Birds and Beaches

I didn't sleep well last night, but overcame my bleary eyed state when we realized there were some very big white birds out on the bay. We weren't dressed yet, so Tom got out the spotting scope and I got out my trusty little Canon with the zoom lens, and this is what we saw from inside the cabin.

White pelicans! They don't actually belong here, so seeing them here is an extremely rare occurrence. It seems a flock of about fifty arrived in early August and have been hanging out in Deer Lagoon and the ponds behind the dike by Double Bluff. This morning they were hugging a sand bar in Useless Bay until the rising tide drove them off. 

We spent over an hour cleaning up the drought stricken cabin garden, and then we were off to run some errands and do a bit of exploring. 

 Holmes Harbor was lovely this morning.

 Then we drove out on Double Bluff Road to find the pelicans.

 There they are, off in the distance, too far for any good photos.

 But we did find a few blackberries to eat along the side of the road. 

 Double Bluff Park is a favorite with locals who do not have beach property. There is so much space for kids to play and build.

 Looking across the end of the bay you can see Sunlight Beach, where our cabin is. Yep. Found it!

 Yesterday evening while we were walking we stopped to pick up apples from a loaded gravenstein apple tree.

The apples were just going to waste.

So I made a rustic pie. I had to buy a rolling pin, but then made do with flour and butter in the cabin supply, and my fingers to blend the two.

 Then I rested and read until I felt restless, so I went for a late afternoon walk on the beach.

 Gulls had settled in where the pelicans had been.

 The tide was out but I didn't venture out onto the tide flats.

 Double Bluff and the Olympic Mountains

 Mt Rainier looming on the horizon.

 We left for our evening walk again at the golden hour. It was so calm that the just filling lagoon was mirror clear.

 I almost didn't see the heron hiding in the reflection. It was winding up to catch a fish. 

 I'm not sure, but I think it was "Gulp. Got it!"

 My favorite little guy, the Belted Kingfisher, perched on a nearby piling.

 At the turn around point the sun was setting.

 At our beach access all was going pink.

 We sat on logs and watched the day slowly fade away.

 Then in the lingering twilight we had pie on the deck.

Another glorious day on the island.