EXPLORING LAKE CUSHMAN

Melissa and David took us for a drive around lake Cushman, a very scenic lake.

It is about 10:am and misty, rain in the forecast.

The shoreline changed dramatically as we drove.

We stopped for lunch at the Geoduck Tavern. Pronounced gooey-duck, this giant clam is one of the longest lived organisms with an average life of 100 years. I thought it was a fake trophy, but they really grow to such huge sizes. They are edible, but kind of like chewing on an inner tube, so we ordered the usual fare, clam chowder and oyster sandwich for me.

My favorite ham wanted his picture taken with the black bear.

The restaurant had mighty hunter trophys all over the walls and silly signs. This one gave me a chuckle.

We came to a couple places on the lake where we could get out and scout the beach a bit. This was a very pretty spot.

Oyster country here, many spots with bleached shells via the gulls, I'm guessing.

Shallow water and oysters growing very close to shore.

We stopped and picked wild apples, but they weren't quite ready yet.

If I painted my house and outbuildings like this, people would think me crazy. I like it though. This house sits on Hamma Hamma Rd. just across the Hamma Hamma Bridge that crosses the Hamma Hamma River. We met the father of the girl who rents the place since the road was so narrow he couldn't get by us. We are such encroachers. But he was fine with our admiration of the artwork.

At one stop I watched for about ten minutes while these guys launched their boat.

That water is glacier cold. Brrrrrr!  I guess it is worth it to them. They fish and ski with it.


Then we drove to Cushman Dam, the area is steep above the water and very picturesque. Melissa and David had never visited the Dam. We made several stops for pictures. We are running close to our recycle time, so I must not publish too many pictures at this time. Another cousin, Bob Moore, will be visiting us today.

I'll be sure to warn him that this is rain forest area and if he allows his vehicle to sit too long, it will gain a roof garden.

COUSINS REUNION.

From Aberdeen, Washington, Melissa and David Moore invited us to their campsite at Lake Cushman Park. My father and David's father were brothers. We're not sure how long its been since we met. We do know it has been over 60 years.  That black ball of fur is Toby.
Our ancestry connects us, but we found we have a lot in common, love of nature and books, and pets. For instance, we both were familiar with the small house movement. David went to see one of those 124 square foot places, but that was a bit too small. He built this neat cabin where he and his wife can get out of the rain and the confines of their small trailer and sit in a leisure chair and read, enjoy a snooze like a mini living room. A small footprint in the middle of a rainforest.

A towering alder forest behind them leads to a delightful creek.

A fallen alder stretches across the spongy duff of mosses and dead leaves. I estimated its height at 70 feet.

Two of them provide a bench at the side of the creek, David's favorite spot.  The quiet, burbling water, cool temperature, a personal haven.

Melissa has her own favored place that looks upon her private "beach".
Of course, this creek roars and rises and gushes through this woods in winter.

The mosses remind us of Louisiana.
They eat into every crevice.

David pointed out to us that this property was once an old growth forest. Average rain here is 100 inches and this is known as the dry side of the Olympic Penninsula. Huge stumps are a reminder of the lust for timber. The area was clear cut years and years ago. Like the Louisiana cypress, men in their folly cut every giant tree.

On this particular stump, he pointed out, you can see where the logger cut a crevice and inserted a shelf to stand on while sawing the tree down, something hard to contemplate. It was most likely a dangerous business to be a sawyer.

This forest may never be the same again, but with people like Melissa and David, in private lots and ownership, it is unlikely to fall to the axe and saws again, though it is questionable if it will ever regrow those giant trees.  (I forgot to ask what they were. Possibly redwoods.) But, mother nature, if given the chance...who knows? In the meantime, we can all enjoy the beauty and appreciate nature.

GOODBYE TO FRIENDS, MOVING ON.

Wednesday afternoon, the river beside the motor home was less busy, but watching the floaters is compelling. I want to do it some day.

Just as the sun was setting, another group floated by. It's been a pleasant stay, but we packed up for Thursday morning's departure and the last chance to meet with area friends.

