Category Archives: where the hell are we volunteering?

Last Monday Today!

Posted on Thursday March 27th, 2014 by | 1 comment

Pauline and I went birding Monday, while the weather was still amazing when we saw the forecast was calling for a week plus of rain and wind, we knew we had to get outside while we still could.

It was sunny with a slight wind and low 50’s so we grabbed the camera and binoculars and ended up doing 4 miles in about 3.5 hours. It’s amazing how far you will not go when you stop and stare at birds.

We walked mostly in the forested trails where it was peaceful, but not too birding friendly. The few birds we see move too fast to get a decent look at.

However we did get some good pics of a Bald Eagle as well as 2 new birds for our list, the Red-breasted Merganser and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The Kinglet was a bear to get a decent shot of, and the only reason I got these two pics was due to taking about 50 pics of blurred tree’s as it jumped from one spot to another and then another…

We have walked a lot of beach trails since we been here, that it has been a few months since we walked in the woods. Again, so peaceful. Could use more birds. Saw a few deer. A salamander. Heard some tree frogs and a few birds we never saw, even when it sounded like they was 10′ from us.

This week was suppose to be a nasty mess, but so far, we’ve had little rain, some winds, but much more sun then we expected. It still says this week is going to be a bad one weather wise, but at least we got this good weather.

We was going to go to Whidbey Island to meet some people we are going to work with this Summer, I just forgot to set it up, and when I thought about setting something up, I was never near my Mac to send a email, so that will need to be doe next week.

We are expecting neighbors this weekend. We finally was forced to give up our perfect water view and park like everyone else, in your own limited parking pad. We moved Ackbar yesterday and spread about 10 bucket loads of new gravel on both of these pads since they had some major low points with too many ponds. It took us about 3 hours to get it, but even I am impressed how well it turned out. Much better then expected.

Got our new MiFi today. Still having issues. Need to park facing East and not West. Miss facing South. Need another 10′ worth of sewer hose to be able to park with the hose going under the RV to the other side. Not happy about that. But we gotta do what we gotta do.

Feeling lucky to have had such a great view and appreciating it much more now that I no longer have it… Until next Fall.

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Spring time in the Northwest…

Posted on Wednesday March 12th, 2014 by | 1 comment

Is Amazing!

The weather is so much nicer. We have had less rain and more sun with more fog then more sun and then more fog with some sun.

Today I saw my first Anna’s Hummingbird! It was bright red like I am use to and not that deep dark red we saw in Arizona. I only got about 1 second look at it, but that was all that was needed to make me happy. We have not put our feeders out yet, but will be soon. We are just concerned about the winds we still get every so often.

We also saw our first Golden Eagle today! And even better, we had time to go back to get the camera! While it was still foggy when we started taking the pictures it cleared up about 45 minutes later we was able to take more pictures with the sun out as he was still in the same tree we left him in. Lazy bird. Not the best pics as I was “just off” regarding focus, but they count.

We also saw the USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE-7) going out to sea from Indian Island. She had been dockside since we arrived in November. The first time I saw her I thought she was a building. (Crap weather prevented a good look from so far) but I was able to make out the life boats on the side to confirm she was a ship. She had the usual 2 USCG ships waiting to escort her out to the open sea.

One of the Rangers told us we will soon be seeing more and more wildlife showing up soon and the Bald Eagles will soon be tearing branches off the trees to make their nest which is something we have never seen, so I think we will be bringing our camera with us more when we do rounds in the morning.

I am still running 3 miles a day. I took 2 days off due to the whole “blind in one eye” thing when it was just too sunny for me to see properly and without excessive pain but other then that, I have done pretty well. I know my course well enough to know how to pace the hills. The only thing that slows me down now is soggy trails, harsh winds and drivers not paying attention where they are driving.

Yesterday, I was almost hit by 2 ladies who was paying more attention to whatever they saw outside the passenger window then what was in front of them, I saw them from a distance away and was going to run on the side of the road as I normally do. (I run against traffic since I do NOT trust drivers) but she started to drive like they was going to park on the side of the road where I was running toward, so I went right, then she veered right directly towards me, and as I got closer I realized they still have not seen me, and they never did see me, even when I ran past the drivers window about 2′ away.

I was so close to slapping the drivers window.

Honestly, I was looking directly at the driver and she never, ever saw me. It’s not like I am 6’2″ and 225 lbs and wearing bright red or anything.

*sigh.

Anyway, today I ran my best time ever, beating yesterday (which was my record, which was also a new best time record) by 15 seconds. 3 miles on trials, hills, and road in 32 mins and 45 seconds.

Bright sunny days, with brilliant views of Mt Baker, the Cascade Mountains and the crown jewel, Mount Rainier.

I Love the Northwest!

Once again I failed to remember I have pictures on my phone waiting to be downloaded, so some of these pictures are from a month ago, but most of them are from today.

Enjoy!

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I can see once more!

