Monday, June 21, 2010

Lost!...practically in my own backyard!


I had to stop here to get this shot of a peacock, a fairly rare bird in these parts. Some of you might recognize this as my background picture for the site this June.

On my way for a bit of a afternoon constitutional a while back, I decided to take a new trail up by the watershed near Ashland. I took a few photos of the rural surroundings

62 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures. I'm glad the cougar stayed away from ya.
    Did you have your cell phone with you?
    I love peacocks!

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  2. Actually I did Jacquie, so hopefully I could have called someone if it was serious. Thanks by the way.

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  3. beautiful area Doug...great pics

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  4. What a lovely spot, doug!

    'Tis late now I'll look again tomorrow.

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  5. ~*Smiles*~... I would love to have so much space...

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  6. Thanks Cassandra. See you later.

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  7. Me too, Growedup. Something claming about nice green open land isn't there?

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  8. amazing hat we can find when we open our eyes :)

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  9. I would be appalled if anyone ever repaired that fence, it's perfect!

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  10. Yes, a male in bird land the female drew the short straw with her feathered togs!

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  11. Hahahaha, but you lived to tell the tale. That path just makes one want to explore!

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  12. All that was found of doug was his hat. This hat belonged to a great and wonderful man. The rangers accept no responsibility for this tragedy as we feel he was unwisely looking for the cougar! Teehee, is that how it goes?

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  13. After your trauma I feel the frog should be yours. I'm sure Shirley will find a lovely spot for it by the gazebo.:-)

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  14. Thank you doug, I enjoyed that trip and completely free from the dangers you faced!

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  15. Yes, Heidi, a nice little touch of old-fashioned Oregon here, complete with peacock.

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  16. True Cassandra. Looks like that fence hasn't been touched since Abraham Lincoln was shot.

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  17. The male peacocks are the one showing off thier plumage at the drop of a feather. It was the same on my uncle's farm.

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  18. I really do feel lucky Cassandra. The county I live in has been pretty good about preserving local farmlands. This is an ongoing zoning issue with land developers (who see a place like this and start drawing up plans for another golf course and more housing tracts).

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  19. That's me --a modern day Lewis and Clark! (Half Lewis and half Clark.)

    Being a trailblazer has its risks, though. That cougar might have followed me home. ;-)

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  20. It really is an inviting little trail isn't it.

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  21. LOL. Quite so. I would just be a bit of local folklore. Body never found, but my hat sitting on well-lit display in the local historical society museum--with my high school graduation picture next to it. The height of indignity! :-)

    "It's not the fault of bad directions on the trail, " some public employee would say. "This deluded man just had to have a picture of the cougar...tsk, tsk... Let this be a lesson for the unwary."

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  22. I'm sure Shirley would love to put it by the gazebo. I could just say I bought it at a garage sale.

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  23. Thanks Cassandra. The least I could do after you shared your brave flying experiences with the gang at Multiply--and of course crossing swords with Hitler the Goose.

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  24. Love this picture it is nothing short of bizarre, where did that peacock come from Doug? I also love the sound peafowl make, a sort of haunting scream, but what is he doing here, amazing?

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  25. Is this a horse and peacock farm Doug, are they common in Oregon?

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  26. Great shot Doug, lovely scenery. I do hope there won't be any golf courses here, they are a blot on the landscape. I really like this moody scene with the low hanging cloud and hilly backdrop. A great place to live Doug.

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  27. Curiouser and curiouser Doug, hope you put out a saucer of milk for cougar when you got home.

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  28. From now on known locally as Cougar Doug, the fearless explorer of the wild interior...I think the 'joggers' were working for the cougar, deliberately leading you up the garden path Doug.

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  29. Cougar country if ever I saw it..... your fame is well deserved Doug

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  30. "If you go down to the woods today, you better not go alone"....This creature is even more scary than a cougar Doug, I take my hat off to you, I wouldn't want to confront a ceramic frog after what you'd been through....how the west was won, absolutely amazing!

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  31. Too much peacock noise can drive one bananas I reckon. Love the picture Doug, nicely rustic even with bird.

