Rain, Rinse, Repeat

What can you do? It is winter in Puget Sound Country and with El Nino set up, the normal wet weather seems to persist without those pretty "blue days" that serve up a reward.

This is a photo that I took Wednesday during my daily lunch-time walk. It is really raining in this shot. That rain that you cannot see falling. Everything gets wet...eventually. The native peoples called it "chu-bash" , I call it organized fog.

I tried to chase the sunshine Saturday. I started the morning early at the farm. High on a ridge over the Carnation / Duvall valley it is often quite fogged in. Saturday was no exception.

I did not hold great hopes at finding clear skies any time soon. I love the valley and the farms and community along the way. This pretty little farm is a great example. Those are Belted Galloway (beef) cattle. Some people call them Oreo Cookies Cows.

Double Stuff, perhaps. They look very furry and fat.

As I drove along the valley floor I wondered what Snoqualmie Falls might be running like. It was not but a few miles southbound when the skies looked like they were going to break. I stopped in at a Fish and Wildlife parking spot and walked for an hour along the river trail and wove through some open hunting fields.

What a treat. There was clearly still clouds and fog sitting in the trees high up on the ridge.

Down here on the valley floor the sun was breaking through. There was even patches of blue sky. What a difference a few miles and several hundred feet elevation makes.

I wandered through the fields and came to the river. Across the way, the historic Carnation Research Farm sits prettily on the side of the hill.

Further south along the river, I paid a quick visit to Tolt - Mac Donald Park. This park climbs the side of the valley ridge and has become quite popular with mountain bikers. I have spent some time birding in these woods. The trails are like so many in this region. I was a bit apprehensive to see what tire rutting had done to them.

You cross a pretty bridge to get to the park. It has a slight sway as you walk across over the very fast running Snoqualmie River. Look at the moisture in the air coming from the trees ( and sky)

People who enjoy fishing must really enjoy it to stand hip deep on a 40 degree day. Notice the sky. There has not been more than 30 minutes and 3 or so miles from the pretty blue sky and trees shot.

This park is unique that it has a camp group and yurts you can rent. I have to imagine someone who enjoys fishing might have a pleasant couple days so close to the city.

The park trails climb steeply, so it is a good workout. The trails have been well maintained with erosion control breaks. The soil appears somewhat sandy in places. I don't know if that is natural to this spot or representative of the maintenance the bike community has done to preserve the quality.

I saw this sign, posted last Fall. We have a cougar has been in the neighborhood of the farm, about 6 miles north along the ridge, for many years. A cougar can have a range of 50 miles so it comes as no surprise to me that a cat would like this nice patch of old forest. In all my rambles I have never seen a cougar.

To the east there is a hint of clearing sky. I can clearly see that the snow really seems to be lacking in this El Nino year. Not good at all as this snow represents the irrigation water that keeps our Eastern Washington agriculture going. At least they can manufacture snow for the Olympics.

By the time I get to the falls, it is fully overcast and dreary again. There is so much moisture in the air that between the spray from the falls and the fog and clouds, you could not see the foot of the falls. Indeed you could not even see 1/3 of the way down when standing at the closest vantage point.

After finishing at work today, I returned to the falls. It was much clearer, though still cloudy and the falls were putting on a great show.

Professor Mass http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/ is forecasting strong windstorms along the coast starting tonight. Most of the heavy El Nino rain gets diverted into California so we might get some blue skies in the coming week. The mountains might even get more snow. I wish I could scoot out to the coast for an exciting storm watch. Overall, however , the promise of some blue sky is enough for me.

More Snow

I drove up to Skagit again to revisit some of the swan and Snow Goose habitat. The weather has certainly been fine and with no wind it was a pleasant day out.

The Johnson DeBay Reserve is east of Mt Vernon, up river from the Skagit Flats. I had read about this area but never visited it. It is snuggled in a back water of the Skagit River and is a quick drive from the freeway. I was surprised at how quickly the town transforms to farm country. I assume there is a significant risk of flooding in these farm lands. Since this is a less publicised area, there are few people who visit the reserve. The open field was stubble corn and fallow potato crop area. All around were little mushy spuds in mud.

There were two hunters picking up their decoys and blind when I arrived and these two photographers. I could hear bird song in the distance and was thrilled to find a flock of about 30 Meadowlarks chattering in the trees. They are a very uncommon bird on this side of the Cascades. The old corn stubble must appeal to them. They were pretty shy so there was zero chance of getting a picture. I love their song.

There were few other birds present. A small flock of about 30 Trumpeter Swans did everything to keep their distance from we present. I am not sure the hunters were to account for this.

