathway.    I put out a feeder and they came by the droves.  I'd never seen so many different species of birds, I was in heaven.

Unfortunately, while I lived in the beautiful country, there was a creek in front of the house and an irrigation ditch behind the house.  If you have water, you have an other creature close by called a rat.  Now, birds are messy eaters. VERY messy eaters.  So, put messy eaters between two water sources and you get an explosion of, yeah, rats.

I removed the feeders, cleaned up the mess, trapped and yes poisoned the rats and sat back and watched a lot fewer birds come to visit, but at least the rats were gone.  This time, NO, I repeat NO bird feeders, even though there is no close by water source.

Here, in central Oregon what we have is lots of a different kind of rodent, lots of squirrels and field mice.  Well, they say if you have mice, you don't have rats and vice versa.  On the other hand, in my mind, a squirrel is just a rat with a bushy tail.  People actually put feeders out for the little destructive bandits.  Near by are some homes with both bird and squirrel feeders.  I'm sorry, they're NUTS!

I had two feral cats living here for several years.  The last one died last year.  I can sure tell she's gone.  She was one great mouser.  The squirrels and mice were nearly non existent while she was here.  Geez, with in a week of her being gone they move in by the droves.  Ground squirrels, grey squirrels, mice, every where.  Oh, and birds, the birds moved in too.

The birds I enjoy.  No feeder, but a bird bath.  It's hot here in the summer and the river is several miles away and the creeks long dried up.  So, the birds do appreciate the bird bath.  I don't mind them making a mess with the water, that's okay.  LOL.

So any way, while the cat was here, I would just get a glimpse of this small bird with yellow markings.  Always suspect it was a Yellow-rumped Warbler but never got a good look.  Now however, they are coming in to the bird bath and it is a REALLY colorful male Yellow-rumped Warbler.  A female comes in too, but he is so bright and beautiful.

I'm trying to get a picture, no luck so far.  I'll be ready tomorrow, I hope.

Foot Loose and . . .

For the second time in as many days, an older, retired woman has stopped at my gate, lost and looking for directions.  Neither one had a clue where they were and only a vague idea of where they wanted to go. I would guess that they were both in their mid to late 70's.

The woman yesterday wasn't particularly worried, she hadn't been here in several years and every thing looked wrong to her.  As it turned out she had turned left when she should have turned right.

She was rather interesting.  Apparently 11 years ago, about when I moved here, she sold every thing, got a motor home and has been traveling the country alone.  I asked if she enjoyed being so untethered.  She said she had enjoyed it at first but that recently it had become a lot of work.  The motor home was always breaking down and it seemed it was just always some thing.  She didn't say she missed having roots, but I kind of got that feeling.  She was currently staying at Hells Canyon but had driven over here to see an old friend.  I gave her directions and she was on her way.

The woman today was very different.  She was visiting a friend and had taken her dog for a walk.  She had no idea where she was, how she got to my front gate or where her friend lived.  She did have his name.  She was embarrassed and a bit frightened.  I called him and it turned out he was only a half mile down the road.  She insisted that she did not want them to come get her, she wanted to walk.  Virginia was her name.

I can see myself as the one and fear being the other.

Early Afternoon Ride, Taro

The cool weather means that I can ride in the early afternoon.  Late spring and summers in the high desert are usually plenty hot by 10 or 11 AM, so if I want to ride, I have to go early or wait until after around 5pm.  El Nino has brought a series of storms and cool weather through this spring though.

Taro, my 18 y/o Arabian gelding has had a few years of leisure while I rode Jo and the two youngsters.  I've decided he needs to go back to work.  Well, it's just nice to be on an "old soul" some times.  I'm just getting too old to put up with the youngsters and while Jo can be a pleasure to ride, it usually takes several spring rides to get her back in the pleasure range.

Every spring, Jo decides that she just can't quite trust me to keep us safe.  She will question every stump and every noise.  OMG, EVERY spring we go through this.  By mid summer she gives it up and lets me make the decisions without question, but getting there is a real pain in the arse.

Any way, today I decided to test out boot combinations on Taro.  I don't need boots if we stay off the gravel roads, but I never know for sure, so need to find a combination that he's comfortable with.  Since he hasn't been out in a while and I had the boots on him, I stuck to a flatland ride.

We did a 10 mile loop.  Ah, the old man doesn't enjoy going out the way he did when he was young.  Well, maybe if I get some conditioning on him he'll start to enjoy it more.  It was a nice ride though, saw a couple coyotes and the weather really was perfect.

Much prefer the coyotes to the badgers that I ran into last week.  That was scary as hell!  They were coming through the manzanita and because I didn't have a good view of them, I thought it was a couple raccoons.  I hollered at them and they kept coming.  That was the first clue that they weren't raccoons.  When they got on the road, about 40 feet in front of us, they turned and waddled up the hill.  Dumb me, I hollered at them again.  They looked at each other, turned around and charged us!

I was on Jo and she was not at all amused by badgers charging down the hill at her.  Can't say I blame her!  She spun and headed down the hill.  When I got her stopped I could almost hear her thinking, "and you think I'm going to trust you to keep us safe when you put us in a situation where badgers are charging us?  I don't think so!"  Ah, such fun.

No, really, it is fun, I love riding the wilderness near by.