Fidalgo Island Crossings

I hate wet feet.  Whatever I am doing, wet feet ruin the experience.  There are a couple of places I don't hike right now because I know I will end up with wet feet.  These include Telegraph Slough near Anacortes and the West 90/Samish Flats site near Samish Island.  The latter is one of the best birding sites in the area. I have been shopping for waterproof hiking boots, but I am having trouble finding what I want.  I am looking for something comfortable, not exorbitantly priced and that will fit my weird feet.  I have high insteps and they are not the same length.  I like sneakers because they quickly adapt to my feet.  They work great on dry ground, but if there's any wetness around, I end up miserable.  I have also had trouble finding shoes that didn't end up hurting. I have learned a lot reading the review sites for hiking boots.  As is often the case, however, they seem to be all over the place with recommendations.  ...

Last Monday, Memorial Day, an all-volunteer force gathered for the Ninth Annual Scotch Broom Pull at Hope Island State Park in Skagit County.  Our Commanding General was Jack Hartt (second from left), Manager of Deception Pass State Park. Located in Skagit Bay, Hope Island is an uninhabited marine park and natural area preserve with primitive campsites and anchor buoys for boats.  Hope, and nearby Skagit and Kiket Islands, feature some of the last remaining pristine island ecosystems in Puget Sound.  This would be my first visit to the island. Early Monday morning, we mustered at the Deception Pass State Park dock in Cornet Bay. Our assault would require an amphibious landing on the island.  Conferring with Jack Hartt, Captain Brett Ginther and First Officer Alyce Salley from Deception Pass Tours provided transportation.  In peacetime, they offer whale watching excursions and boat tours of the Deception Pass area.  Memorial Day, however, w...

Pacific Chorus Frog ( Pseudacris regilla ) "There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings." "Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change.  Some evil spell had settled on the community;" "There was a strange stillness.  ...there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh." -Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962 I was in high school when Silent Spring was published.  It was a sensation.  It became THE book to read.  President Kennedy mentioned it in a press conference.  Despite the howling of the chemical industry, the President's Science Advisory Committee confirmed Rachel Carson's findings.  Human activity can have a profound impact on nature.  The book literally changed history, and created a lasting public awareness of nature and the environment.  Those were the days when decisions were based on science, data and ...

Yesterday we looked at how driftwood is born.  Today there is this.  Shall we call it art?  They actually sell these at Amazon .  I know where you can get one for nothing and I'll throw in a tennis ball.

Driftwood is one of the aesthetic elements we enjoy at the beach.  We like to look at it, collect it and make things with it.  Although not recommended, it fuels a great fire at a picnic.  Even its name has a pleasant ring, the word "drift" implying carefree leisure. Did you ever wonder how it got there?  It turns out this is not well known and is now a subject of study at Evergreen State College.  I do have some insight into the process locally.  It is basically created by the weather.  Recall the torrential rains we had about two weeks ago swelling rivers out of their banks.  When the Skagit River floods, wood debris and even entire trees are dumped into southern Skagit Bay .  The journey may have begun several miles upriver.  The currents are now bringing this material into the upper bay, a journey of between 8 and 15 miles (15-25 km).  This is a recurring pattern after every Skagit flood event.  The photo above shows ...

From Wild Fidalgo , Canada Geese are welcome visitors to South Fidalgo Island.  Canadian biologists, on the other hand, are recommending complete elimination of the birds from Vancouver Island.  The geese have altered the natural habitat threatening other wildlife and the important salmon resource.

Time 12:48 PM, Temp 49.0° F, Dew Point 42.1° F, Barometer 30.07", Wind 6 mph ESE, Humidity 77% Under overcast skies, a pair of tugboats steam toward Similk Bay , each with a raft of logs in tow.  Taking the lead is Tugboat Rosario out of La Conner, Washington: Following closely is Tugboat Swinomish which we have seen here before : Both tugs bear local names.  Swinomish tends her flock like a shepherd: Since I had the zoom lens straining I tried a shot of the salmon rearing pens south of Kiket Island.  These have been controversial .  Some believe their presence poses a risk to native salmon from parasites and diseases:

Our hearts are broken by the catastrophe in the Gulf and our rage is unbounded.  This nation is under assault by a vile and grossly incompetent cabal of corporations, BP, Halliburton and Transocean. BP has a history of outrageous behavior .  It was formerly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. In cahoots with the CIA in 1953, it orchestrated the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadeq, to protect its oil interests.  This set in motion a chain of events that bring us to the situation we find ourselves today in the Middle East. Do not allow the corporate news media, in league with BP and their advertising dollars, to rebrand this event the “Gulf Oil Spill.”  It is the BP Oil Spill , or if you prefer, the BP/Halliburton/Transocean Oil Spill . Please do not misinterpret the humor of this video produced by the Upright Citizens Brigade .  This parody does not dishonor the eleven men who died in the initial event.  Ne...