The forest floor in the Cedar Creek Fire area has greened up nicely this spring. Can morels be far behind?
There are catch phrases all sports announcers seem to use such as “He. Could. Go. All. The. Way!” There’s another — when a team is down and looking to be the loser — and then an unexpected turnaround happens. “And just like that …”
It was a “just like that” moment here in the upper valley when Looney Creek turned off like a faucet. “What happened?” the neighbors all exclaimed and surmised on the cause of the abrupt end to the water flow. Some even hiked up the burn to check it out, returning with no conclusions. There was no disappointment, however, and fixes for the next time the flow is unleashed are still being hashed out.
And just like that, summer arrived. Digging out shorts and sandals and putting away puffy coats and snow boots happened as abruptly as the reverse last November when snowfall came early and unexpectedly. With summer, three Bs: bear, birds and bees.
Mazama resident Bill Pope relayed a big surprise he found when barking dogs woke him up at 3 a.m. With the newly arrived warm summer breeze, a door had inadvertently been left open.
It wasn’t Goldilocks who walked in, but a medium-sized black bear. Searching for porridge that was “just right,” the bear instead found a midnight snack of Kibbles ‘n’ Bits, white flour and sugar. Bill said, “He (or she) seemed to have no concern about me, no matter how much noise I made.” The bear overstayed its welcome by about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, 911 patched Bill through to a Washington wildlife ranger who said that behavior was daring and concerning. Bill’s advice: Make sure to secure your garbage and your doors at night.
There was a rest of the story: Bear scat of Kibbles ‘n’ Bits, not berries, was seen behind the Community Center where the trash dumpster resides. Hungry Bear moseyed on over the road looking for more tidbits. Hopefully, the service berries arrive soon.
A follow-up on robin behavior was reported by Mazamans Doug Oliver and Isobel Kameros. Returning from a snowbird winter, Doug was removing snow protection pallets from windows when he discovered an empty robin’s nest on top of one of them. He put the empty nest on a nearby tree stump with plans to remove the pallet.
Before he could do so, he discovered the robin had deposited her blue eggs on the ground beneath the window. She probably wondered, “What happened to my home that I so skillfully built?” Doug put the nest back on the pallet and carefully placed the eggs in the nest. Mama Robin must have been watching from a lookout, as she immediately returned to the nest to tend her eggs and is currently sitting on them till hatch day.
A hungry bear found a door ajar at Bill Pope’s Mazama home, and rummaged around for whatever it could find to eat.
A long-time, part-time Edelweiss resident, Jim McDonald, wrote about the Lucky Jim Bluff column in last week’s paper. The view from their window is of the beautiful bluff across the valley, so he was intrigued about the origin of the name.
He told of the 20 nest boxes he has installed around their property and in the meadow below their house where swallows, wrens, chickadees and an occasional nuthatch nest. In addition, seed, suet and hummingbird feeders attract a wide gambit, including a white-headed woodpecker. He said, “In honor of the bluff, his first name, and the abundance of birds and bird amenities, our place is now named ‘Lucky Jim’s Feathered Friends Resort.’”
My first attempt to eat lunch outside in the warm sunshine was not unaccompanied. The wasps are back, dive bombing for bites. Another spring to do: put the wasp traps back up. (Didn’t we just take them down?).
The forest floor beneath the stalks of the victims of the Cedar Creek Fire has come to life with a verdant blanket of green. Now morel stalkers are anxious to see if the spongy heads peek through again this year.
And just like that, the whine of traffic filled the quiet air, as Highway 20 gates were opened on May 10. With it, another distressing summer arrival — sirens. The North Cascade Pass has only been open five days and the first scream of sirens and the whir of a LifeFlight helicopter echoed through the valley. Drivers and motorcyclists, please use caution over this beautiful, but tricky, road.
Mazama Community Club’s World Famous Pancake Breakfast will be here soon. Mark your calendars for May 27, 8-11:30 a.m. More details next week, including information about the Family Fun Run.
