Ish River Itinerate

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-224572792011-08-31T04:18:31.084-07:00Ish River Itinerate"Ish River"-- like breath, like mist rising from a hillside. Duwamish, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Samish, Skokomish, Skykomish...all the ish rivers. I live in Ish River country between two mountain ranges where many rivers run down to an inland sea. --Robert Sund, Skagit Valley scribemoontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.comBlogger721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-53759985898481701512011-05-25T20:40:00.000-07:002011-05-25T20:45:59.084-07:00Slough, Decay, and the Odor of Soil

Log decomposition research site, Blue River drainage, Oregon CascadesBy Bill Yake Trunks, once poised and upright, collapse towarda two-century graduation into beetle and vapor,moss, conk, and seed bed -- their boles intermittentlychiseled by woodpeckers uncoiling their barbed tonguesand probing grub-etched galleries within. Hibernacula.Loosened bark. Sap and heartwood riddled with

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-65118734476881468842011-04-18T22:29:00.000-07:002011-04-19T20:58:41.602-07:00Moral Ground

Kathleen Dean Moore’s ethical response to climate changeReviewed by Christian Martin Because of humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, we are warming our planet beneath a cloak of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Here in Washington State, rising temperatures and a warmer climate are causing our glaciers to melt faster than they can replenish themselves. This is leading us towards a future with

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-8221502431906795062010-12-03T12:54:00.000-08:002011-04-18T23:24:16.720-07:00Road Trip: The Olympic Peninsula

My first 2010 trip away from the Salish Sea occured in May when I caught the Keystone Ferry for Port Townsend and spent a solo week in Olympic National Park, hiking, paddling and observing the emerging lushness of spring. My first destination was Lake Ozette in the far northwestern corner of the state. I posted up at a nearly-empty campground on the northshore, dropped my sea kayak on to the lake

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-2598657070877983512010-04-27T18:22:00.000-07:002011-04-19T20:55:10.869-07:00Spring Equinox 2010 : Samish Island to Mt. Baker

Spring Equinox 2010 : From Samish to Baker from moontroll on Vimeo.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-62199530902013568692009-08-16T22:17:00.000-07:002009-08-16T22:37:37.736-07:00Welcome Home : Getting to know your neighbors through natural history

Editor's Note: I wrote this article for the Cascadia Weekly in early August 2009 in part to promote North Cascades Institute's Northwest Naturalists Weekend at the Learning Center on Diablo Lake.Two weekends ago, I ventured up the Mt. Baker Highway with undefined plans to make my first sojourn of the season in to the high country. It was a spur-of-the-moment adventure and, winding my way eastward

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-87891224917846069282009-07-23T19:21:00.000-07:002009-07-23T19:40:46.241-07:00To Salish Sea or not to Salish Sea

I received this interesting email through a local kayaking listserv and it seemed appropriate for this blog -- maybe next they'll look in to making "Ish River Country" an official designation? Awesome map too -- click on it to get a larger version.Greetings – You are likely aware that the Washington State Board on Geographic Names and the British Columbia Geographical Names Office received a

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-4201565465257362822009-07-15T18:54:00.000-07:002009-07-23T19:41:02.294-07:00Jim Lynch's "Border Songs"

Tides vs. BordersJim Lynch’s novels explore back corners of Washington Stateby Christian MartinJim Lynch hit on something sweet and surprising with his 2005 debut novel The Highest Tide. Readers fell in love with it in a big way, first here in the Pacific Northwest, then across the country and eventually around the world. Awarded the Pacific Northwest Booksellers', translated in to eight

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-92113629218227182382009-06-03T22:09:00.000-07:002009-06-03T22:11:42.124-07:00The jester is loose...

