As much as I enjoyed our trip to Fresno and Arizona, I was looking forward to returning to Theler Wetlands and Port Orchard to see how things had changed in two weeks. After experiencing near 80° degrees in Arizona, we weren’t quite ready for the cool, foggy weather at Theler.
We were greeted by hundreds of huge spiderwebs,
the kind you expect to see in the Fall, not on March 31st.
The fog was so thick that even this brightly-colored male Green-Winged Teal appeared a dull gray.
I wasn’t truly convinced it was Spring until I spotted several Skunk Cabbage blossoms in the wetlands leading out to the boardwalk, one of the earliest native flowers to bloom in Spring.
The bold little Marsh Wren on the boardwalk rail certainly seemed to think it was time to Spring into action.
I suspect his bright song helped to dispel the fog that shrouded the first half of our 3 mile walk because by the time we were walking back to our car this male Green-Wing Teal looked a lot brighter in the sunshine.
It’s a real treat to vacation in California or Arizona after months of gray skies or days of drizzle, but a week or two on the road is about all I want. Theler Wetlands strictly speaking isn’t home but it definitely feels like home, and home is a great place to be, no matter what the weather.
We are lucky to have Theler just a few minutes away. We are out there daily. If you see us out there, stop us and say hi. Brian and Jumi
It’s a little further for us; we live in Tacoma, but we still manage to get there regularly when the weather cooperates.