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10/22/18 - Seen Near Dungeness Dike

This hawk seems to be a regular with a favorite perching tree off Towne Road in Sequim.

Watching the wetlands

Keywords: dungeness, birds

10/18/16 - Dungeness Dike

The recent rains have filled the local rivers. We took a walk along the Dungeness River near Towne Road and were impressed with the flow. The river usually looks rather peaceful, but this time the water was high and running strong.

One of the little side channels

Another view

Yet another view

The wide river

A little whirlpool

Autumn color and a dramatic sky

A heron by the road side

A hawk in a tree

More autumn color and sky

Keywords: dungeness

02/27/16 - Dungeness Dike Eagles

It’s eagle season, and one of the best places for spotting them is along the Dungeness Dike off of Towne Road in Sequim. It’s not a long walk, but it pays to keep your eyes on the sky and tree tops. The trail roughly follows the Dungeness River and borders a broad open pasture. Sometimes we see eagles flying high. Sometimes we see them perched on tree tops or flying above the river. There is a cluster of trees towards the south end of the fields that they particularly like. On our last visit, there were at least a dozen eagles perched there.

How many eagles can you see in this picture? Click for a better image.

There’s one.

How many here?

Two eagles

This one is easy.

Another eagle

Did we mention that they like tree tops?

There are also some pretty views of the river and its side channels.

Another view

Keywords: dungeness, eagle

01/30/16 - Eagle Season

The eagles have been gathering along the Dungeness River. The last time we took the Dungeness Dike walk that starts off Towne Road the trees were full of eagles.

One eagle posing - click for a close up

Another eagle

Yet another eagle

Keywords: dungeness, eagle

03/22/14 - Farmers' Market Update

These are thin times at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market, so we've been buying what we can. Nash Huber, for example, had some spinach, so we assumed that the spinach season was starting. We were wrong. The young man at the stand filled us in. That was likely it for spinach for a while. Still, Nash Huber did have all sorts of raab, that is flowering young cabbages, arugulas and kales. They are sweet and delicious, and they are only available this time of year.

Spring Rain had their chickens, but they also have their greenhouse. That means salad greens, baby kale and all sorts of exotic things, mainly green vegetables. We have our hopes.

New at the market was Eric Pozgay, the Pasta Guy. He was selling freshly made pasta. Fresh pasta may be a hallmark of gentrification, but Port Angeles is a few miles down the road, so it was nice to see it on sale.

Dungeness Seaworks had some fine whole fish, good looking salmon, but we had to pass this week.



Keywords: dungeness, farmers' market, nash huber, port angeles, salmon, spring, kale, spring rain

01/23/14 - Dike and Fog

We haven't had much rain or snow this winter. We have, however, had some excellent fog. Here is the misty view from the Dungeness Dike.



Keywords: dungeness, winter

10/15/13 - Salmon Homecoming on the Dungeness River

This is the season that the salmon come home to the rivers to spawn and die. It's great news for the fishermen, and for salmon in general, but not so much for the fish themselves. We noticed the scent near the Dungeness Dike parking area on Towne Road. The lot was full of fishermen, or rather, their trucks with their permits in the window. The fishermen themselves were out along the river.

One always hears of the great salmon homecoming adventure with heroic tales and desperate struggles upstream. Indeed, the river was full of fish fighting their way against the current. There were also the predators, mostly gulls, of course, and the above mentioned fishermen. It is most definitely autumn, with the leaves starting to turn and nature itself lush, but preparing for the frost.

A side channel full of fish

A silver salmon

A closeup of salmon fighting upstream

The silver river

An early autumn field

Keywords: autumn, dungeness, salmon

01/31/13 - Dungeness Spit - Let The Good Tides Roll

We're having some good tides at Dungeness Spit this winter. For example, there was a low tide below three feet around 12:30 today, and there was a lot of sand on the beach which made for easy walking. We saw a few eagles, a number of sea birds and the usual assortment of kelpies, that is, blobs of kelp that look like sea birds. There is another round of good tides coming up in mid-February, around Valentine's Day in fact, so we'll be watching our tide tables and hoping for good weather.









Keywords: birds, dungeness, dungeness spit, tides, winter, eagle

06/20/12 - Dungeness Spit - Good for Walking

There are two challenges involved in walking the Dungeness Spit.