Tom Robbins in Bellingham * May 5, 2009 from moontroll on Vimeo.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-31149360157938539992009-04-25T19:40:00.000-07:002009-04-26T00:42:46.753-07:00Tom Robbins Incognito

I've done gone and uploaded the debut issue of my new magazine "moontrolling" to MagCloud. It features a story I wrote some time ago called "Tom Robbins Incognito: Tracking the Pacific Northwest's Elusive Literary Outlaw," a topic that I think will hold special interest for all Ish River denizens & admirers. Visit MagCloud to purchase a copy today -- they'll print one out for you and send it in

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-29634968564382616462009-01-01T11:59:00.000-08:002009-01-01T12:00:01.220-08:00Time Flows By...

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-3425302384475527602008-12-22T08:21:00.000-08:002008-12-22T08:31:01.852-08:00Bellingham Ski Tour

Skiing the Lettered Streets * Bellingham 12/21/08 from moontroll on Vimeo.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-75993582551077226002008-10-17T09:27:00.000-07:002008-10-17T10:22:18.345-07:00FLYAWAY

(Winter in town)October 13, 1976(1)Before the bar closesI stumble up the hill alone.The whole town is asleep.Geese crying in the night skywake me out of my drunkennessinto the ancient pathwaygiven to usbefore we had minds.I am the brother of geeseOn my bare armslong agothere were feathers.(2)Fly at night,dark sky under your wings.Sing with your brothersandfear no hunter.Let me hearover the sea of

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-58216091994690153792008-06-11T22:52:00.000-07:002008-06-11T23:07:24.465-07:00Darius Kinsey, Photographer

Ansel Adams of the Pacific NorthwestYou have to wonder what drove Darius Kinsey to sojourn away from the comforts of his stately 12-room Seattle home to enter the dripping, dark primeval forests of the Pacific Northwest so incessantly. Over the course of two decades, he was frequently finding excuses to jump a train or motor coach north out of the city to return to the logging camps, shantytowns,

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-77122023047258276082008-06-04T22:31:00.000-07:002008-06-04T22:38:25.307-07:00"And it still surprises me the number of longtime Northwesterners who have never heard of this plant."

Salal: Listening for the Northwest UnderstoryBy Laurie RicouReviewed by Christian MartinHuman beings have evolved in concert with the natural world for tens of thousands of years. Our complex relationships with the plant world have been particularly crucial in the development of our cultures. These interconnections between people and the varied green world are rich places for examination and

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-26928821005272011372008-04-24T22:17:00.000-07:002008-04-24T22:22:28.973-07:00The Dalai Lama in the Pacific Northwest

As a result of the Dalai Lama's recent visit to the Pacific Northwest, I've been inspired to create, collect and share various sounds and words I've created to honor him and his work in this world. Click here to link to a webpage on another site of mine that will lead you to stories I've published about his 2004 Vancouver B.C. visit and 2008 Seattle visit, as well as audio podcasts of his talks:

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-84473748361012955522008-02-08T18:15:00.000-08:002008-02-08T18:26:22.025-08:00Herons in Winter in the Frozen Marsh

All wintertwo blue heronshunkered in the frozen marsh,like two columns of blue smoke.What they areI can't imagine,unless it was the small lacesof snow that settledin the ruckus of the cattails,or the glazed windows of iceunder the tiredpitchforks of their feet --so the answer isthey ate nothing,and nothing good could come of that.They were mired in nature, and starving.Still, every morningthey

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-55839512562746087962007-12-21T09:37:00.000-08:002007-12-21T09:51:10.811-08:00Podcast Cafe 2.0

The Podcast Cafe, featuring 2 years of top-shelf quality musical mixes offered up in podcast form for free, was recently relocated to a new home at www.podcastcafe.org. In addition to the original Podcast Cafe series, Sunnyland Soundsystem is now hosting two more channels: The Live Archive and the mysterious Radio Free Fundi. We've even set up a new blog for music news & views.Hope to see you

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-58491311910359333532007-10-09T19:13:00.000-07:002007-10-09T19:49:26.345-07:00hibernating....

