We’ve got raccoons in the neighborhood … and I think we’ve got one that comes up onto our deck and get water out of the dog’s water dish. (if the dog could learn to drink water with a straw, maybe the water dish could be inside again) The worst, of course is when the dog notices the raccoon on the deck and reacts with manaical barking in the middle of the night. Regardless, the raccoons can pose well and they aren’t as camera shy as many other critters.
These photos were taken from scans of photos that I took back years ago. Fortunately, I had shared prints with a friend and he still had them after my digital files were lost in a change to a new editing/organizing program (after which point I developed a significantly more thorough backup system). The Upper Dungeness Valley is outside of the Olympic National Park in the Buckhorn Wilderness.
Taking advantage of beautiful warm spring weather, we went up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. The views were stunning, but comparing the view (above) with a photo from about the same spot back 5 years ago and three weeks later in May shows that we have a very low snowpack this year.
For another view, this time looking down the Elwha River valley. This one is a little more difficult to compare snowfields, because they are similar and both are a long ways away.
One of the phases that madrona go through each year is the glowing colors they present in Spring. The bright reds and greens are a visual treat. These are some that I enjoy on one of my regular walks up the hill in Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, WA.
These are trees above the Sol Duc vallely in the Olympic National Park on the Deer Lake Trail. While it wasn’t raining on this day, I haven’t spent much time in the Sol Duc valley without it getting cloudy, foggy, rainy, or at least drippy. And I’m not exactly sure if the Sol Duc meets the definition of a rain forest. The next valley down does meet the rainfall requirements … as do the next 3 major valleys after that. (Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets and Quinault)