Fidalgo Island Crossings

8:00 AM, Temp 53.7° F, Dew Pt 51.4° F, Baro 30.00 in, Wind SSE 9 mph Gust 15, Humidity 92% August wraps up with some welcome rain.  This will help to revive dormant lawns and refresh flower beds.  When you live by the sea, it never just rains.  It always arrives with wind and waves.  I am listening to it whistle in the eaves as the rain beats against the windows.  It is averaging around 15 mph sustained now with gusts in the 20's.  If the pattern holds, the wind will settle down in a bit leaving just a gentle rain.  Warm, sunny weather is scheduled to return later in the week. I think Northwest people are inured to the rain and invigorated by it.  We know how to dress for it, and in winter, an umbrella is a constant companion.  We do things in the rain, like camping, gardening and skiing, that others would never consider.  It is said that Eskimos have many words for snow, and Hawaiians for lava.  Northwesterners undoubtedly hav...

Since January I have had trouble with the focus on this new camera, especially with macro shots.  The auto-focus frame would jump around randomly.  Sometimes at the moment of taking the picture, the subject would blur.  I discovered the camera was set on "Face Detect" all this time.  The frame was jumping around looking for a face.  I wasn't aware that it did that.  [Insert red-faced emoticon here]  The trusty old S2 IS didn't have this feature. To fix it, turn on the camera and bring up the menu on the screen.  The very first item "AF Frame" should be set to "Center."  Perhaps now the SX20 will take pictures as good as the S2 gave me.  Naturally, for people pictures, switch it to "Face Detect." I thought sharing this might be helpful to a fellow newbie.  As they say, "when all else fails, read the manual."  Perhaps it would have helped if the darn thing came with a manual instead of a PDF.

One of the strangest trees of all is native to the Pacific Northwest.  It doesn't follow any of the tree rules.  It is broadleaved, yet it is an evergreen.  It seems to have no sap, mature wood is hard as steel and like a reptile, it sheds its bark every year as it grows.  The tree is a symbiont and Star Trek fans will know what that means.  They prefer poor soil, don't like to be watered, survive fire and drought, but transplanting will probably kill them.  I am speaking, of course, of the Pacific Madrona ( Arbutus menziesii ).  It is a member of the Ericaceae plant family which makes it a relative of Rhododendrons, Huckleberry, Salal and Heather.  In California they are called Madrone and in Canada, Arbutus.  They are recognized by their large, shiny leaves and rust-red, paper-thin bark.  In nurseries, you will find a cousin, Arbutus unedo , the Strawberry Tree. The tree cannot assimilate nutrients through the r...

Never was there a shade Of branches Sweeter, more refreshing Or more gentle. This is the famous aria from Handel's opera Xerxes .  It is also known by the title "Largo from Xerxes" in orchestral versions.  You have undoubtedly heard it, for example, played by the organist at church during the offering, or in a poignant moment of a movie.  In the opera, it is an ode in praise of a shade tree.  The words seem a bit silly when compared to the music.  They sound wonderful, however, if you don't speak Italian.  I recently heard it on an episode of The Choir on BBC America.  It made me think of this photo from my yard.  In florid eighteenth century language, the text continues: Tender and beautiful fronds Of my beloved plane tree Let fate smile upon you May thunder, lightning and storms Never bother your dear peace Nor may you by blowing winds be profaned. The music invites contemplation and reflection.  The eagle appears ...

The Great Depression of the 1930's was in some ways worse and in other ways better than our situation today.  It was worse because I don't believe we are as desperate overall as the people of that time.  We still have programs in place from those days to mitigate the adversity.  It was better because President Roosevelt seemed to have a keener notion of what was required to get us out of trouble.  Reckless investing, tax cuts for the wealthy and bad loans led us into the Depression.  Sound familiar?  We ignored our history and look what happened.  Our history also provides a template for what to do now.  Under the " New Deal ," several programs aimed at relief, recovery and reform were implemented.  Two of them were the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  Both had the purpose of providing jobs.  Jobs put money in pockets.  Money in pockets is spent on goods and services....

A summer moon rises over Skagit Bay.  Moonrise and high tide always happen together here.  The moon will set with the next high tide. For skies from all over the planet, check out Skywatch .

