A New Year

A new year, and time to take advantage of dry Sunday mornings for destination walks. This morning we headed to the Des Moines Marina, on Puget Sound, south of Sea-Tac airport. A weak winter sun was shining. This time of the year the sky and water often blend in shades of gray. Although void of color, it was clam and quiet, mild and serene. We walked out on the fishing pier.

There were some interesting water fowl to watch, like these mergansers.

Cormorants were sitting and sunning and fishing.

As we watched this one came up with an eel! It struggled with it's catch, then swallowed it whole. I don't know if the eel was dead when it went down. It may have wiggled and jiggled tickled inside it. The cormorant did some wiggling and jiggling itself for a while.

This is a Common Goldeneye.

A stream flows through a ravine and out into the sound here. We had planned to walk the trail along it, but it was closed for reconstruction.

The snow berries add winter interest.

There were quite a few Surf Scoters.

This seemed to be a lone little grebe.

Overhead, a Great Blue Heron sat, perched on a condo building, taking it all in.

Was this a "Who has bigger wings?" contest? The totem pole wins.

There were fishers on the dock and on the water.

But not much boat action today.

Since the trail was closed, we drove a bit farther south to Salt Water State Park. Also a stream filled ravine, the water cascaded to the sound.

It was quiet and peaceful, so unlike a busy summer day.

There really is beauty in gray.

This afternoon I watched the Seahawks play their last game of the season. It's hard to believe football is over for another year. I always miss it. Of course, if the team's record weren't a dismal 5 - 11, we could be in the playoffs for a while yet. Oh, well, there's always next year.

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After the game I finished taking down Christmas, packing up my Santa collection. Now my shelves are empty until I get my pottery back on them.

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It really does feel like a new year.