Puget Sound Mist and January Sunrises

I could not resist running outside in my pj's to capture these images of a very cold (28 degrees!) frosty, misty morning at my mom and dad's house.  Great blue herons overhead, harbor seals cruising for salmon, king fishers bobbing on smooth, glass-like bay water - quiet nature waking up in the sunrise.

Our Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges are covered in thick pink snow.

Unfortunately... I locked myself out of the house.  No key,  no gloves, sexy flannel jammies, gorgeous stick-up morning hair.

I still think it was worth it.

Searching for Sea Glass....Good Days and Bad Days

I don't really know when this started for me, suspect that it was when I was about 8 years old and was allowed to walk on the beach by myself. As a kid, I had little stashes of all kinds of colors of worn, tumbled sea glass..in the house, at the beach, on the deck. I can't seem to help myself, although now I am a little pickier about what I am allowed to put in my pockets. If the edges are still rough, or the glass too clear,  I throw the piece back in for another day.

Last Sunday, was one of those perfect fall days.  Cool, but sunny and gorgeous with perfect late afternoon light.  Walked 2 miles or so down to the beach by the Southworth ferry dock, taking fall photos and  having a fabulous time picking up all kinds of stuff. Found lots of aqua glass, plus even a small cobalt blue piece of glass!  So excited to find several almost whole moon snail shells.

Then like the foolish girl that I am, decided to walk home on the beach, it's about a mile.  No problem, just a little rocky.  Walked over 3/4 of the way, and gee - ran out of beach.  OOPS! And it was getting dark and cold, then the wind came up. (can you see in the picture at the point when the beach is no longer?) What to do? Tried to time the waves so that I wouldn't get too wet - or worse yet, ruin my favorite shoes.  That didn't work! Ended up wading up to my knees in freezing cold Puget Sound water, then scrambled up on somebody's bulkhead - dried up rose thorns stuck in my hair and on my favorite jacket. Still have an ouchy sliver stuck in my thumb!

Squished all the way home on the road for another mile.Although I did have to lose the moon snails, I did manage to save my stash of sea glass. Such a glamourous life I lead.. glad that I didn't see anyone that I knew!

Simply Starfish!

Am fascinated by these creatures!  We are so lucky in the Northwest to have so many varieties and colors - blues, greens, orange and many shades of purple. The neon purple of the starfish to the left is real, and  not retouched by photoshop! (Trust me, I haven't found my disk yet to install on my new laptop! )

The following pictures are a collection of starfish photos that I have collected all summer to share with my beachcombing fans. I have been so fortunate to have lived all of my life by the water, sometimes I forget how lucky!  Many of these photos were taken at minus tides right here on my family's beach, at nearby Manchester State Park, or at Waterman Dock, also within minutes of my house.  Hope you enjoy and learn a little too!

Starfish are best found at very low tides, and can be easily found clutching pilings, in tidepools, and hiding in rock crevices.  They are classified as "echnoderms", with knobby spines on their backs, their skin has soft fuzzy clumps of oxygen absorbing tissue. 

Each of their feet is tipped with a tiny suction cup which helps a starfish hang on tight when a wave washes over them.  So cool; having neither heads, nor tails, they can change direction without turning around! Using their tube feet, starfish can pry open mussels, clams and even oysters ( my dad HATES starfish for this reason!) just enough to insert their inside-out stomachs into their prey's shell and digest their victim.  


Six-Rayed Star: Usually smaller starfish, lead-gray, olive-green, or orange with pinkish tones. Found a few of these! They feast on barnacles (our beaches are a smörgåsbord of barnacles!), small snails, small sea cucumbers and chitons.  They can be found in low tide zones from Puget Sound to the Channel Islands off of the California Coast.  I am guessing that this picture to the left is a six-rayed star, it was small, and sort of orange-brown..

Found one Sunflower Star. The one that I did find was very small and delicate. They start life with six arms, but can grow up to 40 cm across, and 24 arms! Orange, grey-blue or purple, they are soft and limp out of the water with very breakable arms. Enjoying a menu of urchins, clams, mussels, and dead fish (they pretty much eat anything!), the sunflower starfish moves very fast and is the largest intertidal star on the Pacific Coast. 