Um, yeah. Haven't been over to this mossy corner since last May. Got busy last spring preparing for Burning Man and working on a different blog over at a website I put together: www.destinationburningman.com.Posted quite a few photos over the summer too at FLICKR here and here.Sometimes I connect a cool photo to the place where it was taken via Panoramio and Google Earth here. Love that Google

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-70420678587009555302007-05-18T13:39:00.000-07:002007-05-18T13:58:32.394-07:00Destination Burning Man (or, Why This Blog is So Quiet This Spring!)

If you visit this blog on a regular basis, you've noticed that I've been slacking off on new postings over the past month or so. That's because I started up a new website project and have been pouring all of my energy in to it lately. It's called Destination Burning Man, and it's a site tracking the progress of me and my two NW bros (the "three broke dudes") as we scheme and dream our way towards

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-80681383469527782992007-05-18T13:26:00.000-07:002007-05-18T13:39:02.587-07:00Washington WildWatchCams

I've been over the moon watching watching eagles, owls, herons, bluebirds and an osprey tend to their young in nests throughout Ish River Country this past week via webcams courtesy of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. There are a number of cameras mounted on the edge of bird nests, from which one can witness the daily activities of the aforementioned birds sitting on eggs and/or

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-8881189900840282142007-03-31T09:05:00.000-07:002007-03-31T09:08:04.212-07:00Spring Migrations

Springtime is advancing rapidly here in Ish River country, with Red Currants and Indian Plum in full bloom, bringing in the hummingbirds from the south. The arrival of migrating birds is, to me, the surest sign of the seasonal shifting. My daily commute through the Skagit Valley reveals a few Trumpeter swans still mucking about in the muddy farm fields, but their numbers are diminished, and the

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-31316258300066037132007-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:002007-03-18T18:00:49.026-07:00Dark Days in a Dank Place

Ish River Itinerate offers this report from a correspondent up in the north fork of the Nooksack, Mr. Trail Rat. We're reprinting his submitted field report verbatim. Dark days, indeed.-- the editorDark Days in a Dank PlacePolice “crack-down,” tragic blaze mar 22nd Annual LegendaryBanked Slalomby Trail RatWhat should have been a joyous weekend-long festival of snowboarding and celebration in the

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-31782734607767060682007-03-04T10:42:00.000-08:002007-03-13T17:25:19.496-07:00Ish River Itinerate on Flickr

Here's a show from my personal stash of favorite images from in and around Ish River Country. They are posted on FLICKR with some caption information here.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1170398837652689372007-02-01T22:37:00.000-08:002007-02-02T20:38:13.150-08:00snow geese of the skagit

Spent last saturday peregrinating the Skagit flats, studying raptors and owls and bald eagles with North Cascades Institute and a field scientist-expert guide, David Drummond. We discovered the flock of snow geese, wintering over with us all the way from Wrangell Island, down in southern Skagit county on Fir Island, the wedge of dike-enclosed land riding low between the two mouths of the Skagit

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1170277846403640902007-01-31T12:37:00.000-08:002007-01-31T13:22:53.610-08:00Local orcas head south

Why are Ish River's orcas traveling all the way to central California this winter? Dozens orcas from Puget Sound have been spotted recently in Half Moon Bay and around the Farallon Islands. Scientists have identified them as belonging to the "K" and "L" pods, and the obvious answer as to why they are so far out of their historic range has to do with their appetites: salmon are more plentiful in

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1169500065770013362007-01-21T16:20:00.000-08:002007-01-22T13:07:45.786-08:00Skagit Sunday Sund

Don't cry geese, in this floating world it's the same anywhere you go.--Issa (1763-1827), translated by Ish River poet laureate Robert Sund.photo from "planetphotoman."

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1168984383245947752007-01-16T13:51:00.000-08:002007-01-16T13:53:03.246-08:00Spare Change?

