The Wildlife

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On days when the wind is not doing natures fall cleaning, I like to pack up my camera and take off for a walk on a well known trail named “The Larry Scott Trail”. It’s begining is not far from my home, but first we must walk through the forest.
I suggest if we run across any cougars or bear that we all stand very tall and back away..slowly…would you all feel better wearing some bells?

Here we are..we have walked only a few hundred feet from my home.These are my neighbors homes and as you can see, I have made sure the sun was shining on this day and into my favorite trees, Madrona’s of course….

Now I suggest you speak normally, do not try to be quiet, there are deer, bear, cougar,coyote and racoons in this forest. We will be going down a steep section here and I am not going to be taking pictures. I hope you have good gripping boots for hiking for this part…my dogs are with us..they are perfect for letting me know if there might be danger about.

The trail flattens here.. and I have managed to stop the dogs while I take this picture..oh my, they do find my picture taking a bother…whimpering and not wanting to heel..far too much excitement for this!

Again… to my dogs disgust, we must stop. I want to show you how the forest envelopes us here…listen …. chirping..a snap…deer? hmmm..could be.

The light leads us on, it is morning, so this bright ray is coming from the East…it is probably mid afternoon in the UK and the day is only beginning here.

The dogs have been with us all along ..right now they are all on leashes to keep them calm on the trails. Only one will be leashed on the way back..Phoebe is telling us ..to be cautious now, this is steep and you know Mom. She is not normally happy at us pulling her head over tea-kettle, so go slowly and we will have fun soon.

As we emerge from the forest trail, we always check the deer trails…new tracks? No..old ones, not good enough for pictures. The Scenery takes on an open view now of water and islands.

The Cascade Mt. range can be seen with it’s snow capped peaks, brilliant in the morning light. A chase boat chases…what? you will see…soon.

A team of women rowers. If you listen carefully you can hear them calling out rowing orders…and a bit of chat.

Phoebe is off her leash now but is concerned and comes to me to tell me ..“Lets Go!” look at the day!

Munchie and Phoebe say this is so fun..Look! We have already run to the touching tree! and you have not even started!

Sofie is on a leash for this walk, she has a bad hip and wears herself out too quickly with running with her nose to the ground and has had to be carried home more than once.

Small animals live in holes on this bluff…Eagles, Red Tail Hawks, Crows and SeaGulls soar above such areas hunting their prey.

The bluff is in transistion always..sluffing off and growing toward the sea again..

These vines have caught the slide this time and are holding it off the trail…thank you Blackberry Bushes…good job!

Rose Hips from our wild Nootka Roses grow on the bluff as well..Red Rose Hips are vibrant in the sun.

This part of the bluff will slide before winter is over..not sure what will catch this part.

Maybe these Oregon grapes…

Oh cannot believe these California poppies are still blooming..and they are not tattered to shreds..amazing!

Phoebe just flushed this Dove out of the grasses under a tree…

This bright star was blooming right at the waters edge as well..not sure what it is but it was a glory to see.

Have you ever seen Sand Pipers waiting for sand? Well now you have..

We have taken off on another path now these are some fall colors on our way to to the marsh.

Do you see him..he is perfectly camouflaged..a Coyote..looking at us curiously.

Another form of Oregon grape…at it’s red leaf stage along our pathway.

Of course this boat in dry dock is sniffed as we walk by..and make a turn to the right to go into the marsh.

We have stepped into a dip into the marsh off the trail and here we see a bit of the water where all manner of duck will be in the spring.

We have stepped up on to the trail and are heading back toward home..the dogs are happy leading the way still..the mill in the far back is a paper mill..not my favorite subject to photograph, but it is there and I want to show you the bluff and the marsh from this angle…my home sits back from the edge by about 150-200 ft..you cannot see it from here.

Here we must stop to take this picture of all the lovely fall colors of the marsh in this light…

Oh! Hellooo! Little Blanket Flower, you are a brave one too!

She’s done it again…Phoebe has rousted this little fellow out of his sleep and he is thinking “what am I doing out in all this light?”

Shore birds tussling over which rock is who’s seems to be the start of their day…oh my what a racket!

Well! We are just going to fly off to some other rocks then!

A tree lupin is working on a late bloom…

Yarrow..sitting small for the winter, huddles in with tree lupin against the wind.

This is the Sail Boat Adventurous. It is taking groups of teens out on sailing classes for part of their high school curriculum here.

This Eagle nest is not really in use right now..but this eagle, can you see him? has decided it is a good roosting spot. It may be where he was hatched.

Well he has tired of me taking this photo so has flown off in the fog…

We are getting close to our trail through the forest again.. this bicylist has passed us by..can you see the Olympic Mt.s to the West with the fall colors and the snowy peaks as a backdrop…?

All of the dogs have a quick run about before heading up the trail.

Of course once Sofie is leashed again, Phoebe and Munchie must have a real race! You would never know Phoebe is 14 and Munchie is a little over 1.

Here we are at the top of the forest trail…if you look very hard you can see at the very top of the road..is the edge of my garage…it is the white bit there a little to the left of middle.

Loveliness in the sky..these berries caught my eye…

They belong to this tree in my neighbors front lawn..after researching with Greenthumb..we believe it is a Siberian Crab Apple.

Head count….YES! we are all here..and all in one piece.
I hope you enjoyed our walk here in the Pacific Northwest of Washington State.

One last photo taken from my home. Mt. Tahoma…or as some call it..Mt. Rainier..

13 Nov, 2009
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Comments

Spritzhenry

Thank you so much for the tour - and all those beautiful photos! How amazing to see eagles and coyotes when you're out with the dogs!

It was quite moving for me - my uncle and aunt lived in this area for years. My mum went out to visit them - and talked so much about Mt. Rainier and the other mountains in the range!

13 Nov, 2009

Hywel

Thanks for taking us on that lovely walk, and it's all on your doorstep. I enjoyed every step of the way :o) I love your dogs.

13 Nov, 2009

Amblealice

So lovely to see where you live....wonderful pics....especially the coyote. thank you so much.

13 Nov, 2009

Bonkersbon

Absolutely stunning Cj..a beautiful part of the world.Thankyou so much for sharing with us.x

13 Nov, 2009

Gardeningfr..

Thank you for taking me through the trees to see the sea. Wildlife, dogs, mountains, flowers, bluff and boats are all a beautiful gift from thee. To have this from your eyes through the lense to here on GOY is magic for me.

13 Nov, 2009

Potbound

Thanks for this blog Caroline. I really enjoyed all the pictures especially the ones of your dogs and Phoebe sounds like a good dog to go walking with. My favourite picture is the one of Phoebe by the sea.

13 Nov, 2009

The Wildlife

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