Washing the Truck

It was time to wash the truck.  The trip with Bob and Marti required driving on some gravel.  In addition, one section of the paved road had been used by a local rancher as a path from pasture A to pasture B.  As these cattle travel they deposit goodies on the road.  I wound up having a dusty truck with cow deposits in the wheel wells. 
   There is a washing area over near the shop.  As I was spraying under the rear fenders, a bird flew out from underneath.  At least, I thought it was a bird.  It flew, strangely a few feet away and landed mearby on the ground.  It was then that I realized that it was not a bird at all but a bat.  As I watched the little guy crawled along the ground until he found a piece of moulding to hide behind.  By this time tonight he should be flying around trying to eliminate every insect in the area.  Keep up the good work, Mr Bat.

Sodhouse Neighbor - Badger

The other day we noticed a badger walking slowly across the field at the ranch.  It was a little over a foot long and eight inches tall.  It was hunting; hunting for rodents underground.  In a little while he found something to dig for and he began to dig.  Soon he was out of sight.  One of the volunteers, Jan, went for a closer look.  Here is what she saw. 

Bob and Marti

Yesterday Bob and Marti came to Burns.  We met them in Burns and had lunch at the Broadway Deli and the conversation began.  After more than an hour I rode with in their rig on the way out to the refuge while the ladies hit the grocery store.  We had checked and found that it was ok for our guessts to spend a few nights in the RV park.  Thye set up and we cooked steaks on the grill and ate in the RV building.  It's a nice place and there is more room than in the rig.  After dinner we strolled the half-mile down to the river and watched the moon rise thru the smoke layer.
   Today we showed our friends around, the Sodhouse Ranch, the Round Barn, P Ranch, and visited the Headquarters on the way back.  We spent 30+ minutes in the viewing blind at the Marshall Pond watching ducks doing their thing.
   Tonight we are invited to Bob and Marti's for dinner and then it is over to the volunteer house for conversation and crafts.
 

Weather Change

It is Tuesday the 28th of August and you can tell.  Summer has definately peaked.  Two weeks ago it was 95 for over many days.  Now the days are getting into 80's but the nights are quite cool.  It was 44 when Mollie and I took our morning walk today.  Wait until next month.  Eastern Oregon knows extreme weather, at least in temperature.  You have to be tough to live out here.

Weed Trimming

A couple of days ago I had the "opportunity" to use a DR Trimmer.  We have all seen the commercials on TV where the guy dressed in Khakis and a polo shirt smiles while he eats thorough the large patch of tall grass.  Well, it wasn't tall grass that I needed to tackle but tall weeds instead.  Let me tell you that the commercial is only a "representation" of what really happens.

  Yes it does have an electric start, but that is after it is warmed up.  If the machine is cold, you will need to pull the starter rope to get it going.  Yes, you walk behind it as it tears away at whatever is near its spinning nylon strings.  But weeds, especially good sized ones, require that you go over the spot several times from different directions.  You had better be wearing a protective face shield because dirt, dust, and debris is flying every which way, so you may get your khakis and your polo a little dirty in the process.  If you have allergies, your eyes are going to be in deep trouble.
   The job will get done, but you will know that you have done a days work and you will need a long hot shower.  

Caspian Terns

Caspian Terns have recently gotten some bad press because of their nesting habits.  Because of loss of nesting locations they started nesting on islands near the mouth of the Columbia River and in doing so, were feeding on immature salmon. 
   At Malheur we have a problem with invasive carp and how to get rid of them.
Fish and Wildlife came up with a solution;  build artificial islands in several lakes so that the terns will end their northern migration at these islands and not on the Columbia.  So the islands were constructed last year.  It was a major project involving lots of fill material and machinery to construct the islands.  They were placed on Malheur Lake, Fern Ridge Reservoir, and Summer Lake in Oregon and several lakes in California.  Decoys were placed on the islands and machines making certainnesting sounds were installed.  The result---  nesting birds the first year.  Check out the link and at the bottom of the page is a link to the webcam actually on Tern Island on Malheur Lake.  You will see the decoys and more importantly, moving and flying and nesting birds.  Terns eating carp instead of salmon.  I would call that success.
http://www.fws.gov/malheur/caspian_terns.html

Steens Mountain Loop

   Today we took the loop up to Steens Mountain.  It was a fun day.  With the exception of the smoke from the fires down south the scenery was great.  It has been two years since we had been on this road and there were changes.  A few miles in on south road, we encountered a few wild horses louging under a Juniper tree. 


