Sundays

Rufus and I headed out into the mountains this week and we found a place that had many owls. They were young and didn’t give us much of a chance to get close, they flew tree to tree and watched us warily. It’s cooler on the mountain, but there isn’t as many streams on this side.

I brought Nicole up to the same spot. She wants to see an owl. She says she hasn’t seen one, but there was a day at my parents’ old house that Rufus alerted us to a Great Horned Owl perched on the fence. It just sat there, and we just sat there staring at each other. It flew off and picked off a squirrel off the side of a tree.

We saw a Western Tanager while we were up there. It is a yellow bird with a bright red head. It looks too tropical to be darting from pine tree to pine tree.

We didn’t see any owls, so we drove on. We are searching for swimming holes and creeks to sit in as the days are getting hotter and hotter.

We followed dirt logging roads through the Mount Hood National Forest. The risk of getting stuck and not being able to turn around caused some anxiety. We found a cliff top that looked south and east. You could see the quilting of wheat fields, cattle ranches, and orchards for miles and miles. We found a Great Horned Owl feather. My second one since moving to The Dalles.

Nicole made the statement that no matter how far into the wilderness we go, you can still see the signs of man.

We ended up in a meadow on a southern slope that was filled with about fifty or more hummingbirds. I saw a deer trail disappear into a line of trees, so I got out and walked down and saw a small spring. We got our shoes off and our feet in the water. It was ice cold. We saw one of the springs come out of the ground and flow into the other spring. There were deer that we accidentally chased off. Rufus wanted to go meet them, but we didn’t let him.

Yesterday we drove out to the Deschutes to find a swimming hole and fishing spot. We went with our friend. The sun is getting hotter and hotter. We found a sandy beach that is called Sandy Beach. It is a popular stopping point for rafting trips and is on the border of the Warm Springs Reservation. Our friend caught one smallmouth bass, but Nicole and I continue to be terrible fishers. (which is funny due to the last name)

We found this other spot far down a BLM road in a canyon. It was shaded and beautiful. We stood in the water and fished. We had wished we had been there all day, but we had left Rufus at home and needed to get back to meet his many needs. We saw osprey, ravens, hawks, and turkey buzzards. I love turkey buzzards because they fly like they love to fly.

They say there are about three weeks left of the cherry season. Soon the town will shrink again and we will be all alone on our hill. The orchard will be empty for our adventures. The roads will be clear of tractors and trucks.

The temperatures are supposed to soar next week. The winds were intense this last week, but it is quiet today. While west of the mountain, people complain about if it rains or not, here it is about the wind.

I am almost done drawing my own tarot card deck. I have three kings and four aces left. I have been working on this deck for a few months now. I can’t wait to share it.

Sometimes on a hot evening and I’m outside there is the haunting sound of the music the migrant workers down the hill are listening to. On the right is music and hushed talking and on the left is the rush of wind through the cherry orchard and crickets. Sometimes I will hear frogs. The birds are quiet at night – most of them anyway.