Silver Falls State Park

South Falls

On Tuesday, August 26, Jeanette and I joined the Dallas Retirement Village bus for an outing to Silver Falls State Park. The park is filled with memories for us.  My first visit was 80 years ago to a plumber's picnic. We arrived in my dad's 1940 GMC panel truck. My next visit to the park was seven years later for a week at church camp in the old CCC barracks. Jeanette attended Girl Scouts Camp there in the 50's and then again to work as a camp counselor. In an amazing coincidence, Jeanette and I got married here on May 9th of 1993. 

On this trip, I got to hike down under the South Falls with four of DRV's lovely's, LaVerda Gallager, Jeanette Scott, Ginny Wyman, and Mavis Cloutier.

This shows the complete group just after finishing a delightful lunch, after a fun time of hiking and exploring the South Falls area. Thanks go to Wellness Director Francy Stoyer, Bus Driver Lane Sewell, and their helpers Nat and Robin for a very memorable day.

Thursday's Bird Watch

In order to escape the extreme heat of last week, Jeanette and I traveled to the coast for an overnight trip in our van. The most eye-catching bird that we saw was this Black Oystercatcher, on the rocky cliffs of Boiler Bay State Wayside, just north of Depot Bay.  Black Oystercatcher are one of the easiest birds to identify with their plump black body, long sturdy orange bill, bright red eyes, and bubblegum-pink legs. 
 

Thursday's Bird Watch

This is juvenile White-crowned Sparrow that was photographed here at Dallas Retirement Village last Friday, August 15th. This White-crowned Sparrow is recognizable as a juvenile by the brown crown stripes in place of the adult's strikingly contrasting white and black crown stripes. The nesting season appears to be ending, marked by the absence of the bright singing of the adult males.  On this day of the photograph, a dozen birds were traveling in a mixed flock of adults and juveniles, busy feeding on bugs and seeds in the water collection basin in the South-East corner of DRV.

Happy Birthday Jeanette!

Jeanette got her wish, and gave me a kiss

August 18th is Jeanette's birthday and the plan was that she would get to do whatever she wanted! First thing in the morning her hubby drove her and two of our friends, Dan and Karen Sewell, to the coast for breakfast at the Otis Cafe, where Dan treated us all to breakfast. 

Next, we went birding at one of Jeanette's favorite locations, Alder Island in the Siletz National Wildlife Refuge. We had great fun with all four of us using the Merlin phone app to identify birds by sound. We made an impressive checklist, which you can see here.

In the evening Jeanette's brother Bill Dye joined us, our daughter Lisa Borja, and our sister-in-law Mary Sites, for dinner at The Grill in The Lodge here at Dallas Retirment Village.

The grand finale was birthday cake in our apartment. Bill provided his home-made traditional Dye family chocolate cake. 

 

 

Thursday's Bird Watch

 Saturday morning, while checking the Dallas Osprey nest at the former Willamette Mill Site on Main Street, this Green Heron flew in and stole the show.  It landed high in a Cottonwood tree where my wife, Jeannette, got this photo. Green Herons like to hang out along waterways and ponds.  Although the log pond is longer there at the mill site, remnants of the North Fork of Ash Creek can still be seen in the area.  I think that this probably provides the kind of habitat that the Green Heron likes.  This may also be a clue to where the Osprey get some of their fish. 

Thursday's Bird Watch

This is an exciting time of year to be watching Osprey nests. This pair of juveniles were photographed in the nest at Riverview Park in Independence next to the Independence Hotel. The parents no longer spend time on the nest; they simply drop off fish for the young to eat on their own. The juveniles are growing rapidly and are getting ready to start flying. They can be seen stretching their wings getting ready for the big day they take flight, which is close at hand. In the coming weeks the parents will encourage their young to fly and fish for themselves. It's worth a trip to Independence to have a look.
 

DUMP TRUMP

 Jeanette and I attended a protest today in Dallas. It's been going on every Saturday for six months. It's a protest against Donald Trump and the terrible reign of terror and lawlessness that he has brought down upon our country.  Has our protest accomplished anything? Probably not, but it seems important to stand up and be counted. To say, this is not right to destroy an America that we grew up in that was concerned about the future of the world, that wanted to do something about climate change, that believed in free press, and that believed in truth and honesty.