February's Fun in the Sun (sometimes)

I am bummed that I haven't shared this past week (+) of walks. It has been a wonderful adventure. We finally explored the road that brought me down Jacoby Creek Road in the first place. I am excited to report that it is as great as I heard. It is a wide logging road, level for a while and then quickly climbs for about 3/4 mile (i don't really know if that's accurate) to level off again. That's where we stopped. Can't wait to explore it more later this week.

This week we were joined by Poncho, a lovely pooch in need of a care taker while his family travels abroad.

The weather allowed for lovely days at the beach. We discovered interesting sights.
You would not believe the things that wash up on the beach. A whole Truck!
Pick up your trash!


I finally got to photograph my favorite stump that grows from sand!
This is the weirdest winter I recall enduring in Humboldt County. It is a mix of icy cold fronts and an unusual amount of warm fronts. It's better than summer this February. I am not complaining. Even the rainy days don't cut too badly to you bones. But still it's chilly and I am grateful to have shelter to return to everyday.

Oh and by the way....

My Camera is a inexpensive ($40ish) Fuji-film FinePix 6.3 mega pixel. I got it 2-3 years ago an have been pretty satisfied with it. (some times i wish there was a faster shutter, but i am just discovering the differenet setting options.

careful what you ask for

I recall saying how we need more rain up here during this unusually dry Humboldt winter. BUT I didn't mean this much!! (at least not all at once)

This is the third day of bone chilling rain. Not that bad, except we have another week straight of rain. The first day was a bit spotty, with blue sky managing to shine through small breaks in the clouds, but now it is like a thick carpet of gray rainclouds. And the dog still needs her exercise. (and so do we!)

Hoping the big redwood trees would help shield us from the pouring rain, we decided to try the Arcata Forest. They did, but the forest floor was still squishy with mud and even a few small streams. It was a quiet day in the forest, the only others we saw were dog walkers and an HSU science class that looked to be measuring the fallen trees.

Walking in the rain is great! (with proper rain attire, of course) It always reminds me of being a little girl. Walking around the block with my brother just to splash in puddles, then coming home to hot chocolate. mmmm.... I know what I'll be doing later, after I clean up the wet dog prints and muddy jeans.

water, sewage, clouds and gratitude

It is always exciting when we hear of a new trail to explore, especially one so close! This morning we found ourselves walking the southern part of the Arcata Marsh. The marsh is Arcata's water reclamation "plant". Today we discovered the ponds that obviously contain the beginning of the process. We've only the really walked the rest of the marsh; a series of trails, wetlands, vegetation and ponds.
We followed a trail running along a chain link fence enclosing the city's collection of big tools and trucks. The fence turned to shrubs which opened up to two large ponds(football field size) full of all different ducks and birds. I must admit that I find it hard to believe that wildlife enjoys swimming, eating and bathing in our sewage (at least it's "treated sewage"). The birds, however seemed to be having a wonderful time cruising the glassy surface.
The clouds were amazing and the wind was fierce, which usually means a shift in weather is soon to happen. Sure enough, while we were eating our soup at Japhy's we saw the first raindrops fall. I'm grateful we were able to get outside when we did.
The rain is definitely a welcomed sight in this unusually dry Humboldt winter. We need quite a bit more rain before we're back to h20 normalcy.

taking over

moss reclamation at work