Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
One of the local northern harriers taunted me again the other day. This time I got a little closer. This is what a female harrier looks like at the last moment before she gets annoyed enough to fly off.
In case you’re wondering: Yes. Our dog was on leash.
I’m pretty sure this stuff is lichen though lichen and moss are often confused. Lichen, though, is the result of a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and either algae or cyanobacteria. It’s often grey or pale white. And that’s the end of today’s lesson. Click the link in the first line if you want to learn more.
You see a lot of this filigree in trees and shrubs here as branches are otherwise laid bare this time of year.
During a foggy walk on Saturday moisture had accumulated, adding a glittering quality to its natural laciness.
The effect in winter is to lighten the look of deciduous trees even on an otherwise gloomy day. It looks almost like spring blossoms.
Yesterday’s admission that I haven’t taken photos lately did what I intended it to do: it got me outside with a camera. Although it was grey and foggy Mother Nature nonetheless presented a nice gift. I got my first eagle shots of 2015.
It started raining early Sunday evening and as far as I can tell it didn’t stop much overnight. Our rain gauge recorded nearly 1.5 inches in 17 hours. I took these shots of the Dungeness River about four hours after the rain stopped. The river was much higher than usual. And it usually looks less like a roiling mud pie.
Lots of young trees and shrubs growing close along the river shores were up to their necks in the flow.
The snow pack in the Olympic Mountains is less than optimum and the freezing elevation was lowered in this latest storm. I’m afraid some of our snow pack became part of this river flow. The mountains have been hidden behind clouds so we haven’t had a look at the snow caps.
Unlike some parts of Washington state, Sequim doesn’t get lots and lots of rain. Seattle, for instance, got 48.5 inches of rain last year. And Forks, in the rain forest and a wetness epicenter, got 107.10 inches. Sequim? We got 17.88 inches. And some nice rainbows. What’s not to like?
Happy New Year!
The photo challenge today for City Daily Photo participants is “Photo of the Year.” Mine captures a winter view of one of my favorite walking spots at Dungeness Recreation Area. I have a few other favorites I’ll show you in coming days.
Click here to see shots that other photographers from around the world have chosen as their Photo of the Year.
It wasn’t fog…and it wasn’t raining, exactly. It certainly wasn’t dry. But if the shrubbery is dense enough the colors can be pretty this time of year in a misty, hazy sort of way.