We had lunch in town on Wednesday with Al Penta. We often listen to Sirrius XM and put on music from the 50's. Al gave Jim, two discs, one of music banned from radio in the 1950's for being too risque, such as Annie Had A Baby.  Pretty mild stuff compared to today's music. And, another of their 50th High School Reunion. Al was the singer in their group and can still recite the words to most of those old songs we heard on the raaa-de-o.

I skipped down the street for a massage after lunch and caught a picture of "the bankers dog.  It wasn't a bank, but doesn't he look like a banker's dog? It was an insurance office.

We drove from Monroe to Lacy, Washington, Jim's old hometown, and had lunch with Jan and Larry Seaberg, another old friend. On the road, you catch your friends when and where you can. Then we pushed on to Lake Cushman Park where my cousin has a campsite. David and Melissa Moore will arrive around noon, today. Labor Day Weekend should be quiet here, and, apparently rainy, but exciting for me since I haven't connected with David since we were kids, a reunion of sorts.

EVERGREEN FAIR POST 3

I left off yesterday at the horticulture area of the fair. They had interesting plants.

Dish gardens are so popular with people living in apartments and small places. This one has a little rattlesnake in the garden.

Anybody can be a successful gardener in miniature. They are really fun.
Through out the horticultural exhibit, was a collection of chickens taking multiple forms, but that is another blog.

Kids crowded around this slice of a honey bee's nest where you could see the colony at work just like those popular ant farms of days gone by. Classes in bee keeping were offered to locals for signing up. I'd like to do it.

we moved on to the rabbit and chicken pens. A friendly bunny sits obediently on the hand of its owner.

I've never seen a bunny as beautiful as this one. I wish I'd gotten a better picture of it. She moved every time I snapped the picture. They're all adorable.

A hen with interesting coloring, breathing out of her mouth as though suffering from heat. Feathers on her feet. None of the cages explained what type of chicken they are.

I once had a huge rooster with a combination of feathers the color of this little banty, and the hen above, plus some turquoise. The kids named him Fat King Crow and he was such a beauty. I didn't see anything close to his coloring. I  looked for silver hamburgs, a type of chicken that I raised at one time.

The roosters got into a crowing duel. The colorful combs are comparatively a bit different from one another.

A coloring book perfect rooster comb.

A handsome fellow with his orange cowl.

I had a hard time to relate to this blob of down feathers as a chicken.

Pigeon fanciers love their pigeons. The owner offered to lift the cage so I could take its picture.

I'm sure I could easily bore you to death with chickens and birds, so here is the last shot of  three ducks of unknown breed.

They may not have posted the various breeds of their animals and birds, but one of the nicest things I've ever seen at a fair, and something that should be at every fair, is a wash station. They have one to two sinks on each side of a four sided structure. Here you can wash up, fill your water bottle and attach a hose if necessary. The sink on the opposite side of this clean-up station also has a drinking fountain. Fantastic!

I was tempted to try my hand at shooting. I was a crack shot at one time.

But, then, what would I do if I happened to win something.

More my speed now.

As the fair got busier, it was hard to find a place to sit. We found a concrete wall in the shade right next to this stand advertising elephant ears. The kid above grabs a pre-measured hunk of dough and mashes it about a little, and then runs it through that old washing machine wringer. A woman sitting next to us said these were invented here in the north west.

Then he dunked it in boiling hot oil for a couple of minutes.

He drains it for a few seconds. Lays it on the white paper, butters it and sprinkles it liberally with cinnamon and sugar.

Ah, at last. The perfect junk food, rich and greasy and delicious. For 6.50, enough for two people. How can you go wrong? And right next to a wash station. Hallelujah.
We walked away after resting our feet and whoa! Walk On Water was full of kids. We were back to the spot where we came in. We spent four hours walking around. It was a great fair, not too packed with people. Lots of interesting stuff in the commercial building. We did get to the beeves, and the bulls. But not back to those turkey drumsticks. It was just time to go home.

So we did.