- photo by Martin Lynn

This is the end of Waterspot1.

It's the end of a long chapter for us.  I have raked up my last pinecone. We were lucky to have had this unique experience, and will treasure our happy memories. 

Wild burros at Lake Pleasant.​

It being a gorgeous day, we sat in the yard out back for lunch with only the beer kegs for company.

We usually come on or around this day every year. We found the bushes were loaded and ready for picking, despite it being a drier summer.  Last year we were late because it rained so much! 

It was at low tide so there was a lot of mud. This bay is far more shallow than it naturally would be because so much of the water that would fill it is drained away by the surrounding agricultural fields. That is one reason why the Skagit Valley has such productive farms.  This view looks across to the refinery outside of Anacortes on the far shore.

The Farmer's Market

Edison also has a biker bar that appeared to be doing a lively business.

Very unfriendly nasty and snarly Chihuahua types.

We also stopped to admire the historic and very charming  United Methodist Church in Bayview, built in 1888.  It still has a bell in its steeple and has services every Sunday...out here where everyone seems to be Lutheran. 

Second berry picker taking a break. Here's what your hands look like if you accomplish anything at all with the berry harvest.  

Back in Arizona, the summer monsoon finally brought some rain. These storms also come with strong winds and this big saguaro was a sad casualty.

Picker at work! The berries on top, where there is more sun, ripen faster so being a tall person is an asset here.  But the short person had plenty as well.

We came to an elaborate underpass to get to the other side of the  road we drove in on, to reach the bay itself.

Waterspot14

Squirrel.

The End of August: Bayview, Edison, Blackberries, etc

August 22 was a sunny day and we have picked blackberries on this day in prior years, so we gathered our pails and took off for nearby Bayview on Padilla Bay. This was a first out-of-town road trip for me and the new Rav; a lovely day to be out and we all did just fine! 

People.

We made our first visit to the  Senior Center for a program on aids for the visually impaired.  Most of the people there were far worse off than Bruce but we got some very useful information about magnifiers and other tools. They even sent us home with a digital magnifier to try which is much better than what he uses now. They also have a $5 lunch every weekday so we stayed for that. We are official Oldies.

A  few puzzles have been done.

Stand for the Breadfarm, which is in Edison.

This is a pigeon trap on the roof of the condo - right on top of us! These things have been pests for years. This is yet another effort to get rid of them. We hear them pecking, stomping around up there and banging on the cage. We wish the pigeon wrangler good luck.

You can also take the stairs down to the shore. There  were warnings about watching for the rapid tide changes and the problems with soft mud, but the great view from the deck was enough for us so we didn't venture down there..

August 22 was Blackberry freezer jam day! My kind of recipe, 3 ingredients, 4 steps, a lot of stirring and you are done! 

Oregon grape at the center.

Woodturning demonstration.

The Linsey Foss is green this year! It used to be black.

And of course, dogs.

Malamute. And this is her summer coat! 

We stopped to see the Samish River which we crossed on the way home. People were fishing here.  

Here's our new Rav at the park. And the underpass you take to get to it. 

We also thought we saw an old Grange hall in town. This is exactly the kind of place where you would find one.  On closer inspection it turns out to be an old granary from a long-gone dairy farm, that is now used for some local events. We took its picture anyway! 

Bayview State Park is along this road and we haven't stopped here for many years so we did that  again today. There are some advantages to being the driver in charge! This is also along Padilla Bay and the tide has started to move back in. So much blue water. 

This was just a perfect day, full of blue sky, sunshine and blue water! We got our load of berries (jam making to follow), re-visited some places we've been to before and explored some new ones. And we did well with the new car. On to home with a happy heart.

We finally see a big ship! This is the tanker American Endurance  and the tug Linsey Foss  leaving Anacortes.

Frenchies and their people.

Some of the blackberry bushes were still sending out flowers! More rose hips, below.

This opened up to a deck with an expansive view of Padilla Bay.

August 17 - 

Update on pigeon project:  27 dirty birds were captured and removed!  He believes this is just about the whole flock. So we're calling it a success!  Nice and quiet up there! 

Another attempt to capture the twin fawns who hang around the park. They are in someone's yard down there. They still won't pose, so I mostly got butts.

This Page is under construction, to be continued!

- photo by Rush Linhart

Explorer returning through the underpass.

Me and Henry. 

There are lots of beer signs here! 

There are always rose hips here, although these have not turned red yet for some reason.

We haven't run into one of these guys before but she was in my bucket before I knew it!  If Mantis eat berries there is a feast for them. We asked her to kindly get her own berries and leave ours alone. She was gently escorted back to the berry bushes.

And back in the park...

We don't always have such a nice sunny day for this. The reserve has lots of walking paths that go back into the forest. We've hiked there in past years.

More Bernese Mountain Dogs, but these two are still pups. 

There are boats tied up here, along with an old wreck of one.  Between the shallow bay and the low river we think getting in and out of here is a challenge that has to be timed perfectly with the tides.

Next up was lunch, so we drove on though the farmland to Edison, a very small rural town about another five miles down the road. The Edison Inn, which has somehow lost its N since we were last here, is a local bar, music venue and restaurant.

This is the center, which has a very cool aquarium of sea creatures and other displays. We've been through it in the past, so today we went to explore the observation deck at the shoreline.

- photo by Scott Turner

We haven't made it down here all summer so we had good weather on August 23 and went. We both managed to leave our hats/visors at home which we instantly regretted! Normally we don't worry about bright sunlight up here.

We arrived to find there had been a blackberry bush massacre and for unknown reasons, more than half of the stand has been mowed down to the ground.  Thankfully enough was left for us! The mowed area is covered with new growth, these  bushes do not surrender easily. But it looked quite different. We don't know what the plan is but hopefully they will not cut back any more.

We leave town and follow the shoreline of Padilla Bay to the little town of Bayview where there is a National Estuarine Research Reserve and a lot of blackberry bushes. These grow on the roadsides and other places up here just own their own but finding a place where it is easy to pick is a little harder. Estuarine refers to where the rivers run into the sea, which is here!

We should have kelvar to face the thorny  blackberry bushes but we settle for jeans and denim shirts. 

Very big maple tree along the path. You can see a few yellow leaves are already showing up, although September is over a week away.

Explorer heading  to the sea.

And white snowberries. These are just for decoration.