Wildlife
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It is November. Gullies are soggy. The exact edges of creeks are hard to define. The last leaves are limp yellow rags that drag across my shoulders as I make my way downhill. more
On May 10, 2016, then Herron Island ferry captain John Farris posted a photo on the islanders’ group on Facebook with a laconic caption, as was his style, even though the announcement could … more
Dusk, late summer. A deer works the edge of the pasture. A lonely frog, peeping, is answered by a cricket. As the light slips, a bat skitters in and out of the shrinking circle I can see. more
The bones look like driftwood from a distance, half-submerged at the high tide line. Binoculars reveal them to be ancient stone artifacts. Or so it seems. This whale carcass is hard to believe. … more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that three adult harbor seals in Puget Sound tested positive for the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 strain Sept. 8. The seals stranded on … more
It is a joy to come across a wasp like this. In the matted thick grass where my pasture will flood in winter, it dances along the stalks, wings flashing, blue-black body orienting this way and that. … more
Venus has phases, like the moon. Our neighbor planet is putting on a show these days, high in the western sky, the first point of light to appear as sunset fades. On June 4 it will reach its greatest … more
For Jim Watts, spring means time on the road with hundreds of thousands of bees in his truck. One by one he visits an ever-growing list of home orchards, hobby farms, clearcuts and gardens. At each, … more
If you want to feel like a shrimp in a kelp forest, a good place to start is in a real forest on a windy day, your back on a log, trees flexing like grasses above you, the sky crowded with clouds … more
Q: What’s with the hummingbirds in January? Are they dive-bombing? I thought the high-pitch chirp was a squirrel, but those are hummingbirds? — Megan Schowalter, Longbranch more
On the Key Peninsula of old, you could hire a “beeliner” … more
Visitors pass through the Key Peninsula and notice only our impressive trees. Those who know the terrain well know how much can be concealed here.  Camouflaged critters exploit psychology as … more
I’m not sure how I see them. It is the most turbulent day of winter yet. Wind tears through the firs that surround Key Center. I scuttle across the highway and aim for Capitol Lumber, eyes … more
A Key Peninsula tradition — rowing to a favorite spot to set out a crab pot or wading during low tide with a net or a pitchfork to scoop up a meal’s worth of fresh crab — came to a … more
On a normal Sunday afternoon in October most Western Washington residents are dodging damp weather to watch a Seattle Seahawks win. This wasn’t a normal October Sunday. It was 72 degrees and … more
Last month, writing about what to anticipate in our natural world, I pointed to the return of rain as one of September’s most important events. Hold on. That was two months ago. … more
A mass stranding of lion’s mane jellyfish shocked Key Peninsula beach walkers during the second week of August — and made swimmers think twice about getting in the water. “I have never seen … more
Ever seen a groundcone? This summer two people have sent me snapshots of this strange plant. A groundcone looks about how it sounds, like a pine cone growing out of the ground, translucent yellow and … more
This is a tale of two homes. They sit side by side above me, a low old house among big trees and a nearly finished new construction. I am here to watch the eagle show. The homes overlook one of … more
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