--By Pultizer-winning cartoonist David Horsey at the Seattle P-I.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1168539224865657862007-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:002007-01-11T12:01:52.430-08:00Mount Rainier Gutted (or, The Restoration of America's National Parks)

Well, the mountain itself is doing fine, but most of the human paraphernalia surrounding the mighty volcano -- roads, visitor centers, bridges, campgrounds, trails -- have been utterly demolished in the floods of November. For the first time in its' 108 year history, the national park is closed. The destruction is awe-inspiring, and I recommend you check out the web slideshow at the park's

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1168302609698992942007-01-08T15:59:00.000-08:002007-01-10T23:17:04.290-08:00Bald Eagles on the Skagit

I spent all of last Saturday (1/6) watching bald eagles on the Skagit River with a North Cascades Institute field seminar led by local eagle guru Libby Mills -- we concentrated our search between Rockport and Marblemount on Highway 20 and had great success throughout the day. (We were lucky enough to not only stay dry, but also get some rare sunshine.) Dozens of eagles were easily viewable from

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1166810139699205132006-12-22T09:55:00.000-08:002007-01-07T23:15:16.390-08:00nearer to Spring

I heard a bird sing In the dark of December A magical thing And sweet to remember. 'We are nearer to Spring Than we were in September,' I heard a bird sing In the dark of December. - Oliver Herford, "I Heard a Bird Sing"

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1166809241677615252006-12-22T09:38:00.000-08:002006-12-22T09:51:30.936-08:00Setting the buds

'We provide consolations to get through winter—vitamin D supplements, smoked salmon, candles, Christmas lights, cassoulet, oatmeal, velvet, Irish whiskey with hot water and lemon. But for all the comforts we give ourselves, for all the heating and bright lighting, we're still basically creatures who have more in common with the furry beings of the world, and even the leafy beings of the world,

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1164852156702035032006-11-29T17:54:00.000-08:002006-11-29T18:59:08.396-08:00Record-Breaking Rains (Plus Freezing Temps and a Surplus of Snow!)

November 2006 is laying seige to several records for exteme weather here in Ish River Country. On Tuesday, November 28, the low temperature was 12 degrees, not including the piercing wind chill. The low temp for Wednesday was predicted to be 8 degrees, which would shatter another old record. Seattle also broke the record on Tuesday with 18 degree temps recorded. Whatcom and Skagit counties are

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1163736826874940192006-11-16T20:11:00.000-08:002006-11-16T21:04:27.073-08:00Saturated

Rainest November ever here in Ish River Country as back-to-back winter storms hammer the Northwet : 11.64 inches fell in Seattle while rivers spilt over their banks, lights went dark and phones fell where the first chair of the season creakily climbed up the ski hill for yet another season. The Hoh River Road suffering a 75 feet long by 25 feet=deep blow outt, North Cascades Highway closed down

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1163557029271508142006-11-14T18:16:00.000-08:002006-11-16T14:54:32.710-08:00"I feel like one of the great cedars of the North Cascades has fallen"

Harvey Manning, the godfather of Washington's wilderness system and tireless trail bodhisattva, passed away last weekend at the age of 81. Manning's influence as an environmental leader, author and advocate cannot be overstated, and as his friend and former president of the Alpine Lakes Protection Society Rick McGuire succintly put it, "I feel like one of the great cedars of the North Cascades

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1163033139804428932006-11-08T16:43:00.000-08:002006-11-08T16:49:16.013-08:00All Wet

Much of Ish River Country is underwater this week, as record rainfall riding in on the Pineapple Express dumped on the mountains and filled the rivers to overflowing.Here is a view of the Nooksack River inundating Lynden in northern Whatcom county near the border with BC (photo from the Bellingham Herald).More to come....Pacific NorthwestFloodNooksack

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1162671255072408432006-11-04T12:10:00.000-08:002007-01-09T13:29:21.876-08:00"Salmon Moon"

