Tuesday, February 24, 2015

An Incredibly, Gorgeous, Magnificent Day for a Walk



Yesterday, 15 senior women headed north to Fir Island for their weekly hike, hoping to see the Snow Geese that winter over in Skagit County.  We saw the geese from afar, but mostly we saw the Trumpeter Swans.

 Fir Island is separated from Puget Sound by an estuary that is affected by the tides.  These trees have all died from the salt water, but I find them beautiful.  The first part of our walk along here was almost surreal, with dead trees on the left, and live Evergreens on right.
Here are a few of the Trumpeter Swans, an endangered species.  They are dying off at an alarming rate in other areas of the state.  They used to winter on my farm, on the back 30 acres.  We had a person from Games and Wildlife who would come out and check on them regularly, charting their movement.  They even had names for the tagged swans. 
 Another picture of Mt. Baker in all her glory.  She is one of the volcanoes that we live under, here in Washington State.
And here, you can see the Olympic Mountains to the west on the Olympic Peninsula, with a tiny peek of Puget Sound.
It's days like this that make us so grateful for such a beautiful place to live.  People associate the Seattle area with rain.  Well, we do have our gray, dreary days, but when you trade them out with days like this?  What's to complain about?

2 comments:

Cathy said...

Linda, I loved this post and always enjoy the pictures from your walks. My daughter (age 29) is moving up to Seattle for a new job and new life adventure. Bruce and I enjoy Washington State and are looking forward to visiting. Hey, maybe sometime we can meet up!

Gene Black said...

Beautiful pictures - thanks for sharing.