What a funky off colored tongue..!

Before the fun - how about a couple poses, Clover?

Let the fun begin!  Clover attacks the water with gusto!

"Get ready, I'm coming back..!"

Oop - she takes a little stumble.. 

..and emerges with a leaf on her nose.. 

Leaf removed and she's back at it.. 

Clover - with all her energy - leaves most dogs behind..

Now for her favorite:  "stick fetch in mud puddles.."

Occasional "on the run" nose licks.. 

Clover found this stick on her own.. Quite heavy.. 

Dusty - the 6 year old miniature poodle has had enough watching and wants in on the fun. 

Dusty - frustrated he can't keep up with Clover's quickness - expresses his frustration (no one was hurt).

Dusty seems to believe he got his point across...

"Hey, wait a second - she's still got that darn stick!"

"I told you no more stick game - so drop it!"

Dusty the party pooper might have ended the stick playing - but that didn't stop Clover from zooming thru the puddles! Here we go again..!

Most in this neck of the woods (Utsalady) know it as the "Salmon Colored House" - it's renowned for it's color. 

The emergency fire and police response was fast, furious and in great number.. So much so that I didn't venture out with my camera until this morning.

They are saying the fire was caused by the wood burning stove, and that the owners were out mowing the pasture when the fire started. 

A neighbor commented, "if they rebuild it, I hope they paint it another color."

The firewood on the porch didn't burn.. 

As there are few fire hydrants on Camano, the local fire department employs these picturesque tank trucks.. 

This is not the first house fire in this area to be caused by a wood stove - a few years back, along the same road, another house burned to the ground..

Unattended Consequences

"Good morning deer.." a blacktail doe deer popped out along the way..

(c)Copyright Jon Rick Olsen

(c)Copyright Jon Rick Olsen (c)Copyright Jon Rick Olsen (c)Copyright Jon Rick Olsen

It's amazing how this little filly has grown in just a couple months! (If you didn't catch the birth blog post - you can read it here). 

From the "Living with Wildlife" page on the Washington State Fish and Game site - I learned that these are "River Otters" and that they are quite common in Western Washington:  

"Although seldom seen, river otters are relatively common throughout Washington in ponds, lakes, rivers, sloughs, estuaries, bays, and in open waters along the coast. In colder locations, otters frequent areas that remain ice-free in winter—rapids, the outflows of lakes, and waterfalls. River otters avoid polluted waterways, but will seek out a concentrated food source upstream in urban areas."

The Fish and Game web site goes on to say:  "River otters are active day and night; around humans they tend to be more nocturnal. Otters spend their time feeding and at what appears to be group play. They also dry their fur, groom themselves, and mark their territory by vigorously scratching, rubbing, and rolling on the ground. River otters are active year round, and, except for females with young in a den, are constantly on the move. They tend to follow a regular circuit that is covered in one to four weeks. Males can travel 150 miles within a particular watershed and its tributaries in a year. A family may range 10 to 25 miles in a season.

To observe river otters, sit quietly on a high place (a bridge, overhanging bank or tree, or pier) above a known feeding area, trail, or slide. Find an angle from which you can avoid surface glare. A pair of polarized sunglasses and binoculars is useful. River otters are wary and their hearing and sense of smell are well developed. However, they are fairly nearsighted and they may not notice you if you stay still.

Never instigate a close encounter with river otters. They have been known to attack humans, and females with young are unpredictable."  

The otters moved very fast - ducking below the surface of the water in the blink of an eye; only to reappear 20 feet away.  It was hard to tell if all the bubbles on the water surface were from the swimming activity or from the otters exhaling under water. 

Please Note:  some of these photos are not "PG" - if squeamish please don't proceed. 

Mom's name is "Cassie".  The gestation period for a horse is around 360 days - a whole year! Tonight's event was the culmination of a very long, well planned process by the mother horse's loving owner Ashleigh. 

Cassie's owner Ashleigh diligently planned the entire process - from pregnancy to delivery tonight:

Cassie - a 24 year old mare - was raised in this community and had many caring friends on hand for this event.

Ashleigh was in the stall supporting Cassie throughout the entire labor. 

The time has come - birth begins.  

A baby horse is born!

Ashleigh clears the placenta from the baby's head..

Ashleigh is overcome with emotion after the birth.  She names the little one "Apple"

Momma Cassie checks baby out..

Smiles and tears of relief and joy..

A few minutes after birth - attempts at first steps:

Mom rooting little Apple on:

Apple sure is a cute little filly.. 

