Rain, Rain, and More Rain

What looked a month ago to be a drier than normal rainy season is not the case anymore. Since January 1, it has rained 22.6 inches according to our rain gauge. There are still 5 days left in the month with rain predicted for the next 7 days.  Our total rainfall since July 1 has been 50.3 inches.  The rainfall total from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020 was 79.2 inches, and was the second driest year in the past 10 years.

The past 2 weeks have been rainy, but mild, with temps ranging in the 40's and low 50's.  We have taken advantage of breaks in the weather to take Daisy to the beach and a few long hikes, and do some clearing of fallen trees and branches.

The following snapshots are of little "special" moments.

 Sea lions hauled out on the docks below the Clearwater Restaurant in Newport where we had lunch.

 A couple Northern Red-legged Frogs enjoying themselves in our fishpond.  There is not one fish left.  The Great Blue Heron ate them all.

 The town of Yachats on a rainless morning last Monday.

 We took full advantage and hiked the 7 mile roundtrip up to the lookout shelter on cape Perpetua.  That fishing boat in the middle of the picture was checking its crab pots despite the large swells on this day.  Where we're standing is over 800 feet above sea level.

 Looking a little further towards the north.

 On our property next to the river, Gail discovered this large fish head while taking Daisy for a stretch.  It appears to be a Coho Salmon.  A couple days before, we had seen a Bald Eagle eating something on the other side of the river.  We have heard and read about salmon and steelhead spawning on the river, but this is the first sign of one that we've seen.

Big Dog News!!!
I sent in a DNA sample from Daisy to see if we could determine what breeds she is.  The results came in, and to our surprise, she has no hound in her. She is 50% Doberman Pinscher, 12.5% American Bulldog, 12.5% Standard Bulldog, 12.5% Boxer, and 12.5% German Shepherd.  Her brindle color with a black saddle turns out to be very rare.  The animal shelter we got her from had listed her has a Doberman mix, but we didn't believe it.  Turns out she is!  She is such a gentle dog for having  rambunctious guard dog blood in her.

 This is the month that Yummy decided she doesn't have to hide from Daisy upstairs.  We weren't sure they would ever coexist in the same room.  Yummy has made it clear that if Daisy comes too close, she will tear Daisy's face off.  Daisy respects that.

 Daisy tearing the stuffing out of her llama, which we call a squirrel out of respect for our neighbor's llamas.

 We're developing a little log jam at First Beach which will be good fish habitat.  Even though we've had a lot of rain this month, the river hasn't risen too high and is running clear.  This is due to the rains being spread evenly, raining around an inch a day.  The log that crosses the river and has water flowing over it is the "bridge" that bobcats, raccoons, and even a bear use when the water level is a little lower.

 There are a lot of these birdnests in the salmon berries that can be seen in winter when the stems are bare.  This one is unique, though, with mushrooms growing out of it.

My StealthCam caught this bobcat at First Beach, close to the cabana.

Coming back a couple hours later.

Our Stormy Coast

Friday, we decided to brave the coast to observe the king tide and stormy conditions. The wind was gusting to a reported 50 m.p.h., and the rain was blasting us sideways. 

 The tide surging up the Yachats River.

 Looking back to the side where the above shot was taken.

 Strawberry Hill beach where we would be collecting agates on a calmer day.

 Neptune North which is part of our mile of coast we monitor for CoastWatch.

 This is the northern part of our CoastWatch mile, which is a little sketchy on a calm day at low tide. On a day like this, at high tide, you could easily be swept out to sea and be dead in minutes.

 Neptune South.

 At Bob Creek, a group of gulls were hunkered down on the cobblestones, pointed into the wind.  Yesterday, Gail drove by here and the parking lot was closed off.  The waves were bigger and the surge was coming up over this grassy area onto the lot.

Gulls riding it out.

This month we have had 11.5 inches of rain so far, and today is only the 12th.  It has been spaced out and raining just about an inch a day, so we haven't had flooding or super high river flows - yet. Snow is forecast for this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.

We watched this "well" at Neptune North surge and froth just like the much bigger Thor's Well a little further north.  You wouldn't want to fall into this!  We named it Hell's Well.  All the dramatic coastal features in Oregon seem to have the word "hell" or "devil" in their names.

Holiday Snapshots

 Happy Holidays from River Song!

 Daisy doesn't understand about looking at the camera.

 December 21, and the river was up and rolling.  This year we had 79.2 inches of rain from January 1st to December 31.  The town of Yachats had 50.4 inches, the second lowest rainfall of the decade.

 I went to Colorado for my annual Christmas visit.  Gail took care of things at home and enjoyed her time to do projects.

Susanna, Smokey, and I had a lot of playtime.  Smokey was helping me to draw.

 Smokey is not even a year old, and has the energy to prove it.

 Uncle Nick and Susanna made the mandatory maple logs.

 Christmas dinner was a somber affair. 

 Andria, Susanna, Elaine, and Dave partying down.

 Yours truly, just landed from another planet.

 Nick, holiday stylin'.

 The annual Christmas Eve talent show just keeps getting more talent!  Soren did very well on the glockenspiel.

Andria and Nora on trombones.

Susanna did a rock steady and restrained drum backup for Andria.

Nick, Susanna, and Elaine acted out a classic Christmas story about a train.

Dave shared an excerpt from John Muir's writing, and I hammed up an altered version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

On Thursday, Dave led Nora, Nick, Yukon, and me on a hike on the west side of Pike's Peak.  It was clear, but cold, in the teens at the top with a breeze.

We started at about 9,700 feet and climbed to The Crags at about 10,800 feet.

Yukon just loves to burrow into the snow!

The scenery was well worth it!

We ate our lunch at the overlook at The Crags, freezing our fingers in the process. 

Yukon might have run 30 miles to our 6!

We had a fun game of Herd Your Horses.  Gail found this in a San Diego thrift shop, and it has been a big hit.

Back home, I gave Daisy her present from the Johansons, a stuffed llama.  We tell her it's a squirrel, though.

Gail made us an elegant place setting and meal for New Year's Eve dinner.  At the end of the table, Yummy approves.

Well, that's all I have - just random shots.  The last two days we have cleared up all the fallen trees and branches below the house, just in time for tonight's storm.  I got to break out my welder this afternoon after breaking off a wheel from the tractor mowing deck.  The fix is strong, if not pretty.