Kaleberg Archive for November 2011

11/27 - Dungeness Spit at High Tide If you read our web site, you'll know that we prefer coastal hiking when the tides are low, ideally at three feet or less, but this time of year has terrible hiking tides, so we decided to tackle the Dungeness Spit a mere hour after an eight foot high tide. According to our tide calculator, the tides were still over seven feet when we set out, so there wasn't much beach, and what there was was often blocked by driftwood. We set out grimly, clambering along that part of the spit we usually view from the beach below. As it turned out, we went much farther than we had anticipated. There was a lot of driftwood, but we could get around most, either by heading upland or timing the waves and racing around the obstacle. Heartened by our progress, we made it out past the half mile marker which is usually well away from the water, but now had the waters licking its support logs. There were rocky stretches, but there were also good stretches of sand, so we continued. We made it safely past the one mile marker, much to our surprise. The walk back was easier. The tides had gone out while we had headed onward. Yes, it is an easier hike at low tide, but we're pleased to report that the Dungeness Spit is still a great place to explore, even near high tide.	Lots of driftwood, not much beach
The view back	More driftwood
Driftwood decorated by nature	The stake, so impossibly far
One of the inland routes	One of our obstacles - We went inland here.
Driftwood decorated by man - also mountains	Arty, arty, arty
A rough stretch	The view as we departed

Keywords: dungeness spit, tides

11/25 - Winter Wonderland Winter has been playing with us this year. We had a cool summer, then a warm spell, and then our first frosts and first snows. The Lake Angeles Trail was a winter wonderland covered with snow that has most likely already melted. Still, it's a wonderful foretaste of the winter season.	Welcome to winter
The bridge over the stream	Christmas trees
Snow on branches	More snow on branches
More Christmas trees	Icicles
The trail was still easy going.	Some last leaves preserved in ice.
The trail again	Some ferns

Keywords: lake angeles, winter

11/19 - Seattle Light We were in Seattle the other day and could not help noticing the amazing light. It was one of those typical sunny-cloudy Seattle days with dark gray clouds and bright blue sky. There was also that science fiction-y looking building to catch the light.

Keywords: seattle

11/15 - Parabolator

We've been tutoring some algebra, and we're up to quadratic equations. That means parabolas. We've thrown together a little program to explore parabolas by manipulating the parameters in the vertex form of the equation. If this means anything to you, download the program and play with it.

Insert a picture here

Keywords: software

11/14 - Solitary Sol Duc We drove out to Sol Duc Falls the other day. The resort was closed. The ranger's station was closed. Even sections of the road were closed with automated traffic signals regulating traffic. The parking lot was deserted but for a handful of cars. It was quiet and isolated and almost spooky. Maybe it was the Spanish moss. Maybe it was Halloween's ghost, but it was a touch spooky. The trails were wet. In some places they were waterways. The falls were as roaring as ever. We made our way up to the canyon bridge. That's not very far, maybe a third of the way up to Deer Lake. It was cold, and there was ice on the bridges and wooden walkways, so we walked carefully. It was a strange experience returning to the falls to find them deserted. Usually, there are at least a few people around. The bridge was a bit less icy, but still slippery. It was a strange walk, with a strong sense of being far away from people and things.	There were some elk crossing the road.
The forest was lush.	The little falls near the main falls - It's worth crossing the bridge and exploring a bit.
The falls, as ever	The canyon bridge
Snow on the valley walls	A bit of the trail
A fungal friend	These are either chanterelles or brown destroyers. Only our livers know for sure.
A damp bit of trail	A rocky bit of trail

Keywords: deer lake, halloween, sol duc, trails, elk

11/13 - Port Angeles Farmers Market Report The autumn market is here. There are potatoes, in red, brown and blue, squashes, pumpkins, celery, lacinato kale, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, baby turnips, bok choy, savoy cabbage and all of our fall favorites. The four stalwarts, Nash Huber, Westwind Farm, Johnston Farm and the Korean garlic lady are all there along with a number of other sellers. It isn't just vegetables either. You can also buy beef, pork, lamb, cheese, salmon, halibut, steelhead, oysters, bread, and an array of seasonal mushrooms. If you search a bit, you can find a last few tomatoes, arugula, coriander and a few other hold outs, but the cold weather is coming. Don't miss out on the prime of the harvest. Drop by the Port Angeles Farmers' Market this coming Saturday.

Keywords: autumn, farmers' market, johnston farm, nash huber, oysters, port angeles, salmon, weather, westwind farm, garlic lady, kale

11/07 - Frost On Hurricane Hill This was a hard post to compose. There were so many amazing photographs of the gray skies, majestic mountains and frost covered trees and grasses that we just gave up and chose eleven pictures when we could have chosen dozens. Judging from the webcams and weather reports, the ice seems to have melted on Hurricane Hill, so we are glad we managed to capture our amazing walk in the sky.	The summit
A view down	Frost on the grass
Mountain sky and frosty trees	A field of ice
More mountain sky	Windblown
Grasses and sky	Another view down
Did we mention the sky?	It's almost Christmas.

Keywords: christmas, hurricane hill, weather, winter

11/01 - Halloween We had our usual Halloween passing out bales of candy to perhaps 200 tricker treaters. Our street must have a reputation as a soft touch. A reputation like that takes some living up to. That, and a lot of little candy bars. It also takes a giant spider in a giant web, our shaman transforming, and a bit of mad science. (Is there any other kind?)	Our spider greeting trick or treaters
Our shaman and mad science	Another view of our spider

Keywords: halloween, science

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011