Surfof moonwave, mist of dawn by the sea.Mist of long lovely night ending.The moon steps through the night.It goes out into the south and west.Between sparse old shoreland spruce the moon is a silver wing in the clouds.All nightthe clouds drift over.All night, salmon gather—first of the run.--Robert Sund, from Poems from Ish River CountryDedicated to the 120 adult chinooks that still return to

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1162417861100791672006-11-02T18:50:00.000-08:002006-11-16T20:58:21.183-08:00Trumpeter Swans return to Skagit

Driving home from work earlier this week, out of Sedro-Wolley and down Cook Road towards I-5, I saw them for the first time: a V of nine Trumpeter swan cruising overhead in the cloud-curdled sky. Today, I saw dozens more in the muddy fields north of Cook.They are welcome winter visitors here in Ish River Country, arriving in mid-October from their breeding grounds in Alaska. They stand over 6-

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1162417148414137302006-11-01T13:37:00.000-08:002006-11-02T19:52:27.760-08:00Lonely Trails

Are overnight hikers the Pacific Northwest's next endangered species? The Seattle Weekly thinks so. Read why here.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1161973040336205922006-10-27T11:16:00.000-07:002006-11-01T09:30:40.283-08:00Panamanian Frog Hotel

A story in the Washington Post that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking: the tale of the golden frogs of El Valle de Anton in Panama. With a deadly fungus tearing through Central American amphibian populations, the golden frog has been sequestered in a run-down backpacker's hotel at the edge of the mountains with hopes that it can wait out the naturally-occuring chytrid fungus. The Hotel

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1161972857822306712006-10-27T10:59:00.000-07:002006-10-27T11:36:12.900-07:00North Cascadian Larch Magic

"It was another October gold rush in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington, with foliage prospectors at altitudes of 6,000 feet and beyond gazing at their chosen grail: the alpine larch, a slender tree whose velvety needles turn an incandescent yellow-gold come fall." So writes Linda Baker in today's New York Times' Travel section. Great tribute to the amazing larch tree of the North Cascades

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1161316651541353262006-10-19T20:57:00.000-07:002006-10-24T10:27:22.566-07:00R.I.P. Hugo, Jellyroll & Raven

Several Pacific Northwest newspapers reported last week on the disapperance and presumed death of three orca whales from the San Juan Islands pods: Hugo, Jellyroll and Raven have vanished from their usual haunts and hunting grounds. This is a distinct departure from the good news of last spring, when several new orca whalets were discovered, and a terrible turn for the precarious local population

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1159481858624494442006-09-28T15:04:00.000-07:002006-09-28T15:17:38.653-07:00Last sunset of the summer

Here's the view from Bellingham Bay, in the far northwestern corner of Washington State, on the Fall Equinox....

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1158950081639633832006-09-22T11:23:00.000-07:002006-10-14T23:05:04.206-07:00"Messenger"

My work is loving the world.Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird-- equal seekers of sweetness.Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters,which is my work,which is mostly standing still and learning to be

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1156881886929012732006-08-29T13:01:00.000-07:002006-10-14T22:58:32.106-07:00Interview with Barry Lopez

The Georgia Review's current issue features an interview I conducted with Oregon writer Barry Lopez, author of the outstanding "Arctic Dreams," "Of Wolves & Men" and several collections of short stories. You can read it on the web here.Barry Lopez

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1153947184973075342006-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:002006-10-19T21:15:10.550-07:00Lurker of the Deep

Ever heard of an oarfish? Me neither, but one washed up on a beach in Oregon. Apparently they are giaant fish tha tlive in the deep dark depths off the coast of the Pacific. "It looks like a cross between an eel, a tarpon and I don't know what else with that big bug eye," explained Keith Chandler, general manager of the Seaside Aquarium, who identified the mysterious visitor last week. They are

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1154205064541904432006-07-29T13:29:00.000-07:002006-07-29T13:34:56.033-07:00Who the hell....