   The south end of the loop has been improved, by a huge amount.  Where there were ruts and large rocks in the roadway, there is a smooth layer of gravel.  The incline is still very steep, the edges look down into the canyon as you climb what is called the coxcomb.  The elevation gain is over 4000 ft in the span of about 5 miles so that rush is still there.  The u-shaped canyons still draw your eyes toward them as you negotiate the serpentine route to the east.


   Our favorite stop off place is still there.  A great lunch of sprimp and crackers at the edge of miles of nothing.  Gazing off into a canyon, no one anywhere nearby, the only noise were the grasshoppers making sounds like lawn sprinklers, chi -chi - chi, shtt, shtt,shtt shtt, chi, chi, chi

   After lunch we resumed the climb to the summit, to the altitude of 9724 ft.  It's the highest place in Oregon you can drive to.  The view is amazing, canyons to the north, east, and south, the  Alvord Desert 5000 ft below to the east.  Time spent looking and photo taking and then the 26 mile descent back to Frenchglen with a stop to check out the gnarled Aspens at Jack Lake.

Driving Danger

The road to Burns has it's dangers.  No it is not the road itself.  That is paved and straight as an arrow.  What is ON the road is the cause of the problem.  Although fences line the road edges, there are always bovine intruders ready to saunder from one side of the road to the other.  These are not something you want to run into on your way to town, literally or figuratively. 

Night Hawks

This morning's wildlife report.

  Night hawks on the nearby tree branches.  A doe on the road.  Rooster pheasant in the field.  A coyote in another field.  Two Redtailed Hawks on successive power poles.  A harrier flying low over the mowed hay.  Six turkey vultures sitting on a fence along the gravel road into the ranch.  Because of our evening program, these are one of our favorite birds.  Later this morning several dozen white pelican circled overhead searching for thermals.  They are always fun to watch.

First days of work at Sod House Ranch

The weekend has come and gone and we have one more work day before our days off.  I am disappointed by the attendance (or should I say lack of attendance).  Here are the numbers Friday – zero,  Sat – four, Sun – five.  All the work we have done to get this place ready for opening and nobody shows up.  It’s not like there have been hundreds of folks at the headquarters either.  The visitation numbers are pathetic.  Maybe it is the heat.  Maybe it is the economics.  Maybe it is the time of year.  Or maybe it is the place.  Malheur is an out of the way location for sure.  I wonder what can be done.

  PS   Zero for Monday too.   Hmmmmmmm...

Tule Ducks

   Tuesday we rode with Carla, our supervisor, to a camp for foster kids.  We were one of the programs.  Carla explained the importance of cattails and tules, both of which grow in the wetlands of this area.  One of the uses if these plants was to make decoys which were used to hunting.  Nets were put around ponds, decoys put out to entice waterfowl, and then the duck were ensnared wher they tried to get away.
    So R and I helped the young people make decoys.  Take a look.  They are pretty amazing and surprisingly easy to make.

    We were too busy helping to make our own so we look forward to next week when Carla says we will be making some more here at the refuge.  She wants to make some decoys for the State Fair.  Stay tuned. 

Morning walk Saturday 8/11/12

Saturday morning and I am awake by 6:30. Time to take "the girl" for our morning walk. I get dressed and put her on the leash and away we go. The route is familiar; south out the gravel service road, on the main road, which is also gravel, up the hill heading west. At the top of the rise the road bends to the right, north and becomes pavement at the main entrance to the headquarters area. I don’t know if Mollie remembers this route, because she is too busy smelling the smells and checking the side of the road for interesting creatures.  We go past the mail boxes, turn right to the overlook. From the overlook you can look down on the headquarters and its buildings, and down to the east, the rv area and our trailer.

