Another Log on the Columbia

Astoria, Oregon ~ March 21, 2011

It's always interesting to see what washes down in the river. In this case, it's another big log - a long one that has gotten hung up in the pilings at the back of the old Englund Marine building. The question is, what will  happen next? Will the tide wash it out again, or will someone have to come and get it so it doesn't knock about and damage the pilings? Is this a moody, wet Astoria day, or what?

I took the first photo at 8:59 a.m. By 11:58, the tide had come in and the log was floating. It's still not clear what will happen (at the time of the photo), but by the end of the day when I looked out again, the log was gone.

We keep these long pike poles handy in case a log needs help finding its way back into the river, but usually a log that's big enough to cause problems and stay stuck among the buildings is also big enough to be a bear to deal with. They are hard to push, or if you catch the water just right and the pushing is easy, they may float right back in. You also need a place to stand, which was not available to me with the location of today's log, so it's just as well that the water took it. There are specialists called "pile bucks" who know everything about pilings and logs, and sometimes you have to hire them to extricate the tough ones. They use boats, chain saws, tackle, loops of rope, and anything necessary to get the job done - plus a lot of skill and excellent balance!

The pike poles have nasty-looking hooks at the end to grip the log.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Season for Logs

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 20, 2010

This is the season when heavy rains (which we've had plenty of) send logs and debris downriver.

I like the logs, they add an element of interest and sense of place, but they don't do much for the buildings. This log, as they often do, has drifted toward shore. The only problem is, because of the buildings and the damage caused when the waves get high, the logs have to make their way back out to the river.

This is the bay between the buildings that the log has to traverse to get back out into the Columbia River. Sometimes they go with the tide, and sometimes they need help. If they are heavy enough, it's not that easy to help them. Depending on the tide and current, I've seen them get all the way out to where you'd think they would drift away (only to give someone else a possible headache), and then they drift back in to await the next tide. Sometimes they won't leave, and they have to be sawed up when the water is low. Anyway, it's something different to break the routine. I like hearing them clank and bang against the building's pilings.

As someone pointed out, this is very bad for the pilings under the buildings. I do help the owner keep the logs away, but when they are banging I still enjoy it. Can't help it  :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Who Lives Here?

August 19, 2010

Actually, I have no idea who might wiggle, scamper or swim in and out of these holes. They were punched through the mesh by logs which float downriver and occasionally cause havoc to buildings. Usually they float back out to the river on their own, but sometimes they need help.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

It's log season on the Columbia River

So this is what's been thumping against the pilings under our building. Now it's drifted across the water to rock next to the River Pilots' building in the comparatively calm water today, but unless the tide takes it, it will be back, and the water may not stay so calm. During much of the last two weeks, it's been pretty rough.

Winter is log season. The rains and the high tides bring them floating down in all sizes; several times per year they end up knocking against the pilings for a day or so. When the water is rough, the buildings shake. We have long poles with hooks on the end, called "pike poles," and we use them to push the logs out into the river, but of course it helps if the tide takes them OUT rather than bringing them back in.

Both the pilots' building and ours have had new screens, or fencing, installed this year. The screens help keep the logs in the river rather than stuck under the buildings, but occasionally they buck the system. Last year one of the logs ripped into the hinged gate you see here and opened the door for itself and more logs. They also find ways to get under the screening, then they're locked in like . . . uh . . . caged logs.

The log above is big, but it's not huge. We get many, many smaller ones, but we also get larger ones. Here's a spectacular log that came to visit almost one year ago and managed to hang around for awhile. It's hard to call it a log; it's more like a tree. It didn't do the building much good, but it was really interesting to watch.

Pitted driftwood on the shore

I found this captivating log cast up on the rocks on the Columbia's banks the other day while walking along the River Walk somewhere between Safeway and the Maritime Museum. I don't know that I've ever seen a log with pitted, trailing patterns quite like this. I must have seen one at some time, since I doubt that its such an exotic species that its like hasn't been found on these shores before, but I really can't place it. If anyone knows, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Coming across a picturesque piece of natural art like this just added to the beauty of the day, the calm and peaceful sense of having the good fortune to be able to stroll along the banks of such a beautiful river.

Goose bay

Several families of Canada geese have taken up residence here in a sort of bay along the river between Stephanie's Cabin restaurant and some industrial warehouses. I took the photo standing on the River Walk, which at this point is an elevated wooden platform holding up the Riverfront Trolley tracks. In recent years, it's been widened and fenced to create an easy way to see the river's sights by foot or bike. Just beyond the top of the photo is Marine Drive. The tide is low at the moment, but the river will cover the pilings. This huge log has drifted in on the current, and one day will probably find its way out to the river again to be carried to the sea. You may have to click on the photo to see the geese. It seems only a few days ago, but it must be longer, that walked this way and saw the parent geese with their half-grown goslings all yellow-brown and fuzzy. Now they're fledged nearly the color of the parents. I think one reason they like this bay is because food is so plentiful. They were pecking at the pilings one at a time in almost freaky unison before settling down.

One of the interesting things in this photo is the tufts of grass growing on the pilings - one is at the lower right, and a more spectacular lopsided one is growning on a piling towards the upper right. The pilings collect seeds and turn into forests, not only of grass, but even of small trees and other leafy plants. If the area around them were not so unforgivingly tidal, the whole place would be forested by now. Nature sure does have a way of taking back its territory if you let it - even on a piling in the river. And with 70 to 100 inches of rain per year here, it doesn't take that long.

Hop on over to Think Green Thursday and Nature Notes and see what others are thinking about today.

Fun things to do with chain link fencing

I took this photo yesterday morning. Our neighbors, the River Pilots, were repairing the mesh on their building while the tide was near its low point. This is a perfect use for a flat-bottomed boat, though I don't see them around very often. It turned out that their timing was impeccable, because the very next morning, the scene had changed. Click here to see what was looking for a place to rest and/or disturbe the peace! (The first photo is the same as the one above. Just scroll down and you'll see what I mean.) The radio tower on the right is attached to our leased building by a catwalk and some wiring. They still broadcast from the tower, although the station itself is no longer housed here on Marine Drive.