Down By the River

For the past few days we have had the two trail cams aimed at a spot in the river. I was hoping to catch some of the otter action that periodically comes by.  Not too much luck with the otters, except for possibly one swimming behind some Common Mergansers, but we did have other visitors. Every now and then you get a real surprise, such as a neighbor's cow prowling through our little sanctuary in the middle of the night.

Common Mergansers with a possible river otter swimming up river in the background.

Common Mergansers. Notice the one gulping down a fish.

Raccoon, probably looking for crayfish.

Great Blue Heron

Holy cow!

Siltcoos River Canoe Trail

Today we drove south just past Florence to go canoeing on the Siltcoos River Canoe Trail. This is a 6 mile round trip starting at Siltcoos Lake and then going down the river to the ocean. the river passes through huge sand dunes as it gets close to the ocean.

Conditions were overcast with smoke haze, little wind, and a temperature around 60 degrees.  The paddle was prettier than the pictures suggest due to the poor lighting.

 The first part of the river is reminiscent of The Bayou.

 This part of the coast has miles of sand dunes.

 As we got closer to the ocean, the river became a broad, shallow estuary.

 Great Egret

 One of the fallen trees we had to paddle under.

 About halfway down the river is a dam to regulate the lake water level. It has a fish ladder.  We had lunch here on the way back.

Back at Siltcoos Lake, the largest lake on the Oregon coast.

Among the birds and animals we saw were: ospreys, a bald eagle, many kingfishers, a group of river otters, a great blue heron, great egrets, and various ducks.

Common Mergansers Fishing

Yesterday evening, we had a group of five Common Mergansers actively chasing fish right below the house. They were darting through the water, running down fish in a frenzy. By the time I got my camera, they had cleaned out the fish, I guess, and started slowly retreating back down the river.

Toga! Toga! Toga!

This past weekend, we drove to the little town of Cottage Grove where we stayed Friday and Saturday nights. The impetus of our trip was the 40th anniversary of the movie Animal House, a very politically incorrect film by current standards, starring John Belushi. Animal House was filmed in Cottage Grove, and nearby Eugene.

In 2003, Cottage Grove set the Guinness World Record for the world's largest toga party. In 2012, Australia claimed the record with 3,700 people in togas.  This past weekend, we were part of a valiant attempt to reclaim the record for Cottage Grove.

 We stayed at The Village Green Resort which hosted a free outdoor showing of Animal House on Friday night with other activities such as "Bra Pong".  We strolled the 14  acres of grounds before the event.

 We took a little bike ride into town the first day.  Oregon prides itself in the restoration of its covered bridges.

 Saturday was the parade celebrating the town's history of being the location for Animal House.  The parade starts!

 This was the bunny from the chaotic parade scene in the movie.

 This kid took his marshal arts seriously!

 The Revelators played at the toga party that night.

 Everyone's favorite, the Deathmobile! 

 Anyone with a toga could jump right in, apparently.

 Several of the "floats" took a second lap, lengthening the parade to about 19 minutes.

 Cottage Grove has a lot of old charm in a rather unspoiled way.

 This old building had a beautiful patina.

After some riding around, it was back to the room to cobble together our togas.  Despite numerous safety pins, things kept moving around, but oh well!

 We strolled the Athenian gardens...

 enjoyed feeding each other delicious grapes...

 discussed the state of the empire...

 and even debated the Roman threat.

Then it was on to Toga! Toga! Toga!  The party was held at Bohemia Park in Cottage Grove.

 We each had some private time with the Deathmobile.

 Time to boogie!

 Oh yeah!

 Gail's a winner! There was a trivia contest between bands, and Gail won this beautiful cozy, by answering, "Neidermeyer"!  We can't remember what the question was, though.  Gail actually knew all the answers, the emcee must have been deaf.

 The Cry was a very tight band from Seattle with a distinct British rocker look.

 Panorama of the stage and crowd.

