Splendor in the Grass

Jewell Meadows Elk Refuge, Oregon ~ December 3, 2011

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Red-breasted Sapsucker

Jewell Meadows, Oregon ~ December 3, 2011

Here's another of the critters living in Jewell Meadows besides the elk seen in an earlier post. I couldn't have told you what a sapsucker was until I looked it up, but a sapsucker is a kind of woodpecker. The "woodpecker" part I could have guessed. Take a look at his handiwork on that tree! The red-breasted sapsucker lives all along the West Coast of North America from the southern tip of Alaska to Baja California in Mexico.

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Roosevelt Elk

Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area, Oregon ~ December 3, 2011

Our local Roosevelt elk are certainly among nature's most majestic creatures. Almost the size of domestic cows, they are quite a bit larger than deer. Check out the video on this page to see them in action and listen to a description of the reserve. We did not see the herd of hundreds described - only a dozen or fewer were grazing the area on the day we were there, but I have seen them in huge herds much nearer home. Only about five miles down the road they used to congregate on the land that has now become Home Depot, Costco, and Goodwill, among other big boxes. I've also seen them near the airport and the UPS office just across Youngs Bay. Here the elk would swim in the bay around the fencing and get inside the fenced area to graze. It was quite a sight.

I haven't been out to UPS or the airport recently. Does anyone know if the elk still congregate there since the new stores have come in?

There are several places in Oregon along certain highways where you can pull into a viewing area and watch the herds forming in the evenings. As it turned out, we had a beautiful day on which to enjoy elk-watching. Not the least of my enjoyment was the beauty of the area with its back-lit bright-green mossy trees.

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Jewell Meadows

Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area, Oregon ~ December 3, 2011

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Photo Contest: Five from Robbie Mattson

Guest Photographer: Robbie Mattson

The first two photos continue the Halloween theme. The first is the window of a new venue in town: Pier Pressure. I hadn't heard of it, but it sounds like a great new artistic addition to our community, so you might want to check it out here.

Next comes a close-up of one of the windows of our Halloween house from October 31. By the way, this house is owned by town founders, the Flavel family. They don't keep up or rent out most of their commercial properties, either, but those don't have the spooky charm of this place. All I know about those properties is, they are downtown, they are a mess, and I tried to rent one one time. Mrs. Flavel said she would show it to me "in the Spring" of whatever year that was. Someone else told me, "That will never happen," and of course it didn't. Long story, won't go into it now, but I know that many, many Astorians would like to see good tenants or new owners. The buildings beg to have someone care about them. Pigeons, rain, you get the picture. Someone said, "Every town has a family like that." I'm not sure if that's true, but Astoria sure does. Onward. . . .

Robbie said, "I couldn't let the contest pass by without my pictures of what feels like the real Astoria to those who grew up there. . . ." I have put the two photos in reverse order, so . . . "The second......A visit to Astoria is not complete without the Custard King. People think that it sells custard, but those that grew up in Astoria know it's just the best ice cream spot in town. A football game, and a stop at the Custard King to meet your friends in the parking lot, made a cold fall night complete."

Since we're in reverse order: "The first.....The Fisherman. Those that are my age (gradulate of the class of 1969) will remember the infamous cheer: "Lutefisk, Lutefisk, Lefse, Lefse - - - We are the Fishermen, Sure ya all, You Betcha". Unique cheer for Astoria!

"We can even recall The Fisherman being painted on the walls of the old Junior High gym (upper, not lower gym) where Kindergarten Cop was filmed, and the struggle each of us had trying to climb those darn ropes hanging from the ceiling of the old gym!"

Thanks so much for those bits of Astoria culture, Robbie! The photo above was taken in the town of Jewell, not too far away, where Robbie's "Jewell Garage" photo was also taken.

These were great. Thanks, Robbie! For the next few days, I'll continue posting contest photos that were sent in during October.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Photo Contest: "Jewell Garage"

Jewell, Oregon ~ June 9, 2007

Guest Photographer: Robbie Mattson

Robbie wrote, "One day on my ride from Portland into Astoria I decided to take the back roads through Jewell....always a good idea to do that once in a while!"

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.