....are Brent and Jan LeBaron?!?! And why are so many people looking for them?I get dozens of visits a day from people all over the world -- Canada, Spain, Australia, Japan -- who are Googling "Brent and Jan LeBaron." I randomly posted their excellent photos of Mt. St. Helens a few months back (a friend emailed them to me, but I don't know anything about who they are) and they have been far and

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1150486083930309442006-06-16T12:19:00.000-07:002006-06-21T22:08:46.753-07:00Tim McNulty's North Cascadian poems, reviewed

Through High Still Air: A Season at Sourdough MountainBy Tim McNultyPleasure Boat Studio, 2005, $9www.pbstudio.com"The dry summer of 2003 saw wildfires sweep through the forests of the mountain West," writes Tim McNulty in the introduction to his latest chapbook of poems, Through High Still Air. "By August, a number of lightning-strike fires were smoldering in the deep mountain wilderness of

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1148594118723769392006-05-25T13:49:00.000-07:002006-05-25T14:55:18.936-07:00TROJAN DOWN

A friend of mine was in Kalama, WA last weekend for the implosion of the Trojan cooling tower. She gave me this report: "We were directly across the river from the tower. They shot off an initial round just to scare the birds out before the real action began, then a quick series of huge blasts and the thing dropped to the ground. The entire event could not have lasted more than five seconds. A

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1145903199725670502006-04-24T11:07:00.000-07:002006-04-26T14:22:10.773-07:00Lost and Found Fotos: Mount St. Helens II

“Here is something not many of us get to see, unless you live near there - Mt. St. Helens at sunrise.Mt. St.. Helens continues to spew ash, while it is forming a lava dome in the crater and still having minor tremors. Here in this sunrise shot, she appears to be blowing smoke rings (and anything so benign is welcomed, given recent history).What forms the "smoke rings" is the air flowing over the

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1145484050769289802006-04-19T14:55:00.000-07:002006-04-19T15:00:50.780-07:00Lost & Found Fotos: Mount St. Helens

(Picture by Brent and Jan LeBaron)

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1145390014673755012006-04-18T12:33:00.000-07:002006-04-18T12:53:34.690-07:00Tulips from Hell

Another fine column from the Seattle Times' nutty Trail Mixer, Ron Judd, this time poking some well-deserved fun at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival: "Too many gapers. Too many strollers spewing forth from too many mini-vans. Too many bike weenies with too many carbon-fiber pedal sets that would feed too many entire villages of starving orphans in too many Pakistans. You get the picture. Seeing

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1145246629427843562006-04-16T20:39:00.000-07:002006-04-16T21:31:33.476-07:00April Has Turned Cold

April has turned cold.The evening light fades through the clouds.A string of geese call me out to sing a farewell, andI wish them luck as they go from Ish River,away out over the ocean,long long sweeps of rippling wings bound for Siberia.Their wild song they take with them, and leave some behind.They leave enough soI don't have to leave home any more.--Robert Sund, from Poems

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1145037445293270822006-04-14T10:33:00.000-07:002006-04-16T14:06:42.320-07:00Invasion of the Nutria

The Seattle P-I reports this morning on the growing numbers of nutria--an invasive species from South America-- in Ish River country. "Also called coypu, or swamp rats, the South American natives can eat one-quarter of their weight a day, powering down crops and plants of all varieties," writes Lisa Stiffler; "They can weigh more than 20 pounds and burrow through marshes and levies. Females are

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1144789641067394872006-04-11T13:25:00.000-07:002006-04-11T15:10:10.813-07:00David Suzuki speaks

An interview that I conducted with Canadian scientist, environ-mentalist, author and broadcaster David Suzuki has been posted on the web by Science & Spirit, a magazine that explores the relationship between, well, science and, uh, spirit. Suzuki is a visionary thinker, as well as a fiesty and funny person to boot. I talked with him in his Vancouver BC home as his book/public TV series "The

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1144631743876439492006-04-09T17:52:00.000-07:002006-04-09T18:18:51.563-07:00Viva Copper Canyon Press!

