This Bucket is a bit of a travelogue that includes a beautiful wildlife area and weather-related time-sensitive material. I had a work assignment to look at a vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley that resembles the title photo, and which could actually be the vineyard. We’ll continue after the standard Bucket announcement.
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
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On Thursday I drove from my home in Edmonds down to my work project area near Salem, Oregon (the “Subject Property” as we refer to it). I left at 0630 under dark and rainy skies. I have reasonably good vision from 3 feet and beyond, but these old eyes struggle driving at night with rain, slashing windshield wipers, and wet pavement compounded by glaring headlights. Daylight broke when I reached Olympia. But it was constant rain until around Woodland, WA. From there on it was fine. The constant heavy rain foreshadowed what was coming in the way of flooding.
Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge was very close to my work area. So, after walking around 25 acres of vineyard, taking the requisite field notes and photos, I headed over to Ankeny NWR. Here’s a map showing the layout:
Map - Ankeny NWR
As is typical at many wildlife refuges, winter time is a time to give the birds a chance to rest, and so many of the trails were closed. But there was a nice boardwalk trail I walked, the Rail Trail Boardwalk. I also stopped at the Eagle Marsh Kiosk. I didn’t get any good birdee photos because the waterfowl were all hunkered down in the distance. But by now everyone should know what a Bufflehead looks like. And there were plenty of Buffleheads along with Ruddy Ducks, Northern Pintail, American Wigeons, and probably a few others that I couldn’t identify even with binoculars. I’m not complaining, though, because how can one complain about a walk in nature, despite some flooded trails and wet feet? I did see one Black Phoebe, which usually creates a rare sighting notice in the Seattle area but could be more common here in Oregon. Some cool drive by sightings included a Kestrel perched on a wire, a Great Horned Owl swooping close by as I drove, and about a half dozen Northern Harriers acrobatically flying over a field (Official Bird of the Daily Bucket™).
Please indulge me as I show you some photos of the area to inspire you to visit there.
Considering the long drive and a couple hours of actual work, I overnighted in Independence, Oregon, a really cool little town right on the bank of the Willamette River. Considering all the rain we had, the river was flowing big, brown, and fast. In fact, overnight the river came up even more. Here are a few photos of the river and town.
As I mentioned, Independence, Oregon, is a really cool little town with quaint shops including a used bookstore and a bakery among others. I picked up a fresh loaf of still warm sourdough to take home. As I was in the bakery, my wife called to tell me Interstate 5 was closed at Chehalis from flooding. Rut roh. I headed north and Google Maps rerouted me around the closure. She put me back on the freeway between Chehalis and Centralia. By that time the freeway had partially opened with a right lane closure in Centralia. Flooding in the area was obvious. I never hit a traffic jam along the reroute and it added only about an hour drive time.
Have a great day everyone! Stay dry!
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