 Everyone was waiting for Otis Day who sang "Shout" and "Shama Dama Ding Dong" in the movie.  The party went wild - the real high light of the evening.

Postscript: I learned yesterday that Otis Day (and The Knights) was a fictional name portrayed by the actor DeWayne Jessie (in picture above) who lip synced the song. The actual singer was a reggae singer named Lloyd Williams.  The song was originally written and performed by The Isley Brothers.  DeeWayne Jessie's role actually turned him into an R&B star who began performing and recording. He did a great job this night!

 Sunday, we strolled the gardens at the resort. This is a willow arbor with an interesting growth pattern.

Then we went bike riding on the Covered Bridge Scenic Loop.  This is a 38 mile bike route that is mostly on a dedicated bike path, a rails to trails jaunt.  We didn't do the whole 38 miles, as I was not feeling up to par after a little too much toga party.

It will be awhile before it is known if Cottage Grove reclaimed the record. Preliminary numbers are at about 3,800 - too close to call.  Documentation will have to be studied.

 The Chambers Bridge.

Another covered bridge in the distance crossing the Row River.

Yachats River Valley Farm tour

On Saturday the 11th, there was a farm tour of some of the little farms along our road. About 8 farms participated, opening their properties for the day.  Here are pictures from 3 of the farms we visited.

 We started off at Nancy Kroner's The Ranch, which raises beef, poultry, fruit, and berries.  There is also this cool pond with a flock of geese.

 Gail bought an apple pie!

 Baked goods were for sale, and free virgin mint juleps were offered to everyone.

 Nancy's farm house. The property has many huge mature trees such as apples, walnuts, and redwoods.

 Next stop was River Wind Farm, owned and run by Ann Jensen.

 One of her several greenhouses that provide produce for local restaurants.  Ann is a wiry senior who has had a couple of heat strokes working in her greenhouses. She works hard like all the other growers during the growing season.

 Next stop was Forks Farm Flowers, owned and operated by Catherine Lucido.

Some of her garden and home.

We Got A Canoe!

This week we bought a canoe in Eugene and brought her home safely with straps buzzing like a P-38 Lightning.  Today, we took it out for the first time, going to Beaver Creek, about 40 minutes from home.

We got a tried and true Old Town Discovery. I remember sending away for the Old Town Canoe catalog when I was around 12.  60 years later we finally have one!

It's blackberry picking time, and man are there blackberries to be had! 
 

Gail came up to the house this morning all out of breath and so excited. She was walking our trails after her jog, and by our swimming hole, now called Baboon Beach, she saw a large flock of cedar waxwings bathing in the river. She stood behind the vines observing and along came a belted kingfisher. Then she heard some splashing, and right before her eyes was the family of four otters. Since they didn't notice her just 15 or 20 feet away, they went about their play, caught and ate fish, huddled together for a few moments when something startled them, then went on their way over the rocks and up the river. Talk about good timing!  Otters often cover several miles a day.  We've seen this group briefly from a distance 3 or 4 other times over the last five months and usually for just a few seconds.

So I staked myself out on the river with my good camera for about a half hour but didn't see the otters. I did see this Northern Red-legged Frog and took a picture with my cell phone.

Back To The Canoe

 Here we are starting our maiden voyage up Beaver Creek today.

 Soon we saw a beaver.

 There were some very large water lilies.

 Osprey nest.

 After a couple miles or so, the creek narrows down and we were among cows and calves.

 Cows and calves.

 We called this Limbo Bridge, as the canoe barely cleared the bottom of it.  That's Gail in a full crouch.

 Then it was my turn to lie in the bottom.

 Another beaver.

Just before we got back to the boat ramp, we heard what sounded like two eagles.  Sure enough, Gail spotted this one high  in a tree. 

We're looking forward to more canoe trips! We also need to practice loading and unloading the canoe out of the public eye.  That thing is a beast to lift on and off the car!