This time of year brings back memories of fishing

This is the photograph (below, right) that this blog is named after. About 45 years ago, mom clipped this out of a paper and framed it, and then gave it to my dad for Christmas.

She said he was a salmon swimming upstream (from New Mexico back to Washington State in this case.) Yesterday, we were down at Cabela's looking at all the folksy stuff, as well as stuff to fish or shoot critters with. And then we stopped at the walk through trout pond, where my daughter snapped this(left).

Fishing (trout and salmon) was one of the few ways my dad and I bonded, especially after I realized, at about 12, he was an alcoholic. As a result, New Years is not one of my favorite holidays. And it's nice to see Gary and Jennifer bond over fishing - which they do without me - without the crushing angst that disease brings to the table. I wrote and essay about it, but can't seem to pop it for the Web right now. When I do, I'll post. Happy New Year everyone.

And by the by, my daughter wants everyone to know, she took this snap!



She is pretty handy with that camera phone she has. Look for more of her stuff next year.

A bird count on the fly

Didn't formally join the Rainier Audubon Society's bird round up today, but I did take a count in my back yard (seems when I broke out the binocs, all birds decided to go somewhere else, including the flock of robins and flickers that were out there all day yesterday.)

I did catch a few before we went shopping. Five black-capped chickadees, two purple finches, seven pine siskins (I think) and 5 juncos. The was the usually mob of rock pigeons by the Texaco station at the bottom of Gowe Street and one lone seagull in Mill Creek Park. I also saw three red tailed hawks (2 immature) in the wild area along Highway 167.

I wish, however, that the count had been yesterday. Then, ta da, I saw a townsend's warbler. Very cool. These guys are supposed to be in Mexico, I read later. This one must have missed the memo.

Pictures courtesy of Seattle Audubon.

A slither down memory lane

Stopped in a local Petco today, and lo' after oggling at the beardies, there were Canadian garter snakes for sale.

I remember catching these snakes in New Mexico, and then again in Everett, Wa. when I was growing up. I did see a few when we first moved here to Kent, 20 years ago, but now, not at all. In looking at this article, I think if there are any around, they would be hibernating right now. But still, I wonder if all the urbanization has trashed the habitat of these gentle creatures that hold so many memories for me.

There is one species in the San Fran area that is endangered, I guess. I don't know about the NW Garter snake, however.

Best for last in Seahurst beach walk

This pic of a red octopus was taken by Barbara Williams, on the People for Puget Sound, Environmental Center, et al. beach walk last week. Wouldn't you know it, the one beach walk I miss, and they find an octopus!

Rainier Audubon bird count this Sunday

Just FYI. I checked the Seattle site, and they seem to be all filled up, except for the early AM owl patrol.

However, the Kent/Auburn area Audubon (Rainier Audubon) still has room, so contact nancy and pick a spot. Then report your findings at the end of the day.

Picture courtesy of Dan Streiffert of the Rainier Audubon Society. Taken out at the Kent Ponds.

And a carbon-neutral festivus to you!

Or boxing day if you prefer. I figure this crowd would probably appreciate this totally ridiculous greeting sent to me by my bro in New Mexico.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas, dammit.

HAVE A POLITICALLY CORRECT INTERVAL!

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender and carbon neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice any religion at all; plus, a fairly taxed, fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of the other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preference of the wishees.

Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.

Pictures from Seahurst Beach night walk

Okay, got lost, and missed a great beach walk, I'm told.

So here are the pictures, courtesy of Daoud Miller, of People for Puget Sound. The next beach walk is taking place on Jan. 19, same time I think, so be there (I plan to be, with good directions from Daoud. As a warning, DO NOT use map quest to get there unless you want to end up at a gated community, very pretty Christmas lights, but no beach.

Some take some explaining, like this one, which is of shrimp (grey things that taper into pointed tails on the rocks. yeah, those are shrimp.)

Most are folks looking cold, looking for critters or warming up by the fire.

Thar's whales in them waves

Okay, give me a break, just finished watching the end of the Pirates of the Caribbean, III.

But really, if you're out on the coast, make sure to bring your binnocs, not just for birds, but for the gray whales that are making their appearance as they go down to Mexico for the winter. The Seattle Times had a story buried inside (b5) I think, but if you follow the link to the Oregon Parks and Rec. Department, there is a nice site. I wish Washington had a similar one. Marks all the great sites as these behemoths work their way south.

Picture courtesy of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

Small gifts on Christmas day. Okay maybe not so small.