The Seattle P-I recently penned a fitting tribute to Port Townsend's Copper Canyon Press, one of the finest poetry publishers in the world. Despite the fact that they only have 3 full-time staffers and are housed in a tiny ex-Army barracks at Fort Clatsop State Park, Copper Canyon Press won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 2005. Jim Harrison, Ted Kooser, M.S. Merwin, Pablo

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1144630052268716502006-04-09T17:41:00.000-07:002006-04-09T17:50:58.483-07:00"Ding-dong, the fee is dead"

Ron Judd, frisky Bellinghamster and author of the Seattle Times' "Trail Mix" column on all-things-outdoors, has this to say on the demise of Washington State's trail fees

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1144192713912316502006-04-04T16:00:00.000-07:002006-04-17T11:58:06.340-07:00"Another Roadside Disaster": Tom Robbins on sprawl

I recently came across a hot pink flyer that had been inserted into the Channel Town Press, the lower Skagit Valley's weekly newspaper. It was authored, supposedly, by local scribe and psychic cosmonaut Tom Robbins, and there are just enough hints within the text for me to believe it's true. (La Conner is, BTW, a smallish hamlet in the Skagit Valley where Robbins has lived for decades.) Read on..

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1143503215387503262006-03-27T15:38:00.001-08:002006-03-28T12:38:36.846-08:00"Daddy, what were glaciers like?"

“Generations know Mount Hood as a landmark for the ages, with an icy crown of gleaming glaciers that supply the streams we drink from, catch fish in and grow food with,” writes Michael Milstein in The Oregonian this Sunday. “It is our playground, retreat and beacon on the horizon. It is Oregon.”Unfortunately for all Hood-lovin’ Oregonians, the volcano is rapidly shedding its cloak of glaciers—the

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1143480547222331902006-03-27T09:28:00.000-08:002006-03-27T09:29:07.223-08:00more poop on tundra swans

I've got lots of responses to the Skagit swans post, and so for the curious have found a website with lots more detailed information and illustrations on the tundra swans here. It has information on differentiating tundras from trumpeters and includes apt poetic descriptions like "Visitors flying over the swan's tundra nesting grounds readily spot them, as they appear as miniature icebergs adrift

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1143480439315023702006-03-27T09:26:00.000-08:002006-03-27T09:27:19.326-08:00Damn dams

The Seattle Times published a great story on the Snake River Dams and the ongoing, endless debate on economy versus the survival of salmon. it is told with passion, balance and skepticism here.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1143401881040727792006-03-26T11:37:00.000-08:002006-03-27T15:04:31.933-08:00collaborative swan poem

The Skagit geese are on the move.The birds are goingthe other way now.And geese fly back &forth across the valleygetting ready.It all rolls into one.There is no pain,you are receding.A distant ship smoke on the horizon---And now it turns its dark eyes,it rearrangesthe cloud of its wingsit trails an elaborate webbed foot,the color of charcoal.Lordy, I'm made of blood & bone.Oh, what will I do,

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1143056967625672972006-03-22T11:48:00.000-08:002006-03-22T11:57:45.036-08:00Parks fee update

Washington State Parks director Rex Derr told the AP that hisdepartment considers the recent legislation that eliminated the user fee asunofficially effective immediately. “Derr said patrons may continue to pay for the rest of themonth if they wish, but rangers won’t expect it,” writes the AP. “Parks willbegin taking down pay-to-park signs…’We want people back,’ Derr said.” The article adds that

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1142972549369069752006-03-21T12:17:00.000-08:002006-03-21T20:06:37.536-08:00State park fees, RIP

