Wednesday, February 18, we were greeted by falling snow. It was about 2-3" deep by later in the morning. We are having a cold snap this week after a rather warm, dry winter.
Click the link below to snow falling towards the river.
The first week of this month was rainy and relatively warm for January. Since then, it has been dry, clear, and cold. The morning lows have been below freezing with the past two mornings being 22 degrees. We still have been doing walks and hikes almost daily. Below are some pictures of from the past couple weeks.
The coast temperatures have been much milder than at our home 8 miles inland.
There have been a lot of gulls resting at the bay in Yachats. Notice how far up the rocks driftwood logs have been hurled by tides and surf.
Yesterday, we drove up to Lincoln City and hiked the trail up to God's Thumb. The thumb is that steep mound of rock on the left that resembles the thumb of God. There is a group of people clustered on the top, 400 feet above the water.
A closer view of the folks on top. It was looking a little crowded for our taste, so we sat on the grassy knoll above the thumb.
My Grandson Jeremy drove from Colorado Springs to Yachats to visit us on his way to Napa. It was quite an effort, a long detour, and we were honored he would do this. He is an apprentice electrician and hopes to find work in the SF Bay Area. His grandmother is generously letting him stay in her cottage behind her house. He arrived on New Year's Eve, and left on the 5th.
We had so much good food! Black-eyed peas from Nick and Lauren with collard greens, chowder from Luna Sea, food from Taste of India, and the last night at The Drift Inn.
The friendly woman at the Bait and Tackle Shop in Waldport suggested we fish for steelhead 18 miles up the Alsea River at Mike Bauer's Plunking Shack. The shack was occupied, so we fished in the open. Fortunately, it didn't rain the 5 hours we were there.
From the bridge looking down at Jeremy, on the right. You can see the roof of the plunking shack on the right, which is open in front, and has a wood burning stove.
Fishing was slow, as it was early in the season we were told. This woman caught a nice sized steelhead. We saw a couple other steelhead caught, but Jeremy didn't have luck. We learned a lot from the other fisherpersons there. They went out of their way to help Jeremy and show him the best set-up. We'll be better prepared the next time.
I also watched a Black Phoebe catching insects. Only recently have they been this far north as climate change seems to be expanding their range.
Sunday the fourth, we went to City Lights in Florence and saw Marty Supreme. Timothee Chalamet's acting was superb!
On December 29, we headed down to Winchester Bay, just south of Reedsport, to meet Paula and her dog Iggy. We met Paula through Lorie, as they have been long time friends.
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Unfortunately, Gail was struck by an arrow. |
On the way home, we drove down to the beach below the Haceta lighthouse keeper's house to watch the sun go down.
