Rebecca said I should keep this one. I'm not sure if I like it with his head cut off, but he caught so much air he popped right out of my focus zone. What do you think?
I love this shot. These two little guys watched the skimboard dudes, then got their skimboards and off they went to emulate the big boys.
When we got to Useless Bay, the tide was out--perfect for beachcombing!! The bay is very shallow for a long way out, so there is a lot of territory to cover. In the photo below, you can see where the water usually is--all that is tide flats.
A slightly different view of the beach, with the wave texures in the sand, and a tide pool rock in the distance.
Framed view of the Olympics. There is SO much driftwood on this beach.
I just thought this was humorous--live on the beach, a gorgeous day, and you can't get your boat out because it is stranded at low tide.
I really wanted to find some sand dollars to bring home. Found them, but they were still alive. I had no idea they were this lovely chocolate-y brown color!!
A delicately lavender shell, festooned with seagrasses and accessorized with a bubble.
Saw this heron roosting in a tree, right next to someone's house. You can't see it, but the chimney is right below the bottom of the photo.
This guy looks like he caught a halibut or sole!
Incoming, legs stretched out for a landing.
I love the reflection of his kinked neck!
Another 2 point landing, with on-lookers.
The preliminary stalk...
This guys roosts down in Issy, across from Target. It is so exciting when he is up on that old dead tree!
All the water shots were taken up in Edmonds, at the end of my zoom, and have been cropped to bring the heron in closer. On some of them he was waaaaaaaaaaay down the beach...
I loved this statue on the crest of a small hill--childhood personified.
Have you ever seen such a wierd duck in your life? I call this "The Queen and Her Escorts". Yes, those are feathers making up that little crown.
Detail from a door in a restaurant downtown.
Sunset sail with Mt. Olympus in the background.
Orange sails and Mt. Olympus against the sunset.
Admiralty Head Lighthouse at Fort Casey 
view from behind lighthouse, looking north along Whidbey's western shore
Useless Bay at Double Bluff
Best discovery on vacation--this incredible playground at the South Whidbey Community Park on Maxwelton Rd. This play structure is HUGE--lots of things to climb on, over, under, around, through; things to slide on and swing from; tires, rings, swings, balance beams, climbing nets...you name it, it has it. HOURS of fun!!
There was a pair of osprey with 2 young at Lone Lake, and I loved watching them. They actually submerge at times to go after fish!! They will circle a couple of times, and then go after the designated fish-of-the-moment. I was lucky to catch this one just as it was striking its target. Wish I'd used a faster shutter speed....
David LOVED the fishing, as you can see. Our last morning at the lake house, he and I went out to the dock so he could get one last round of fishing. He caught this GORGEOUS trout, which unfortunately swallowed the hook so deeply that it didn't make it. David had to throw it out in the lake. We were standing there, when WHOOSH there was a loud rush of displaced air and an eagle swoops down from behind us and effortlessly (especially compared to the ospreys) snatches the trout out of the water! He was only about 15' from where we were standing. I had just taken David's photo, so got my camera up as quickly as possible (all the while hollering "EAGLE!! EAGLE!!") (Well, duh!) and snapped the following:
Again, wish I'd used a faster shutter speed, but for my point-and-shoot I think I did ok. You can see how big the fish and eagle are. MAN!!! What an exciting experience for the end of vacation!
This is Lone Lake and the view from the house we rented, early in the morning.
These are, as Emmie calls them, "The Mean Mean Goosies". They would come to the yard every morning and evening. I don't know WHAT that domestic goose was doing; it must've thought it was a Canada goose, and the others certainly didn't notice any difference. Every time I saw this group I'd sing to myself "One of these things is not like the other; one of these things is different-like..."
The rowboat....
On a neighboring dock, but such a heavenly, relaxing view....
David and another beautiful trout. This one went back into the lake to be caught another day.
Claire Bear