On Monday, March 20, Washington governor Christine Gregoire signed a bill that officially killed the reviled State Parks fees. Beginning April 9, state rangers will no longer have to grovel for people to pay $5 to park their cars, and my friends and I will no longer have to park illegally to avoid tickets or feel troubled when we shred the tickets we got anyway. I’ve always felt strongly against

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1142363895985891792006-03-14T11:17:00.000-08:002006-03-22T09:00:35.643-08:00Cascadia heating up

Global warming will bring disastrous consequences to the rainy, danky Pacific Northwest. As temperatures creep upwards, all sorts of funky things will happen to the balance of the various interconnected hydrological cycles the land depends on here. We can expect receding glaciers, shrinking snowpacks, thirsty rivers and rising sea levels in the Puget Sound.Obviously, once these major forces get

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1142292977789486572006-03-13T15:35:00.000-08:002006-03-14T11:56:04.630-08:00Words on the Web II

If you like books, and you like the Pacific Northwest, and you particularly like books about the Pacific Northwest, I have an ongoing column of reviews over at the Tidepool website that you may find edifying. Link to the most recent posts here and here. Hope you find something you like...

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1141717073918875492006-03-06T22:46:00.000-08:002006-03-07T20:56:54.610-08:00Skagit geese on the move

this morning, driving south to work in Sedro Wooley, through the Chuckanut mountains and down into the Skagit flats, I saw several flocks of swans heading northbound.they were most likely Trumpeter swans, though the valley is full of the smaller Tundra swan as well. whichever, today's big birds moving north in sqwonking Vs were clearly early signs of the impending migration back to Alaska. They

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1141442427736172942006-03-03T19:05:00.000-08:002006-03-07T22:58:35.666-08:00Hoh!

Just back from the Olympic Peninsula....More on that lonely trip later!

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1140055517177899422006-02-15T17:43:00.000-08:002006-03-14T12:01:19.273-08:00Words on the Web II

Gathering up some loose acorns, collecting them here by the hearth: One cluster of book reviews about the Pacific Northwest are right here, another here and yet another over here. A conversation with a renowned "green architect" from Seattle is posted here and another one with a semi-grouchy Bellingham birding master is posted here.

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1140044108275847932006-02-15T14:24:00.000-08:002006-03-27T16:03:11.096-08:00Tim McNulty's Sourdough Mountain Poems

One of Ish River Country's finest poets, Tim McNulty, who lives on the Olympic Peninsula near the town of Sequim, recently published a new book of verse entitled "Through High Still Air." The chapbook collects his poetry that was composed on top of Sourdough Peak in the North Cascades--he spent last summer working up there in a fire lookout, coincidentally 50 years after Gary Snyder's famous

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1139947312176233982006-02-14T11:57:00.000-08:002006-02-14T12:26:50.986-08:00Lost & Found Fotos

Orcas are proposed for Endangered Species listing here in the Puget Sound. I wonder if Viagra would help them with reproduction. They certainly are...uh...well-equiped...

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1139944862996058012006-02-14T11:06:00.000-08:002006-02-14T11:21:03.006-08:00Rare owlet

Here's one more photo of an owlet--this one is a rare "Night Jar" owlet from Papau New Guinea in Indonesia. Scientists there recently surveyed a small patch of jungle and discovered entirely new species of frogs and birds and flowers. It is amazing to me that there are still creatures out that we haven't "discovered" yet. Another good argument for careful conservation of the planet's biosphere...

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22457279.post-1139943350823296982006-02-14T10:47:00.000-08:002006-02-14T10:58:08.576-08:00Owlets

Breaking ground on my first blog here, I celebrate with an image of one of my favorite creatures, the owlet. In this case, they are barn owlets.Today is sunny and misty in the Belly, though the weatherman is calling for snow later today and tomorrow. It is cold outside and smells like snow, but this morning is full of sunlight and green shoots emerging from the ground. My witch hazel plant is

moontrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06442211493693104892noreply@blogger.com0