Island caretaker

Feeling small

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Lots of things make me feel small but let’s start with Tim – and his friends.

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We had a wonderful visit with Tim’s childhood friend and his wife.  Lots of great conversation and laughs while we shared the island with them.  But look at me! I’m a little person in the group.

The eagles may not be bigger than me but they carry themselves so well.

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The sky dwarfs me. I’ve taken a new interest because we now have to provide twice a day weather reports in preparation for a burn later in the month. We have to estimate the cloud cover; make a subjective observation, objective. But if you hold your arms above your head and imagine the diameter of a circle, you can estimate the amount of cloud cover in your little world.

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We also have to report whether or not there is fog.

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One day had little cloud cover but lots of fog.  Imagine that.

The seagulls look down on me from their perch on the roof.

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Not only am I small, I am outnumbered: 80,000 birds to 1 human (really 2 if I include Tim).

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This old tree knows how to stand alone.

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These colors remind me of a sweater I have started.

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Never a dull moment.

Our days are numbered

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They always were, the number is just getting smaller. We leave Aug 24, which is just around the corner. Before then we have to figure out how to get our bikes, and Tim’s keyboard to the shipping pick up point. We are sending them home via bike flight, which worked great getting them here.

Until then, I am bonding with the birds, deer, seals and apparently at least one elephant seal that has made its way to the island. Tim went ashore this week for the usual biathalon trip – motor boat, bike 5 miles, swim 1 mile, bike 5 miles (at least 2 downhill) and motor boat back to the island. Instead I stayed and took my usual hour and a half walk. It’s so easy to get exercise when there are no other demands for your time. Must continue this at home.

I usually spend the morning weaving and reading. Then one of us has to clean the dock, do a couple of chores, and then I walk and walk. I highly recommend it. I have been reading books by a few wonderful nature writers, they get it. Solitude and nature is therapeutic. Stopping to watch eagles soar overhead, watching how a sunrise changes in the smoky atmosphere, even watching baby seagulls spread their wings. It’s all good.

I will try to stay off the go, go, go train when I get home. Make time for things I enjoy and don’t waste time on the internet.

These are some of things I saw the past couple of days.

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Another smoky sunrise. A front is moving through today and the smoke should clear. Odd that it affected the atmosphere but it did not smell smoky.

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A pair of Larry’s.

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Smoky mountains called the Olympics.

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Wonderful clouds.

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And the new me.

Smoke on the water

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Fire in the sky. Lingering smoke from the British Columbia wildfires persists. It makes for eerie sunrises and sunsets. When mixed with morning fog, it’s hard to tell what’s what.

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A sleepless night let me catch yesterday’s sunrise.

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This boat ghosted across the harbor the other morning.

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I met a German woman who is an extraordinary athlete. She has sea kayaked alone around Australia, South America and is now working her way around North America. Earlier this season, she paddled from Seattle to Kodiak, Alaska! Now she is working her way south. She seemed a little taken back by the combination of fog or wind, which prevails in August in the Pacific Northwest.  She plans to kayak the east coast of North America in the future, maybe our paths will cross again.

Only a handful of seagull chicks have survived around the cabin. It’s unclear what kills them because they appear undamaged. The ones that survive and are beginning to stretch their wings, keep me entertained.

The eagles seem to be doing just fine.

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As are Larry and Larry. A former caretaker named all the deer Larry and their name stuck.IMG_3246

Seals have hauled up on the beaches to nurse the pups and can be heard mewing and barking while we walk the roads.

All’s well in our part of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

There and back

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The public transit system on the Olympic Peninsula has served us well.  This week we took the boat ashore, rode our bikes to the Sequim Transit Center, caught a bus to Port Angeles, hopped aboard a ferry to Victoria and were in our waterfront hotel, with our bikes, by 3.

We were astounded by the harbor as our ferry pulled in. A seaplane landed in front of us and these funny little boats circled the harbor.  Throw in a few kayaks, lots of power boats and it’s quite the scene.

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Construction in Victoria is booming. We stayed right on the water and could watch boats tie up to the customs dock in front of us. We even had a bird’s eye view of a boat fire. Noone was hurt but it exploded after fueling. It was pushed away from the fuel docks and burnt away.

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The smoke added to the smoke from the wildfires in British Columbia which has drifted to the west coast. It made a non-fog-like fog.

 

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I saw our ferry as we crossed the Strait.

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I admired the huge coiled lines, which are put to use each crossing.

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We took the obligatory trip to Buchart Gardens in the north. It was sweltering, smoky and popular, but well worth it. We walked for a few hours, enjoyed the shade under huge Sequoia trees and the lovely scenery.

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Our hotel was a step up from off-the-grid living. It had this fancy bidet – with a dryer!  And slippers and a robe.  Need I say more?

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We rode our bikes along the coast, in search of the bike friendly trail, which doesn’t exist yet but they have plans.

