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MARAUDING DEER – May 22, 2018

During this morning’s walk I counted eighteen deer marauding the neighborhood. This was looking down Perkins Street just as I left my house.

Deer on Perkins

A little further down the road I got up close and personal with this young buck that was just coming into his horns.

Young Buck

To my surprise the tall ship Hawaiian Chieftain was still docked at the Coupeville Wharf. I talked to one of the crew and he said that they’d be leaving Thursday morning around 10:00.

I thought the fog made for an interesting shot of the ship and wharf.

Foggy Tall Ship Wharf

There are still lots of pretty flowers around town and these caught my eye. They are in front of the Whidbey Health Medical Center. We’re lucky to have the hospital that serves the whole island just blocks away from our home.

Whidbey Health Flowers

That was fun, I really enjoyed your company. I’ll see you again soon.

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TALL SHIP AND EAGLE – May 21, 2018

Good morning, and a good one it is! The sun is back out and so am I, so get you shoes on and let’s go.

On my way to the Coupeville Wharf, to look at the Hawaiian Chieftan tall ship, I spotted this beautiful eagle perched atop a pine tree. The morning sun really made it pop.

Eagle

This weekend we celebrated “Sail Fest” in Coupeville. There were three large sailboats in Penn Cove, the Suva, Cutty Sark and Hawaiian Chieftain. The two smaller boats were gone but the tall ship was still docked. Here’s an aft view.

Tall Ship Aaft

This is the bow with the masthead.

Tall Ship Bow

It’s so fun to see this great ship docked at the wharf. It congers up images of what it must have been like back in the middle to late 1800’s. Perhaps this is what it looked like way back then.

Wharf and Tall Ship

I hope this gets your week of to a good start, I know it did mine. I hope to walk with you again soon.

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Marine Layer – May 15, 2018

After a couple of fabulous days the marine layer rolled in this morning. That made for some difficult but interesting photography as evidenced by the Coupeville Wharf as seen from Captain Thomas Coupe Park.

Foggy Wharf

If you look closely you can see the schooner Suva tied up to the right end of the dock. Walking out on the wharf I got a better look and I do believe she’s ready for this coming weekends “Whidbey SailFest”. You can read all about it here.

Suva at Dock

And my old friend “Frank”, the great blue heron, is back at his post keeping an eye on Coupeville and Penn Cove. He’s looking a little rough but still a magnificent bird.

Frank

With that I’ll fade back into the fog and let you get on with your day. I hope it’s a good one and we can do this again real soon.

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PARADISE DAY – May 14, 2018

Just another beautiful day in paradise! This morning’s walk was around Coupeville where I always see wonderful things. I hope you enjoy the walk today.

First stop an immature Bald Eagle. It’s not a very good photo but it sure was beautiful sitting high atop that tree.

Inmature Eagle

A little further down Front Street I spotted this great reflection shot of an anchored sailboat resting in Penn Cove.

Sailboat Reflection

This time of year the flowers are blooming and the rhododendrons are everywhere. These are beside the United Methodist Church. The church was built around 1900 after the first one burned to the ground. Here’s the history of our Methodist Church.

Methodist Church and Rhody's

This time of year the deer are having fawns and need a lot to eat, no matter what it takes. I caught this deer pulling down and munching on the leaves of a tree branch.

Deer Eating Tree 1  Deer Eating Tree 2

I hope you enjoyed that little walk, I sure did. I hope to walk with you again real soon!

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WE’VE GOT ISLAND SPIRIT – May 2, 2017

Time to get your shoes on and go for another beautiful walk around Coupeville.

This morning I noticed that everyone I ran into had a smile on their face and offered up a hearty “Good Morning”! I believe it was for a couple of reasons. First, we just wrapped up another four day stint of cloudy and rainy days ending with clear skies this morning.

Secondly it’s because of where we live, in the town of Coupeville on beautiful Whidbey Island. It was like everyone had the “Island Spirit”.

Come to find out not only do we have “Island Spirit” but we also have the “Island Spirit. That’s right, the Island Spirit Cruise Ship was docked at the Coupeville Wharf this morning. It’s a cruise ship that sails around Alaska all summer long. My guess is that it’s on the way up to Alaska for the summer. No matter what, it makes for a pretty picture!

Ship Island Spirit 1

Ship Island Spirit 2

With this fabulous weather there’s a good chance we’ll get to do this again tomorrow. I hope to see you then.

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THE BLUEST SKIES – April 26, 2018

Perhaps you remember the song from the 60’s, “The Bluest Skies You’ve Ever Seen Are In Seattle”. Well here on Whidbey Island that song was never truer. I believe the sky was bluer than I’ve ever seen it!

Now here’s what I’m talking about:

Pink flowering tree against the blue sky.

Pink Flowers Blue Sky

Red flowering tree against the blue sky.

Red Tree Blue Sky

And of course the Coupeville waterfront against the blue sky!

Coupeville Waterfront

WOW, what a morning. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did, it was really spectacular!

Tomorrow the weather starts changing back to spring but this short summer teaser sure was nice.

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IT’S OPEN, WOOT – April 25, 2018

Before I get started I would like to thank everyone that commented on Monday’s blog. It’s great to know that so many of you appreciate my efforts.

It’s amazing what a couple of days will do. When I went out for today’s walk I found the trail that was closed Monday, going to the Town Park, open! Not only was it open but it had fresh gravel on it filling the ruts that had formed from the winter rain run-off.

Trail Open

As I’d mentioned, the trail runs along a high band bluff and could be subject to sluffing and slides. The trail runs along the top of this bluff.

Trail Bluff

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a photo of the Coupeville Wharf but I couldn’t resist this great old green boat parked at the dock.

Wharf and Boat

About half way through my walk I spotted one of our rare “White Deer”. This one was roaming with a small herd.

White Deer

It was a beautiful day for a walk and I’m really glad you all joined me. I’ll see you again real soon, around town and on the trails.