Tules Are Growing In The Marsh

Tule shoots emerging

Tule shoots emerging

Tules are the main vegetation in lower Beaver Creek marsh, where they grow up to 8’ in height.  The shoots emerge at the beginning of April and grow to full height by the end of May, when they flower.  So they grow 8’ in eight weeks (one foot per week). Tules are used by many animals in the marsh.  Birds use them for shelter, nesting support, and food from the flowers and seeds.  Nutria feed on the shoots and rhizomes.  Other marsh animals use them for shelter from predators and territorial disputes.

Tule at full height in June

Humans have used tules extensively.  An introduction to tule ethnobotany was written by Norm Kidder.  For example tules were used to make baskets, clothing, mats, houses, dolls and toys, boats and rafts, and duck decoys.  Locally the Alsi people used tule in dresses that also included grass and cedar bark.  Local uses of tule by Alsi and Yakona tribes are not well documented and would be a subject for further study.  I am looking forward to hearing from elders about past use of tules in this area.

Gathering tules -  Photo; Edward Curtis, 1910

Tule canoe - Photo; Edward Curtis, 1924

Tule shelter - Photo; Edward Curtis, 1924

Posted by michael

Flower Report For Mid-April

Posted by michael

More About The Beaver Creek State Natural Area

Beaver Creek Marsh, © Roy Lowe

What is a State Natural Area?   An Oregon State Natural Area is defined by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) by its purpose, the kinds of experiences that visitors can expect, predicted use levels, and many other factors.  State Natural Areas are places of important natural resources and development within them is usually restricted to trails and interpretive or education facilities.

State Natural Areas are part of a larger consortium of organizations called the Natural Areas Program. The Natural Areas Program in Oregon is an outgrowth of an interagency effort to establish state, federal, and private natural areas throughout the Pacific Northwest. This effort has been overseen by the U.S. Forest Service to coordinate the interagency Natural Areas Committee.  In addition, the Natural Areas Association helps coordinate efforts to establish and maintain natural areas throughout the US and the world.  The Oregon Natural Heritage Plan describes the State Natural Areas System in Oregon and serves as a planning document for selection and establishment of priority natural areas.  These lands are generally in government or conservation trust ownership, with the additional voluntary participation of private landowners where appropriate.

Additional registries are coordinated by the Natural Areas Program, including Dedicated Conservation Areas, Research Natural Areas, and Oregon Enhancement Watershed Board (OWEB) acquisitions.  The OWEB planning document for evaluating potential resource acquisitions is a good summary of how priority natural resources are identified for acquisition and registration using lottery funds.

The Pacific Coast Joint Venture (PCJV) is another organization that is all about forming and guiding cooperative efforts between governments, land trusts, and private owners in the acquisition of natural lands for conservation.  PCJV is part of a larger consortium of Joint Ventures.  The initial acquisition of wetlands for conservation as a natural area in the Beaver Creek marsh (Happ Memorial Wetland) was made by Wetlands Conservancy with the assistance of PCJV. 

Joining and coordinating conservation efforts is a powerful and efficient use of limited resources and money.  These efforts clearly demonstrate that all of our actions are interconnected and interdependent.  Collaboration is fun and relaxes the need to “do it all yourself”.  Wild areas can act in the same way, by allowing relaxation into the spacious and interconnected world around us.  At the same time, other creatures have a place to live and thrive.  The diversity of the world remains intact and gives necessary natural services, such as clean water and air, healthy forests and farms, and abundant fisheries.

Posted by michael  

A Railroad Ran Through It

One of the first 'roads' in the lower Beaver Creek marsh was a railroad.  This map adapted from 'Steam Towards The Sunset' by Lloyd Palmer (1982) shows the route from South Beach towards Alsea Bay for Spruce Line No. 12, also known as the Alsea Southern R.R., built by the US Army.  The railroad construction began in April, 1918 and was completed to Alsea Bay in November, 1918.  The railroad was closed in 1936.  The circled area with arrow shows where the rail bed went through the Beaver Creek marsh, crossed Beaver Creek, and continued south to Alsea Bay and Yachats.

The small trees in the foreground of this photo of Beaver Creek marsh looking northeast grew up in the line of the trestle that passed over the marsh.

 

Photo looking northwest in Beaver Creek marsh to show the small trees in the marsh that grew up in the line of the trestle.

 

Further east, the rail bed ran east-west along the base of this hill and marsh, behind the dead trees in the photo.

Looking east, photo shows an edge and top of the rail bed running along the hill, next to the marsh.  No railroad ties, rail, or other hardware are evident along this rail bed.  Fifteen years ago there was an old electrical insulator up in a big cedar tree, which probably carried a telegraph line for the railroad.  The cedar has since died and fallen into the marsh.

Looking west, photo shows an edge and top of the rail bed running along the hill.

Near where the modern North and South Beaver Creek Roads join, the rail bed became a trestle and turned from running east-west to running north-south.  Photo courtesy of Florence Hallowell.

Same view as previous photo of trestle, looking south along South Beaver Creek Road, towards Beaver Creek bridge in 2010.

Photo looking north from the point of crossing Beaver Creek, shows trestle running north-south and a resident using the trestle as a path through the marsh.  Photo courtesy of Florence Hallowell.

Same view as previous photo of trestle crossing Beaver Creek, with South Beaver Creek Road and bridge in 2010.

Posted by michael

The “Rhoades” To Beaver Creek

Transportation in the early days of Lincoln County was difficult to say the least. There were places of dense shrubbery, marshlands, steep ravines, mud, and wide waterways to cross. Access to many areas was limited until the late 1930’s when the Roosevelt Highway (now Highway 101) was completed, which included bridges spanning the rivers and bays.

In order to get to Beaver Creek before then, one had to cross by boat to the south side of Yaquina Bay, and take a narrow dirt road (by foot or horseback) over a couple of hills to Ona. This road extended a couple miles further to Seal Rock. From there one could take the beach “highway” on to Alsea Bay, and cross by boat to Waldport.

Susie and Henry Rhoades were long-time residents of Beaver Creek (over 50 years). In an interview with Susie and her daughter, Aletha Wolkau, in 1975 when Susie was 92 years old, they describe how the family moved from their first home on Ollala Slough near Toledo to Beaver Creek in 1915. Henry Rhoades had built an inboard motor launch with a house on it. When getting ready to move, he lashed a scow to the side of the houseboat and packed all the household belongings into it.

As his daughter, Aletha, explained:

"...that’s the way we moved to Beaver Creek, coming down the river a little bit to Poole Slough, up Poole Slough, and evidently Daddy had made arrangements to where he could put his boathouse [there] before he came in here [to Beaver Creek]. He had made a trip or two down here to look at the ranch and when we moved down, that’s the way we moved. And it was at nighttime before we came up Poole Slough that night, and I never will forget that, because I was just a little kid in those days. And there was four of the children then--my two older brothers and my sister just younger than I. And my last brother and sister was born after we lived in here. Now my younger sister was born in the fall of 1915."

Susie Rhoades continues the story: "[We started out on] March the 2nd [1915], we left Ollala Slough...Henry stayed on the front end of the scow so we could see there was no logs to strike..."

Aletha added: “...and [brother] Floyd was on the boat stern, and was out there to help him, too.”

Susie again: “Yes, he did. Floyd had his little old pike pole, you know...Yes, that was a twisty little old place, I tell you. But we managed it. We got up there. Got in there on half-tide, so we could get the scow in the little tributaries run out into the main slough, you know.”

Aletha: “...we must have spent the rest of the night there...”

Susie: “We did...I fixed a bed down for you and Alpha and Beatrice.”

Aletha: “And one of Father’s brothers was here, wasn’t he? And he had a team there to meet us, and...started hauling the household stuff over to the house there.”

Interviewer: “And he came down this road that’s still there now?”

Aletha: “The Old Poole Slough Road, yeah. That comes up the hill, and then the feeder branch was there and it would come on down this way.”

Susie: “And this man that owned this place then--I think Uncle Bowery or Mr. Bowery [Bowers] he was called, and he told Henry, he said, ‘You take my barn.’ He had a barn to put his horses in, and had an interesting business, going to town, he used to get groceries and things [for people]. He took his hay over there and put it in the barn, you know, so the milk cows could get in and eat it, and the horses would have their feeding part.”

Aletha: “We stored our stuff in the barn.”

Susie: “Yes, we stored our stuff all in the barn. We just brought one load a week down. Those horses that Henry had offered to him...it took us a whole week to move...”

Interviewer: “This barn, was it at the slough?”

Aletha: “It was on Poole Slough.”

Susie: “Yes, it was a small barn over there. Just big enough for his horses and it had sides on it and all, so you could shut it up, you know.”