Since I have not had a good look at Tundra Swan this year I decided to go back over to Fir Island. In the past it was almost always a good bet to find some birds in the field but there has been some change of attitude towards promoting the birds. Hunters and bird watchers certainly enjoy them, but farmers are having a tough time and more and more ex-urban residents don't want the birders and hunters.

I visited the Hayton Snow Goose reserve and had a fine viewing of this Great Blue Heron.

and this view of Mt Baker. I cannot do justice to the wispy veils of clouds rising from the peaks.

The final stop was at the very end of the road on Fir Island. This is a popular hunting area and there were many Snow Geese present. Hunters were about as were many photographers and bird watchers. I think most of us appreciate the efforts each group puts into environment preservation. I chatted with two women who had their dogs with them. One dog was wearing a camo body vest. I asked them about that and they said the vest protects the underside of the dog from rough plants and stubble. It adds a bit of warmth and you can even but floatation blocks in some pockets to help the dog during its water work.

The salt water, intertidal marsh can hold some good birds in spring but today it was pretty quiet.

This rose hip was about the best splash of color.

We had one great flight of geese, the thing everyone hopes for. This is the only time hunters can shoot. Photographers and birders instantly have their optics going. The sound is amazing, not only the calls but the whoosh and whistle of the wings.

Happy New Year ~ I take the plunge

Today I started my 365 Project on Flickr and was trying to come up with an idea as to where or what to do. Starting the day with a review of the newspaper I caught an article about the Kirkland Polar Bear Plunge being "cancelled". The city did not wish to sponsor the event. The woman being interviewed said she was disappointed and felt that she would carry on anyway. Strictly unofficial, don't you know. ( wink wink)


I thought I could likely get some good pictures at this event. I went over to St Edwards State Park for a walk around to kill time before the event.


St Edwards is north of Kirkland in Juanita and the site of a former seminary. It is also the location of Bayster University, a well regarded Naturopathic Medicine center. The park is typical second growth mixed woodland with plenty of trees and thick understory. High on a hill on Lake Washington there are some nice trails up top and a great loop that goes down to the lake and back up, circling the whole park. The trails are pretty fair, with some soft and mucky spots in places. The hill climb is enough to make a good workout without suffering.

Given the mixed age of the trees there are a fair number of old dead timbers. These attract woodpeckers and it is easy to see evidence of their food searches. I easily had three viewings of Piliated Woodpeckers and two encounters with Hairy Woodpeckers during the two hour walk.

Piliated Woodpeckers produce large excavations in the trees.














You will often find piles of wood chips at the base of trees. If a bird is actively foraging you might even see chips flying through the air.










Downy and Hairy woodpeckers are much smaller and produce tidy little round holes. Their nest cavities provide nesting spots for chickadees, nuthatches and wrens. Piliated holes are much larger and might be used by small owls and squirrels.








This fallen Madrone made a pretty picture down on the lake front.





Many fallen and cut logs supported turkey tail fungus. I got some lucky bugs in this picture.







During my ramble I convinced myself that I should go to the Polar Bear not just to take pictures but to take the plunge myself. I had thought about it the last two years but begged off at the last minute.


So I donned my still muddy pants from the tree planting a few weeks ago ( I figure they need a wash) , my thermal t neck , a swim halter and water shoes. At 1230 there were a few other people milling about. We wondered if it was going to be just us. At 1250 there were suddenly people coming from all over. Kids and oldsters, teens in bikinis and some get ups I cannot describe. The TV station crew was there (KIRO) and they were busy taking shots and interviewing folks


I had my camera in a double zip lock. I was hoping to get some action shots from the water. There was a countdown and a rush and we were all in. I chill of the water was not that bad, what killed me was the rocks of the lake bed. Even with my water shoes...OUCH!


I didn't expect everyone to turn and rush back to shore so by the time I fumbled my camera out, the action was pretty much over.






But I did it, dripping head to toe I felt great.


I looked around for some photo potentials and there was one little boy doubled over crying.



"I'm so cooooooollllllllldddddd." This tiny thin voice. It was tragic.



Everyone laughed and I think the TV crew caught it on film. A warm blanket was produced and the boy soon cheered up.






It made a great shot.

To The North West

Grabbing an opportunity to get away during the holiday week I wanted to see someplace I had not seen before. The weather seemed to be stable for the long term so I booked a room at Bullman Beach Inn outside Neah Bay. What a sweet place. My room was right on the beach and had all I could need for a cozy stay. The kitchen was well stocked with cooking utensils. The table was right at one of two large picture windows The beach right outside that. Decor was basic 60's cabin. What a sweet deal!

See the notebook on the desk? It gives all sorts of helpful info. The first page is about the dog and three cats that live on or next to the property. The orange tabby cat is Mouse Mouse and Not To Be Allowed IN Cabin.