Then we took the trip in reverse. We stopped off and enjoyed Tim’s father’s day gift from his son at a local restaurant.

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And returned to Protection Island where it hasn’t rained in approximately 50 days. The island has dried out.

IMG_2991The seals welcomed us at the marina.

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We caught a smoky sunset and this morning were greeted by the porch residing otter.

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All’s well back on the prairie.

Well it finally happened

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It was inevitable. Here we are, living smack dab in the middle of a seagull colony, invading their space for a few months.  Tempers are high as parents try to ensure their offspring survive.  And the odds are none too good. Numbers are already down around the cabin. Three have already died around the cabin. Yesterday we saw a battle outside the kitchen window when an interloper got too close to the nest.

And just look at how cute the chicks are.

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Those two shots were taken with my iphone through a telescope, no easy feat.

But I digress.

Here it is … don’t go any further if you are eating.

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Tim was shat upon as he cleaned the solar panels outside the cabin. YUCK!!! It has encouraged me to wear my goofy USFWS volunteer hat again. It was bound to happen. Better than being dive bombed I guess!

I heard a call from across the country from the leader of my tablet weaving group for bands to display at a show in Vermont.  She sounded desperate. Any bands would do. It encouraged me to finish a couple that were literally hanging around and I’ll send them today when we head off island en route to Victoria.

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We took a boat ride around the island to make sure boats weren’t getting to close to the nursing seals that are strewn along all the beaches. They blend in so well it is hard to see but here is a shot from the road.

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And one from the boat. The whole gang was involved. Mother, baby, seagulls and chicks. We saw the Harlequin ducks swim over on our return to the marina.

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We went to inspect a crab bouy to make sure it wasn’t too close to the island and had to do a double take. It is topped with a cheery flower. Ah Washington! Sort of sums it up right there.

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That’s all from our cheery outpost on Protection Island on another gorgeous sunny day. I think we have now had about 45 consecutive days of sunshine. Who knew?

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Finding things to do

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There’s never a dull moment here on Protection Island. We combine our island chores with our own hobbies and interests every day.

Today for instance, I wanted oreo cookies. We won’t be ashore for a few days and didn’t buy them on our last shopping trip but luckily I found a great recipe on the internet. You can see it here. I just happened to have all the ingredients, mostly, on hand. A well stocked larder is the key to life’s pleasures. We don’t have a mixer or beater and we don’t even have a wooden spoon in our kitchen. But my hands and a strong, long handled, metal serving spoon did the trick. Although I overcooked them a little and shaped the cookies too big, they are delicious and satisfied my craving. I may let Tim eat one or two as well.

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Yesterday I reached a milestone. I finished knitting a lace shawl I started for my daughter in 2015 while we were caretakers on Deal Island, Tasmania. I wrote about it here. I knit the body of the shawl, which measured 60 x 30″, during our 3 month fall season there and brought it home to  “just” finish the edging. I could knit about 3 inches of edging a night, there were 17 feet of edging to knit, or 204 inches, which basically would have taken 3 solid months, every night. But other projects intervened. So with some devoted knitting time here and the courage finally to rip out my provisional cast on, the shawl is complete. The pattern was recreated from a lace stole made in the Shetland Islands by Mrs. Jane Thomasina Williamson and was a joy to knit.

Here’s my version.

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I’ll wait until I get home to wash and block it in our pristine well water.

The other activity I obviously enjoy is taking photographs. The scenery and wildlife are inspiring. Sometimes unexpected, to me at least, results occur. I took a few photographs of sunset when we went out for a walk after dinner. I must confess, I almost always only use my iphone these days for photos. I am sooo lazy. I even gave away my SLR camera.

Anyhow, when I looked at the photos, they were marred by a green dot. Not the rumored green flash seen at sunset. A distinct dot off to the side. A quick google search revealed it happens commonly with the iphone camera because…well the reason eluded me. Something about not having filters and a reflection off the lens. It may be prevented by aiming the camera so the green dot ends up in the middle of the bright light. Or it can be edited from the photo. Since I already had the shots I chose to edit them.

Here is the original photo, I was trying to catch a silhouette of a cruise ship leaving the Strait of Juan de Fuca near the New Dungeness Lighthouse.

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Notice the green dot. Next I tried to edit it with Snapseed. This was my first attempt with interesting results. The area I “healed” ended up in a different place and two ships appeared.

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Interesting but not what I was aiming for. Here’s the final version.

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See how the day flies by?

Babysitting

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Parents always keep a watchful eye on their offspring. Even when the young appear to be independent and off on their own, there is a noisy set of eyes about. It is still not enough though. We have seen broken eggs and dead chicks right around the cabin. It’s a bird eat bird world here on Protection Island.

IMG_2601IMG_2602The smallest try to stretch their wings.

Seal pups stick close to their mothers. We’ll be out on the boat today and may get better photos but here’s one from the dock.IMG_2609

The mule deer and the eagles, especially, keep a sharp lookout.

