The History of Birds

Tracks at low tide, Westport, Washington.

A 3-hour tour?

No, it's not the wreck of the SS Minnow. This is a 1970 photo of the SS Catala, an equally ill-fated ship that, after a long life as a steamship, served as a floating hotel in Seattle, a floating restaurant in California, and finally again a floating hotel ("boatel") near Ocean Shores, Washington. This was her last port of call, as a freak 1965 storm grounded her and the ship's carcass was largely swallowed up by the sands. Recently some of her metal has been emerging from the sand along with -- less romantically -- some reamining oil. Scan from a recently rediscovered slide, retouched in Photoshop.

A tiny beach mystery

It was a cloudy day on the Washington coast, the breeze blowing the sound of the waves up the wide expanse of beach. Past the part of the beach that you can drive cars on(!) it was relatively quiet between the surf and the red cliffs. Lost in conversation or my own thoughts, I never would have noticed this unusual scene if my companion hadn't pointed it out. A single ladybug (ladybird, if you wish), was slowly walking along the sand. If you look closely, you can even see the trail it's leaving behind it. What brought it there? Was it in love with a sea turtle? Did it need a break from the rat-race of chasing aphids in the garden? It didn't say.

Gifts from Nature

I spent a couple days in the small seaside town of Sequim this week, visiting friends. Taking advantage of a break in the turbulent near-spring weather, we walked along the narrow 5-mile-long arc of sand known as Dungeness Spit. I kept stopping, despite the dull gray overcast, to take photos. Which meant I was constantly playing catch-up with my friends. They were the talking tortoises, I suppose, and I the photographer hare. We all finished the walk at the same time; perhaps the real winners were some photos I got of various bits of driftwood, rocks, and other beach flotsam.