He claimed not to have read the book himself. He was a real con artist.

I arrived just in time for a pretty sunset.

The stone pillars in the Strait held plenty of sea birds and almost always held a Bald Eagle at the top. There were a lot of sea ducks on the water. At low tide this beach has a lot of low rocks filled with mussels and kelp beds. At the high tide line there is a lot of kelp and drift wood that held surprises. One my first morning the crows showed me where an octopus had washed up.

I gathered a lot of nice shells including a sea urchin. I didn't think to ask about gathering mussels on permit. I will keep that in mind for next time.

On my first day I drove out to Cape Flattery, the most northwestern point in the lower 48 states. It was a short little journey through the woods on a nice wood plank boardwalk. The Makah Nation is doing a very nice job of preserving their areas for visitors. Entering these areas required a yearly permit which costs only 10$. This old dead tree was mighty interesting and certainly worth keeping and building the boardwalk around it.

Out at the observation point I encountered a man from Customs and Homeland Security. He was very well armed I can tell you. He gave me quite a start. But this is the point of entry for the ships from the Pacific and they have their share of drug and human smuggling to watch for. We had a nice chat and I said he had pulled good duty to not be at the airport on Christmas Week. He chuckled and agreed and said that he would likely face bringing his Mother-in-law to visit the viewpoint the next day. I don't know if he considered that "Hazardous Duty"

Tatoosh Island, just off shore is home to a lone lighthouse and serves as a very important research station. There have been some significant work done there defining rocky shore ecology. There have also been some wonderful birds seen at the location. They come ashore during faulty migration. With the open ground and eyes looking for the unusual, these birds are more likely to be seen.

Driving further south I visited Shi Shi ( shy shy) Beach. It is a serious hike through the forest to the beach, about 2 miles. Once there I had the beach to myself. The sand is a softer, looser sand than the beaches further to the south. I had thought I might hike down to Point of the Arches, but I could see on top of the 4 miles from and back to the car, another 6 or so miles on that soft beach was out of the question. I contented myself with poking around in the tide pools and walking along the beach looking at shells (protected, no taking) and finding interesting creatures washed up.

This was a rock fish of some type the night before. His expression makes him look a bit vexed to have wound up like this.

I was so pleased my drive home allowed this photo at the mouth of the Sooes River.

The following day it was off the the Hoh Rain Forest. So far the weather had been perfect, no rain, no wind, mild and cloudy. I was fully prepared for unending rains. In fact I welcomed the full experience of being at Hoh in the rain. No such luck. While it was gray and threatening, there was no pit a pat of rain to make the experience complete.

The Hoh is inside the Olympic National Park, just south of Forks. I could see glimpses of Mt Olympus which I cannot see from home. There was so little evidence of life in the outside world once I was out of Forks and off Hwy 101. A nice change of pace.

I saw no vampires.

The Olympic National Park was named a World Heritage Site in 1981 owing to its unique Temperate Rain Forest. Here it rains over 180 inches per year. There are gentle hikes and many nice graphics through the woods near the visitors center. Even with all the rain, the footing on the trails is excellent.

There is also a trail up to Mt Olympus which is a 17 mile hike. Here there is more potential for interesting ecology. It is listed in my Wildflower hike book. I have seen photos on the Flickr Washington Wildflower group which show the promise of unusual species.

Every porous surface is growing something. I am sure a botanist could spend all day recording the living content of one downed log. Yes that is a bit of snow.

The Hall of Mosses features many enormous Big-leaf Maple trees. They must be something to see when in full leaf. I conveniently left my spare battery in my room and my camera was on low juice. I wish I could have captured more images of this lovely place. The streams were filled with spawning salmon (and two researchers in hip waders BBBbrrrrrrrrrr)

The roads into Neah Bay are dark and twisty. It only takes about 4 hours from Edmond ferry loading. I will certainly return for another weekend. In Spring I hope to catch some of the wonderful old forest plants and flowers.

Happy Christmas

Such a beautiful chilly blue day calls out for a walk.

Exactly one year ago I was working hard at making a double batch of Ratatouille. Today I am at it again, but on this day it was well worth getting out for a walk while the eggplant salts out.

Last year was a different story with the only option was to stay inside rather than slogging about. Little did I know when I took the photo above that it would continue to be a problem all day and I went NO WHERE that day.

And ate Ratatouille for a week.

Today, I went over to the Watershed for a quick walk. It was still, blue and quite frosty.