Standing on this hill I was aware of two major things. The first was the roar of the silence. No wind, no vehicles, no people. The only sound to be heard was the buzzing of two flies and chirping of a distant bird.
The second feature that struck me was the amount of water that was before me. The amount of standing water must be double what was here in 2009. There is water where I have not seen water before. The birds are loving it because there is much more aerial activity than back two years ago. It is exciting to see

Monday 8/13/12

  Hot again today.  R and I worked out at the ranch for several hours this morning.  Instead of working a full day we decided to go home at lunch and get cool and work a half day tomorrow.  The ranch officially opens on Wednesday the 15th.  We will be ready.

   You know you are on a wildlife refuge.  Birds are everywhere.  Ibis, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Cormmerants, Sand Hill Cranes, Coyotes, Harriers, Rabbits.  and that is just after three days here.  Some day this week it will be carp.  Stay tuned.
 

Malheur 8/10/12

We are here.  Luckily it was an uneventful trip.  R drove the Prius so we could use it to drove to Minn in Sept.  So I was stuck with Mollie as my companion.  Don't get me wrong, Mollie is great for walks and sitting on your lap, but I prefer my wife's company in the car (or truck).  No question.

  We start tomorrow.  We will go out to the Sod House Ranch and start to open up the buildings.  How dirty can they get when they sit vacant all winter.  Hmm.......  It should be interesting.  I'll let you know.

Lets Go !! Thursday 8/9/12

Finally, we are ready to head out to Malheur Wildlife Refuge.  We got the trailer back at 3:30 on Wednesday afternoon.  It now has a new motor and gear for the bedroom slide.  It sounds differently when it moves now.  Today was spent doing lots of chore to get the rig ready.  A little polishing, lots of loading, some rearranging, some unloading, a little paintng ( I also repaired and repainted a park bench in my spare time), did I say packing?  The day was one big whirl.
   Now, as I write this, my brain is doing the " what have I forgotten to load?"  I will, no doubt, think of something in the middle of the night.
   Tomorrow,  zoom, zoom.

I "eeked" today Wed 8/8/12

Yes I did !  After my walk with Mollie I decided it was a good day to clean out the storage shed in the back yard.  Clouds were keeping the sun hidden so the temp was low; a good time to do a yucky job.  And so I started.
   Grab a box, tote it out into the yard. Grab another, do the same.  As I was carrying a medium sized wooden box out, I looking into it and something moved.  Several things moved!  Little gray things moved in the box.  I remember emitting some sound as I rapidly put down the box, but I'm not sure what it was.  It might have been an "eek".  I'm not positive.  Whatever it was it woke up my wife.

   The shed did get clean and things put back.

Home in Eugene Aug. 4, 2012

The problem with being home is that there are three million things that need to be done on the house and yard and not enough time to get going on most of them when we are home for such a short time.  So we did the big things, weeded and trimmed and called it good.
  I was going to try to get the trailer polished while it was sitting in my driveway, but a more pressing problem cropped up.  When I went to put out the bedroom slide I flipped the switch the wrong way ( which I have done before) and instead of hearing the motor grunt, I heard a clunk. ( not a good sound to hear from a piece of machinery).  I immediately reversed the switch and the slide started to open.  However, instead of doing it smoothly like it has for the last five years, the motor hesitated every six inches or so.  I tried it in the other direction with the same result. (Again not a good thing).  After calling several RV repair facilities, "We can't get you in for several weeks." I finally found one that had room for me.  So I took it in on Monday July 30. 
   The clunk and the jerks meant two problems, a broken gear and broken motor.  Good news; it can be fixed and it is covered by our maintenance policy.  Bad news; the motor is not in stock anywhere so has to be made at the factory in Iowa.  5-10 days to get it made and shipped.  Our departure date is on hold. 
    We have had some maintenance situations this year, but I am not complaining.  The trailer tire did not disintegrate while we were on the highway.  The water pump did not totally go out while we were on the ET highway a hundred miles from no place.  The front brakes pulsed but still slowed us coming down the mountains.  They have been replaced.  And now the slide.  The problem could have happened anywhere that we have been.  Instead it did it in our driveway.  Wow!