Indian Summer View of Harbor and Mountain

After a long siege through spring and summer of too much cool and rain, we are getting a little back of some lovely days. We thought it was all gone this week when the rain gauge almost filled with 4 1/2 inches of rain, but now today, sun and 70 degrees the day before the last day of September. I love having a few more balmy days to walk in short sleeves unencumbered by weather gear. I walked around part of the Harbor today, choosing to traverse the far end to get some shots of the view that so often makes it into books and onto calendars. When Ranier is in view (or as we say here, 'The mountain is out!') the view from the far end of the harbor is total gold.

Good Day, Sunshine, Good Day, Sunshine...

We've been having some summer weather finally, as if to make up for the late spring/early fall weather that dogged our summer days, but that streak ended with a nasty weekend of cooler than normal temperatures and off and on rains including a night-long stretch that put an inch into our rain gauge. Now, in a little tender mercy we have some sun and warmer weather again, though not summer-hot as it was before the cold and rainy spell.  It felt perfect to me. In fact, the whole day pretty much flowed with all good things.

The usual schedule difficulties had combined to leave me pretty short on sleep by the time the alarm got me up at 4:30 am this morning-two nights of 5.5 hours sleep each, with no kind of nap. I worked hard all day yesterday cleaning house and getting my jewelry making supplies back in order after months of creating bookmarks and necklaces. I need to do more, but couldn't work in the disorganization any longer. Clogging was great last night, but I didn't get my shower done and get to bed until 11 pm.  So I was grateful to be able to come home this morning after seminary and go to bed for a serious catch-up nap. I figured 2 hours would do it, and got to sleep by 8am, then sure enough woke at 10:20, but I couldn't seem to wake all the way up, I kept drifting off again. Finally I decided that my body and brain were trying to tell me something and made up my mind to quit trying to wake up and settled in to sleep again. This time when I woke up I was rested and ready to get up but it was 12:30 pm! I should feel bad for being such a slug I suppose, but really, I don't. Meeting my bodies' need for sleep just felt wonderful.  I got so used to having enough sleep this summer that I don't want to go back to being sleepy all the time.

I got another couple of bonuses out of it. First of all, I weighed myself and I've dropped the couple of pounds that I picked up on vacation and starting seminary with the days I didn't exercise. Sleep does wonderful things for burning calories, speeding metabolism and reducing appetite, so when I sat down to the first meal of my day, I could only eat about half of what I usually want, so the sleep seems to have affected that for the better. When I woke up, the sun was out and the air was fresh, balmy with a little moisture, and cool without being cold. The sun was warming the day just right.  I was brimming with energy to go and exercise, so after a scheduled haircut, I headed off to the woods planning to walk for 40 minutes, but instead walked and jogged the trails for an hour and came out dripping sweat but feeling wonderful. Peninsula High School's cross country team was practicing for a meet taking place on the trails tomorrow, so the woods were busy and happy with running teens. No worries about bears today.

A good dinner of almond crusted chicken breast and beans with roasted red potatoes in rosemary butter sauce (Green Giant, I'm not that ambitious!), with a brownie for dessert, and I went into the evening feeling rested, exercised and fed. Really a nice all around day. Tomorrow promises similar weather, 66 by noon, and 78 by dinner time. Bliss. It's almost officially fall, but I won't mind if we pretend a little longer that summer is lingering around.  And the best last thing-I get to sleep in tomorrow!  Then, I'm looking for my new computer to arrive!

Walking on the Predator Path...

I got out to walk yesterday in the neighborhood by where the bear attack took place last year-50 yards from our driveway.  There aren't any houses in there yet so it is a nice peaceful place with no cars and sidewalks all the way around.  It's a mile total loop and goes uphill all the way to the far end of the loop, so I get a good uphill workout, and then I usually jog on the downhill, so it's a good balance.