Interviewer: When you moved to Beaver Creek, did you move right where you are today?”

Susie: “Well, we [moved] up there, in that little old house over there...”

Interviewer: “Where the orchard is up there on the hill there?”

Susie: “Yes, over there--up over across this side, we lived in that...We built our barn first...”

Interviewer: “And lived in the barn?”

Susie: “No, we didn’t. We lived in an old house that was there.”

Interviewer: “Oh, there was a house there already.”

Susie: “Yeah. It was an old house. The kitchen was a log house, and the front room that they built on was just bunkhouse, it was strip stuff, laths.”

Aletha: It was about 1919 when Dad built the house, and that was the house that burned over there, years later.”

Susie: “And then we got around to moving into the house, we had it pretty good. It was not an elaborate house, but we had plenty of room."

And it stood them in good stead for many years to come.

[Excerpted from Susie Rhoades Oral History, Lincoln County Historical Society Oral History Collection].

Posted by jackie.

A Conversation Overheard

Overheard a conversation the other day:

‘Last week I went on a hike in the mountains with an eighty-one year old friend who is a brisk walker. After an hour, we reached a 10,000’ high pass with a view of a breathtaking landscape that stretched for a hundred miles in front of our enchanted eyes.
As we sat on a log and gazed at this magnificent scene, he asked me:
--"What does Buddhism mean when it states that this is ‘emptiness’?”
--"It means not the ‘absence’ of this landscape but the fact that it is ‘empty’ of autonomous and permanent existence.”
--"What is wisdom then?”
--"The understanding of this nature.”
--"What is then the difference between emptiness and wisdom?”
--"Emptiness is the true nature of phenomena, whether you recognize it or not. When you recognize this nature, this is wisdom, when you don’t recognize it, it is delusion.”
He then charmingly added: “You see, I am very impatient to learn about all these things, because I don’t have much time left.”
Then we walked back through the forest to the valley, continuing our conversation.’ 

Posted by michael

Wildcrafting Herbs And Conservation

Wildcrafting is the process of collecting herbs in the wild and processing them for consumption.  I became interested in herbs through my grandfather, William Deknatel when we lived summers in Pentwater, Michigan in a cottage on the shore of Lake Michigan.  He was an architect in Chicago, who was one of the original apprentices in 1932 with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin East in Wisconsin.  Bill and I took long walks through the forests and along streams and rivers of Michigan and he pointed out plants and animals to me with great interest.  He had an extensive collection of natural history books which I eagerly read.  I soon gravitated to plants and learned to identify them using keys and illustrations.  I would collect plants and bring them home to identify, press into specimens, and to make tea.  He was careful to confirm identities with me so that I would not mistake poisonous ones.  Having someone help and show you the habitats and identities of plants and animals is a throughly enjoyable and essential experience in a natural history education.  Bill was particularly interested in mushrooms, but I was wary of the poisonous ones and concentrated on plants.

Nettles, a good spring tonic, steamed as a green

Herbs have particular striking qualities, whether they are small plants, bushes, or trees.  They have strong smells, ranging from pungent like old tennis shoes (valerian root), through fragrant (rose flowers), to heady (mint).  They can sting (nettles) or sooth skin and burns (aloe).  They can taste bitter (yarrow), sour (rhubarb), or sweet (strawberries).  With the majority of plants, you may notice their flowers or leaves, but they may be without a particular fragrance, feel, or taste.  Herbs stand up and make you take notice.  Its as if they are speaking directly to you.  This directness is probably part of their medicinal value, as they cut through diseased states and help us return to well being.

Rhubarb, a good spring tonic, especially cooked with strawberries

Herbs have been used throughout human history for cooking and medicine.  Modern pharmacology tends to focus on extracting, isolating, and characterizing single active ingredients from plants for medicine.  The medicinal qualities of herbs are probably not solely associated with their isolated active ingredients.  Herbs and their medicinal qualities are a wonderful collection of experiences.  They grow in particular places and express compelling combinations of scent, sight, touch, taste, and thought.  Scent and taste are especially important in remembrance of how we are when in a well state.  When we go out into nature (wild or garden) to gather herbs for cooking and medicine, we are reminded of all these sensations and enter into a relationship with plants that includes knowledge of their natural history, conservation, and support for our mutual well being.

