Month: June 2012

My trip to Vancouver, Washington, turned out to be unexpectedly short. After having lunch with Klaras and visiting with Gary for four hours, I walked out into a torrential downpour. At 1500 feet, I found myself literally immersed in rain clouds.

I’d intended to camp at Battleground Lake State Park, but I knew I would have a hard time staying inside the car for 12 hours straight and with that kind of rain I wouldn’t have many other options.

If I’d thought the weather was going to improve dramatically Wednesday, I would have opted to stay in a motel for the night, but most forecasts called for rain on Wednesday, too, and I wasn’t willing to spend the money for a room to hike in the rain so I decided to drive the 2 1/2 hours home.

Looking at the present weather conditions in Vancouver I should probably have opted for the motel. Of course, I woke up to blue skies here in Tacoma, but at 9:30 it’s suddenly dark and cloudy and rain appears imminently possible.

I just spent an hour and a half working out at the Y which isn’t nearly as pleasant as a hike up the Columbia Gorge, by any means, but my body, if not my mind, doesn’t seem to know the difference. Ultimately, I feel better when I exercise regularly wherever that might be. My visit with Gary, unfortunately, reminded me how important it is to live the moment to the fullest, that life is too short no matter how long we live.

One of the very first shots I got at Malheur was this shot of a White Pelican, in the large pond just before Narrows.

It was so windy that the pond looked more like the ocean than the pond where I first photographed them.

I think I’ve seen them every time I’ve been to Malheur, but there were more of them this time than I was used to seeing, which, of course, means I had more photographic opportunities than usual.

When I got out and walked the wetlands on Ruh-Red Road, I got more flybys than I’ve gotten before, too. They flew directly overhead

as well as at nearly eye-level, spooking them as much as they spooked me when they lifted off.

I also learned another interesting fact about Pelicans while observing them this time. Those funny bumps on their beak are signs that they are in breeding. Horny, as it were.

Strangely enough, nearly the last shot I took, just as I was leaving Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northern California turned out to be my favorite pelican shot of the trip.

When I first saw the bird floating alone, I thought it was the most magnificent Pelican I’d seen on the trip, but after working with it on the computer it looks a lot like the other pelicans I shot. It’s the light and setting that make the shot a personal favorite.