IMG_2595Here’s the ruckuss an eagle stirs up when it flies into the seagull colony.

Tim tried to reduce the noise around the house by making one lookout less popular. Notice he’s in full protective gear.

IMG_2615Then three small planes flew around in formation making their own buzzing and stalling noise.

IMG_2619As Roseanne Anna Danna used to say, “It’s always something”.

My latest diversion is telling Siri, “I see a little silhouette of a man”. If you were a fan of Queen, tell her and see what she has to say about it.

Population explosion

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The island’s population doubled since I left two weeks ago.  First of all there are now two humans but that’s not what I am talking about. I would say on average every Glaucous winged gull couple has had two offspring, and there are seal pups on all the beaches.

I spent time yesterday watching baby seals nurse, some on the beach and another while in the water. Photos couldn’t capture it but it was a wonder to watch.

As annoying they will become later, the seagull babies are quite cute. Not as cute as my grandchildren of course but cute. The eggs are grey and speckled and so are the chicks when they hatch.  Interesting.

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We had a low flying plane pass overhead today. That’s a no no and the powers that be will hear about this.

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I got to put my trailer skills to use today. I had a tough time getting it to make the 90 degree turn I needed but with some coaching from Tim I got it into this tight space so we can fill the wood shed.

IMG_2544The weather has been so beautiful we won’t be adding to global warming anytime soon though.

Committed traveler

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IMG_2373IMG_2445I should be committed, someplace.  30 hours for my trip east and 18 hours return and I haven’t even left the country. Not counting the fact I slept in a hotel last night where I can park my car.  We didn’t factor our love of travel in when we moved two hours from the closest airports.

Today’s modes of travel included hotel shuttle bus, two planes, light rail from Seatac to Washington State Ferry, Strait Shot bus, uber, power boat run by Capt Tim and pickup truck to the cabin.  I’m only at the bus part now. Phew.

It could have been worse though. Last night I dropped my wallet in a parking lot with my ID, all my credit cards and my PO Box key. I retraced my steps (3 stops) and at the last, someone had turned it in. I was ecstatic. Restored my faith in the world.

During my trip home, I reconnected with children, grandchildren, sibling, coworkers, friends and, last but not least, my cat. And I worked and worked and had my car repaired.

Now I’m ready to enjoy island life and solace with Tim again, for another month. While I saw a lot of people, I avoided large groups. I wasn’t ready for a complete reentry into civilization.  It’s a process.

Except for being a challenge to get there, our part of the world is pretty sweet too.

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Highs and lows

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Island life and travel off island requires planning, mostly around tides and weather. The tides are predictable, the weather less so.

Last night was lovely, the moon wasn’t quite full and the cabin looked like a little house on the prairie.

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There are certain times, at least once a day, when the tide is too low to leave or enter the marina. It falls lowest when the moon is new or full; somehow the tide table we rely on states it can fall below 0. That means we frequently wake up and leave before 6 am, like this morning. I actually understand tides better now that I they are frequently presented in graph form.

The other piece of information we gather is the weather forecast, issued at least three times a day. Early in the week today’s wind was forecast to be light, then it was going to be a little stronger and when I woke up at 4:20 this morning there was a gale warning. I was crushed.

The wind seemed very calm around the cabin although one of the buoys in the Strait reported steady 20+ mph winds. We had been shadowed by the land to the south all night while the wind blew. I got binoculars and looked at the water I was able to see and it looked pretty calm. Weather point forecasts, confirmed this, so I left. Just as the sun rose. There were some gentle rollers and it was fine.

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Pretty spectacular and I docked like a champ!

Then the day really began. I walked a couple of miles to get breakfast,

IMG_2337IMG_2340a couple more miles to the post office, where I added so much stuff to my pack I decided to walk another 2 miles (roundtrip) to ship some stuff separately because I was going to tour Seattle. Until I got a text which said my midnight plane was delayed until 0100 and I wouldn’t catch the little plane back to the Adirondacks. After a mere 2 hours on the phone!!!! the problem was worked out. And I should catch the little plane and get home with only

I would love to have an assistant when travel plans hit the dirt. It takes all the fun out of travel. My phone calls were dropped at least 3 times, by the 5th person, I had a chance to look up flights online, when the bus was on the ferry, and after giving 3 pieces of evidence that my flight was actually delayed just kept saying, I want to be on X flight on a different airline. To be truthful, I was ready to just buy that ticket. But my 5th agent got the message, hung in there and made the change, requested a refund from Jetblue and I only had to pay $16 more. You might argue I shouldn’t pay anything, but I’m happy. And I am scheduled to leave 3 hours earlier so although I didn’t get to see Seattle at least I was on the bus to the airport. Home tomorrow by noon.

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It was quite a jolt back to the world of schedules, delays, and customer service representatives. My transition from island time has begun.