With the Tick of the Clock, It is Spring!

But Ohhh Burrr is it ever so cold still.  The sun was out strongly Monday morning, but the chill in the air and the random cars with snow on them says it is March, a month like no other

I take heart in reading from Professor Mass Weather blog that La Nina is showing signs of breaking apart and we might nave a better Summer this year.

Winter has been long and dreary and I wish I could say I did many fun and interesting things.

I did join the Nisqually Land Trust in their property planting and invasive weed pulling.  These work parties are always enjoyable.   Once again we were fortunate in the weather and most work parties went off without a hitch.  One was cancelled for snow.  That was the weekend I traveled to the ocean and did beach clean-up.

I returned to the ocean in February and totally had a weekend of doing things I had not done before.  I am venturing into the game of Geocaching.  Using a GPS unit, I find my way to a hidden box planted by another cacher.  It is a fun way to get out into the environment and see new places.  I am eager to discover some of the boxes planted in remote areas of eastern Washington.  I am currently looking at my Desert Hikes book for ideas for April wildflower destinations.

One cache had me on the beach below Cape Disappointment.  While I did not find the tricky find I certainly discovered some other fun things.

A wrecked boat with an old rusty engine.  I had a good chuckle over the engines face.

In the woods this little salamander was out and about.  It must have been very cold as it let me pick it up for a careful looking over.  That is my glove so you can get and idea of its size and unwillingness to move.

It was a clamming weekend and I always love watching people pursue the crafty Razor Clams.

burrrrrr

Sanderlings were everywhere in busy flocks, working the same low tide as the clammers.

I rode a bike for the first time in 40 years.  I stayed once again at Adrift Hotel and Sunday morning I checked out a little bike for a quick trip along the beach Discovery Trail.  The bike was too small for me, but my level of confidence was pretty shaky at first.  I would have been more at home on a horse.

I finally got to the Kite Museum.  There was a master class on kite fabrication going on.  I watched some interesting videos on Kite Fishing and Kite Fighting.  There were extensive collections of kites from Asia and the Middle East. 

My favorite exhibit was the bird kite collection.

But best of all I flew my own kite.  Something I have never done before.  I visited the amazing Gasworks Kite Shop

http://gasworksparkkiteshop.com/

after a visit to the dentist.  I figured a root canal deserves a toy from the toy chest.

The store is amazing and filled with fun.  The wonderful staffer showed me all the beginner kites that could self launch.  I had a hard time choosing and settled on a butterfly kite.  I have my eye on an amazing "long tail" kite as well.

It launched right out of my hand and I could get it quite high in the air.  Made of nylon, I have it in the trunk of my car and have pulled it out a few times since when I found a place with a good clear area to fly in.  It is an amazing, relaxing activity.

I grabbed this photo with on hand while flying my kite.  I saw it setting up and mentally I wished the father and son to climb that hill and set up the shot.  They read my mind and this picture is one of my favorites in a long time

So Spring is here.  Birds are giving their all, I even saw a Pacific Wren building a nest Saturday.

Sunday I visited a raw open area looking for early swamp and marsh residents.  See the frosting on those distant hills?  Wisely it seems the ducks are in more sheltered areas than this open area.  Marsh Wrens were busy nest building and Redwing Blackbirds were just starting to fluster about setting up territory.

Skunk Cabbage are everywhere.

Pussywillows are, to me, the essence of Spring.  This one is spangled with rain or snow, it was certainly cold enough yesterday for it to have been either. 

Spring is Here

Scavenger Hunt

How I choose where to wander is as varied as the places I visit. Sometimes it is to experience someplace new and exciting. Sometimes it is to visit an old friend. Usually it is based on what is in bloom (if anything) and always, weather is a factor. Right now Spring cannot get a grip. Snow in the passes, traction tire requirements and avalanche mitigation pretty much shuts off eastern Washington for me. And here at home we cannot muster 50 degree+ days. We have already had 70% of our April average rainfall. So what to do, I have the weekend free? On Flickr, the photo sharing site, I participate in a photo scavenger hunt. The first of the month we get a new list of topics or concepts to capture. Often they are solid subjects like "tripod" or "board game" . Other times they are abstract, like "silence" "a cliche". This month my list decided my destination. With subjects like "Black and White" "wave" "guide" and the perplexing "skyless sunset" I opted for the far southwest coast; Long Beach and Cape Disappointment.

