USS Theodore Roosevelt

It was Christmas Eve, 2006, and Dave took us on a tour of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which he had been assigned to. It was undergoing maintenance in Norfolk, VA at the time.

I feel bad about the treatment of Captain Crozier and the resulting low morale of the crew.  The captain seems like a decent man.  Maybe he'll be reinstated?  I hope all of the stricken crew make full recoveries.

 Dave and Nora

 On the deck where the anchor chains are stored.

 Nick checking the size of those links.  Can you imagine the total weight of the chain and anchor?

On the flight deck.

We got to go up in the tower to the bridge. We also saw the berth areas, hangars, dining hall, and Dave's office.  We were struck by what a maze the ship is and how one could easily get lost.

Another Week of Isolation

 Something ate a opossum on our property this week.  Bobcat?

 While moving logs I saw several Oregon Ensatinas.  They can live 10-15 years in the wild, and if grabbed by the tail, will separate it from their body to escape, like a lizard.

 Another day at an isolated beach on Thursday.  This time, Strawberry Hill.

 Low tide allows for a lot of exploration.

 You can barely see Gail and Daisy.  We lazily sifted through little gravel patches to add a few agates to our collection.

The day was perfect, but the clouds on the horizon spelled rain for the days since. This coming week looks to be good weather for yard work and hikes in the area.

New Link!

Under the "Links" heading in the right hand column of this page, I have added "Nick's Time-Travel Tributaries".  This allows you to enjoy the fascinating world of my son, Nick.  You will see examples of his discoveries in nature, which are often the little amazing things that are overlooked by most.  You will also relish his trips to iconic sites in California and meeting his eclectic group of friends. Enjoy!

October, 2018

Pre and Post Isolation - the Past 25 Days

On February 26, we met up with Bob and Mary from Salem for a hike and picnic at Beaver Creek State Park.  It was a fine sunny day as we hiked the trails along the creek and up the adjoining hillside.

 This Common Garter Snake, sub-species Red-spotted Garter Snake, was on the trail.  This is an uncommonly beautiful garter snake, I think!

 We saw a couple Bald Eagles and this Red-tailed Hawk.

 At the top of the hill are these striking dead trees.

Happy birthday, Mary! Bob and Mary are friends of mine going back to the seventies when we worked at Napa State Hospital.


On to some more recent random shots from around the area.

 We saw these bird tracks next to some bloody patches on the sand at the beach next to Yachats.  I think they are Bald Eagle, but could possibly be Great Blue Heron, also.

 I lied, this is an older shot from February 22.  Our front yard is coming to life, and now the swallows have returned, as well as bumblebees and Rufus Hummingbirds.

Yummy, thermoregulating in a new favorite spot.

For several weeks we have had several Bald Eagles hanging out around the property as they feed on a cow or elk carcass across the river.  This juvenile is probably about 3 years old.

The following pictures are from the past 8 days.  We have been taking precautions to isolate ourselves for the past 2 weeks.  We have had to go to the grocery store and to Yachats restaurants for take out food a couple times.  We are fortunate to have deserted beaches to go to, and our own resort setting at home - not a bad place to self-isolate.

 I put the hummingbird feeder up, and presto, we had hummers within minutes.

 A male Rufous Hummingbird.

 Flashing his red gorget.

 We have had Dark-eyed Juncos on our seed feeder.

 Yummy Delicous in the midst of one of her "crazies" on a post above the hot tub.

 Raucous Steller's Jays were the first birds to arrive at the seed feeders.  We discovered that they do an excellent mimic of a Bald Eagle call to scare away other birds.  We were both fooled by a jay for a few days until we saw it making the call.  These are smart corvids!

 I love those eyebrows!

We are so lucky to have expansive, unpopulated beaches during these times. Daisy gets to run free, and we have an ever changing environment to explore.

 Gail found this agate formed in a pocket of a basaltic rock.  This is where they form before eventually being freed when the surrounding rock breaks apart.

 This area of the coast is a marine reserve.

Break time!

Cougar!

When I checked our trail cams this morning, I saw that we had a cougar stroll by the house early last Wednesday morning.  It was caught on one of our two trail cams about 100 feet from the house by the bocce ball deck, at 1:32 A.M.  This was our first "sighting" since moving to Oregon.  Wow, what a feeling to have a cougar on your very own property!

...and More Rain

The wetness continues, but we are managing to dodge storms for windows of exercise and fun  It has rained 33 inches at the house since January 1st!  Here are some snapshots from the past couple weeks.

Our waterfall and river were really charging!

 We saw this sign-eating tree on a logging road up the hill from the house.

 Daisy has learned "up" and eagerly jumps up on logs and rocks hoping for a treat.

 On Super Bowl Sunday, we drove up to the trailhead for the Drift Creek Wilderness.  I realized I should have packed a chainsaw in the car due to all the downed and leaning trees along the gravel road getting there.  The start of the hike had some snow, but as the trail dropped down about 1,200 feet, it became more pleasant.  Gail leads the way with Daisy.

The wilderness is termed "ancient forest" and has a variety of trees in different stages.  A healthy forest seems to be a bedlam of dead and living trees of all sizes such as in the pictures below.

 We reached Drift Creek after a couple hours.  This is an important salmon stream.

Unfortunately, Oregon has its share of  irresponsible property owners.  This eyesore used to be on the edge of the road. Now it is almost blocking the road going up to the trailhead.

 Everyone likes to hang out in the kitchen!

 We have given up trying to teach Daisy to stay out of the kitchen.

Gail made a great discovery!  The Ona Restaurant in Yachats is having international buffet meals twice a month.  Thursday, it was Filipino night and it was great!  Gail is drinking a Filipino drink from a coconut.

This morning, we passed a herd of elk about a mile down the road.