Thar be Whales and Other Oregon Musings

It’s been too long – I’ve just been living life – and life is good in Cannon Beach.  When I arrived back in April after my first trip back to Austin, I plunged into volunteering at the fabulous Haystack Rock – the icon for Cannon Beach. It’s a National Wildlife Refuge and Marine Garden and only two blocks from my cotage- so it’s a great excuse to play and call it work.  Every day at sunset, you can find an army of camera wielding people – only some of them tourists -waiting for the sun to slide behind the horizon.  Yesterday, in the blink before it disappeared there was the “green flash.”  It obviously has the power to derail a person from posting a new blog or any productive work.   And there are the tide pools and thousands of nesting birds in the spring and summer – even more temptation. 

But it’s not summer anymore and the beach at least has reclaimed its sense of pristine windswept remoteness. 

I’ve been to Austin and back again (October) and I have to say it was one of the most bizarre trips ever.  Classes didn’t “make,”  there was a donnybrook over payment (a satisfactory compromise was reached after much sturm und drang and  emailing…)   One relationship experienced a strange, histrionic demise while others bloomed and some wonderful discoveries were made.  The ultimate distillation of the trip was the realization that my periodic trips have come to a natural cosmos-supported close, just as opportunities are blossoming here. And all is as it should be.  The universe in its infinite order orchestrates the opening of new doors as others close.  This has been an interesting journey as I continue to dismantle aspects of a previous life (websites and an email address I’ve had for 20b years…) and populate a new one  by fine-tuning older proclivities or adding new projects.   I love that doing things I love at the volunteer level have organically morphed into income.  I think that’s the way life is supposed to work.   An idea for a non-profit to keep Ugandan girls in school is  also afoot, but has a lot of development that needs to be done before its launched.  More on that as it evolves.

Gooseneck Barnacles

Meanwhile, back on the beach, volunteering essentially as a Naturalist, I can give myself permission to spend hours at the tide-pools at low tide. That volunteering has turned into a part time job from February through September with a group known as Haystack Rock Awareness Program (HRAP).  We’re there every daytime low tide to protect nesting habitat and educate visitors about the birds and marine life, but I confess – it’s more like play and an endless source or discovery. I’ve become a student all over again:  Above is some gorgeous lacy pink algae and what’s visible of a Sea Star (aka Starfish), with some seaweed mixed in. The cluster to the right that looks a little like dragon’s claws is actually a colony of Gooseneck Barnacles, still a little bit open from feeding.  Who knew that barnacles could be beautiful!

FEED US!

About mid July, I also started working part time at the Visitor’s Center – at least it started as part-time. In a town that boasts a population of about 1800,  summer brings an absolute swarm of tourists that can swell the population to 20,000 on any given day. We are hit with the most amazing array of questions and the occasional calamity and have to think fast.  My favorite inane question so far, from a young college graduate:  “So what time are the tides – I mean – WHO DECIDES THAT?”   Patience and a sense of humor rule the day.  It’s been a steep learning curve to tell people about an area I, myself, am just learning – but that’s half the fun.   Another perk:  this little nest of barn swallows that made a home just to the left of the entrance!   Trying to capture the perfect shot of these little hatchlings,  the mom flew by just as I snapped and all the mouths opened. 

When Brett moved to area 10 years I knew his enchantment with the area meant he’d never leave.   I’m beginning to understand it.  I love my coast better than his trees and mountain, but it’s all available and I bought some trekking poles to hike when the wind on the beach is so strong it blows sand in your teeth.  Winds of 80-120 mph are not unusual.  The forest offers other treasures, one being edible mushrooms, but I’ve not explored that aspect except in pictures. If this orange fungus is what I think it is – it’s edible when it’s “young and fresh…”  But I think I’ll pass.

Amid all the flurry or tourism and visits from friends,  much of Oregon burned over the summer and tourists here were unhappy about the burn-ban.  Really?  In other news,  Marijuana has been legalized and small Cannabis Boutiques have sprung up all over. I haven’t sampled them yet.   Toward the end of the summer, we were blessed with an invasion of Humpbacks – cavorting, breaching, diving and generally enjoying a feeding frenzy very close to shore.  They were accompanied by porpoises (rare here), sea lions and the occasional Orca!   Unfortunately,  they were driven closer to shore because of a bizarre low-nutrient warm water mass given the scientific name of “The Blob” and that’s a scary thing from an ecological perspective.

So here we are at run-up to the holidays and I’m glad to be out of the fray.   Cannon Beach is a little burg decorated with lights and trees, but none of the hype of bigger cities.  When they say this area is rural,  they mean it.  Christmas tree lots are just beginning to show up.  There’s only one radio station I can tune in – courtesy of the sandwiching of the area between the sea and the Cascades – and on that single station, I’ve heard not a single Christmas carol.  And speaking of reception, Verizon is the only network that works reliably, so if you come with anything else, you essentially don’t have a phone. It’s a rude awakening for some – but in that regard, Uganda was good training.   I appreciate the slower approach and waiting till after Thanksgiving to sell Christmas.  A big day out shopping here is a trip to Costco and Fred Myer and all the rest happens at small, locally owned stores. 

So that’s the news from the strange and wonderful world of Oregon. Wishing you all Happy Holidays to come,  whatever your holiday is called!