Cathi says, "Are you taking my picture AGAIN?" She and I were part of a party given by our friend Deb. It was a celebration of 31 years on the Island with 31 girlfriends on the 31st day of July. It was a really nice afternoon, meeting women I've seen around but never really talked to.
When I got back, David was cutting out a sign - we love to watch it cut!
Did I mention how hot it is? Seattle broke a record - it was 103 degrees today, the hottest recorded tempurature in Western WA's history! It may have been a few degrees cooler here on the Island, but how would you know! The lawn is long dead - at least we don't have to mow!
Sizzle, Sizzle, Sizzle! Nothing but brown, and a few greenish weeds.
I have no idea what the deer are finding to eat!
Another view of the red algae bloom - you can see how it swirls around the end of the harbor - it floats in and out with the tide and winds. And the smell, well, just imagine piles of dead fish laying out in the sun . . . .
More photos of the algae bloom. With the tide in, it is much more evident.
When the boats go through it, they throw up a red wake, red splashes.
Close up, the water is filled with floating blobs of plankton/algae, and the reddest algae floats on the surface. The blobs are suspended in the upper several inches of sea. There are indeed toxic versions of 'red tide', but they say this isn't toxic, and is a natural phenomenon of warm weather and us.
Another low tide at the Freeland boat ramp - I walked all the way to the end of the concrete ramp, and the last several yards were covered in slimy, slippery sand/sludge. But the tiny crabs liked it just fine! Me, they didn't like so well, always scurrying sideways away from my steps. This one is about the size of my thumb-tip.
The main reason I went down there, though, was to see the red algae bloom. With warm weather and harbor pollution, we see some spectacular results!
I don't think it's harmful, but rather alarming if you don't know what it is! The birds, of course, are enjoying their low-tide feast!
The crow and the corn-dog. A drama played out in the parking lot, crow vs cars. Every time crow started to eat the corn-dog, a car would come by, or people would pass too close walking to their car. This crow and it's buddy had to keep flying to the roof of the store, and voice their disappointment. And, even worse, when I came out of the store, someone had parked right ON TOP of the corn-dog!
The madronna trees are just starting their summer peel - the little branches are first, the reddish-brown papery bark splitting and curling. Soon the larger branches and finally the tree trunks will expose their bright green new bark.
On this sunny summer day, the blues, greens and browns create a cheerful harmony.
Out in the thistle field, the goldfinches have arrived to get their share of thistle seed. Unfortunately, we'll need to hack down the thistles before most of them go to seed.
Most of the swallow nests have fledged, and those parents will likely start over again with a new brood. These two nests are in-between, and have had some drama going on. I haven't been able to really figure out what happened. In the nest below, the swallows were sitting for several days. Then I noticed that they had moved, and are sitting in the nest above, which is just a few feet from the first one. They guard it faithfully, so I sure hope there are actually some viable eggs inside!
Meanwhile, the juncos have been trying to sit on this nest, but get chased away by the swallows whenever they are spotted. But, today I see that they have been successful. Now, the question is: is this baby a junco baby, or did a grackle (cowbird) sneak in and lay it's egg? If that happened, it may be why the swallows moved. We'll find out, I hope...
I find it hard to resist sunlight and water and reflections. Here I was playing with ripples.
And I liked the effect!
Further up the driveway, and I finally got to see the Cooper's Hawk babies sunning. David and one of his friends had seen them a week or so ago, when they still had some fluff. Now they are pretty streamlined,
and pretty much the same size as Mom, on the right. At least, I figured that was her, as she was pretty jumpy and only sat there for a moment. The two babies stayed quite a while, and let me creep closer in the car (no way was I going to get out!! That mom has it in for me). Then they flew up into the nearby trees while I went on up to the house.
Well, that was it for the rain! Now we're looking at least a week of sunny and warm, summer again. The hawkweed in the lawn has gone to seed - nice pouffy balls like dandelions, catching the setting sun.
The light limns the other weeds. Maybe it's time to mow . . . the grass is all dead, it's just the weeds that are growing. And, what the hey - if they're going to seed, they must be done growing, too! It's a good thing I'm not in charge of the lawn mower. . .
We've been having rain, what the Navajo call 'female rain', which is a gentle steady fall. It's been quite a while; things are pretty dry. The grasses in the lawn have gone to seed, and readily caught the drops, reflecting the stalks of grass, trees and sky.
A different perspective.
The little pinkish grasses bow over with their loads.
This wren nest is built in a boat trailer. The babies are tucked tidily down in a pipe, following instructions to 'sit still'! I didn't get a good enough look at the mom to tell what kind of wren she is.
The setting sun gilded the tall grasses at the edge of the lawn.
The shasta daisies bloom in front of a rusted filigree circle.
