Fish Hatchery 2009

Today we drove out to the river to have a look at the fish. The ladder the hatchery-born fish use to access their spawning grounds was quiet. The rumor among the fisherman was that a seal was eating all the fish holding in the ladder. However, when Reed talked with the people who were fishing on the river, those people reported minimal numbers of steelhead swimming.

Jan 2009 at the fish ladder.

Dec 2007 at the same ladder.

Regardless of what the river fish were doing, we had a good exporation and walk down the river.

North and Reed fed smelt on the hatchery grounds.

Then we walked down the river bank for a little while.

I love wood rat nests! God forbid I actually see a rat scurrying under my feet! I do wonder.. are the rats big or small? Their nests are impressive. I like that their homes are camouflaged, yet striking once one picks the mound out of the broken branches and dead leaf litter. Reed thinks the nests might last for decades. Do you think the rats have living wills?

maybe it goes like this:

One wood rat to another- "After Grandma dies, Aunt Bea gets the nest for her family and then it is your turn. But you will have to do some work on the nest, it is getting on in years."

After we passed the tenth wood rat house and then turned right, we arrived at a large bend in the river. Reed and North threw rocks and sticks for the dogs and I tried not to fret about the possibility of North falling in the water. It was much colder today then last year. As it was, North did get wet and so we headed back to the car and dry jammies.

.....Which North wore when we went out for Italian food.

....Aren't we classy?