Fidalgo Island Crossings

After a long, dark and rainy week, the sun came out this morning.  Not wanting to miss the moment, I headed over to Deception Pass State Park to try and get some early spring wildlife photos.  My destination was the West Beach/Cranberry Lake section of the park.  The Sand Dunes Interpretive Trail over there is usually a good spot for wildlife sightings.  It was breezy at home, but I am somewhat sheltered from westerly winds.  What I would encounter at the park took me by surprise. From the main entrance on Whidbey Island, the road winds down through the woods towards the lake.  When Cranberry Lake came into sight, I realized there was a significant weather event taking place.  The lake surface was roiling with a heavy chop kicked up by the winds.  Then I saw the wind-driven surf rolling in off the Strait of Juan de Fuca and I realized there probably would not be much wildlife to photograph today.  I would encounter a much different exa...

Though it is still winter, this past week brought some activity to the garden.  My aspirations as a wildlife gardener took another step.  The perennial garden next to the driveway has been replaced by a new bed of native plants.  The old rockery which had been built from on-site stones was removed and replaced with a new stone wall.  The perennials which grew here have been moved to the beds in the front yard.  I believe this new native plant garden will be a more appropriate asset for attracting wildlife. I was never happy with the old perennial bed.  In late spring, it looked pretty good (above).  By the midsummer drought, however, it became a bit overgrown and weedy looking, at least, to my taste.  Moles would burrow behind the rockery pushing dirt and rocks onto the driveway.  Despite my efforts to improve it, my glacial soil was never quite right for perennials.  The spectacular blooming display I had envisioned did not mate...

The sun came up yesterday under clear skies on South Fidalgo Island.  Since I was going to be downtown, I decided to take the camera to get some shots from the top of Cap Sante.  This is a hook-shaped peninsula at the northeast corner of Fidalgo Island adjacent to downtown Anacortes.  There are wonderful views from the top. As luck would have it, Anacortes and the north end of the island were socked in with fog.  The only sight from the top of Cap Sante was a dense haze.  OK then, what now?  I decided to go down to the Cap Sante Boat Haven nearby.  I enjoy looking at the boats and also taking photos that portray the weather.  I did this once before , but I have a better camera now and my post-processing skills may have improved a little. The Cap Sante Boat Haven is operated by the Port of Anacortes .  It is a major attraction adjacent to downtown with a lot of new development in recent years.  It sits sheltered inside the h...

Salal (Gaultheria shallon) It has been cold around here, at least by our standards.  Overnight temperatures have been dropping into the twenties F.  That's below freezing for pretty much all of you in the rest of the world.  Arctic air masses sometimes find a pathway down the Fraser Valley in Canada.  The cold air will continue to spill through western Washington, down the Puget Sound Basin. It is not unusual for our winter temperatures to stay above freezing.  The downside of our warmer winters is that it can also be overcast, gray and drizzly.  At least the colder weather sometimes brings sunshine.  That's been our situation for the last few days, very cold with bright sunshine.  It's not all bad. Seashore  Bluegrass (Poa macrantha) One of my favorite things to do is get out in the winter cold, hike around the countryside and take pictures.  Yesterday, I headed over to West Beach in Deception Pass State Park .  This s...

I took this admittedly odd and marginal photo this morning.  I was hiking along the dike at Wiley Slough in the Skagit River delta .  This is a unit of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife .  Hanging in the tangle of brush along the edge of the dike, I spotted a guy's shredded Fruit-of-the-Looms and one sock.  I know there is a story here, but I can't figure out what it is.  Perhaps someone can help fill in the details.  Let me set the scene: The dike is part of a system that protects the low-lying farmlands of Fir Island, Washington .  The spur dike at Wiley Slough serves as a trail out into the wetlands of the Skagit River delta.  Many activities take place here include duck hunting, bird watching, hiking and dog training.  At different times, you may find the waters flowing either upstream or downstream.  This will depend on the river levels and the tides of Skagit Bay.   Lush botanical gardens ...