Minus tides and a camera

Every few months we get minus tides in Puget Sound. What is a minus tide you might ask? Good question, and I will try to answer it the est that I can. The water level in the oceans is measured in feet. The mean level of the water is said to be at zero feet. High tides around here can be up to 12' and a low tide could "normally" be down to 1-2'. Every few months the lunar gravity pulls more water away from our area then causing a low tide to get down to -2.5' When this happens a lot of sea life can get stranded in a tide pool making for some great discoveries for man and animals.



Here is a look at the minus tide at Alki Beach in West Seattle



I spent many hours on Monday at Alki Beach just wandering around and taking in the sights. In my wanderings I came across a pair of Bald Eagles.





On Tuesday I spent even more time at Discovery Park. I had never seen the tide so low here before and I was very impressed. After looking for something along a bluff way and not finding it (it was a memory from months ago) I ventured out onto the tide flats and enjoyed the beautiful day and looking forward to the things I might see.



I came upon a Blue Heron fishing in a tide pool.











I finally left the Heron and walked along until I came upon some rocks that were sure to have some sea life hiding amongst them. I was not disappointed either.







There were other things too, but I don't want to make anybody lose their lunch.
The minus tides are always a hit with Seattleites and tourists alike. Both days that I enjoyed I saw a few different groups of school kids on a field trip learning about the sea life that we are lucky enough to have so close to home.

More time with my camera

With some crazy stuff going on in my life I decided to grab my camera and head north yesterday to Mount Vernon, WA and check out the tulips. Unlike my hometown, these tulips do not line the roads or adorn the community, these are planted in rows in the fields outside of town. It's not like being back home, but it's close enough, I guess.
My first stop was at a daffodil field.







Then I headed down the road to see some tulips.









.....and like the doog Dutch Boy that I am, I took a pic of myself with the tulips.



After returning home I headed down to the waterfront and spent some time at the Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle.

Not much for words, but photos

The last few weeks haven't been the greatest. With the exception of the Mariner's home opener with my sister, it's been kind of rough lately. So with that I'll just let you enjoy these photos.

Ancient Lake, March 30-31

It had been 6 months since I had been on an overnight backpack trip and I was growing anxious to say the least. Wanting to not get buried by new snow falling in the mountains, my friend Tony and I headed to the dry side of Washington and found ourselves at Ancient Lake. The area actually has 4 lakes, so I'm not so sure about the name of the lake only acknowledging one of them.....
The sky was a bit hazy but the temps were in the low 60's when we took to the trail.
A full set of photos can be found here.



This area will only see me in the spring because in the summer it gets too hot around and there are rattlesnakes, and I despise snakes!!!! Tony doesn't like them either.



Basalt brought in from many years ago paint the horizon around here in almost every direction.



The water in the lakes is not very safe to drink as it is mostly irrigation runoff from the many local farms where they grow apples, alfalfa, corn and raise cattle. It still makes for a pretty scenic oasis in the desert climate out here.





On the eastern most lake is a pretty waterfall that comes in from the fields. Due to the pesticide and fertilizer in the water, there is a lot of algae growing on the rocks in and around the falls.





He headed above the falls to find another fall and an abandoned mine shaft.









On our way back I made a new friend.



I met the sunny side of a porcupine too.



AFter our return and a short nap I explored above our camp and got a few decent shots.





And for the last shot of the trip as my battery died.