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  32. Why have they named it the White Rabbit Trail?

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  33. I'm thinking the cougar may turn out to be an orange kitten hehehe

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  34. All we need now is a Mad Hatter ...

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  35. It does have a bizarre feel to it, AA--not sure what is holding it up.
    I've hadn't seen a peacock in years, and I assume the owners of the must have brought it in from somewhere. Yes, that sound is not unlike a gothic scream--you don't ever forget it once you heard it, thats for sure.

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  36. Not in this area, AA. Horses, yes-- peafowl not so much . National Geographic reports that they are wild in the Indian/Sri Lanka area and parts of Africa, but they seem to be domesticated . My Uncle Rex had a few on his farm in Tennessee and I remember that haunting call and their tremendous wingspan when they flew for short distances, like strange some technicolor condor.

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  37. I shall return later to answer comments. Good day or evening everyone!

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  38. I'm glad you pointed out the low hanging clouds and the hills, AA, because that is exactly why I love living here in Oregon first and foremost as far as the environment is concerned. Late Winter and Spring are actually my favorite times of year because the climate is cool and a bit damp but it suite my metabolism somehow. I've been in dryer climates and found them much less enjoyable, so a landscape like this is just what I want from a walking sojourn.

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  39. LOL! I did put our some milk, but the neighbor's black bear got to it first. ;-/

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  40. Yes, that's me. Man against feral nature. The American Spirit and all that.

    I suspected that about the joggers--they knew in case of attack they would only have to outrun me, and not the cougar.

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  41. I don't mind saying I was was a bit worried at this juncture in this godless and unforgiving terrain, AA.


    Unlike the stately peacock way at ye olde barn, there was no way I could simply fly up a tree to avoid a wild cat attack.


    And then the fear really hit me: the nearest under-regulated gun store was likely a quarter of a mile off!

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  42. LOL ditto! Yes, a teddy bear picnic would have been a nice change of pace in those woods. ;-)

    Good thing I didn't eat any of the wild mushrooms while up in the wilds, otherwise I might hallucinate the damn frog talking to me, asking to see my identification papers!

    Yes, the American Spirit again, AA: pushing back the frontier, moving ever westward and gingerly stepping over the vast herds of dead buffalo, all shot dead by the Army to make sure the Comanches go without food and head for the nearest pig sty of a reservation. A golden legacy of our history.

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  43. Yes, the sound of many peacocks can create a bit of a din as I recall. I've only heard him once or twice so I gather said bird has no flock to speak about.

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  44. For a male he's shy. I was hoping to capture some plumage for the camera, but he's likely sitting there waiting for a peahen to show. He'll likely just make a fool of himself if she does. I mean, look at the place he's living in ;-)

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  45. An excellent question, Iri Ani, and one that I couldn't find on any website for the local parks. There are two other trails ("Alice in Wonderland" and "Catapillar") named after Lewis Carroll's droll book so I suppose some fan of the book or one of the many films suggested it to the city council.

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  46. Yes, it's possible. No "cougar sighting" have been reported lately. Probably went back home to its scratching post.

    It's likely your Simba could sapook that tabby's out of the forest inside an afternoon.

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  47. A good name for the next trail. Surprised they haven't thought of that name before; quite a few local zanies in the Ashland area as it is. ;-)

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  48. Iti s beautiful. I was really impressed by the size of the fellow. Not as big as one of those Australian Cane Toads the Oz bunch are always complaining about, but still...

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  49. Hence forth to be known simply in the history books of Oregon as "Dougar" I'm sure! I look forward to the movie.

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  50. Don't know if its movie material, but I do like the title.

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  51. Very nice been a while Doug but t'is very nice.

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  52. Now this one feels just a little out of place .......:)

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  53. Very nice terrain and very nice picture althought I may be a tad late it's truly very nice pictures there Doug.

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  54. It's a nice rustic little spot Jack--not sure what's keeping the barn up though ;-)

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  55. Smiling from way over here on the east and yeah....always enjoy your blogs there Doug!

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