The Giving Tree

Our little apple tree next to the greenhouse had a bumper crop this fall. We picked quite a few apples before the animals caught on, but Monday night, while we were in Salem, it was like feeding time at the zoo.

First, it was our practically resident doe and her two fawns...

and then the mama bear and her two cubs...

who spent about seven hours going up and down the tree, eating apples, and doing what bears famously do in the woods - on our grass.

A couple videos showed "Mama Bear standing up and leaning on the plastic fabric of the greenhouse which thankfully didn't tear.  I was also thankful one of them didn't fall through the top of the greenhouse, as some of the branches extend over the top.

During daylight, the squirrels carried off apples to eat on our front porch or by the woodshed.

When the bears took a break, the raccoon ran in for its share, back and forth, apparently stashing the apples somewhere.

Last night we were able to discourage the bears from coming back by putting a radio in the greenhouse, tuned to a non-stop preacher, and a back lit oscillating fan for movement.

Today, we picked all remaining apples, pruned out the broken branches, and cleaned up the debris. The tree's bark has deep claw marks through its bark, also.  We'll be more ready next year now that we know what to expect.

Salem Trip

We spent two days in Salem, staying with friends Bob and Mary. I worked with Bob and Mary in the 70's and 80's in the Adolescent Treatment Program at Napa State Hospital. They moved to Oregon around 2000, and I hadn't seen them since, until this year.  On Monday, we all hiked through the very cool Riverfront Park and into the old part of the city. On Tuesday, we drove out to Silver Falls State Park with its spectacular and numerous waterfalls - several which you can actually walk behind. I should have brought a good camera as my pretty good cell phone locked me out and I didn't know my password. Gail's older cell phone at least filled in, but could not do the fall scenery justice.

 Here we are at the new pedestrian suspension bridge ("Taco Bridge") in Riverfront Park.

 Lifting this tree up for me to pass under.

 The water flow was pretty low, but spectacular anyway.

 When we started the hike, it was 40 degrees. When we finished, it was 79 - very warm for this time of year.

 Bob says a guy went over this waterfall years ago in a canoe and survived.

Bear

Last night, we had a visitor, or maybe visitors, caught on the trail cam. I noticed the day before that all the fallen apples were gone from under one of our apple trees. I think I know where they went.

The cam was just below the house by our bocce ball area.

I have moved the cam up by the apple tree to see what's eating the apples on the ground. Stay tuned!

Fall In Yachats: Fungi, Salamanders, and More!

I'll start out with a couple pictures from this evening of the river down by our old spruce tree.

 

The following are from several hikes in the area over the past week.

 Coastal Giant Salamander on the Ya 'Xaik Trail just north of town.

 On the Ya 'Xiak Trail.

 Garter snake with bright red head, also on the Ya 'Xaik Trail.

The fungi below are from the national forest above the Carson Cemetery, about 3 miles from our house.

McKenzie River and Obsidian Trail

We drove east on Monday, for three days of exploring around the McKenzie River area east of Eugene.

 The McKenzie River next to where we stayed at the KcKenzie River Mountain Resort.

 The fall foliage was in its prime through much of our trip.

 Our room on the right surrounded by fallen maple leaves.

 Ok, I was a sucker and spent $1 to see the "fun time" behind the closet door. This was in the entrance of the restaurant we ate dinner at, the Takoda Restaurant in Rainbow.

 The next morning, we drove the scenic byway, Highway 242, up to the trailhead for Obsidian Trail.

 Obsidian Trail is a limited entry area, and Gail was fortunate to get us permits some time ago. 

 After about a mile, we had to hike through a recent fire area.

 Soon we were back in the woods.  The hike was a 12 mile lollipop hike with a steady gain of 2,139 feet.  The temperature at the trailhead was 53 degrees, but up on the higher portion of the hike was in the low 40's.

 We need a bumper sticker that says, "I brake for mushrooms." Photo by Gail.

 We had a real mix of terrain, unlike the coast. The trail started going through old lava flows from North Sister, one of the Three Sisters mountains.

 Lava flow.

 Weird and fascinating fungi on the end of a log.

 Gail called these lemon gummies.

 Much of the trail sparkled with obsidian.  Two volcanic rocks, basalt, I think, and obsidian.

 Near the high point of our hike was Obsidian Falls.

 An interesting mix of alpine meadows, streams, and volcanic formations.

 Close up of the boulder in previous photo.

 After reaching the Pacific Crest Trail at Obsidian Falls, we hiked about a mile then dropped down on Glacier Trail which eventually reconnected to the Obsidian Trail.

 On the way down, we entered a cloud.

 The fog in the burned forest was rather eerie.

Driving back down the mountain on the 242, a gorgeous scenic route.

 Wednesday morning, we drove up the 126 along the McKenzie River. We stopped and did a 3 mile waterfall loop hike.  This is Sahalie Falls.

 The McKenzie River above the falls.

 Koosah Falls.

 Koosah Falls.

 The water in this river is very clear and looks blue.

 An American Dipper going for underwater insect larvae.

 If you look closely, you can see a young man hanging from a couple lines over Sahalie Falls.  The lines were tied to a tree on each side of the gorge.

Why?

 We have a hard time passing up roadside attractions. There was nobody around this place along highway 20 east of Sweet Home. 

Well, that about does it for this trip. We are eager to explore more of this great state.  So much to see!