Posted on Thursday March 6th, 2014 by | 1 comment

That is always a good thing!

I still have issue with going from a dark, like in a garage, to outside when it’s sunny, but not as much as I had been having.

It has been raining more then usual, I was told we already have already passed the monthly average for the month of March and today is the 6th.

The rain doesn’t really bother me, the wind is my main issue. I grew up in the midwest and have had to deal with tornados too many times, that its something that is “deep inside” that stresses me when the winds are above 25 mph.

The biggest issue I have with the rain, is the trails have huge muddy pools I have to jump around when running, I try to keep a certain pace when I run and even a few hop, skips and a jump, can wear me out faster then I would like, and of course there is always that fear that one day I will slip and get a cold mud bath.

Temps have been GREAT! Mid 40s to low 50s as highs and lows in mid 30s. I can live with that.

We have had to order some parts for our “All in One” washer/dryer. It is a side loader, and has 3 agitators inside and 2 of them suddenly broke off, nothing but plastic tabs that slide in. We ordered 3 new ones ($15 each + s&h) since its only a matter of time for the 3rd one to break. The person Pauline spoke to told her he was not sure how we got this unit. We bought it new just over 1 year ago. It is a 2008 model.

*sigh

That was the biggest debate for us the 2-3 years we discussed this idea of full timing in a RV. Should we get a washer/dryer. It cost $1,200 for the unit we got. And after living in the RV for over a full year now. We made the RIGHT decision. Yes, its noisy, shakes the RV and whatever else, but over all, it is a time saver. Since we have been here, we see how many people use the washer/dryer here at the park. Its free for volunteers. But there is ALWAYS people coming and going from that room. The idea of having to wait in line to wash clothes would be too much.

And this is the dead season. In 2 more months there will be 15-20 more volunteers here.

Right now, the fog is once again covering Whidbey Island, I can just make out the coast line. The other day as I was finishing my run I saw another Submarine going out to sea, with the usual Coast Guard escort. Pauline was out on the trails with the camera, but she got back in time for us to grab a few good shots of it. Which where the first pictures I have taken in a week.

Pauline has been taking the camera out with her each time she walks and she is getting better with her pictures, the ones of the Great Blue Heron are probably the best pictures she has ever taken. The majority of the pictures here she took.

Tomorrow we will do a hour or so of work here in the park before we head to town for supplies and the library. This weekend we have no real plans, other then to do some birding. The current idea is to get up early, like 7am early…. UGH, and eat and go down to the spit and hopefully get some birds.

But then we found that the stupid, outdated, why the hell are we still doing this, time change crap happens.

That means Monday morning will arrive 1 hour faster…

DAMMIT!

Anyway, enjoy the pictures…

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Life as a Vampire Sucks…

Posted on Thursday February 27th, 2014 by | Comments Off on Life as a Vampire Sucks…

At 1:15pm on Monday February 24, 2014 I was loading a pile of brush onto the flatbed truck to dispose of to a burn pit when I managed to get whacked in the right eyeball with a branch while, the irony, I was pushing it from hanging outside of the truck bed so I wouldn’t walk into it and get hurt.

*sigh

It hurt. BAD!

I called Pauline to bring me some water thinking I still had some material in my eye, once she arrived I flushed out my eye but it still hurt like hell. I finished the pile, dumped the load and went to the office to report it.

I hardly slept at all Monday night and Tuesday morning when I crawled out of bed I knew I needed to see a Dr but of course the closest Dr was on vacation so Pauline had to drive us to the Port Townsend urgent care center where we arrived around 10am.

The Nurse prepping me for the Dr, gave me two drops in the eye to ease the pain and THAT helped so much.  Those two drops brought me such huge relief. It felt like I had a stick in my eye. Both of my eyes was constantly tearing up, so it looked like I was crying, and that lasted for about 48 hours which also wrecked my sinus’s so I had sever watering eyes and nasal drip, it was a miserable way to spend 2 days/nights.

The Dr started to examine my eyes and he started off with a “WOW!”… That is NOT a good way to start an examination…

I had about 2-3 seconds of panic thinking I really screwed up my eye. He then said he was not even going to bother using the eye dye they use to help see scratches on the eye since mine were so easy to see.

I had abrasions at the 11:00, 5:30, and 6:00 positions, but would make a full recovery.

Whew! (I think Dr’s should start off with that instead of “wow”.) The eye cells regenerate every 9-12 hours, so as deep as my abrasions were, I would heal within a few days. He gave me a prescription for eyedrops, which I take every 3 hours and for another 24 hours after I no longer feel the pain.

The numbing eye drops the nurse gave me started to wear off around 2pm so from Monday to late Wednesday afternoon I would have a constant pain of 2/3 with a peak of 8 a few times every hour. Totally miserable. So pretty much for 2 days I laid in bed with all the shades down, lights out, while wearing sun glasses which I wore for 48+ hours inside and out, day and night.

