My Father's Backyard, Cromwell Area, Gig Harbor, WA 2012/4/13

My Father's Backyard, Cromwell Area, Gig Harbor, WA. 12:10.

My parents would always joke that my brother and I were practically born in the Puget Sound. From the time we could swim to the time we had to pack up for college we would go on to spend much of the summer either playing sports or at the water. Around six years back, my Dad started renting a very small, yellow house on the water with the intention of buying it one day. Unfortunately, the home's owner is a very old man with many sentimental ties to the house. For the majority of his life, that house held his backyard -the Puget Sound- and many fond memories to boot. I don't blame him for not wanting to sell it at the moment, but maybe some day. My Dad does not seem to mind renting the place at all however, he is just happy to spend any of his time away from work there. It certainly is nice to be able to go and visit him here from time to time when I can get away from work and school. Living here in high school, I never realized just how lucky I was to be able to look out onto the sea each morning. It quite literally is teeming with life.

Looking out through a pair of binoculars, I can see the characteristic Pacific Northwest skyline, gray with a chance of gray. On the neighbor's dock sits a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) eating a small Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisuch). I can see exposed Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis) on the pylons of the dock facing me. On the small lawn in front of our house stands a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) perched on one leg. It keeps looking back at me as I scribble thoughts down on paper, seeming to not care for my desire to watch it rest. For the past couple of minutes a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) has been circling overhead looking for a meal but it has not taken a dive yet. A flock of Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) has landed near the Bald Eagle on the dock, perhaps looking for scraps.

If it were a sunnier day I might be able to see into the water and catch a glimpse of some starfish or perhaps some dungeness or rock crab, but I will have no such luck today. It is getting a bit chillier now and I will have to go back inside so I do not catch a cold. Getting sick in the Spring is one of my least favorite things, and I do not intend to start my sunny days off incorrectly. I scared away the Heron in my attempt to go inside, but I caught a glimpse of a Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) peeking out of the water near the neighbor's dock.

Species List:

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis)

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisuch)

Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis)

Publicado el 30 de abril de 2012 por ablevins