Olympic Mountain Range in the Winter Fog

Along West Beach Road there is a long distance view of the Olympic Mountains.   Last week as I was heading south on the road I stopped to take a photo of the striking view of the mountains incased in the winter  fog and the dark clouds.  The colors of the mountains, clouds, fog and the Strait of Juan de fuca were of silvers,  gold, white and lavender.   I used the photo from my tablet to paint the scene twice with watercolor on paper.

Sketching Lichen with Colored Pencil

I enjoy the challenge of painting the textures, details and colors of the lichen that grows on the branches and trunks of the conifer trees where I live.  This time I used black paper rather than white paper so the contrast would emphasize the pastel colors  and detail in the lichen.   Also I used colored pencil for the fine detail of line and values in the hairy fingers

The live lichen  fallen from the tree trunks maintains its freshness and color for a while until it finally rots away on the ground.  The lichen living on the tree branches that break off and fall to the ground remains alive for some time.  I gather the lichen while it is still fresh  then bring it into the house to sketch.  After several days without moisture, the lichen fingers becomes stiff but maintaining it's shape and color.   That is the best time to sketch and paint it.

Quade Creek Covered with an Ice Topping

 The ground is still hard and cold from the week long cold spell that came down from Canada.  My feet do not feel the soft cushioning under them while walking on the path leading to Quade creek located on the back of our property.  The grass is stiff, my foot print imbedded into it,  the stiff frozen leaves make crunching sounds under my feet scaring away the little critters nearby.  Walking down to the creek I see white ice along the edges where the water has less movement.  I have never seen ice on our creek so I walk closer to see how much of the creek has frozen over.

Some areas of the creek are completely covered over with a sheet of ice while there are open areas where the rippling waters are flowing.  The deer, birds and other wild animals are still able to get their needed water from the areas that are not frozen over.

Bright Red Wild Rose Hips and White Snowberries in December

Bill and I chose to drive to Coupeville Sunday morning for breakfast at a small cafe before a vigorous walk.  The morning was cold, gray heavy clouds with a chance of rain in the forecast.   We decided to walk the trails encompassing the Greenbank Farm before the rains began to fall.  We were lucky, the weather held out for us until we arrived back home.   But what a invigorating walk on the trails through the tall gold and brown grass, along the side of the forest where the berry bushes, wild rose hips and snowberry grows.   The bright red rose hips were still clinging to the many vines entangled with the snowberry vines. The little white balls were bouncing in the slight breeze and the contrast of the red and white berries was so cheerful on such a gray wintery day.

We then headed up to the ridge where we could enjoy the views of Saratoga Passage on the east side of the island and Admiralty Inlet on the west side of the island.   While standing there a Great Blue Heron flew passed us heading toward the wetland further down the trail.   We then walked further heading toward our parked car passing the dormant loganberry vines, farm buildings and other islanders walking their dogs.

It is such pleasure to be outdoors during the winter days to observe and appreciate the muted  colors of winter, and the wildlife in search for food and shelter.   We felt refreshed, thankful and good on our arrival to our own warm shelter on the island.

Water birds on Puget Sound on a crisp cold winter day

Today, I sketched a few water birds, Wigeon female, a lone Pacific Loon and a 'land lover' American Crow sitting on a log on the beach waiting for humans to come out of the cabin to offer bits of food.  We sometimes like to offer the sea gulls and crows some of the food scraps while preparing meals but none today.   I was still able to sketch the visiting crow...so my turn to get something from it.   Grabbed my binoculars to peer out to distant waters spotting a lone Pacific loon diving in and out of the water surface to catch fish beneath the water.  This one stayed on the surface for sometime enabling me to do a quick sketch and do a wash on it later at home.   Then closer to shore I did a sketch of a female Wigeon who was in the comfort of her male partner...no time to sketch him.

My Whidbey Island Walk Essay Selected for Publication!

I have been down with bronchitis these last three weeks and unable to do some nature walking outdoors but today I ventured out for a short walk.   The air was fresh, moist with fog, birds happily chirping and squirrels chattering while dropping cones off the fir trees.  During the walk I decided to share the good news of my short essay, from my Whidbey Walk Journal, that was selected to be printed in the Journeys Outward Journeys Inward Travel and Transformation, editors Penelope S. Bourk and Bolton Anthony.  The book consist of several authors who have contributed essays about their journeys in search for an enriched and purposeful life after retirement from long years of working.

Copies of the book can be ordered through www.secondjourney.org.   Click on Itineraries to order.

Book Cover

First Page

The Final Stretch of the Whidbey Island Walk

 My final stretch of walking the length of Whidbey was completed with my husband as we walked along the trails through the forest at Deception Pass State Park.  The warm sunny fall morning made the walk even more enjoyable and gave us time to stop and admire the beautiful sun rays filtering through the tall evergreens and touching the floor with warm highlights.  The forest is populated with old growth firs and cedars some covered with brilliant green moss and lichen.

We stopped to admire Quarry Pond with native plants and water plants growing on the pond.  The surrounding colors nearby and on the pond contrasting with the water color were striking and I couldn't take my eyes away from it.  Suddenly, we heard a ruckus and some loud quacking noises and saw two Mallards that we startled take flight from the pond to the air.

We continued on our walk pointing out unusual plants and old growth trees then to our surprise we came to an old stone bridge that was built at the time highway 20 and Deception Pass bridge to Fidalgo Island was constructed.  The bridge was surrounded with evergreens with our trail leading through the arched passage under the traffic on the highway.  The structure was mostly in the shade but through the passage we could see the sunlight glowing on the distance deciduous trees.  It was a scene full of warm and cool colors.   We walked a further distance going past Cranberry Lake which is situated about 20 to 30 feet from the salt water Rosario Strait.  We could see the strait and Olympic mountain range in the distance.  A perfect ending to my walk.


 I authored a short essay about the Whidbey walk journal, with sketches included, that has been published in Journeys Outward Journeys Inward, editors Penelope Bourk and Bolton Anthony for Second Journey nonprofit group.  I am absolutely delighted to be able to share my story with other seniors as we travel through new changes and adventures in our lives.  There are several other interesting and  delightful stories written  by people who want to share their experiences, goals and life changes.