January Pictures

 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 morning view from the hot tub.

The coast temperatures have been much milder than at our home 8 miles inland.

Cormorants and a gull at Seal Rock.

A beach scene at Seal Rock.

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.

Looking up the coast from our perch.

Looking a mile or two northward across the Salmon River we could see a herd of elk lounging and grazing in the yards of these homes.

Meanwhile, back home, we noticed two dead salmon on the bank of the other side of the river, so I aimed a trail camera at it to see what might come along and eat it.   A nutria came plodding by, but being a vegetarian, it showed no interest.

A family of otters also came by, but they weren't interested either.  I think the salmon were frozen solid.  Eventually, a raccoon started chipping way at it, and now the remains are mostly gone.

A bobcat made 3 appearances, but I don't know if it ate any of the salmon.

And last but not least, a couple cute pictures of Gail and Daisy.

Jeremy Comes To Visit Us

 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.

On New Year's Day, we all took a hike up Gwynn Creek Trail to the tree we call "The Big Momma".

On the second, Jeremy and I drove to Waldport to get the skinny on freshwater fishing from the local bait and tackle shop.  From there, we browsed a used book store, and then went up to Seal Rock for a little beach walk.  Gail had an obligation up in Newport and couldn't bum around with us on this afternoon.

An overview of the beach at Seal Rock.  We hit it at low tide.

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.

Looking down from the bridge I had a good view of a flock of Canada Geese,

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!  

Monday the 5th, it was time to say goodbye.  We miss you, JJ !

Winchester Bay Trip

 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.

On the way down, we stopped to look at the view of the Haceta Head Lighthouse.  We were surprised to see hundreds of sea lions on the beach right below us.  Gail had the binoculars and saw several sea lions playing with a buoy.  They were pushing it around and flinging it in the air!

We had a nice long beach walk along Winchester Bay and down the beach past the jetties.   

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.

Gail took this shot, a fitting end to a gorgeous winter day.