Book Reading List - 2015

• The Audacity of Hope - Author: Barack Obama
• Thomas Jefferson – The Art of Power - Author: Jon Mecham
• His Excellency George Washington - Author: Joseph J. Ellis
• Phantoms In The Brain - Author: V.S. Ramachandra and Sandra Blakeslee
• Rin Tin Tin – The Life and the Legend - Author: Susan Orlean
• The Pillars of the Earth - Author: Ken Follett
• A Walk in the Woods - Author: Bill Bryson
• In A Sunburned Country - Author: Bill Bryson
• Neither Here Nor There – Travels in Europe - Author: Bill Bryson
• Notes From A Small Island - Author: Bill Bryson
• I’m A Stranger Here Myself - Author: Bill Bryson
• The Lost Continent - Author: Bill Bryson
• Earth in the Balance – Ecology and the Human Spirit - Author: Al Gore
• The Dude and the Zen Master - Author: Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman
• The Collector – David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest - Author: Jack Nisbet
• The Flight of the Iguana – A Sidelong View of Science and Nature - Author: David Quammen
• Blue Latitudes – Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before - Author: Tony Horwitz
• Monkeys Are Made of Chocolate - Author: Jack Ewing
• The Turquoise Dragon - Author: Davie Rains Wallace
• Metal Cowboy – Tales From the Road Less Pedaled - Author: Joe Kurmaskie
• Travels - Author: Michael Chrichton
• Over the Edge of the World – Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe - Author: Laurence Bergreen
• A River Lost – The Live and Death of the Columbia - Author: Blaine Harden
• Riding Outside The Lines - Author: Joe Kurmaskie
• Roads – Driving America’s Great Highways - Author: Larry McMurtry
• A River Runs Through It and Other Stories - Author: Norman Maclean

Plants - Daphne odora

Daphne odora

I wish I could describe the smell of winter daphne (Daphne odora).  It has the most intoxicating smell of any plant I know. It's an early bloomer and is such a welcome harbinger of spring. Especially after a long,  cold, gray winter.  When it's in full bloom, the entire yard is filled with a spicy fragrance that's indescribable.  We originally planted two Daphne on each side of a small seating area where people can sit and enjoy its amazing fragrance.  

Daphne odora

I had heard that Daphne is hard to grow. However up until a year ago, we've had no problems.  Then one of the Daphne mysteriously died so I'm thinking there may be some truth to that now. 

Hike - Beacon Rock, WA

Beacon Rock should be a bucket list hike for anyone who lives near SW Washington or is visiting the area and wants to see some amazing scenery. The rock is an 848 foot (258 m) basalt volcanic plug located in the Columbia River Gorge on the north shore of the Columbia River 32 miles (51 km) east of Vancouver, WA. It's about a 30 minute drive from Vancouver, WA but feels like you're miles and miles away from civilization.

The hike to the top is rated as moderate and takes about 60 minutes depending on your condition and need for speed.

The view from the top is amazing and well worth the hike. According to Wikipedia, Beacon Rock was purchased by Henry J. Biddle in 1915 for $1. During the next three years, Henry constructed a trail to the top of the rock with 51 switchbacks, handrails and bridges. The three-quarter mile trail to the top was completed in April 1918.

Later, the United States Army Corps of Engineers planned to destroy the rock to supply material for the jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River Bar, and dug three caves on the rock's south side. During this time, Biddle's family tried to make it a state park. At first Washington refused the gift, but changed its position when Oregon offered to accept. Beacon Rock State Park was established in 1935 as a geologic preserve and public recreation area. The park is located on Washington State Route 14 in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. On October 31, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived here and first measured tides on the river, indicating that they were nearing the ocean.

Beacon Rock has been variously claimed to be the second largest free standing monolith in the northern hemisphere, or in the world, just behind the Rock of Gibraltar, Stone Mountain, or Mount Augustus, the latter two being very much larger than either of the first two.

The assertion depends on how one defines the term "monolith." For example, Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming is larger than Beacon Rock, but is considered an igneous intrusion rather than a "single rock." 

The sign at the top of Beacon Rock gives the following description >> "If you were standing here during the largest of the Ice Age floods, you would see icebergs floating in a churning mass of muddy water a mere 150 feet below you. During the floods, water shot through the Columbia River Gorge with incredible force again and again. Their great erosive power scoured the sheer cliffs of the gorge. After exiting this narrow passageway, the floodwaters spread out and slowed, dumping huge amounts of sand and silt. Parts of Portland and Vancouver sit on a series of floodbars deposited by Ice Age floods."

Bird Feeder Report

There's been lots of activity at the feeder this week. We've been seeing alot of northern flicker feeding on the suet in our custom cage bird feeder. We've also been seeing alot of bush tits who come through in huge flocks of about 30 at a time and totally swarm the suet. Dark eyed junco have been quite common hopping around on the ground and on the feeders.

Townsend Warbler with flock of Bushtit

We've also had the pleasure of seeing Townsend's warbler on the feeder pecking at the suet and picking up seed on the tray below the feeder. Anna's hummingbird have been very common all winter at the hummingbird feeder.

Anna's Hummingbird feeding from hummingbird feeder

Luckily it's been a warm winter compared to most. So the Anna's aren't having too hard of a time this winter.

Ridgefield NWR, SW Washington

Ridgefield NWR (National Wildlife Refuge) is by far one of my favorite birding spots. The refuge is located in Southwest Washington state and, 

while it's not exactly teaming with birds this time of year, it's still a great place to bring in the new year. The weather was a little chilly with lows around 25 deg. F. which made great fun watching geese and ducks skid across the frozen lakes and puddles.  

Saw a fair number of trumpeter swan, canada geese, cackling geese and miscellaneous ducks including mallard, pintail, bufflehead and northern shoveler.

 Also saw lots of nutria which look alot like Beaver with rat tails.  Nutria were originally introduced to the U.S. for their fur but have become an invasive pest due to their burrowing behavior. 

Normally, there wouldn't be too many people this time of year but there were a  surprising number  considering it was a cold, winter weekday.