After many attempts to stand up - with much slipping and sliding - Ashleigh helps Apple. 

Apple stands for the first time!

Baby Apple takes a break from all the efforts to stand - and Momma Cassie grooms her.. 

Apple gets up on her own..

Once up - a first priority is:  food!  Baby Apple finds her way.. 

An hour later Apple seems to have figured it out:  standing, walking and where the food is.  Well done Cassie.. !  Welcome baby Apple!

I had no idea we had such magnificent creatures around here.  I'd seen their big feathers here and there - but I always figured they'd come from a hawk.  

From Wikipedia:  "The Barred Owl is a large typical owl native to North America. Best known as the Hoot Owl for its distinctive call, it goes by many other names, including Eight Hooter, Rain Owl, Wood Owl, and Striped Owl."

From the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:  "The barred owl is similar in size to the great horned owl, but has dark eyes, a thicker appearing neck, and no ear-tufts. The barring pattern on the neck and breast is crosswise and lengthwise on the belly. The barred owl is primarily a bird of eastern and northern U.S. forests and is a recent arrival to Washington.  The barred owl is distinguished from the spotted owl by its streaked belly (spotted owls have a combination of spots and bars). Barred and spotted owls are closely related and occasionally mate where their ranges overlap."

What a cool bird this is.  They are huge!  I've seen many that stand taller than my miniature poodle (who is pretty big!)

There seemed to be many things that attracted Joey to Lacrosse over football.   Among them was:  he didn't need to be a "big guy" to play Lacrosse.  Yes - they wore shoulder pads and helmets but for the most part there wasn't any tackling. Suited up with stick in hand - he looked so cool.  It DID prove to be a rough and tumble game.  But the pads and helmets protected him.   Lacrosse required Joey to learn a different skill set which included being able to catch this little hard ball with a "stick" with a little net on the end (and to keep it from falling out of the net as you run down the field).  And passing this little hard ball and catching it - often on the run!  Very challenging - and fun (take it from a dad who's had some fun trying to get the hang of it all while practicing with his boy..). Of course, it takes practice.  But my experience is that with even a little practice, most kids are capable of getting incredibly good at it..  Over the years I've watched many of the kids who - if they stuck with it through High School - transformed into rock-star like athletes amazingly fun to watch play.  

Those in the Stanwood / Camano community who don't know about Lacrosse - you should check this exciting game out. The rules aren't too complicated to understand - most anyone on the sidelines can give you a quick rundown on how the game is played.  And if considering a sport for your kids - you'll find the Lacrosse coaches to be among the most dedicated volunteer coaches to be found.  Over the years a small group of Lacrosse enthusiast parents turned coaches built a very large, respectable & well run sports organization in our little local community.  The camaraderie and team spirit that they engender amongst the kids each season is remarkable.  The kids don't seem to just be playing "a" sport - it's something different, something more intense, something more exclusive.  It seems a sport regarded with it's own kind of respect and unique esteem.  Many of the Lacrosse playing kids seem to feel part of a more exclusive club than I've seen with other sports (I say this having raised three kids playing all sports..)

Games start at the beginning of March and are played at local fields on the weekends:  usually on Saturdays.  If you want to see some thrilling, live sport action - and close to home, here you go.  For kids or parents looking for an alternative to football, baseball or soccer - investigate this game!  I know there are still many folks out there - with kids - who likely don't know what Lacrosse even is let alone that it is played in Stanwood.   A start would be by going thru the many galleries on my web site - you can get a pretty good vision of the game. For a very thorough understanding of the game and how to get involved, go visit the Stanwood Lacrosse web site - the site is full of many informative pages and links about Lacrosse.  And did I mention that watching it is free?  There is no cost to watch any of the games!  Free + Fresh Air + Exciting & Action Packed Games + Local / Short Drive = could be an answer to the Saturday morning statement of "I'm bored" and the question "what should we do THIS Saturday morning?"  

This video from the 2012 Senior team (7/8A) captures some of the excitement.  These boys played hard for Coach Jesstin who was a great young player himself (he played with my son in 2007 time period):

Coming Soon:  the Lady Spartans!

Views to the North over Skagit Bay:

Views to the Northwest towards Utsalady Bay: 

If the Trees at the Northwest Bottom of the lot are removed - the view will be more expansive:  from Skagit Bay to Utsalady:

The lot comes with Beach Rights - in the beautiful, deep & calm Utsalady Bay: 

Beachrights with a Boathouse!

View of the Beach property back from the Road (love that Boathouse Art!)