Not that one of these will be strolling through my back yard any time soon, but I couldn't resist this story from The News Tribune by Susan Gordon. Northwest Trek has some new babies, that are available for viewing this week (released into the park on Friday.)

Four six-month only moose babies (400 lbs in all) were allowed into the main park to romp. Very cute. It always surprises me at how BIG the moose (moosi? moosies) are when you get up close to them.

Then, this morning, just after we opened gifts, my mother looks up and lo' a female (no bright markings Rufous Hummingbird takes a drink at our feeder. We're going to change the water today to see if we can lure her back for another snack. What other things, during the winter, attracts hummingbirds?

Finally, today or tomorrow, my daughter and I are going down to the Mill Creek Restoration project in Auburn, near the Highway 18, 167 interchange. We passed by the other day and there was a flock (kid you not) 0f herons down there. Plan to have our cameras ready this time.

Photos courtesy of Lui Kit Wong of The News Tribune and Seattle Audubon.

Didn't make it to the bonfire at Seahurst last night

But I hope the good weather lured out the 100 or so folks that have come in the past.

So I'm in the mood for all things oceans at the moment (I got lost in Burien, and saw some great x-mas displays but not the beach.)

This story about a giant sea anemone found a ocean depths caught my eye.

Photo courtesy of Scienceblogs.

Love to watch 'em, tho from a distance

Just took the dog for a walk, and lo' as I rounded the corner for home on Hemlock Street, there was a skunk, rooting for bugs? earthworms? spiders? all of the above in a neighbor's yard.

I happen to like skunks alot, and I think I saw this one running across the same street last night, but it was too dark and too far away to tell for sure.

I quickly Googled and came up with this Web site that gave me a run down. They are nocturnal, gentle, will only spray if defending their young or threatened, and only as a last resort. This one ignored me until I stamped my feet, and off it went, under a rhodie bush.

I found out that they eat rats, and 70 percent of their diet consists of animals or bugs considered harmful to gardens or humans. So, there you go. This might be the culprit digging under my husband's greenhouse. So I suggested pepper or moth balls as a non-lethal way of telling this particular skunk to den elsewhere.

Non profits that know a soft touch when they see one

Lately, my e-mail box has been filling up with opportunities to make last-minute tax deductions and save the oceans, a small African community, a polar bear, a trout or to adopt an octopus.

Good causes all. However, one that I haven't heard from and will probably send a few more $$ to is the Sarvey Wildlife Rescue Center. These guys and gals take care of the animals and wild things that come into contact with us, our cars, our pets and our developments, and always come out the worst of it.

They used to have a guy named Bob who went around in a rescue van to pick up raccoons, stray opossums, fox litters et al, anything that had been displaced around the Federal Way area. So, if you have some spare change you haven't thrown in the red kettle yet, consider the critters.

Photo courtesy of the Sarvey Wildlife Rescue Center.

Salmon stories in the news

It seemed that every time I picked up the paper this week, salmon were in the news. The first being a federal judge telling the government to get real with its salmon protection laws along the Columbia River according to this PI article.

Then we have King County breaking down levies along the Green River to make more room for salmon habitat, according to this Seattle Times article.

And finally, this story about sea lice that attach themselves to salmon, esp. farmed salmon and then hop (I guess) to wild runs that go through the areas with the farms and wipe out the wild populations.

Acidic seas, warmer seas.

Reading this story about acidic seas in The News Tribune did give me pause. So I read it twice. Combined with global warming, this really doesn't look good.

Given the fact I'll be on the beach this weekend (see early posts about night walk), it drives home the fact that when the bottom of the food chain is damaged, very quickly, through the small fish, the salmon, the birds the large mammals it comes to us.

Actually, what most don't realize, I didn't before I started working as a volunteer for the Aquarium, was that plankton, for the most part is a living soup of babies, from fish, from crabs, starfish, squid, octopuses, you name it - all broadcast from their parents. If these guys don't survive, the future of many species we see on the beach and take for granted is in doubt.

Everything comes back to plankton and krill. Everything.

Photo of Image Quest Marine

Long, long bird post, but worth the read

I actually like this blogger quite a bit (from Science Blogs.com). However, sometime these folks don't know when to stop. He has another great hummingbird shot, however. So take a look.

But I did pause on a Vancouver, WA story about the city trying to get rid of a nest of Quaker parrots that has taken up roost near some telephone lines, I guess.

Photo courtesy of About.com.

Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree

As promised earlier, the Clements clan went out and chopped down a tree for Christmas. We've been doing this for the past seven years or so at Pfaff's Christmas Tree Farm in Auburn, just next to the Auburn Mountainview High School.