Gathering herbs in the wild is part of wildcrafting.  With the increased interest in herbs, especially from an economic view, care must be taken to contemplate the ethics of wildcrafting.  Consideration must be given to property rights, identification, abundance, available habitat, seasonal timing, processing, and storage to maintain potency.  Many herbs are rare and endangered, or are considered weeds to be eradicated.  More emphasis could be placed on observing herbs in the wild and then cultivating them in fields and gardens for harvest and making medicine.  In this way we can improve conservation of important herbal medicines, some yet to be discovered, and can improve cultivation practices of these valuable plants for future reference and use.  Herbs can lead us to wildness and teach the value of healthy relationships with nature.  The value of the medicine will depend on the spiritual state of the collector and maker of the medicine.  

Posted by michael

Update-Beaver Creek State Natural Area

Received this update on April 3, 2010 from Oregon State Parks (OPRD, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department).  Acquisitions for the Beaver Creek State Natural Area now include the Keady property (319 acres), the Fuller property (30 acres), and the Price property (25 acres).  More information can be obtained from John Allen at 541-265-8179, e-mail john.allen@state.or.us
....
May 12, 2010 - UPDATE:  the date for the grand opening has been moved to sometime in October.  See this post for more information.

Click on the pictures to see larger versions.

Posted by michael

It’s Raining Toads!--The Sequel

I stopped by the local library in Newport the other day, and this science book for young people caught my eye called, Can It Rain Cats And Dogs?:  Questions and Answers About Weather, by Melvin & Gilda Berger, 1999.  The first page had this to say in reply to the question.

"Can it rain cats and dogs?  No--but it can rain frogs and fishes!  In the United States, frogs fell on Tennessee in October 1946 and on Arkansas in January 1973.  Fish fell on Glamorgan, Wales, in 1859, on Frankston, Australia, in 1935, and on Louisiana in 1947--each during the month of October.  Every time, rainstorms swept up the animals, which then came down with the rain.

People like to say, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs’ when it is raining very hard.  The saying comes from an old belief that cats bring rain and dogs bring wind.  But don’t believe it.  While it can rain frogs and fishes, it can’t rain cats and dogs!"

I then “googled” the phrase and came up with a couple more links, but the jury’s still out on cause of this phenomenon.  Some sources say that yes, it is true that small creatures get swept up in storms and are “rained” down in another location, and these websites cite a variety of historic instances of these phenomena.  Others say no, it only appears that the animals come in the rain, because many amphibians, in particular, come out of hiding in large numbers when it rains.  Still other sites list a wide range of odd paranormal explanations, from time/space travel to poltergeists and extraterrestrials.

Waterspouts over St. Thomas, photo by Jan Havelka

Wikipedia has a comprehensive entry on the subject (including cultural and literary references, origins of the phrase “raining cats and dogs”, and more), beginning with this paragraph:

“Raining animals is a rare meteorological phenomenon, although occurrences have been reported from many countries throughout history. One hypothesis that has been offered to explain this phenomenon is that strong winds travelling over water sometimes pick up creatures such as fish or frogs, and carry them for up to several miles.  However, this primary aspect of the phenomenon has never been witnessed or scientifically tested.”

A similar accounting is given on the “Scienceline” website:

“Raining fish is not a common weather phenomenon. Fewer than 10 occurrences have been reported in the past year, according to a news search, so local five-day forecasts probably won’t include fish showers. Still, people have reported such events for centuries.”

“Now that scientists have advanced technology like Doppler radar, they are less reliant on personal accounts. Fewer people are asked to describe the odd objects they see falling from the sky, says Cerveny, who is also a professor of weather and climate at Arizona State University. Also, people are less likely to report any strange occurrences now than they were 100 years ago. Cerveny explains that today, logical explanations through science are more readily available, so there is less mysticism behind strange weather phenomena. ‘They tend to sound more kooky now if they report it,’ he says. Even though fewer personal accounts of strange weather have not necessarily hurt meteorology, ‘maybe it has taken away some of the fun of it,’ says Cerveny.”

These sites (“raining frogs” , “weird rain” , “falls from sky” ) give a few more examples of bizarre “raining” occurrences around the world and throughout history to help you make up your own theories about these strange, unexplained phenomena.


Posted by jackie.

Reflections As Open Mirrors

Wetlands can have open water in which reflections appear.  In them the imagination takes flight and endless possibilities appear, remain, and disappear.  These imaginings seem to indicate how thoughts act, gentle and easily shaped; a delightful way to watch the breeze pass through us.

Posted by michael