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Cousin Tim took me up to Trout Lake to he and his family's cabin. We followed the Columbia River most of the way up. Beautiful! On the way we stopped to see a huge rock. It was the former core of a volcano. I helped Tim get started building a storage shed.
It was the first time I had ever used a nail gun. Boy, does that save time!That evening, we went up to a great viewing point for some photos.
We both enjoy photography. This is one of Tim's favorite places. I can see why!
The next morning, a huge flock of crows in the trees outside was very agitated about something. I knew right away. It had to be an owl. Owls and crows are deadly enemies. I got a photo of the great horned owl in the tree,
waiting until the crows tired of harassing it. Sometimes the crows kill the owls. It is payback for all the crows the owls kill, apparently. Here is a You Tube video (not mine) of crows harassing a great horned owl.Among other wonderful times with my aunt and uncle and cousins, I went to one of my all time favorite gardens with Alicia, cousin Steve's wife. The garden was the Portland Japanese Garden. Here are some photos.
The night before leaving, Steve and Alicia and friends went to an amazing event - to see hundreds of thousands of chimney swifts gather and enter a chimney at the Chapman elementary school in Portland. Here is a YouTube video of the swifts taken the next night, by another person. You can really see them in the video. These are small, insect-eating birds which find safe places to roost during their migration. They used to roost in hollow trees. But with old growth forests being logged out, there are fewer options for the birds. The chimney has been popular since 1980. The school has built a second chimney when they upgraded their heating system, leaving the original chimney for the swifts.