I asked around today if they were going to go under the blade, as the land did across the street. This place has been in the tree business here for the last 22 years. Its owners assured me today that no, they weren't planning on selling out soon.

With a grin, he added that of the 400 lots platted across the street..not one had been sold.

Back to the tree search out in the back 40. We spotted a tree that caught our eye, when up above, we heard screeching. Three red tailed hawks were circling above, riding the air currents. I figured they were blessing this tree (which I'm not sure is going to fit into our living room) and probably considered Pfaff's as one of the few places left to hunt.

Littlest residents of the Northwest

Every once and awhile, I'll look outside during the winter and there will be a hummingbird, buzzing away, staring back at me.

I went to Birds of Puget Sound and discovered a few species winter over, such as Anna's hummingbird and its rufous cousin. These birds are very territorial, and will buzz intruders off the feeder.

Here is a picture of a ruby throated humming bird by photographer Greg Scott. It just caught my eye.

Go check out his web site, there are some amazing shots of these little birds there.

Walk on the Beach, Part Deux

Okay, I mentioned that People for Puget Sound, the Environmental Center, Beach Naturalists et al were having a night beach walk,coming up at Seahurst Park on Dec. 22.

Well, I'm mentioning it again because we landed in the Highline Times today. For the Seattle readers, there's also another beach walk, same groups generally, that will take place at Lincoln Park, West Seattle, Friday, Dec. 21, from 7:30-9:30pm.

So there you go. Give me a chance to use this great picture again anyway from last year.

Picture courtesy of People for Puget Sound

Probably won't catch the culprits, so we'll look up instead

While coming home from walking the dog, Gary noticed that someone or something was systematically making off with the daffodil bulbs he planted this weekend. At least he wasn't talking poison this time, but chili peppers. Squirrels? Raccoons? Who knows.

But while we may look outside late Friday or Saturday night to catch the culprits, we'll also be looking up at the Geminids meteor shower. Or at least try to through the clouds.

Here is a good explainer piece of meteors in general from MSNBC:


Meteor lore

Mercer Mess for the Birds?

I was just at the intersection of Gowe and Central in Kent and looked up to see a rather strange sight this morning, about 7:20 am as I was taking my daughter to school.

Crows, not flying straight south, in the crow commute I've mentioned before, but about 50 to 100 of them swarming in a circle. It's like their leader had its compass askew and the rest of the bunch followed. Think fish swarming in a big ball to escape a predator in Blue Planet. This is an aerial version of that.

Odd.

Other things that fly and squeak in the night

Bats, in particular.

I was at Wild Birds Unlimited in Burien,and came across this brochure on bat habitat. I often see these guys flitting around Scenic Hill in Kent, eating as many mosquitoes at they can find. They are fun to watch in the dusk. I tried putting up a bat house once, several years ago, but the roaches got in their first.

So I plan to try again this spring, after they come out of hibernation or return from migrating south. There is some more information on this at the Organization for Bat Conservation.

Picture of a big brown bat, courtesy of the University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology.

Learn more about Peregrine facons next Monday

Tired of shopping already?

Me too. I plan to check out of the grind and listen to Roger Orness and Jim Flynn talk about the Falcon Research Group. Bud Anderson - a local falcon expert - will be talking about falcons tagged in Chile last winter and where these birds have travelled since.

This is being put on by the Rainier Audubon Society and will take place Dec. 17 at the Federal Way United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. It's free and bring a few of your favorite cookies to share.

I just joined this group, so I plan to attend, and bring some cookies that include a cup of butter. Mmmmm.

Photo courtesy of Seattle Audubon

It's not a yard ornament. It's a falcon? A merlin?

At least I think that's what I saw as I walked the dog with a friend this afternoon toward the cemetery on top of Kent's Scenic Hill.

I looked over, admiring some of the Christmas displays, and noticed one of the fixtures a. didn't have lights and b. was moving. Usually you don't see raptors on the ground unless they are eating something.

This one was looking at me, and then flew up to a nearby tree to see me from a safer distance. I rushed home to look a the bird books. The wings ended a sharp point, and it had a buff colored chest, with grey wings and grey markings. So I'm thinking sharp shinned hawk (on the above right) or the merlin (left).

Either, frankly would be cool. I'm about ready to start wearing binocs on these walks, the cool kind you can take digital pictures with through the eye pieces.

Photographs courtesy of the Seattle Audubon Society.