The trail out to the little pond is seldom used, as evidenced by the moss covered walkway.,

I wanted to get some pictures of the frozen water and happily there was some nice contrast close to the viewing platform.

a white patch caught my eye while I wandered through the woods. At first I thought it was a bit of garbage but upon close examination I see that it is frost formed into frozen threads. I have never seen anything like this and it was very odd as there was only two patches. They were springing from downed tree limbs. We are not children of the ice so I posted photos to "ID Please" on Flickr to see if anyone could explain this interesting sight. I am thinking it is soft rime but we have such little experience of frozen environments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost_flowers

A regular on Flickr pointed me to the id of "Frost Flowers" In viewing the Wiki page and seeing some of the other photos, I agree with him. The rising sap on broken limbs pushes moisture out and it freezes in a linear fashion.

The woods were pretty quiet. I found one feeding guild of nuthatch and chickadees and a very quiet Hairy woodpecker. A few early morning joggers were about, as usual.

I thought this trail fence made a pretty picture.

The Ratatouille is done. I suspect there will be left-overs.

Happy Christmas

Back At It

These grand trees need more friends.

The last month has been challenging for getting out and about. The short dark days make you want to make the most of the weekend. But come the weekend there have been far too many dicey weather changes that can bring me up short. All in all it felt more like hibernation than a time to celebrate the season.

Roaring winds after Thanksgiving put the choice to go up to Port Townsend and Sequim right on the back burner. Pictures on Flickr in the Washington Bird forum tell me I should have headed south to the Greater Vancouver area. While we were socked in and broody with howling winds and gloom, they had clear blue skies. The winds, set up the ice locker effect and days of frozen roads and sub-freezing chill I was not quite prepared for. I did learn a lot from Dr Mass and his weather blog.

(Please note the effective use of my new toy, a camera that fits in my purse and goes everywhere. )

Then there was girls weekend which is delightful. There is not a lot of natural wonder and wildlife in the core of downtown Seattle, unless you count Fox's Gem Shop windows and their famous collection of teddy bears.

I did see a interesting flock of Christmas effluvia running in the streets of downtown during the annual Jingle Bell Run. I think the flock of runners dressed as penguins was pretty good. People plan all year for this event. I think if I was inclined to run, I would dress as a coal sack.

The gingerbread houses were particularly good this year with a theme of Christmas in the Movies.

Yesterday, I was back out there, happily at another work party with the Nisqually Land Trust.

http://www.nisquallylandtrust.org/

The weather has shifted and now all is rain. Last weekend was the original planting weekend and the ground was frozen solid. Saturday the ground was like soft butter which raised its own challenges.

The Wilcox Flats parcel is along the river adjacent to the Wilcox Farm complex. Most locals have seen the Wilcox eggs and milk in the stores and the farm is tucked away in a quiet small valley just back from the river east of Yelm.

The rain was pretty steady driving down but once it was daylight, it seems to just sprinkle now and then. The sudden quiet mood at daybreak allowed me to see and capture this interesting braided fog over a pasture.

The Wilcox parcel was originally destined to be 40+ housing plats. Some construction had started but the river showed, with a flood, that this was not a wise place to settle. The houses started, were destroyed and debris from places up river is still on the property. Ongoing work focuses on clearing the debris and replanting felled trees.

We worked at planting small Red Ceder, Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce trees. The spruce trees were my favorites. They have a pungent sharp odor and resembled Charlie Brown Christmas trees. It was challenging work. The ground showed no ill effects of being frozen last week. It was as soft as can be and in some places, too soft. The soil would cling to shovel and shoes in big globs. Since we were working inside an area with tall trees and mixed shrubs there was plenty of water all around. Vines grabbed and tangled and it was soggy work. It was not long before the wet clothes mixed with the mucky soil. I have not been this dirty in a long time. I think I received enough clunks to the head to keep my brain well seated for a while. I kept forgetting that there were many low limbs. I smacked into and came up under plenty of noggin knockers.

Isolated parties made quick work of planting. I was only able to stay three hours but, as always, feel the drive and time spent working was well worth the effort. I enjoy driving as I can listen to the radio. I particularly enjoy NPR on the weekend.

Yesterday my drive home was just in time to hear "KUOW Presents". These stories and interviews focus on topics of the region. One particular timely guest was Nalini Nadkarni, President of the International Canopy Network and a professor at the Evergreen State College. She told the story of growing up in crossed cultures back east and the impact of the Holiday season. She focused on the presence and symbol of the tree. In recent years she has worked at ways of bringing the conservation story to more people. Part of that work is outreach as different religious services as a guest speaker. She tells of looking for and discovering the presence of trees and forest in the holy books of the different major religions.

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=19041

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did. She tells a wonderful and fascinating story. I would like to hear her speak.

Stay safe and warm.