I opened my front door to the quietest of knocks. Our six-year-old son waited with a stranger. My heart raced at the realization of what could have happened while he stood, wondered where I was, and walked the half mile from the bus stop to our house by himself. It was a Monday. And I’d …
Tag Archives: Whidbey Island
Ten Books Islanders Ought to Read
Exploring Deception Pass by Jack Hartt This week, Jack Hartt’s new book Exploring Deception Pass was published. A recent Whidbey News Times Article by Ron Newberry on the subject (State park manager shares tales and insight) suggests, “When one of Washington’s most breathtaking state parks is part of your everyday life for 12 years, you tend to …
Eaglemania
Bald eagles are found only in North America. In Washington state, “The early summer bald eagle population when white settlers first arrived in Washington may have been around 8,800…Persecution, the cutting of forests, commercial exploitation of salmon runs, and finally the use of DDT reduced the state’s population to only 104 known breeding pairs by 1980…The population …
Double Bluff County Park
This weekend I finally had the chance to revisit one of the most vast, flat, sandy, scenic beaches on Whidbey Island: Double Bluff County Park. According to the Washington Department of Fishing and Wildlife site, “While the tidelands are a State Park, Double Bluff Park (the upland portion of the park) is operated by the Friends …
Channeling Frederick
Frederick, the title character of one of Leo Lionni’s many wonderful children’s books, is a mouse that seems to be daydreaming and shirking his preparing-for-the-winter-months duties while his mice friends work. But when winter comes, he does his part by sharing the memories he collected and lifting their spirits. Last week Tuesday while others in …
South Whidbey State Park
Last week, for the first time during the decade I’ve lived on Whidbey Island, I made my way to South Whidbey State Park, located between Greenback and Freeland. The Washington State Parks site says, “South Whidbey Island State Park is a 347-acre camping park with 4,500 feet of saltwater shoreline on Admiralty Inlet. Park features include old-growth …
Wild About the Islands’ Flowers
Two years ago, I came upon a plant while doing what else, running, on the Lighthouse Point trail in Deception Pass State Park. I had never seen the flower before but suspected it was an orchid. I was right. It was a Calypso bulbosa, common name: Fairy slipper orchid. From that day forward, this plant …
Bye Bye Birdie: Departure of the Trumpeter Swans
Every winter I look forward to the arrival of Trumpeter swans in Island County, which, according to BirdWeb, “move south in late fall as water begins to freeze. Most migration takes place during the day, and flocks fly low overhead in a V-formation. Migration starts early in spring, and birds often return to the breeding grounds …
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Hiking the Bluff Trail at Ebey’s Landing/Robert Y. Pratt Preserve
A few weeks ago my husband and I hiked the Bluff Trail that traverses three different areas: Ebey’s Landing, the Robert Y. Pratt Preserve (Mr. Pratt “gave 147 acres of his land, including the beautiful Bluff Trail, to the Nature Conservancy, for its wildness to be preserved, enjoyed and shared with the public), and the Admiralty Inlet …
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Have a Fab Flora or Fauna Encounter at Dugualla Bay
I’ve lived in the area of Dugualla Bay, located at the northernmost notch along the east side of Whidbey Island (at the upper (20) marker on this map), for nearly ten years now, which has given me plenty of time to see dozens of different species of plants and birds as well as some sea …
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