Fire gone, but skepticism still smolders

Finally stopped at the construction site across from the Smith Brothers Farm, and talked to three guys sitting around the lunch table. Nope, houses are not going up on that land, but the state is using it as a staging area for work on 167. In about a month or so, they'll be gone.

As for the debris fire, these guys were simply shaking their heads. Apparently, the pile sits on the site of a recycling business (for construction and plant debris). The fire apparently just started, according to company officials (drove by, didn't see a sign, so no idea about the name of the company.) The guys around the table were skeptical about that. But at least the fire is out now.

On the way to Highway 18, I kept seeing attempts at natural plantings, "old" snags for hawks nests, et al. It seems this is a renovation by the City of Auburn of Mill Creek? I tried to take a picture of the work with my camera phone, but rain sort of got in the way. Looks like an impressionist shot of the Green River Valley, before the warehouses.

My daughter refuses to go for walks on the beach with me, to which I say, oh well..

On of the reasons is exemplified by this camera phone snap of this moon jelly, taken this summer.

The aurelia labiata floats along and often washes up on Puget Sound shores, but before it does that, it's a favorite snack of turtles, some birds. Unfortunately plastic bags floating in the water look very similar to these creatures.

I'm still a bit haunted by the National Geographic picture of a juvenile bird, living in some far off island chain, that starved to death because of the plastic lodged in its stomach.

Soo, I pic up garbage on the beach, the Safeway bags, the fishing line, the six pack tops, the yogurt containers and the pull tabs.

Mooom! That's the sound of my daughter walking behind me, asking me to please stop picking up the trash. I won't stop. I know it's embrassing to her, but well, she'll get over it.

Heron looking for breakfast in Lake Smith

Which I is what I call the lake that's annually created around the Smith Brother Farms. Went by today, and that debris pile is still smoldering, and I still don't know what is being built on that corner. Will continue to pester Auburn City Hall for answers and let you know.

But as we were driving north again on the West Valley Highway, I looked over, and there was a great blue heron, wading in Lake Smith, looking for something to eat. Surprisingly, this afternoon, most of the lakes, including Lake Kent, located just north of S. 277th Street, were gone.

This woodpecker wasn't in the mood for a sermon

In church yesterday, just as the minister began to talk, a banging began on top of the church roof, and continued off and on through the first half of her sermon.

She finally burst out laughing, saying that perhaps the bird had already heard this pitch last advent season.

I doubt it was this bird (above) a downy woodpecker, which I see, shyly hiding around the trees, or the big guys- pileated woodpecker- but more likely a flicker (right), which did the same thing last spring on the flashing in our house. Sounded a bit like a small jackhammer set to periodic bursts.

I learned later it's the male's way of attracting a mate, whoever bangs the loudest, wins the female.

Pictures, sans banging, courtesy of Seattle Audubon

Can I have smoke with my latte please?

Driving to the Supermall yesterday, my daughter and I looked up (too far away for her cell phone to capture) a fire on top of a huge debris pile (the fire looked a bit like this, minus the standing trees, which had already been chopped down and thrown into said pile ) that must have been at least a couple stories tall.

It's the lot right across from the Smith Brothers Farm. I had thought this area was under the farmlands preservation protection, but it is instead under the blade, big time.

I saw the smoke this morning, and later called the Auburn Development Department, asking what this was about. I wasn't the first one to call. The nice lady on the other end said that in fact, fire deparatments did respond, and then decided the fire was the landowner's responsibilty put out. When I mentioned farmlands preservation, I just heard crickets chirping on the other end. And no, she didn't know what was going to be built there. I plan to knock on the trailer door and ask tomorrow.

The land is just outside the Auburn City limits, she claimed, so she didn't have any paperwork on it. Today's weather simply drowned the flames, and created the usual lakes along South 277th Street. Caused over the years by all the development in the lowlands. This new (strip mall, used car lot, Starbucks, take your pick) will add to the problem you see after storms like this.

Picture courtesy of US Forest Service

Do you want paper or plastic?

First, let me just confess this up front. We going out and cutting a real Christmas tree this year. Always have, my guess is, always will. But are we doing right by the environment? And are we anachronisms? My daughter said she was only one of two kids in her group that hang out at middle school that were going "real" green this year with the trees.

As it is, we've had to go further and further afield for to search out Christmas tree farms; and I fear this will be the last time we use that one that is next to Auburn Mountainview High School. It's now surrounded by development.

Anyway, the debate goes on in blogs, PR land, as well as in news articles and press releases about what is the real environmental choice. It seems tho, that the troops prefer the real deal.