Another Hungry Merganser

We found another hungry merganser shopping for lunch. This one caught a fish.

A Red Shouldered Hawk.

Since you seen nothing for mergansers for a few days, I thought I break up the monotony with some images of the red shouldered hawk. This fellow was perched in a tree just next to the road. I only had to lean out the window.

Hunger is not a Game if You are on the Menu

The high point of the day has to be when I managed to catch this hooded Merganser with a freshly caught frog in his mouth. Normally, I'll include 4-6 photos in a blog post so that your daily bite is modest and I don't bore you to death. I prefer to spread out the boredom and let it creep up on you over time.

However, today, you're getting a longer posting that forms a sort of slow motion rendering of this bird having lunch. Yes, I could have made a video, but since I really prefer the still image, this is what you get.

More Mergansers to Enjoy

It was a calm day so the only ripples in the water were of the merganser's making. This combined with the reflected colors give the birds a perfect background.

Hooded Mergansers

I've got a batch of photos of hooded mergansers to share with you and today is the first installment. While at the Ridgefield reserve, we were in a slough of many channels and pools of water. In one of the channels were these mergansers just chilling and enjoying life.

The Great Blue Heron - III

And so here he is in all his mating splendor. These really are fine looking birds.

The Great Blue Heron - II

Continuing where we left off yesterday, we see our friend out strutting her stuff, showing out her top knot, her new colors, and her new layer of slender feathers on his back.

The Great Blue Heron

One our way south from Snohomish to Cottage Grove, we spied signs for an interesting wildlife reserve. We decided to stop on our way back home. As usual, we managed to arrive near midday - not the best time for birds. But it was overcast and raining off and on, so we were hopeful.

One of the more common residents is the great blue heron. For the first time, we found a trove of herons during the beginning of mating season. As a result, all the guys are decked out in their finest breeding plumage.

Office Covered Bridge

The last covered bridge on our tour though the bridges of Lane County Oregon is the Office bridge.

Cottage Grove After Dark

Well, technically, it is before sunrise, I suppose. I went for my morning run and saw a few things that I thought might make interesting photos. So, when I got home, I grabbed a camera and hopped in the car to go back and see what I could see.

Above is the service station that really grabbed my eye. Except for the trim on the truck outside, the car wheel inside, and the walk/don't walk sign, it could really be from about 60 years ago. And it probably is.

Cottage Grove Downtown

This is a small town with little going on in the many buildings that were once bustling with people and business. To liven things up, the folks here tend to cover flat surfaces with mural of one sort or another. Above is a bit of detail from a larger mural you'll more of below.

Cottage Grove Street Art

Cottage Grove has a downtown that is a mix of old and new. Old buildings, some with old advertising designs on them sit beside old buildings that have recent artwork on them.

Cottage Grove Cemetery

Spread out on a pleasant hillside just west of town is the Cottage Grove Cemetery. We found that there were plenty of older gravestones to see here.

Trees and Birds

We stopped to see some large birds in the bare trees beside the road and discovered that at least some of them were great blue herons taking care of nests.

More Trees and Some Water

Since you saw these sorts of trees in B&W yesterday, I thought I show a few scenes in color so you could see what they really look like. It is hard to imagine how much rain it must take to produce this much fluff on trees.

Foggy Mountains and Mossy Trees

The day we out to see covered bridges was a dreary one. There was fog and rain for much of the day. Since we were in our nice CR-V, all dry and warm, it was still a good day. Along the way, I was able to grab a few shots of the countryside to share.

The Unity and Pengra Covered Bridges

Unity bridge is another one that is in current use. Lane County has done a good job of maintaining these landmarks and keeping them relevant to the residents.

The Stewart, Dorena, and Parvin Bridges

The Stewart covered bridge is one of the bridges that has not (yet) been renovated. As you can see it sits disconnected from either river bank and has become a destination for graffiti. I like this angle of view especially because you can see that a rope is tied to the bottom for folks to swing out to the river for a swim. I'll bet that Mosby Creek that flows under the bridge is cold in any season.

If you find this bridge on the web, you'll see that my photo shows it in a worse state than that web site reports. It seems likely that it is in some intermediate stage of repair.

The Currin and Mosby Creek Bridges

The area around Cottage Grove is littered with covered bridges, so after those in town, we headed out to survey the countryside for more. First up is the Currin Bridge that spans the Row river.

Although you cannot see it in the photo above, it is painted white on either end and red on the sides. It is the only two-color bridge in Oregon.

Bridges of Cottage Grove, OR

After a few weeks at home recovering from our trip to Sequim to recover from being at home recovering from our trip to Europe and Covid..., we took a long weekend to Cottage Grove, Oregon. Why, you might ask. Well, Lane county where Cottage Grove is located is famous for being in covered bridge country, so we thought we'd go have a look about.

Above is the Centennial Bridge just next to main street in Cottage Grove.

Various and Sundry Plant Parts

This evergreen tree seed cone attracted my attention. Each seed location appears to have a very tiny manta ray with his nose stuck inside. Not like the cones found on the east coast.

Old and New Paths

On this day, I tried to venture out in a new-ish direction. I walked down to First street and headed east. Eventually, I walked through a neighborhood that is either a new one for me or at least one I have not trod in many months.

Warm and Cold

 In the afternoon of a sunny but cold day, I found this bush on the north side of a house where it had had no sun all day. Even in the early afternoon, it is still coated with dew.

A Few of the Various Stages of Plants

 As you've seen here before this winter, many plants are already preparing for the short, cool summer in this part of the world.

There are Colors to Be Found Outside

If you walk the streets often enough you begin to notice that there are sources of color to be seen. For reasons that I do not know, this plant shows her scarlet underclothes once the bright greens of summer fade.

Some Planty Bits that Caught my Eye

This well pruned rose bush is already putting out a few tiny buds in preparation for spring.

Signs of the Season

While there are still red berries to be had, much what there is to see on a walk about town is brown and green...dead leaves, dormant bushes and evergreens.

An the ubiquitous water.

A Morning in the Sun

The sun is always low in the sky here but in the winter especially so. As a result, even in late morning or early afternoon, the shadows can be long. This makes for a lazy photographer because now I don't need to get up early to get the good light.