First, you have to get the tides right. At high tide, all you have to walk on is a narrow strip of sand, rocks and driftwood. This gets tiring after two or three miles, and the lighthouse is about four and a half miles away. That's why we use Tidefinder to figure out the promising tides, during the daytime and under three feet.

Second, even when the tides are low, the going can be very rough when the beach is mainly small stones rather than sand. Usually, the sand is washed out in the winter and builds up through the summer. Some years, the beach stays rocky, but this year the sands have returned, and at low tide, there is usually a sweet strip one can walk on. It's hard work, but it's much easier than it could be.

Things look good this year, so tide and sand permitting we'll be making our way out to the lighthouse this summer.

The sandy beach

Driftwood and stones

Footprints in the soft sand

Keywords: dungeness, dungeness spit, software, summer, tides, winter

10/11/11 - Nash Huber's New Farm Stand

The folks at Nash's Organic Produce have been talking about opening a new farm stand for a while now. Well, they've done it. It's just down the Towne Road Extension from the old stand, but it's much larger with lots of room for expansion. We stopped in, did some shopping and took a few photos. Now that the fall harvest is coming in, we'll be dropping by more often.

The front with pumpkins

Vegetables ...

... more vegetables ...

... even more vegetables ...

... so, what did you expect?

Keywords: dungeness, shopping, nash huber

06/11/11 - Dungeness Dike and the Roses

When we are feeling lazy and want a flat walk on a soft surface, we head over to the Dungeness Dike with access off Towne Road in Sequim. The river was in full spring flood, but it is hard to capture flowing water with a camera, so instead we took pictures of roses and the lush greenery that is taking over the dike path.

Mount Baker, our own fata morgana

Roses

A trail to the river

The fields

The trail

Keywords: dungeness, mount baker, spring

03/14/11 - Hailey's Blue

We recently dropped by Dungeness Valley Creamery to pick up some of their milk. While there we also bought some blue cheese made with their raw Jersey milk. It is Hailey's Blue, and it was delicious, with a good bite backed up by the creaminess of the milk. It's made by Whiskey Hill Goat Dairy in Port Townsend which is turning into a local hotbed of cheesemakers. They opened in 2008, and we haven't tried any of their goat cheeses yet, but now we're curious about their goat based feta and cheddar.

Keywords: creamery, dungeness, port townsend, food

03/05/11 - A Soft Winter Day

It's almost spring, but we are still having soft winter days. We've been recovering from colds, so a short stroll on the Dungeness Dike is all we've been up to lately. It was the usual mixture of soft air, recent rain and bright sun and gray clouds. The Spanish moss growing on the trees especially seemed to like it.

Looking towards the mountins

Rain recently fallen on the trail

Spanish moss at play

Keywords: dungeness, winter

12/13/10 - Winter Eagles

While we aren't the biggest fans of winter, we do like the way it reveals things. Most of the trees around here keep their leaves, but there are enough deciduous trees so that the forest seems to open up for the season. There are all sorts of things hidden in the canopy, like this eagle nest near the Dungeness River, shown with its two proud owners.

Keywords: dungeness, winter, birds, eagle

02/04/10 - Dungeness Spit

Dungeness Spit is not always an easy hike. The tides vary by eight feet in a typical day, and during high tide the beach is not only small, but rocky. In the winter it is worse. Not only are there fewer good tides, but the winter tides often wash out the sand, so even at low tide, it can be rough going.

This year, however, is a good year for hiking the Dungeness Spit. The beach is broad and sandy, so it is easy to avoid all the rocky patches. The strait is full of seabirds, loons, scoters, cormorants and many others beyond our limited identification skills. Oh yes, there are eagles, lots of eagles. There's no point in waiting for spring to hike the Dungeness Spit. It's good walking even now, and, as a bonus, the Indian plum is already in bloom.

An eagle

Dungeness Spit

Indian plum in bloom

Keywords: birds, dungeness, dungeness spit, spring, tides, winter, eagle


They're back!

01/13/10 - Dungeness Valley Swans

The swans have returned to Dungeness Valley. They seem to like the fields on either side of Towne Road. It's good to have them back.

Keywords: dungeness, birds

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