For the first time on my walks around the loop I saw a lot of doggie doo on the sidewalks. There are some dog walkers that walk that loop, but usually they are good about either curbing their dogs to the grass or picking up the dog's waste.  Then I saw what was unmistakably bear scat (poop). Bear plops are kind of round and looser, especially when they're eating a lot of fruit as they are in the fall. A big giveaway also is the seeds, pits, and the blackberry color staining the area around it.  It wasn't as large as what I used to see up on our property in the fall, when they're eating the Gravenstein apples but definitely came from a bear.  I mused as I walked around, noting other instances as I walked. There were a lot of what looked like cherry pits, so there must be wild cherries around nearby.

Bear scat with wild cherries

Coyote scat, aged, showing fur of ingested animals

Then I got thinking about the doggie piles and realized they looked like the picture I have on a scat chart of coyote scat. We definitely have a pack in the area, we hear them at night frequently.  I looked closer at some that was more weathered and saw that it was mostly all animal fur, so coyote for sure.  The fresher ones also had that dark black look that you get with meat eaters as opposed to the grain and soy chow that domestic dogs eat that makes a different color and texture. (I know this sounds really gross, but I was finding it really interesting. It kicks in the amateur biologist in me.)

On my second time around the loop I decided to count, and came up with 14 instances of coyote scat, and 8 of bear.  What I found especially interesting was how both kinds of animal had done so much pooping on the sidewalk. Either there's a ton more in the grass and bushes, (which is kind of a scary thought) or they use the sidewalk by preference, (which is just weird).  I have this picture in my mind of the neighborhood at night with the coyotes and bears walking sedately around the neighborhood on the sidewalks, nodding at each other and growling 'good evening' as they pass, at least when they're not stopping to relieve themselves...  I do wonder if there is some connection to the smell of human feet on the sidewalks that triggers them to mark territory this way, but who knows?

I didn't see any other sign of wildlife, not even the bunnies I was seeing earlier in the summer-guess that's not surprising-but I do wonder if I ought to be more worried about walking where there is obviously high bear activity, especially considering the woman that was mauled down at the entrance to the development last fall.  But she had a dog off leash that was threatening the bear, so I don't think it's the same risk.

The walk felt really good though, I missed exercising for four days in a row, choosing best instead of good or better on several of those days. (Sleep!) I had no valid reason on Tuesday though, so yesterday was in the spirit of breaking the inertia of several days of skipping exercise and renewing my commitment to six days a week.

Today I walked in McCormick woods for over an hour, using my Nordic sticks, which were really nice for the woodsy trails in there.  I only saw bear scat once, but I bet they are a lot more active in there. The whole woods right now are full of Oregon grape higher than my head, huckleberries, and I'm sure many other kinds.  I love getting on the deep trails and being in the middle of what feels like primeval forest, even though I can hear nearby traffic and some business that is sawing wood (very loudly) at times as I move through different parts. The Doug firs reach high around me like the columns of an ancient temple, and clumps of sword fern as big around as fountains line the sides of gorges. There is a kind of plant that looks so Jurassic that I almost expect to stumble onto a herd of  browsing triceratops. They rise up over my head on single stalks furred with thorns, supporting leaves shaped like maple leaves, only they are the size of turkey platters. I'll have to add a photo..which means another walk there.. which isn't a bad thing...

Tuesday, September 20th...I went back to the woods to walk and get photos...I took some of the Jurassic looking plants..

So here is one of the leaves with my hand for scale:

 I stood under the plant to show how it towers over my head, and then stepped back and took a shot of the whole thing. I think it's really attractive. There is one spot that I didn't get to this time that is a kind of clearing that is full of these plants. That is where it feels like I will see the triceratops herd munching away.

Here's a shot of the trail I was on. Is this heaven or what?

 The temple of trees..I was bending way back to get this shot of the tree that went up, and up, and up..

 Here's a spot where a tree hangs over the trail.

 This is a shot pointing uphill through and towards trees that fell across the trail and had to be cut to keep it open.

 Ferns, ferns, ferns, sword ferns everywhere...