Today is the first time I am not wearing sun glasses. I still have blurry eyesight in my right eye and since my left eye is doing most of the work now, I have had really tired eyes this week. I have my Mac screen display set at the lowest level of light and I have not been able to watch tv or anything else without pain, so we have been listening to music all week.

I can’t even read without pain or wearing my eyes out to the point, I just have to close them.

Monday was a rainy cloudy dark day, Tuesday and Wednesday were the kind of days you dream about having here in the Northwest. Just absolutely perfect. Sunny, clear, great lighting, not too harsh, not too soft, but perfect. With my eye issues I could just make out Mt Baker enough to know, I missed two epic days to take pictures.

Today, I am able to see better and it is once again cloudy.

*sigh.

The pain is almost all gone, I still have issues with bright light or when I try to focus on something far away or small text, but the Dr said I would make a full recovery, so I am just giving it more time.

I think I should be back to normal by this weekend, at least I am hoping I will be. My right eye is my photographic eye so I am worried about that…

On a much better note, this morning we received a email from the TNC Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve manager Matt Killeen, telling us that a Garter Snake I took a picture of at the TNC PSCP back on 09/10/2013 at 5:01pm was not just a Garter Snake, but a Mexican Garter Snake which is a very threatened species and my pictures are the first confirmed siting at the TNC PSCP since 1975!

He had it confirmed by the US Fish and Wildlife and was asking for more details I might have so I gave him all the facts and marked on the map where I took the pictures as well as offered him all 12 pictures I have of it.

The 2 pictures I posted can be found here:

Picture 1

Picture 2

He also said there was interest in my pictures of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo eating a lizard, so I offered him all 83 pictures I have of that.

We have also confirmed our entire Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring of 2015. While we will not be traveling as much as we would like, we will be in the areas we want to be in for so many reasons, so we consider this a big win for us.

We just need to think where we should head to in 2015. I think we should head to ID or WY or MT.

But we have time to think on that.

Laters…

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Posted in State Parks, what hell kind of animals are we seeing?, what the hell are we learning?, what the hell kind of pictures are these?, where the hell are we volunteering?

Long time no see!

Posted on Thursday January 30th, 2014 by | Comments Off on Long time no see!

It feel’s like we have been on the go since we arrived here. Some of it feels routine but too much still feels like we have had no time to take a breath which is why we have not been updating like we once was. It feels like it was just a week since it was New Year’s Day and now it is almost February.

Time flies…

We saw a coyote once again, but no camera. We see multiple Bald Eagles daily and it never gets old. I love watching them just soar over the cliffs. I also had a great view of some seals playing just under the surface of the water.

The past 2 weeks we have been on a long, time consuming mission of taking “inventory” of sorts, of the entire park, as well as Mystery Bay SP and Anderson Lake SP.

The state of Washington has decided to copy some of the things the State of Oregon is doing with their State Parks and that means counting every trash can and sign and a million other things.

The State also wants more details regarding the size of the area’s that is considered “litter pickup” or what is considered to be “mowed” areas which means I have been walking the parameter of large areas with the GPS as well as driving a 4 Wheel Drive Gator over the larger open areas.

Not too hard of a job, but we had less then 9 days to do it all.

Pauline and I finished our task yesterday in the rain. It took a few days just to figure out what the State was asking, and how to best accomplish this. The Ranger’s have been more then helpful as always, but this was all new to them as well, so we have had a few hours worth of meetings on and off going over what the State is asking for, and talking how we can accomplish it in the time the State has given us to accomplish this.

This week alone Pauline and I have worked 41 hours (combined) so we only did a hour today and tomorrow with the weekend off.

Wednesday I was asked to help with traffic as we had some tree’s to cut down near the roads. Then I got involved with the cleanup part which ended up lasting all day long. I got home around 4:30pm. It was a very long and hard day and I am still feeling it in my arms. The chipper had a tow line for the larger pieces, but I still had to muscle the pieces into the chipper in a way for it to be grabbed, that was hard enough.

We went to Vancouver 2 weeks ago to visit the boys. They are getting so big. Jon is 14 and  Dylan is soon to be 10. It seems like yesterday they was learning to walk and now both are very good basketball players.

Dylan had a game so we went to watch that, they was playing a much inferior team so the coach asked them to not play as hard and it showed. Dylan was doing his best to be a good sportsman but at the cost of not playing anywhere near his own ability.

Jon is getting offer’s to play on more advanced teams and has the potential of going much farther so we have been talking about doing things the right way and how to be ready both for playing the game as well of what to expect as a player of the game.

Sunday is the Super Bowl… I love Peyton Manning, but he is no longer a Colt and while both teams have a starting D player from Purdue…

Go SeaHawks!

But I won’t be sad either way.

I will try and keep up with updating more in the future.

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Posted in State Parks, what hell kind of animals are we seeing?, what the hell are we seeing?, what the hell are we thinking?, what the hell kind of pictures are these?, where the hell are we volunteering?