Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
This weekend is the Clallam County Fair and yesterday was the logging show. For the uninitiated (me, for instance), the show is focused on competitive skills: we watched sawing and axe throwing. What you see here is “Jack and Jill” two person manual sawing. Simply said, the couple is timed as they saw through a log as fast as possible. It’s like an instant snapshot metaphor of marriage in action.
Logging is part of the local history and heritage here. I’ll show you more of the action tomorrow.
What’s better than a warm summer day? A warm summer day on the beach.
We camped last week with some of the nicest weather of the year. One campground we called home featured this beach on the Hood Canal and beautiful views of the Olympic Mountains. Scenic Beach State Park is a short hop from Silverdale, near Seabeck, a beautiful little coastal town.
Hand mower and very tall grass. A tractor took down the next door field. Looks like the work is cut out for him.
I ran into Kali Bradford last week as she put finishing touches on one of her latest sand sculptures on West Washington Street next to Lucky Star Consignment Clothing.
Kali wasn’t enthusiastic about posing for a portrait, though she didn’t exactly refuse. So I snapped a quick shot as she talked about her art (her work, which she has created in several Sequim locations, is all volunteer and unpaid), her work as a health educator, and her challenge to local vandals (take one of her art classes and channel energy positively).
Kali debated whether to paint parts of this sculpture. Some people, she said, don’t “get” her sand sculptures and recognize the forms in them.
I returned a couple of days later to see her completed work, this mermaid…unpainted.
The eagerly-awaited signs are up on the road announcing that strawberries are ready to pick and the true believers were at work yesterday at Cameron’s. This group picked the goods for the Strawberry Jam Queen — hidden behind the man in shorts — 36 pounds of big, plump berries, destined for “outrageously delicious” homemade jam.
It’s a wonderful pastime for pickers of all ages and the rewards are heavenly. At $1.75 a pound it’s a good deal on delicious fruit and a great way for kids to learn where food comes from.
Though the field is sheltered by trees, there’s still a nice view of the Olympic Mountains in the background.
The Tour de Dung bicycle race is an annual opportunity to try stuff with my camera that I haven’t done much since last year’s race. Sort of a very pressured, condensed tutorial. I call this collage “It’s All a Blur to Me.” Really, it’s intentional.
Yesterday was the annual Tour de Dung bicycle races. That’s “Dung” as in “Dungeness,” the region in Sequim where the races are held. This race is held annually to prove how ridiculously slow I am at photographing speeding bicycles. (Sorry to the many bicyclists who have shown up on my editing screen cut in half. I’m glad you haven’t seen yourselves.) Yeah, and there’s something about bikes and races and stuff.
This is the first of two weekend races. There will be more next Saturday as well.
Local drivers, please have a care – and patience, if necessary. The race is well organized and cars accompany racers. But there are a lot of bicyclists on the road, singles and in groups. Bicyclists appreciate your sharing the road. And, for my part, I didn’t like avoiding a head-on collision with a truck that was hell bent on passing a bicyclist on the shoulder.