Point no Point in Washington

We thought we got up on time for Sunday School. Both Ray and I were dragging. Too sick to even watch TV last Sunday we wanted to be there this week. By the time we were both dressed and ready Church was three-quarters over. Maybe if we just got out and did something we would start feeling better. Point no Point on the inside thumb of Washington's peninsula is always refreshing. With a full thermos of coffee and a jacket on Rudy and we were off.

Our favorite January bird, the Scoter, was dining on mollusks that clung to the pier at the Edmond's ferry landing. It seemed like a good start to the day. I think we both fell asleep on the boat ride even though we had a "window seat". Beautiful views for such a gray day.

Like all the beautiful places in Washington, Point no Point has become thick with expensive homes. Day trippers like us are lucky that no one has figured out how to get expensive houses on the beach or bluff...yet. There is still a lonely feeling walking the shore, though it isn't like it was even just a few years ago. We could see many couples and their dogs doing the same thing we were. The one exception we noted with disgust is that most dog owners are not inclined to pick up after their dogs. Yuck. It isn't that difficult.

Even on a gray day the water tends to run a deep crystalline aqua green. Like most western states, Washington has been overwhelmed with rain this winter. We suspect that there has been so much run-off that the inland waters are thick with runoff. I cannot remember a time when gray was such a dominant color, even with the gray sandy beach.

You cannot see it here but Seattle is just across the water. The clouds eventually rolled away to reveal small boats scattered everywhere, drifting in the current with families jigging for black mouth. A man and a young boy were walking the beach with a bucket and shovel gathering shrimp and beach worms for bait. Right on the point they had placed comfy folding chairs and were casting from shore for black mouth.

For the most part our birding days are behind us. We cannot convince Rudy that birds are only for looking at. Monika, the photographer extraordinaire and author of "Orca Watcher" (her link is on my side-bar. SJI is San Juan Island), already has one hundred birds on her list for 2011. I read her with envy. She lives the life that Ray and I used to dream about. We are trying to stay content with Scoters spotted on the Ferry. On this trip we also saw Red Breasted Mergansers, Golden Eyes and Cormorants. Birds that everyone easily overlooks. They are everywhere. There might have been a Grebe by the Port Townsend Ferry landing. It was this seagull with his prize starfish that gave us pause. We have seen seagulls toting all kinds of things but this was the first time we have seen one swimming with a starfish. It must not be too rare. There was a second gull down the beach doing the same thing.

I don't know if Ray slept on the Ferry ride home or not. We both crashed once we got home. Our spirits felt a lot better though.