Fall Color Along the Deschutes

A new pair of trail shoes ....

two weeks of glorious Indian Summer weather ...

a river ...

a boon companion ...

and it's time for our annual fall color walks along the Deschutes.

We feel so fortunate to have this magnificent river flowing right through our town.  More often than not, our Thursday Date Day Hikes take place on or near the river.  Although the arid West is not known for fall color the way New England is, and for good reason, we appreciate our aspens and larches all the more for their glorious light.   They pop out against the backdrop of dark evergreens and lava rock.

The river is quite low for this time of year, and the water, flowing more slowly, shows the deep green blue more commonly seen in the glacial meltwater lakes higher up in the mountains.

The past couple of weeks we have walked along the upper sections of the river trail, above Benham Falls, where the old railroad bed it follows are clearly evident.

The original railroad bed was converted to a haul road for huge log trucks in the 1950's and is now a wide, beautifully graded trail along long sections.  It reminds me of the carriage roads outside Bar Harbor, Maine.

The rotting pilings of the old haul road bridge sit next to the new one.

Just upstream from the bridge is the old log jam, purposely created to slow the river and prevent loose logs from running into the bridge pilings.

Most of this area was clear cut in the early 1900's and the trees you see are new growth since then.   There are still mature giant Ponderosa pines in the picnic area just beyond the bridge.

Just beyond the bridge, the trail bears south, after crossing the current railroad line,

and begins its run alongside the vast lava fields created by Lava Butte, visible in the distance here:

While playing with my telephoto....

I saw a flash of movement among out of the corner of my eye.   I glanced over, expecting to see a ground squirrel, but was surprised to see this little guy peering at me from a nice secure rock pile:

He stepped out to get a better view of me...

then posed for a profile shot...

Although he was as cute as could be

I suspected he was a rather fierce creature up close and personal.   Thinking he wasn't quite the right color for a pine marten or weasel, I did a bit of research once I got home.   Although rare in our area, I believe this little fellow was an ermine, or stoat.   A special wildlife bonus for the hike.

Then we headed back to our car, parked just above Benham Falls.   Here's the final view downstream

I See Your Owl, and Raise You an Eagle

I think the people who write headlines for newspapers have the funnest job going.   Imagine the glee with which the headline writer for our local Bend paper, The Bulletin, created the above line.

In the same issue that saw a full-page article with photos about our newest wildlife icon,

the barred owl that has recently taken up residence in a busy Bend river park, we were treated to the above headline 'I See Your Owl, and Raise You an Eagle' and the photo below:

This is a bit of an insider joke for locals.  It is a real eagle, for sure, but the tall 'pine tree' it is perched on is a fake.  It is actually a 75-foot AT&T cell tower disguised as a pine tree to better blend in with the surrounding forest, just outside the city limits.  Some might describe it as an extremely tall artificial Christmas tree.   It's not a bad fake, and would be even more inconspicuous if it were planted in the middle of a forest.   This one stands apart from other trees, and although at first glance it could be mistaken for the real thing, a longer, second look makes it obvious it is faux.  

Apparently this is the coming thing for cell towers in scenic and/or populated open areas.   Here's one made by the Nello Company of West Bend, Indiana, which calls them 'monopines'.   

Here is another being assembled:

So we've got an owl.   We've got an eagle.   What will our next wildlife star be?  Ante up, Mother Nature.

I finally saw the owl

Yesterday I finally saw the barred owl that has been the talk of our town for the last couple of weeks.   My sweetheart and I were finishing up one of our favorite walks along the river, and almost walked right past this guy, who was sitting on a fencepost less then 6 feet away, at eye level.

He (she?) blended in so well with the surrounding vegetation, I nearly missed him.  It was broad daylight, though a bit overcast, at 2:00 pm on a February afternoon, so the sun was weak.   And there he was, not the least bothered by people walking by (stopping to take photos), a busy road 100 yards away, and although he turned his head away from full frontal viewing

he clearly was perfectly at ease, even when I walked right up to him.

His plumage was beautiful!   Fluffy yet silky, with delicious barring and spots.   Well, he IS a barred owl.  I had the strongest urge to reach out and stroke his beautiful feathers!   He reminded me so much of my chickens.   But I resisted mightily and we walked on, watching as other people came up, noticed the owl, and took their own pictures.   Perhaps he knows he is the star of his own movie?