USELESS BAY OUTING #1 Mukilteo

Last week Pat took me on a birthday outing to Whidbey Island.

We did not waste time while waiting for the ferry at Mukilteo, but enjoyed the

sunny beach for a bit.

Mukilteo lighthouse is a miniature compared to most:

And then it was time to catch the ferry for 

the rest of our adventure:

USELESS BAY OUTING #2

Introducing "Useless Bay".

It is located on Whidbey Island.  It was named by Captain Vancouver while he was charting

the Northwest waters.  It is a lovely wide, long bay that would have looked ideal from those wooden decks  at high tide.  However, the entire bay is extremely shallow, which Cap't. Vancouver and other explorers discovered at low tide when their tall-masted wooden ships listed to one side on the sands, being left "high and dry", so-to-speak.

This tide pool looked so blue:

Tide pools and the Olympic Mountains:

On our return to the ferry, we drove through a little beach community,

and spotted this - what? - "guardhouse"? at the driveway of a home.

Charming!

USELESS BAY OUTING #3 Beach treasures

Can anything be better for the soul than beach-combing?

Puget Sound beaches have an abundance of barnacles; no one dares ever go bare-foot. (That is not the case on the Pacific Beaches where they are not so prolific.  Even so, as a child, I thought barnacles a great nemesis; I remember ankles and knees always bandaged)

Anyway, I now find them more interesting. Some rock hosts almost seem to tell a story - if one could read

barnacle-glyphics.

This rock is the perfect example of still-attached barnacles and permanent marks left behind; 

looks like it is wearing a barnacle tu-tu: 

 Can you "read" this?

Or how about the perfect circle?

I laughed when I saw one on a mussel shell!

This is a Purple Clam shell, and nature had placed a mini butter clam shell

for my photograph:

The cockle shell is symmetrical and almost luminescent:

In this one place were several live Sand-Dollars, which made me happy. 

I have not seen them since childhood on the Pacific beaches.  When they are

dead, the shells are white, and that is what folks collect.

Anything with blue always catches my eye, even
the lowly Mussel Shell:

The artistic Moon Shell:

I couldn't believe the blue coloring of the barnacle imprints 

on this rock, which I called "Hydrangea Barnacles" for fun:

And of course, the rocks which we turned into our signature cairn.

This one has a view of part of the Olympic Range, and is topped off with, 

yes, a barnacled rock:

USELESS BAY #4 - More Obvious Beach "Finds"

Beach-combing doesn't require one to always be looking down.

Previous posts of mine feature drift-log structures (Oct 2012 "Going Coastal, Part 4).

This one will probably last all summer; immense logs were used:

I love to find relics.  This one is perfect for a child's imagination; hours of fun pretending

adventure on the high seas, ship wrecks, and beach-survival:

Wild roses:

Wild pea vines:

It is always exciting to spot a Big Blue Heron on inland waterways and lakes.

Here on the surf's edge, fishing was good for a whole family, and it was great to see several in one place, though a little demeaning for them, as they were as plentiful as seagulls: 

This shot is a little too distant, but I love the shades of blue and green which show up

when enlarged:

USELESS BAY #5 Farmers' Market Bouquets

After the return ferry ride we saw that a Farmer's Market had

been set up where we earlier had walked near the lighthouse alone.

We couldn't resist a walk-through:

I love to see Northwest Lupin in the wild, spreading in fields on mountain flanks,

but nursery Lupin is impressive when gathered together:

Poppies and Delphinium: what a combo!  If you listen, it almost

makes its own Flamenco music!

ZOO FACES

My husband and I had the ideal day at the zoo, weather-wise.

Unfortunately, most of the residents didn't agree, and were

not outside. 

We did enjoy a few:

Ever- elusive wolf:

Spectacled Owl: 

And the new Asian Otter (see next post):

WATER BABIES

The last exhibit we visited is actually brand new at the zoo.

These are Asian Otters.  They are much smaller (about the size of a cat) and swifter (it was hard for me to get a good focus) than River Otters.

This is a young new couple, and the female is pregnant.

We were fortunate in our timing, as they were very active - though hard to capture on film.

I love the green/turquoise color of the water almost

as much as this face:

Mister got industrious all of a sudden.  He pulled and yanked at young

bamboo shoots to begin "feathering the nest", er, den:

THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES

I love the time when, after weeks of mist and rain, the sun eases itself into a day.  The sky is lovely, but the air is still barely-warm, and so refreshing, rather than a blast-furnace effect of all-out sun.

A couple of days ago, this happened right before dinnertime.

Out I went to the neighborhood nursery with camera in hand, and an appreciation for being able to inhale 

sweet, fresh air without getting wet.

New green against an antique machine:

I found this old hand-seeder amongst the bleeding heart:

Seedy character:

Okay, this peony is past its prime,

but it put me in mind of a saloon dance "girl", 

 blousy and painted, but still showing off with vibrancy:

Bee on Spanish Lavender:

Astrantia and the Bee.  Sounds like a title to a children's story:

A bouquet of metal:

These Foxglove were at the nursery, even though right now

they are in wild profusion along the trails:

Same with sweet Forget-me-Nots:

Backlit by the setting sun: