I'm Ba-a-a-ck

We're back home after three wonderful days away. Monday we went to the Skagit Valley to see the tulip fields. I'll have pics of the tulips and also of the beautiful valley.

Tuesday we gardened at our Whidbey Island beach house and spent time in Langley and several nurseries. Pictures will follow later.

Today we spent hanging around the cabin. This afternoon we had a great walk out on the tide flats in Useless Bay.

As I've explained before, Useless Bay is so named because at low tide, it empties out, so it was useless to Captain Vancouver as a place for harboring his ship. But the residents of Sunlight Beach find it quite useful for having a wonderful beach experience.

Today the people were few and the birds were many. We knew we were in for a treat when we saw this immature eagle perched on a chimney. Where to go next? The noisy terns were letting us know they did not appreciate our intrusion.

We saw loons and hooded mergansers out in the bay.

The great blue herons were fishing, and this one scored a candle fish.

As we walked more and more eagles gathered. Some were mature, like this one...

and this one. This immature eagle has completely different coloring. They don't go "bald" until they are five years old.

As we approached their gathering place, we counted eleven eagles, enjoying a sunny day on the beach, just as we were.

And, yes, I did stop thinking about politics and our national troubles for a while. With no cable TV and no Internet hook up, and no newspaper, we just watched a bit of the NBC local and national news. How many times do you need to hear "Wash your hands and cover your cough" anyway?

For those of you wondering, my back feels better, but the troublesome nerve compression symptoms in my leg and foot persist. I have physical therapy Thursday. We'll see what's next.