Woke up to something chewing a hole in the leather of my boots. This isn’t the AT, we don’t have mice I don’t think. I have a feeling it was something larger. What could it possibly be?
Heading up the West Table Mountain trail. Clear skies so far. 🤞🏼
Malheur county in eastern Oregon badly needs jobs and investment. Two Nevada gold mining companies have been working for years to build Oregon's first chemical process mine south of Vale, promising over 200 high paying jobs. But between cyanide contamination, rock dust and water use, environmentalists have a long list of concerns.
So many wildflowers out there right now. But all that pollen and nectar doesn't come without risk. Crab spiders are expert pollinator predators, blending in with flowers and ambushing hungry bees and flies. This one caught a whopper.
Usually I go out New Year's morning to a wetland and start my year bird list out right, but this year, between work and getting back to running, it'll be a slower start. My #birdsof2023 list starts with a quick park walk this morning:
I should know by now, that whenever I'm on the fence about fitting a walk into my day, I should always take the walk. I was feeling lazy and almost skipped this one, which would have been a shame. Three of my favorite migrant songbirds that I hadn't seen yet this spring, including one, the evening grosbeak, that I'll never take for granted, given how they've declined over the past ten years.
When the sun's out strong, I usually look for shade, and when there's solid dark shade for too long I venture out into the sun, but dapple? I can sit in a good dapple all day long.
Even when living directly in the middle of an Old Growth Doug Fir forest (yea!) in #Oregon, this allergy year has been one of the best ever.
Until yesterday, when the Cottonwoods started spewing their cotton balls of seed/pollen. Looks like light snow falling. My ass has been kicked for 48 hours now. Mild runny nose and watery eyes but mainly extreme fatigue. Tried some yard work, legs felt like they were dragging around 20# weights. Grrrrr
If you're in #Oregon and can shift heavy appliance use to nighttime, by all means join PGE's Time Of Day program. They charge a WHOPPING amount in the peak hours, but the other hours are thus far so cheap they have saved me about $11/month off the bill for many months since I got on the program. I think my second month might have been $1 in savings and I had one that was like $38. It adds up. Save some $, help the utility and give it a shot if you can! #PGE
Met a friend about 5 minutes walk from my front door today. We get a lot of garter snakes, but this is the first big noodle I've seen here since I moved in. Hard to tell from the photo, but it's about 3 and a half feet long. I played crossing guard and watched for traffic while it crossed the street. What a beauty.
Made it out on the trail at sunrise. Little bit of a green tunnel so far but just hit this view of Gillette Lake and Table Mountain. So happy to be out in nature. There is something so freeing about living off of only the possessions you have in your backpack.
Hiked up Elk Mountain this morning to do a loop hike, returning on the Elk Creek trail. The Elk Mountain trail climbs straight up the mountain, ascending 2000 feet of elevation in the first 1.5 miles. The summit was in a cloud so no views at the top. Still enjoyed it. Was passed by a trail runner who I saw yesterday in the gorge.
Trans, intersex people cannot safely travel to GOP #Florida. Your legal gender is irrelevant; they wrote new definitions. Can Jaime Lee Curtis travel there safely?
GOP #Kansas makes it illegal for trans people to use correct bathrooms, and for IS people to use bathrooms at all without separate facilities - or a guard.
#Nebraska GOP broke the filibuster, passed a 12-week abortion ban, banned trans youth health care.
A fash strategy note: most #Oregon GOP senators can't run again due to quorum-denying walkouts.
M5.6 #earthquake about 110 km west of Eureka, #California at 11:44 PDT Sunday. Reports of shaking in Eureka but there is no #tsunami threat.
This region is a frequent earthquake producer as it is on the southern boundary of the Gorda Plate (sometimes referred to as the southern portion of the Juan de Fuca Plate) where it meets the Pacific Plate. This was not located on the subduction zone.
Spring is turning into summer here in Corvallis, Oregon, and that means nighthawks in the sky, a changing cast of wildflowers and the last few OSU science talks of the year. Plus volunteer opportunities to help clean up trails and a very cool documentary on sound at the Darkside: