Farming

Farmers grow lots of wheat, alfalfa, pears and cherries in North Central Oregon. We are enjoying the landscape and learning something about farm life. During our visit in Hood River we rode the Hood River Railroad which passed through the pear orchards. Three weeks ago we drove around the countryside, delighting at the beauty of the wheat fields.

Our work at the wildlife area has taught us a little about fertilizing and irrigating crops, in addition to cattle grazing. We have enjoyed watching the cows and calves in the field next to our RV space. Then last weekend we attended the 38th Annual Dufur Threshing Bee. Dufur is a town of about 600 people some 25 miles north of the wildlife area. The Threshing Bee includes a parade—20 minutes long—that included neat old cars, horses, ponies and antique tractors.

The centerpiece of the weekend is the exhibition of historic farming methods. We were able to see a steam-driven tractor

which is attached to a McCormick-Deering thresher with long belts that drive the threshing machinery

We watched horse-drawn plows with the farmer walking behind

and riding.

We also watched the grain being mowed with a horse-drawn harvester.

All of this is so new to me. I have driven down a high-speed highway watching modern harvest crews. But I have never seen any of these activities up close. What a treat! And I appreciate how the farmers share their history in Dufur.

New Skills

We have learned so much this week! We have developed skills with equipment we have not used in the past. These experiences are what make volunteering such a rich experience.

On Monday we went with Aimee to divert more water down a ditch that feeds ponds in the south part of the wildlife area. Through the years we have seen farmers and ranchers using tarps to direct water into their fields. We were able to see how Aimee did that. There was a small pond created to allow water to go into the wildlife area's ditch when the ditch gate is opened. That pond wasn't sending enough water down the ditch, so Aimee cut a 2 x 6 board to the correct length and set it in a slot at the top of the pond dam.

She and John then put a tarp over that dam to keep the board in place. This created a deeper pond and the ditch volume increased significantly. Now we know how that is done.

Next we met Ed and the four of us set out to repair a gate and fence. We tore down the old poles and barbed wire fence and gate. While Ed stretched straight wire and barbed wire to build the fence on either side of the gate, John and Aimee rebuilt the gate with smooth wire.

We learned a little about stringing a fence. We also learned that smooth wire is used as the bottom wire on fences around the wildlife area to enable deer to safely go under the fence without cutting their ears. The upper strands are barbed wire to hopefully keep the cattle from going through or over the fence.

Our last task was to remove irrigation pipe from two alfalfa fields so the fields could be harvested. The large pipes—2 1/2 and 4 inches in diameter—are not difficult to separate and move. The hardest part was to find them in the three foot high alfalfa. Which, by the way, really smells good.

On Tuesday we assembled two sign boards like the one we installed two weeks ago. For me, especially, this was a great learning experience. For the first time I used a table saw,

a hand-held saw,

and a chisel.

I also got pretty good at inserting screws, using a variable-speed drill.

These experiences give us the confidence we need to build something on our own. We just have to decide what it will be before we return to our house in Colorado.

Today we learned to use a hand jack to remove large wooden poles from the ground. We pulled out the old sign at one of the wildlife area entrances so we can install the sign boards we built yesterday.

We are gaining more and more respect and understanding for the work farmers and ranchers do. It's a great experience.

Bossie the Cow

A week ago or so we were sitting outside late in the afternoon, having a drink. When it was time to come inside to prepare dinner, I turned around and saw Bossie the cow (isn't that what Mama Cow is always named?) munching grass in our front yard. She was on the wrong side of the fence. Her calf and all the other cows were in the pasture, she was in our yard.

John opened the gate and I tried to shoo her that way. Instead, she ran right by me the other way. Another reason we won't buy our own ranch. A couple of hours later she was back. Again, when John opened the gate she went the other way. One and one-half hours later she wandered through our yard, eating dry grass.

After that, we didn't see her again. She must have found her way back into the pasture. That's good because John and I aren't much good at herding cattle.

Partner Receives His Own Mail

            One of our cats now has his own discount prescription card!  When it comes in the mail, it will be addressed to Partner Cat Andrews.  A first—neither of our cats has received mail in the past. 

 

I reported in an earlier blog about Partner's trip to the animal hospital in Astoria because of constipation.  We had to repeat that in early July while we were staying in White Salmon, Washington.  This time he was only in one night.  They sent him home with two prescriptions, one for a laxative, the second for something that helps his innards work faster.  One prescription has to be filled through a pharmacy that only serves animals.  So that one comes in the mail.  The second we filled at the local pharmacy.

 

            It has now been a month and we had to refill that second prescription.  We decided to move it to Walgreens, since thos stores are available almost everywhere we go.  When we went in to pick it up, they told us we could get a prescription discount card for Partner, or one for the whole family.  Not needing one ourselves, we applied only for Partner.  The card gives us almost half off on a medication that costs $20 per month.  The $20 card will pay for itself in just over two monthly refills.

 

            So soon we will receive in the mail a discount card for Partner Cat Andrews.  We're grateful for the discount, but can't help laughing at the idea of his receiving his own mail and a card that brings rewards on other purchases at Walgreens.  Not bad for an old man—in cat years he is 85.

 

John Gets to Play in the Dirt

Today John used a back hoe to dig a trench. Our first week here at White River Wildlife Area, he drove the tractor with a front loader and back hoe, but he only used the front bucket. We had both done that with a smaller tractor at Gnat Creek. This was his first time to drive a full-size tractor.

Today we were installing a large sign board near the entrance to the wildlife area. Last week Aimee and Ed put the sign board together. Today Aimee, John and I set it up. That called for digging two holes three feet deep to put the legs in. After Aimee used the front bucket to smooth out the area, she set up the tractor to dig with the back hoe, then she dug one shovel full. Next she asked John if he wanted to do it. Did he ever!

He worked slowly and methodically to learn how each lever operated, then started digging. Everything went well, except he couldn't stop giggling. Then there was a problem, two feet down he hit rock. We don't know if it is a full rock layer or several large rocks. But he couldn't dig any deeper. So Aimee said, just dig a trench all the way across.

For nine years we owned a funeral home in Castle Rock, Colorado, which had been in John's family for 38 years when we bought it. We often hired a back hoe operator to dig graves at the cemeteries in the surrounding area. But not until today did John get a chance to practice what he had seen them doing back then. What a kick!

Digging a trench 9 to 10 feet long is the way big boys play in the dirt.

Trip to Mt. Hood

When we walk out our front door, we can see Mt. Hood. It dominates the western horizon (unless there are clouds or haze). Yesterday we drove to Timberline Lodge at the base of Mt. Hood. The mountain became even more impressive as we drew closer.

It was truly an amazing trip.

Our trailer is at 2218 feet above sea level. The elevation of Timberline Lodge is 6,000 feet. And yet, 18 miles (as the crow flies) from our trailer, they are skiing and snowboarding. Who would have thought?

Timberline Lodge was built by the Works Progress Administration and dedicated in 1937 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Unlike many of the grand old lodges in our national parks, which often were built by the Union Pacific Railroad in a rustic western style, Timberline is done in art deco (I think).

We had a delightful lunch in the Ram's Head Bar, overlooking the lodge entrance and a hazy view north toward Mt. Adams in Washington.

We could see people in shorts and t-shirts walking past others in ski togs. What a contrast!

Found a ride on the ski lift up the face of the mountain costs $15. A ski ticket for the day costs $49. John asked a couple of sno-boarders what the conditions on the mountain were like. They said icy in the morning, slushy the rest of the day. And sometimes it gets very windy. I'm sure it is interesting to ski in late July. But why would anyone pay that much for one or two runs on bad snow? And yet we saw the US ski team, Chinese visitors, and people from major Utah ski areas all doing that.

Mice!

Back in May we were somewhat impressed with The Mother That Wouldn't Give Up," the mouse that kept rebuilding her nest in our storage shed. The only real trouble that caused was to make us rearrange what we stored in the shed and what we stored in the RV basement. (See Blog entry for May 11.)

This week we are downright mad at the mice that have found their way into our trailer. Tuesday I opened the drawer where I keep measuring cups, spatulas and other cooking equipment and found mouse droppings! We have been through this in the past and it isn't any fun. It means washing with Clorox water everything they might have touched, then finding somewhere else to store everything they have access to. That means silverware, cooking implements, plastic storage bags, pots and pans, oils and cooking sauces that are stored under the sink. You get the picture.

Now that we have cleaned everything and emptied the drawers and cupboards the mice can get into, our dining room table is covered with everything we pulled out. We found the beginnings of a mouse nest under the cupboard. They had the nerve to use hair from our cats to build the nest. They had gone into our trash and pulled out that nice soft fur we had brushed out of PC. John searched all over for any holes under the cupboard where the mice might get inside. Any holes are filled with steel wool, which the mice can't chew through. We had done the same thing three years ago, but travel and time had left some space around the steel wool we used. He also found a hole we had missed before. The goal is to prevent them from getting into our living area. We also baited the mouse traps again.

Each of the last two mornings, John has found a dead mouse in one of our mouse traps. We will leave everything out till we have gone two nights without catching one. They I can put everything away.

These mice are not cute.

Forest Fire

Tuesday we worked again clearing the trail along the ditch. Then, as we returned to the trailer, driving up from Tygh to Wamic, we saw a large plume of white smoke coming from the direction of our part of the wildlife area. As Ie drove the next 6 to 7 miles, it looked more and more like the smoke could be near our home. John kept saying "kick it in the butt," but I was on a washboard gravel road and couldn't drive any faster. The tension in the truck kept growing. We drove right by the office and up to the trailer. We were relieved to see the fire was some distance over the ridge west of the trailer. So we went back to the office to find out what had happened.

Josh, manager of the area, had spent the day working around headquarters, so he saw the early smoke and watched the forest service firefighters come to fight the blaze. He learned that it was started by a campfire—no burning is allowed in Oregon at this time of year without a burn permit. Very early three fire investigators were on the scene, working to find who was responsible. If that can be determined, those people will be charged with the expense of fighting the fire. That could be significant.

The fire was largely out by dark after several helicopters and a large tanker plane had been dumping water on the fire for hours. For a while we watched the helicopters coming in with buckets of water to dump on the fire. It is only three miles over the hill. Wednesday morning there was very little visible smoke. We went off to again work on the ditch. At the end of the day we could see a few wisps of smoke from that area as we returned to the trailer. It must take a long time to put a fire completely out.

This is the first time we have been working this close to a forest fire. This part of Oregon is very dry and we might experience this again before the end of August. We hope not, but can't count on that.

Views at White River Wildlife Area

This is our view of Mt. Hood out our front door. Click on each photo for a better view.









An American Goldfinch comes to the feeder almost every day.














This is the male California Quail that is raising a family near our trailer.















Last weekend we drove over to the White River Falls, not far from the wildlife area. Aren't these three falls great? As you drive through the nearby farm fields, you never expect to see something like this. We were glad Aimee brought us here during our orientation.

From the falls, we drove along the Deschutes River to Sherar Falls. Members of the nearby Warm Springs Indian Reservation have exclusive fishing rights at this point on the river. You can see the platforms they have built for their use.

Upstream a little distance, rafting is a major activity on the Deschutes. We saw numerous rafts riding the rapids. It looks like a lot of fun on a hot day. The float trips begin at the town of Maupin.

This week we clear one mile of trail next to an irrigation ditch used by White River Wildlife Area. This shows one section as John begins cutting down the brush.

Thirty minutes later this how the same section or trail looked.

No Ranch in Our Future

John would like to live on a ranch that someone else takes care of. He has decided he doesn't want to own one. Wasn't it just two weeks ago I was saying this what he had always wanted? We spent three days this week cutting brush on the path next to an irrigation ditch that is nearly 100 years old. That meant clipping off plants near ground level—bending, stopping, trying to find the stem of a 6 to 12 inch high plant that grows on a very flexible wire-thin stem. John cut off small pine trees and I threw them down the hillside. We cleaned pine needles, twigs and branches out of the ditch, which hasn't had water running in it for five years.

Where huge trees had fallen across the ditch and trail, we broke off enough branches to make it possible to climb over the tree and walk on down the trail. All of this is backbreaking work—not because it is heavy work, just because of the angle at which we have to work.

By Wednesday afternoon we were feeling pretty good. Our minds and bodies are getting used to doing physical work all day. We weren't nearly as tired as on Monday. We are glad we can see what we've accomplished, clearing more than a mile of the trail. But we wouldn't want to do it every day, week after week. If there is still any land available to homestead in the US, we won't apply.

We are impressed with what it took to develop this land and other lands all over this country. Our ancestors who settled virgin land—in Oregon, Colorado, Kansas or Virginia—worked incredibly hard. The rights for the water that flows through the ditch we worked on were acquired in 1909. The owner had three years to build the ditch to use the water. The entire six or seven miles of the ditch were dug by hand. And we think its hard work just to clean it.

A VERY Hard Day's Work

Monday we spent six hours clearing a trail next to an irrigation ditch on the wildlife area. Last year a forest fire in the area destroyed a flume on the ditch. In addition, a landslide at another point completely knocked out the ditch. The wildlife area has not used their water rights from Tygh Creek for nearly five years. If they don't use it this summer, they will lose those rights. Rebuilding the flume, repairing the ditch and clearing the trail along the ditch is a big job. In addition to three of the area's employees and John and me—their trusty volunteers—two employees from elsewhere in the fish and wildlife region were recruited to do the work.

We met the two people coming from The Dalles at 8 a.m. Monday in the parking lot of the store in Tygh Valley. When we arrived at the work site, everyone helped carry lumber and tools to the flume location. The young employees each carried one or two of the 2" X 8" X 12' pressure-treated boards. I struggled about half way with one of the boards, then gave up and let someone else take it. I did carry in some 2" X 6" X 8' pine boards. Then John and I picked up the loppers and water and started clearing the trail.

Four of the other workers are in their 20s. One is in his late 40s. We are 65. At lunch one of the young men repairing the washout commented, "I'm going to be sore tomorrow." At the end of the day the other young fellow working on that job said his hands were tired and sore.

Let me tell you, we were stiff, sore and exhausted. We did pretty well in the morning. A lot of our work was stoop labor—bending down to cut off plants at ground-level so it is easier to walk along the ditch. By lunch our backs were beginning to protest. By 3 p.m., when we quit work, they were sore and really protesting every bend. But did we say anything? Absolutely not! Everyone else is younger and full-time paid employees who have to be there. They can complain. We are volunteers and really old, compared to them. If they thought our job was a problem for us, we would be sent home in a heartbeat. So we didn't say a word.

We run 3 miles, three times a week. We weight train three times a week. We do lots of physical work. But we're not used to working all day. We came back to the RV, showered, had a drink, then I staggered up to fix dinner. We were tired and didn't want to do another thing. Thank heavens we are not working for a living any more.

You couldn't pay me to do this work. There are easier ways to earn money, if that is our goal. But we are volunteering to accomplish something, to help out. So we do things we'd never do if we were working for a paycheck. The reward of helping out makes it worth our while. No amount of money would.

Birds and Cows

I enjoy bird watching—if I don't have to walk through the woods with a pair of binoculars and stand quietly for long periods of time. Here we can sit in our RV and look out the window or sit out under the awning and watch all kinds of birds. I have identified several I've not seen before, as well as being able to observe carefully many familiar birds. It is special to watch the American Goldfinches at the feeder and the Western Bluebirds coming and going from their nest in one of the bird boxes out back. Mama and Daddy Bluebird are darting in and out of the birdhouse to feed their family—usually 4-6 young.

The biggest treat has been the family of California Quail. First I saw the adult pair outside the door at dusk. The next night I observed them near dark with their family of babies—so many little balls of feathers I wasn't able to count them in the half-dark. Another day I watched the adults walking along the fence rail on the pasture—probably near their nest. Last night we watched the mom and dad quail walk 8 or 9 babies along the edge of the pasture to eat. Some of them flew from one clump of grass to the next. What fun!

We have so many hummingbirds I must refill the feeders every couple of days. And we watch the Rufous Hummingbird try to claim and protect his territory by driving the others away from each of the three feeders. Why can't he share?

A good way to learn to relax and just enjoy life is to watch cows grazing. Why hurry? they seem to say. The herd slowly ambles from one part of the pasture to another. One cow with take off and in a while the whole herd has followed. Sometimes one cow or calf doesn't follow right away. Then they will take off bawling till they find the rest.

Some of the calves are young enough they are really playful. The other evening I watched two black calves run after each other full speed across the field. They reminded me of horses running. Later the two, probably males, were butting heads like a pair of bull elk, practicing how to fight.

We don't have a very good internet connection here, so I can't upload photos. When we get somewhere I can do it, you will be able to see some of our animal friends.