When in Rome ... I mean, Birch Bay ...

When I moved here to Birch Bay one observa-tion that tickled me no end, and still does, is that at a certain time of the year, EVERYONE has a floral basket hanging from porches, eaves, gazebos, old crab shacks, 5th Wheels, big homes, little homes, pup tents, streetlights, yachts. It must be a rite of summer!

Yes, of course, I, too, have a couple of hanging floral baskets … when in Rome …

It’s a colorful mass of flowers of ALL sorts, dancing in the breeze--EVERYWHERE! Some arrangements are simple, others quite elaborate. Some are HUGE and others more delicate and subtle. Some are classy and others are bold and brassy!

I went to breakfast at Dutch Mother’s in Lynden this morning and I had to snap a pix of these petunias swaying on a streetlight right in front of my parked Miata. I used my phone camera so it's not the best of photographs, but you get the idea.

A summer hanging basket of cheerful flowers is a delightful practice that I heartily observe and enjoy!

Acknowledging ...

My eye went right to this. I was struck by the rectangles and squares of color, angles, and textures. I noted how the aging process deepens lines, adds character. I was oddly comforted by the thought not only of the stage at which I came to witness it, but how it all began, and how it would continue after I left. It all distills down to a process of returning, doesn’t it?

The bright and shiny freshly red painted cut wood and formed metal. The sharp angles, nuts and bolts and nails snugly connecting lengths of wood. Tight, bright, function. Then immediately THE PROCESS irrevocably begins. Over a lifetime of utility the color dulls, mottles, flakes, weather exposure deepens the grain of the wood, connections loosen.

It’s pointless to argue with it or fight it. Why not appreciate the process, welcome as natural the eventual break down of materials returning to the earth. Take a moment to become conscious of and be one with utility and function giving way to function of a natural sort. Appreciate the beauty in and value of the process of deterioration.

No kidding? Well, I'll be ...

I am amazed at the timing of events in my cosseted little life. Everyone who knows anything about me knows I thoroughly enjoy walking out along the beach here in Birch Bay, rain or shine. Because I hadn’t seen any books or fun stuff for kids to do in Birch Bay, I thought it would be fun to create something! I’ve pulled together some ideas about how kids could collect and identify and catalog shells and pebbles and such that they find along the beach here; and which areas of the bay they’ll be able to find specific specimens.

Immediately on the heels of that grand scheme, I “happened” to learn about the program for volunteer beach naturalists established to help educate beachgoers about the local marine environment, how to respect this resource, and how we can each become better stewards of the shoreline.

Through the instruction sessions I’ve learned that it is NOT a good idea for people to take away shells and such that they find along the beach, and we’re encouraged to discourage beach visitors from collecting items. There are so many critters that re-use vacated shells, or that depend upon and live in the debris along the shore, rocks and tide pools. There is a direct impact if these small but vital elements are taken away!

According to Ted Morris, manager of the Birch Bay State Park, the annual campground attendance count is about 900,000 visitors, the biggest draw to the park being the beach access with some of the best clamming and crabbing (in season) in the Puget Sound area. Imagine if each of those 900,000 visitors took home a bunch of stuff from the beach!

Yikes! I will gladly re-organize my children’s beachcombing project!

I find it remarkable and oh so timely that I would fall into THE perfect activity to provide me with the appropriate insight for pulling together a book for kids; just in the nick o’time!

If you want to learn more about the Beach Naturalist Program made possible by volunteers and the North Sound Baykeeper, a project of RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, with partial funding from REI (http://www.rei.com/) please contact Doug Stark at dougs@re-sources.org or call (360) 733-8307.

For every thing a season

I received e-mail from a friend noting that I hadn’t written a new blog entry in a while. It’s a busy time, but a couple of interesting happenstances come to the fore.

First of all, with the re-emergence of sun and warmth, activity has freshened in Birch Bay. Denizens of the Bay are out pressure-washing moss off everything, repainting, repairing, replanting. A lot of cabin re-modeling is evident, new decks being built on which to sit out and take in the sun. The speed limit has dropped to summer speed of 20 mph, to make it safer for people out walking along the streets or crossing to the beach, or bicycling, or rollerblading. We see more little kids out walking with parents and grandparents. Bright orange buoys are dotting the beach getting ready for dinghies and sailboats.

Birch Bay has suffered some real estate woes, but hasn’t been impacted quite as badly as other areas of the country. Plenty of Canadians are bringing their strong dollars down to our little resort community, which has helped stabilize our real estate market. Summer is a good time of the year for selling little beach getaways and the like. This summer is no exception, and I’m happily engaged in writing up offers.

But, all work and no play makes for dull times, doncha know.

I’ve also gotten involved in the Volunteer Beach Naturalists program sponsored by Re-Source in Bellingham, WA. Doug Stark is the program coordinator and, in conjunction with the State Parks and various experts, trains local citizens to act as informal naturalists on beaches in Whatcom County. We’re learning how to identify creatures, critters, and seaweed and eelgrass from Larrabee to the south of us, to Semiahmoo just to the north. We trainees then volunteer our time to go out on the State Park beaches on selected weekends to educate beach visitors or help identify things for them. It’s been fascinating to learn about how lively our beaches are; more about this later!

Here are a couple of photos from class. Doug is digging up a gaper, or a horse clam, to show how far down they burrow in the sand. This other shot is of one of the participants holding a dungeness crab molt. The crab has totally withdrawn from and left behind its old shell, which you see here. Too cool!

Just one last comment. Each of us in the class was asked to pick a critter to teach the others in class about. I happened to pick up the info card for the hermit crab. I had to laugh. How appropriate for a Realtor to get the hermit crab, which molts and is always in search of the perfect home. In captivity, when new shells are introduced, most hermit crabs will check out the new shells and change their old shell for a new one within 24-48 hours.

That’s my kinda crab!