Fidalgo Island Crossings

It has been almost a year since the riprap armoring was removed from the shoreline of Ala Spit on Whidbey Island .  The goal was to return it to a more natural state, an effort to improve the Skagit Bay habitat for Chinook Salmon.  Another project was undertaken at Wiley Slough in the Skagit River delta nearby with the same goal.  It is expected that the spit will now shift and change shape naturally with the currents and tides.  Ala Spit is an Island County park and a popular destination for fishing, hiking, beachcombing and wildlife viewing. I visited the site almost a year ago just after the riprap revetment was removed.  At the time, it still had a kind of torn-up look.  The land form has now taken on natural and more beautiful shapes and contours.  Large patches of green vegetation, such as American Glasswort ( Salicornia virginica ) above, is now growing on the leeward side. The spit parallels the Whidbey mainland to form a lagoon an...

Plants are like chimes in the cosmic clock.  When leaves sprout on trees, we know it is spring.  Leaves changing colors and falling to the ground are like bells signaling the arrival of autumn. One of my favorite places to hear these bells is along the Spur Dike at Wiley Slough on Fir Island, Washington.  The dike serves as a trail into the wetlands of the Skagit River delta.  The site is open to the public for seasonal hunting, hiking, birding, dog training and botanizing.  The site is managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife .  Visitors should remember to bring their Discover Pass . The visitor to these wetlands will find a sumptuous botanical garden.  The variety of native plants and trees is without number.  The chiming of autumn here is just now beginning and colors are taking on hues of yellow and red. The appearance of fruit is another bell tone in the carillon.  Pacific Crab Apples ( Malus fusca ) ...

Some high-tech infrastructure is in the sky this time.  At 1,273 feet (388 meters), Mount Erie is the highest point on Fidalgo Island.  The mountain is an Anacortes city park and visitors can drive to the summit over a steep, winding road.  A pair of communications towers crown the summit.  Mount Erie is a favorite destination for hikers, mountaineers and rock climbers. Another view of the towers shows the pair together.  There are several paved pathways to overlooks at or near the summit.  My favorite is the overlook nearest the towers because it provides a wonderful view of South Fidalgo Island.  Click on the photo to enlarge it: From up here, the curvature of the earth can be seen.  Lake Campbell is near the foreground and beyond is Skagit Bay, my usual Skywatch vantage point.  The entrance to Deception Pass is on the right.  On a very clear day, Mount Rainier is visible on the horizon from 117 miles (188 km) aw...

Arguably, the film Predator gave us one of the greatest movie creatures ever.  It took cunning and some luck for Arnold to defeat it.  Our wildlife gardens can also contain predators that are as malevolent and ruthless as that alien creature in the movie.  Domestic cats that are allowed to run free are known to exercise their predatory instincts.   One blogger did the math and came up with an estimate of 1.7 billion birds killed by outdoor cats annually in the United States.  If you think that is an overestimation, divide it by 1,000 and the number is still too large. If cat lovers are not feeling a little concerned by that number, perhaps they will take notice of these figures : Free-roaming cats live 1 to 3 years Indoor/outdoor cats live 6 to 8 years Indoor only cats live 20 years or more My neighborhood serves as an example.  When I first moved here, there were several cats, perhaps a dozen, that roamed the area.  I came to recognize t...

Last summer, this little clumping bamboo got me into big trouble over at Google+ .  It was Google's brand new social network where we early adopters were happily posting photos and talking about our interests.  I had just planted this little clumping  Borinda augustissima at the edge of the shade garden.  I took a photo of it and posted it with a caption about a new addition to the garden.  It was really just a practice post; no big deal. Well, jumping Jehoshaphat!  My innocent little throw-away post got some surprising attention.  A woman took me to task for planting this "terrible, invasive plant."   "Bamboo is outlawed in Florida."  "Didn't I know that bamboo should never be planted?" What? I could sense the desperation in her words.  It seemed an out-of-proportion reaction to such a small plant.  In the friendliest, most polite response I could conjure up, I pointed out that this was not Florida.  Bamboo was not c...

  In February, 2011, I posted instructions for creating a mobile app to display data from your personal weather station.  At the time, I was working with an iPod Touch so the instructions applied only to iOS devices.  Basically, the app will post the data you upload to your Weather Underground account .  They provide two URL's for accomplishing this: i.wund.com for iOS devices (e.g. iPhones) m.wund.com for other mobile devices At the time, I wasn't sure how the second URL would work as I only had an iOS device.  Now, I have a Nexus 7 tablet so I can update the instructions for the Android OS. At left is a screenshot of my Nexus 7 home screen.  The icon for my weather station app is in the red circle.  Screenshots are easy with the Nexus 7.  Simultaneously press the power and lower volume buttons.   It will go "plink" and put the image where you specify. Since this was an Android device, I tried the URL m.wund.com first. ...

8:51 AM, Temp 54.3° F, Dew Pt 53.7° F, Barometer 29.96 in, Wind Calm, Humidity 98% South Fidalgo woke to fog this morning and to make it more interesting, it was accompanied by thunder.  I don't recall experiencing fog and thunder at the same time before.  It seemed very strange.  But lately, our weather has been strange in general. Yesterday brought thunder and lightning to western Washington for the entire day.  More than 1,500 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were counted.    A   Bald Eagle was killed   near Lake Stevens when a lightning bolt brought down a big Douglas Fir.   Some areas got large hail and intermittent rain squalls rolled through the entire area. When I lived in Iowa, this would have been normal summer weather, but for here, this is very unusual.  The cool Pacific Ocean nearby normally stabilizes the atmosphere and prevents the conditions required for electrical storms. Driving home from work last night, I...