Local Float

Right across the street from our house is a great float that is full of wildlife. I am especially in love with all of the beaver activity, but we have also seen river otters, deer, and a wealth of wetland aves.
You could almost see our house, but it is hidden by those big trees.

This is a big beaver spot. Right below the tall trees is a den (or lodge, we can't really decide what to call it because it kinda looks like both). We can sit in our kayak, or walk from our house and watch the beavers swim back and forth across the water. They really are busy.

Some of the wonderful beaver work.

The tree is about to fall over!

And deer sometimes come to the water to drink, or swim.

Seconds before this picture was taken, a beaver waddled into that hole.

There is a bird like this living inside a dead branch on one of our apple trees. I think it is some sort of chickadee.

It doesn't seem as if beavers can see very well. They will be swimming right for us, and at the last second, turn as if they just saw us.

Weeds be gone!

Blueberries and kiwi tree before weeding......
And POOF! Weeds removed, and compost added. They might just have a chance after all.

New Leaves

Apparently, this is what new leaves on a palm tree look like. I didn't know that.

Pretty Lilypad

Bald Eagle

We were watching a bald eagle sit in a tree earlier today on the Yaquina River. It was exciting to then see it swoop down and catch something to eat. We were close enough to watch it eat, but far enough away we couldn't see what it was eating (I was scared it may have been a baby duck).

New Kayak!

Our new kayak came in just in time for our five day weekend! The shipping on this item had been estimated to take five weeks or more, so it was a welcome surprise to see it on our porch after only a week or so. We bought it with our credit card reward points; it was the first time I had attempted to purchase something with reward points, but it went super smooth and easy!

Here it is!!!
So off we went! For the maiden voyage we decided to go down the street into the slough across from our house. It was a little stinky for a Friday (I have noticed the mill smell seems to creep up the water ways sometimes) but it was a beautiful ride. The tide was going out, but the wind was blowing us up stream, so it was a perfect mix so we wouldn't have to paddle too hard either way.

And there was a sheep through the bushes!

And an alligator?? Creepy.

One of the most beautiful barns (and houses) ever! It is too bad there are like 20 aerator ponds (of pulp water from the mill) just across the way from this beautiful scenery. So we'll just say it looks better than it smells :).

Thought this was a nest at first, but after closer investigation we decided that it was not.

I do love the trains! We hear them almost every day, and I don't mind it one bit!

We went under this train bridge and out into the Yaquina River. We paddled up stream for a few minutes, then drifted back down to the slough.

It was a wonderful first trip!! The new kayak rocks! It is two inches longer than the other kayak that we had last year, so even more room to stretch out!

Compost it up!

We began our cheap and easy compost by hosing out one of our garbage cans. We purchased the can less than a year ago when we moved to Siletz, but it had a small share of disgusting garbage in it. I wouldn't think you would need to start a compost with a clean can, but it is nice to start any new project free of old dog poop residue.
Next, we used a razor blade to cut out the bottom of the can.

Then drilled a couple dozen holes around the top of the can.

The shovel will be used later.......

This is the spot.....right next to the pile of wood chips.

Looks good!!? It is right behind the wood shed.

The hole exposed some rich soil, and only a few rocks. There is quite the variety of soils on this property!

We buried it a little over a foot down.

We filled the bottom with loose dirt and leaf clippings. We used small screen to cover up the holes. It took a little bit to figure out how to attach the screen to the can. We finally decided on zip ties, and it turned out great!

And who could forget about the worms!! We threw in some extra that we cultivated from the raised beds, but there is plenty to go around.

A bungee cord on the top, and it is good to go. It was super easy, and cheap (less than $20 if you had to buy everything) and we should have some great compost before we know it.