No worries if a starfish loses an arm - they can easily regenerate a new one! Check out this blue starfish that I found on the beach one day when we were hunting for rock crabs...  Can you see the start of a new arm growing?

Ochre Star: These can grow up to 30 cm across, with rows of white tipped spines running down their arms.  They are rough to the touch, and can be found mostly in shades of purples, reds, oranges. Slow growing, and dining on mussel shells, barnacles, limpets, snails and of course, oysters, this is the species that is the most common around my neighborhood. 

 Sorry that the photo of some very large deep brick-red starfish are hard to see! They were clinging to rocks, just barely underwater, near the Waterman Dock.  I was amazed at their gorgeous color..

Found a few green Ochre Stars, so unusual!
























At Manchester State Park, Alex and I had the best time scrambling over the rocks hunting for starfish in all of the crevices.  There were some areas that I could not climb down, so thank goodness that my son has no fear!  Here he is getting the shots of the small bright orange starfish that he found in a tidepool.

Final photos are some of the ones that we found stuck in the rocks at Manchester - come starfish hunting with us next time.  I think I am getting to be an expert on where to find them!

Nisqually Delta - a great comment!

Thanks Jerry for sharing your story about Nisqually!  Hope you don't mind, but I am sharing a picture of you with your kayak on the blog - can't wait until you take that long trip around the South Sound and write me something up!

"Next time you're at Nisqually Delta on the beach, look out in the Sound. If you see a pair of kayaks, one white, one red, That would likely be my sister and I. It's a favorite place of ours."

A Walk in the Nisqually Delta

After driving by the signs for the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, near Olympia, hundreds of times, I decided to make a special stop last Sunday. Join me for a gorgeous, peaceful walk through what is one of the last accessible deltas in the Puget Sound!

The Nisqually River delta is Nationally protected, and is one of the most biologically rich, diverse areas located at the Southern Tip of Puget Sound.  Together with Red Salmon and McAllister creeks, the Nisqually River, mixes with salt water forming one of the largest remaining estuaries in Washington State.  It was set aside for wildlife in 1974, and has become an increasingly important place for their protection, especially for migratory birds. When walking on the trails and boardwalks throughout the delta, there are so many birds to see and especially to hear!  Don't worry, there are signs indicating the different species of birds and all of their important facts.  Next time I will know to bring a set of binoculars.

Located  between Tacoma,Washington and just minutes from Olympia, the Nisqually Refuge is easy to find just off exit 114 on I-5.  Follow the signs once you are off of the freeway and drive right into the parking lot surrounding the visitor center. Last weekend, after I drove off the freeway, the drive in was decorated with these hand-painted salmon -  must be that time of year when the salmon are swimming upstream and returning to the rivers.

Thought these painted salmon by local grade school students were really great - love the creativity.  I would guess that there was over 200 of them stuck in the ground leading the way into the Nisqually Delta trails.

The entrance fee is a mere $3.00 per family for the day. Trails are open daily during daylight hours, and the visitor center is open from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.  I highly encourage you to stop in the visitor center and learn about all of the diverse wildlife that lives in the delta. If you are interested in the ongoing educational programs and special events, make sure to leave your contact information with the volunteers.

There is a small gift shop too, all nature related.  Right now the only trail that is open is the 1 mile  Twin Barns trail, it's a complete boardwalk throughout, with plenty of places to stop, sit, enjoy, take pictures, breathe the fresh air.


Last Sunday was particularly beautiful!  Leaves changing into beautiful fall colors, sunlight streaming through the trees.

Look at the scarlet red of these coastal rugosa rosehips, mixed in with other wild plants in the estuary.

Loved these scenes of rich green color in the swamplike atmosphere - birds galore! (again, I won't forget the binoculars next time)

This is a must visit on your journeys through Puget Sound - can be a quick walk, or can turn into a half-day of pure enjoyment.