Christy Solo

A few weeks ago, I pulled over (safely!) while driving so I could get a pic of a cheery, orange wildflower. The flower was growing on other side of a small seasonal waterfall/stream as Oregon wildflowers so often are.

As we head in to the “Dang! It’s hot!” summer months you may want to take a break from the heat and head over to the coast for a day or two. While there is no shortage of fun things to do along the Oregon Coast (or do nothing but chill), we’re going to give you just one activity over the next two weeks of All Things: Look for “Wait, what? We have those birds in Oregon?” birds.

As long-time readers know, once in a while we revisit a past crawly if we feel we didn’t give that crawly enough attention the first time around.

This is one of those! I recently found this week’s crawly – the first I’d seen in 10 years – and realized “I don’t know how to find this critter. I don’t know anything about their life history. I’ve found a (literal) few just by stumbling upon them.

“Rescuers used ropes to climb 100 feet down a cliff face to save a dog trapped on a ledge in Ecola State Park over the weekend.

The dog’s owners contacted a park ranger Saturday afternoon after the pet ran off during a hike at the Oregon coast park and disappeared” The Oregonian, June 9, 2026

Because we haven’t yet hit the Dog Days of Summer, now is the perfect time to go hiking with your dog. If your dad has a dog, or if you are a Dog Dad or heck maybe your dog is a dad and needs some time away from the litter - whatever your dogs ‘n dads status, a hike is the perfect Father’s Day activity!

This week we’ll meet a very rare Oregon resident. The upside is if you do see one, you’ll know it right away! Meet the Arctic skipper (Carterocephalus mandan).

Welcome to the wonderful world of washable area rugs!

My house has very little carpet, which I am grateful for. Many dog owners probably understand why. Especially if you have puppies, senior dogs or rescue dogs.