elk – Unleashed in Oregon

When What to My Wondering Eyes Did Appear . . . Elk?

Street in the forest. Three elk in front of a tan house. Power pole, garbage carts.

The elk came back Monday night. The mail was late, it had been an overloaded day, and I was ready to crash for the night, so I wasn’t paying attention when I walked out the front door and down the driveway—until I heard the pounding of hooves on the pavement as a herd of elk ran right past me. If I had been 30 seconds earlier, they might have run over me. Considering the big males weigh over a thousand pounds, that wouldn’t be good.

My God, they’re big up close. And yet, the presence of my small self sent them running into the vacant lot next door (the one where they tore down the trees last year and never built anything). The elk lined up and started strolling toward the property to the north.

Maybe they were reindeer. It was dark. If so, they forgot Santa and his sleigh. And Rudolph. Also, it was the wrong night.

When I got back into the house, my phone was ringing. My across-the-street the neighbor had seen them, too. As I settled in to talk to her, I noticed I had elk poo on my good shoes. Oh well. It’s still magical living in the coastal forest, where elk and other wild animals share the land. I can slip into my hot tub and enjoy the hot water, the neighbors’ Christmas lights, the stars, and the sounds of birds murmuring in their sleep.

Sometimes I think I hear my dog Annie circling the yard, but she’s watching the elk from heaven now. It has been a tough year and a wonderful one at the same time. No exotic travel, not enough time with family, but wonderful gatherings with friends to write, play music, or just talk. This year, I lost some people I loved, and I miss them. I had some medical mishaps I don’t want to discuss. Right now, I am dealing with the effects of treatment for pre-cancer lesions on my face. If you have wondered why I look like I’ve been in a fight lately, that’s why. The blisters and scabs are already beginning to heal. Wear your sunscreen, kids.

Workwise, I’m stunned to have four books in three different genres coming out in 2024. How do I promote that many books? I’m planning for one crazy year, followed by a chance to slooooow down. I have had more poems and essays accepted this year than ever before. I may have gotten something right. How do I find the time? No family, no other day job, and an obsessive need to keep busy. If you keep at anything, results will pile up.

I finished my reign as president of Oregon Poetry Association in October, but I just volunteered to help another writing-related organization. Do it while you can, I say.

I’m approaching seven hundred posts at this blog. Seven hundred! Many of the earlier posts appear in the Unleashed in Oregon book. A few people are asking for another collection of posts. Not this year. It’s all here at the blog for you to read whenever you want. I hope you find something that amuses, inspires or helps you in some way.

Merry Christmas! I’m going to say it because that’s what I celebrate. Whether or not you do, I hope you have a terrific new year. I pray that the wars end, the folks in Washington get their act together, and people everywhere treat each other with love.

The photo above was taken last spring. That’s my house behind them on the left. Watch out for flying elk. See you next year.

Sue

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Mother Nature Joins Us on Our Walk

The picture that inspired the poem that follows: seven female elk in a field with trees and a tan-colored house behind them.

Boxing Day Visitors

Almost home, we turn the corner
and skid to a sudden startled stop.
Elk. Seven cows staring at us
from the field beside our house.

Neighbors reported sightings,
we saw black-marble droppings,
but here in the coastal forest,
we thought we were in charge.

The dog frozen, it’s up to me.
Advance or retreat, act tough
or cajole them like puppies?
God, they keep staring at us.

Seven hundred pounds times seven–
Oh Lord, more leap out of the bushes.
I raise my phone to take pictures
to share if we get home alive.

One of them crosses the road
to where the women with cats live.
Run Millie, run Frosty! Hey Kathy!
A glance. The scout rejoins the herd.

It’s December. My bum knee aches.
“Come on, Pup.” Timid steps,
nervous chatter. They look alike,
small heads, thick brown bodies.

As we pass the mailboxes, the elk
turn as one and whoosh through
an opening in the trees and vines.
Could they have been afraid of us?


--Sue Fagalde Lick, Dec. 26, 2022

Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you for reading Unleashed in Oregon. These elk were quite docile, but if elk feel threatened, they might charge. I used the zoom function on my camera to photograph them. Always give wild animals the right-of-way. https://www.travel-experience-live.com/elk-safety-how-safely-observe-wild-elk/

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Highway 38 elk viewing stop a must

It’s funny how one species gathers to stare at the other. When you see a crowd of cars and people with cameras clustered together at Dean Creek Wildlife Area on Highway 38, you can be sure the Roosevelt elk have gathered on the other side of the fence. As I headed south for California two weeks ago, I got a double treat. The male elk had congregated near the road, calmly eating, scratching themselves and gazing at the people gazing at them. When I finished taking pictures, I drove to the westernmost parking lot to have a snack and discovered the females gathered there. More photos, of course.

It was a beautiful day, with blue skies, sunshine and soft breezes. I had that first-day-of-vacation feeling when all the cares of home drop away and you’ve got plenty of time to relax. Dean Creek is only three miles off Highway 101 outside of Reedsport, with ample parking, plus restrooms, benches and interpretive signs. The preserve’s 1,040 acres of pastures, meadows, marshes and mountains are also home to beavers, muskrats, mallards, Canada geese, great blue herons, and other creatures.

The elk are around all year, although you can’t always see them. But if you do, just be careful parking because people are watching the elk, not the road.

Highway 38, which follows the Umpqua River from Reedsport to the town of Elkton, is a scenic road full of history. It’s worth traveling even if the elk are being shy that day.

Click here for info about the Dean Creek Wildlife Area.