Even in late summer, there is still a lot going on in the garden.  I was a little disappointed when I viewed these photos individually.  They seem to look better when you put them all together.  None of them have been retouched, I promise.  These are straight out of the Canon. PS:  If you are getting a “Site is unsafe” when clicking on the images, ignore it.  The images are hosted at a Google/Picassa site and it is not “unsafe.”  This would appear to be a false-positive from Norton, and possibly other AV’s, on posts created using Windows Live Writer.  I get no such message on a computer protected by AVG.  Several of us are working with Google and Norton to get this corrected. Posted with Windows Live Writer

When exploring places where eagles live, look up at the tops of trees.  If you spot a tree with dead limbs at the apex, it is likely you have found a hunting perch.  You might find these along shorelines, on river banks and next to mountain meadows.  If you are lucky, you might spot one which includes  an eagle or two .  I am most fortunate to have two such hunting perches, one on each side of my yard.  Both are about 100 feet (30 m) in the air and actively used year-around by the local Bald Eagles ( Heliaeetus leucocephalus ).  The birds will sit patiently on the perch keeping watch over the bay.  When they spot something with their "eagle eyes," usually a salmon, they'll head out after it.  They will use two methods to catch the fish; swoop and grab which you have seen in nature films is one.  The other is "kerplunk and heave."  They will land on the water and float there for a moment, wings splayed....

This started as a post about Japanese Silver Grass, Miscanthus sinensis .  I moved some last year and they seem to like the new location.  Three varieties are now over six feet tall.  While taking pictures, something else caught my eye.  Under one of the blades of grass clung a dragonfly.  After some internet searches, I believe this is a Canada Darner ( Aeshna canadensis ) a member of the Blue Darners group.  Darners are called Hawkers in the UK.  The scissor-like appendage at the end of the abdomen would make this one a female.  She is brown with egg-shell blue stripes and brownish eyes.  I decided she was much more interesting than some giant grass.  She joins my other Canadians, Branta canadensis , Lontra canadensis and Cornus canadensis .  She was very accommodating as I went back two more times to try to get better photos.  Look carefully and you can see most of her upper-left wing is mi...

The Perennial Sweetpea ( Lathyrus latifolius ) is one of our "weeds."  It comes up wild along my bluff bordering the beach.  It is not a native plant, but like my grandmother, a European immigrant.  Some consider it a noxious, invasive weed.  The State of Oregon has banned its planting on public lands.  In my yard it is very well behaved twining around the Nootka Rose, Alder and Willow growing on the bluff.  I find it very easy to keep it in under control.  I believe English Ivy ( Hedera sp. ) also in the photo and Himalayan Blackberry ( Rubus discolor ) are bigger problems around here.  I enjoy the pink sprays that appear all along the bank this time of year.  Colors vary from pale pink to magenta.  It is listed on my Gardening page on the "Indigenous" list.  This attracts web searches by those looking for ways to kill it.  I am afraid they won't find that information here.

"The Maiden of Deception Pass" is a Samish story pole which recalls the legend of Ko-Kwal-alwoot.  She was a young girl of the Samish Nation who was transformed into a sea spirit on this spot in Deception Pass State Park.  The cedar pole was carved by Fidalgo Island artist Tracy Powell .  She was erected in 1983 to commemorate the Skagit County Centennial and to honor the Samish people.  My favorite way to visit the site is to park at Bowman Bay , then follow the Rosario-Bowman Bay Nature Trail to Rosario Beach. The story tells of a sea spirit who falls in love with a human.  He wishes to marry her and will not take "no" for an answer.  To save her people from famine, she accepts his proposal and joins him in the sea.  Stand on the Deception Pass bridge and look down into the water.  You can see her hair drifting with the currents. The story pole has two sides representing the two lives of Ko-Kwal-alwoot, one as a human and the ...

This handsome fellow is a Band-tailed Pigeon ( Patagioenas fasciata ) described by the Seattle Audubon Society as "Washington's native pigeon."  This great photo was taken by a friend up in Gibralter Heights, one of the South Fidalgo neighborhoods.  Although this is just a few hundred feet from my house, I have never seen one in my yard.  Apparently, a group of about five, known as a "band," is being seen in the area for the first time.  They are known to move from place to place following food sources.  They also come to tidal areas seeking salt and other minerals.  My columbid species has been the smaller Mourning Dove ( Zenaida  macroura ).  They come daily and like to "rest" in my front patio near the feeders.  According to the National Geographic Field Guide , the larger birds of the group are pigeons, while the smaller ones are doves.  Photo:  Dan Codd

7:15 AM, Temp 54° F, Dew Point 52.9° F, Barometer 30.05 in, Wind Calm, Humidity 96% Despite what the calendar says, the look and feel of fall has been in the air.  This is the result of a low pressure system sitting over south central British Columbia.  Over night it draws in cool moist air off the Pacific giving us foggy and overcast mornings.  We call this "ocean air."  Usually it will burn off by noon or so.  For the past couple of days, however, the overcast has persisted into late afternoon.  As if in a conspiracy, a high over the Pacific has colluded with the low to produce a more lingering effect.  Such can be summer in the Pacific Northwest.  Cool summers often transform seamlessly into warm falls.  There is no reason for concern.  We can look forward to many warm and sunny days well into October. Weather Statistics for July, 2010 Temperature High 81.4° F Low 48.1° F Mean 57.9° F Rainfall 0.1 inch  Wind High 2...