The Birds and the Bees

 "Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees... "    Jewel Akens would be in his glory here right now, as we certainly have birds and bees, and other natural delights, (although maybe his lyrics weren't literally about bees and flowers). 

Last Friday I rode my e-bike over the mountains to Eckman Lake east of Waldport.  It was a 31 mile round trip with about 25 miles being on gravel Forest Service roads.  It is a bit of a maze of logging roads, usually unmarked.  Fortunately, I have a good map app that shows my location via satellite.   

Bye for now 😎

Bears

 We left a trail cam on the Carson Creek abandoned logging road for the past 8 days.  This is about 3 miles from our home.  We didn't get much, but we did get a couple different bears on their commute.

This bear looks plump and healthy.

This skinny bear went off the trail to come sniff out the camera and give it a good whack.  

La De Da!

 July 4th is the annual La De Da Parade in Yachats.  It seems that half the town is in it, including SWIFTY.

Gail and I carried the banner followed by a puffin, otter, and swallow kites.  My birdhouse played musical bird themed earworms; Rockin' Robin, Surfin' Bird, and Fly Like An Eagle. Gail got a lot of attention for her creative costume!

Wally was ahead of us with the Trails Committee, but I know he really wanted to be with SWIFTY.

It was a beautiful day for a parade.  The vibe was all smiles and no partisan politics. Photo by Quinton Smith.

The temperature was in the 60's at the parade, but 8 miles up the river at our house it was 96.  The next day, the 5th, it reached 103 degrees.  It is 103 again today.  We have spent the last two afternoons floating and swimming in the river.