Spyglass to Dorris Ranch

Ok … somedays, I just get distracted. I woke up and looked at the weather and decided a good hoofin’ around the Willamette River would be just the ticket – sunrise, birds, flowers, etc … But, on. a whim, I took off to Spyglass hill (one of about 3 places in hometown where sunrise can be spectacular), from there up the river to Dorris Ranch (Park). A urban hike.

Getting atop prior to sunrise has its own set of challenges.

A bit early and taking pictures between houses over the golf course has proven a challenge I’ve yet to exceed.

Back down at river level, the sunrise through human artifacts has its own beauty

After the sunrise, the river trail brought out some of the crazy neighbors. This downy woodpecker (about) was seriously going at this sign-post; the sound made it feel like banging on the sign, but what was in that sign-post, I’ll never know.

Those pics of the woodpecker are not high quality, so no link back to better resolution.

Other birds showed themselves as well, but the Great Blue Heron standing on this small rock in the middle of rapids was the best of the day. Sadly, the river-side osprey nest remains vacant. Why the pheasant is so ‘bloated’ is a great guessing game, but is most likely the same one seen before (same location). The hawk was high above river lowlands hunting … While the geese ate flowers.

Coming back around back into town, the paradox is self-explanatory

The non-human encountered today were spectacular and all on ‘spring’ … perfect!

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