I am currently reading Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose. It is a wonderfully written history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Cape Disappointment is where they first met the Pacific. It is where they spent their miserable Fall / Winter. Long Beach is exactly that, and amazing stretch of uninterrupted sand. The peninsula juts north along the coast. The Willapa estuary which forms along its east side and stretches inland is world famous for oysters.

In Long Beach you can enjoy tons of dining opportunities and ample lodging options; basic to swanky. I captured "skyless sunset" in a true ah ha! moment running back from seeing the sunset in the only rain (while not driving) of the weekend. I wish I had captured a safety image, this ones zoom focus was so bad. It was just a moment of right light and color.

I was disappointed to not be able to get to the unique Kite Museum (closed Sunday mornings). Long Beach regularly sponsors kite flying events and conventions. But I did capture this image for the subject "fly". While the Flickr group administrator is in the Netherlands, topics are listed in English. Fly lends itself to many interpretations.

Lewis and Clark spent many sad days along this coast. It was here they took what may have been the first truly democratic vote in US history. Every member of the team voted equally on where to spend the winter. The vote was taken at Dismal Notch and York, a Black slave and Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman, were included in the vote. Dismal Notch is just east of the Astoria Bridge. Here the river looks lovely and peaceful ...

...but to the west, on the rising tide you can see and hear the crashing of the rivers outflow when it meets the rising tide. The Columbia Bar is one of the most dangerous waterways in the world. The Coast Guard maintains two important stations on either side of the river.

River pilots are required for ships coming in and going out. Rescues are often carried out. This is Dead Mans Cove, just north of the Cape Lighthouse. Name such for obvious reasons. This is one of the historic spots for wreck recoveries.

Lewis and Clark were trapped at Dismal Notch by a week long storm in November of 1805. This area is subject to fierce rains and gales. The little cove they were trapped in did have a creek where they could easily get salmon for food. Today there is a nice bronze monument documenting the efforts of the party to break away from their camp and reach their ultimate destination. I knew I wanted Sacagawea to be my "guide" subject and I am happy I stopped at this place.

Cape Disappointment is wonderful for exploring. There are two different lighthouses and plenty of exciting wave and rock action. I knew that one of the lighthouses was likely to be black and white and waves are given at the ocean. Lighthouses are wonderful subjects.

I was thrilled at this wave photo.

Walking on the beach is not as nice as the beach up at ShiShi. Here cars are allowed to drive on the beach. To me, it is a wrong choice. There is far too much pollution and garbage washed up onto the beach and almost no interesting rocks or shells to seek. But I stumbled upon this seabird feather, the perfect black and white capture.

Some years ago a dead Gray Whale washed up on the north end of Long Beach. There was much discussion as to how to dispose of the very large carcass. Ultimately it was decided to simply bury it on site. Several years later permission was granted to dig it up. The skeleton was carefully preserved and assembled on the beach in Long Beach town. Lewis and Clark had recorded finding a dead whale and it certainly fits in neatly with experiencing some of what Clark saw here.

At Cape Disappointment there is a wonderful Lewis and Clark Museum. I really liked seeing some of the little details. Reproductions of their journals made me appreciate how great their scientific work was. These journals were simply paper tablets covered with soft leather. They were no more than 6 x 9 inches. Detail of the handwriting shows amazingly neat tiny script, beautifully penned, filling every page with exacting detail. There is also a section in the museum about early shipping and the history of shipwrecks off the cape. One display shows how lighthouse lanterns are focused using prisms. You get to manipulate the prisms on a miniature light to make it focus. I like things like that.

For me the highlight of the weekend was dinner at Jimellas Market Cafe. Owned by Jimella Lucas and Nanci Main owners of the now closed Ark Restaurant. I knew the Ark was world famous and I figured this was going to be as good as it could be. It was! Fresh fish given a simple grill prep. Fresh crispy asparagus and snow peas, lovingly prepared. A little salad I would never have thought would work; arugula, grapefruit and Kalamata olive. It was sweet, tangy, bitter and salty all in one perfect balance. Add a glass of wine and a fresh , homemade herb roll and I was one happy camper. Add the simple, come as you are surroundings, perfection. I might have to check into one of their many cookbooks to see if I can learn some secrets.

I will happily return to this beach if only to fly a kite (for the first time) and have more lovely dining experiences with Nanci and Jimella.