Tonight the Oregon Ducks battle the Auburn Tigers in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. The contest is the 35th and, as you might guess from the title, last game in a college football bowl schedule that began December 18th. So far I have seen parts of two bowls. Clearly I should have watched more games because my name recognition of the various bowl sponsors wouldn’t receive a passing grade.
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So Many Bowl Sponsors
Mud Bay Deer
Last seen heading north
She came from the south end of Mud Bay daintily picking her way along the shore on a medium outgoing tide. By the time I grabbed the camera this morning, the doe had crossed to the small spit of land that forms the lagoon in front of my neighbor’s property (see photo). Clearly the cold water was of little concern.
As the photo caption says she was heading north, possibly to bed down in the woods at the end of Rocky Point or perhaps with the aim of continuing around the point to Phinney Bay. Or maybe she was just lost. The doe is the first deer I have seen on the shores of Mud Bay.
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
A Great Text Message
The message—8—was short, simple, and completely understandable given the context. That’s what former Seahawk Dave Wyman texted to talk-show host Dori Monson after attending Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s news conference today. As Monson helpfully explained before passing it on during his radio show, “Dave is a man of few words.”
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Posted in Sports
Too Bad They Didn’t Make One with Bosch
Michael Connelly has published three novels about L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller, whose office in the first book is the back of a Lincoln Town Car. A fourth Haller novel is due out this spring. Connelly’s novels also feature a far better-known character, veteran L.A. homicide detective Harry Bosch. Bosch has his own series and has also appeared in some of the Haller books. Although I don’t plan to read any more Bosch novels (more on that later), I would watch a Bosch movie.
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Posted in Books & Movies
Frozen Solid
Fir and Ice
The weather has been clear and cold for the past week with lows in the twenties at night and highs barely above freezing during the day. Prior to the cold snap Western Washington endured more typical December weather—rain, followed by more rain. The photo shows the predictable result of leaving a wheelbarrow outside in the ready position for the duration. Nature filled it with water, which then froze all the way to the bottom. Previously I tossed in the fir branches while cleaning up at Treasure Island from the pre-Thanksgiving windstorm.
The forecast calls for higher temperatures and rain showers by the end of the week. Back to normal. Let it be so.
Posted in Weather
A New Personal Biking Record
In 2010 I rode my bike more miles than in any previous year since I began keeping track of my annual mileage in 1996. The final total was 2472 miles—170 more miles than the old mark of 2302 set in 2008. That’s not impressive if you are a serious cyclist like my nephew Eric, who trains for road races and entered (and finished!) the Hot 100 in Dallas last year. But for me averaging more than 200 miles per month was a major milestone.
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Posted in Biking
Clear, Cold, and Windy
December Inlet
It’s clear, 38 degrees F, and windy. It’s also December 30th so perhaps the latter two should be expected. The photo, taken from my deck, looks north across Dyes Inlet toward
For the record this post is the first written with a used replacement keyboard I got this morning at Northwest Computer for $5. The old one died yesterday after being swamped by a serious coffee spill. Who knows what inspiring prose the replacement keyboard’s previous owner wrote with it. Hopefully it will inspire me to do more writing in 2011.
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Weather
Buy Four, Get One Free
I’m a big fan of loyalty punch cards. There may be a better name for them, but I’m referring to paper cards that you get punched or stamped each time you buy a product or service. When the card is full, your next purchase is free. I have cards from sandwich shops, North Mason Fibre, the Lyon’s Pride (my barber), and numerous espresso stands. Today I got a card for the unlikeliest of products and one that will take years to fill up.
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Posted in Business Beat
Paddleboards on Mud Bay
A lot colder sport than winter biking
For several weeks now I have been trying to take a picture of paddleboard man. Although he’s out exploring on his paddleboard often despite the cold, wet December weather, I haven’t had any luck until this morning (see photo). We had a brief chat, and it turns out there are two hardy guys doing this. But they aren’t related and apparently don’t know each other.
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Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
How About Naming It Duck Point?
Quack quack
The Zillow map control outlines waterfront neighborhoods with a distinct yellow line when you zoom in to get property values (see illustration). This makes the north end of Marine Drive—the point of land across Mud Bay from my house—appear to resemble the head of a slightly bewildered duck. My view is of the back of the duck’s head. The bill, made by a small spit of land that pokes out into Ostrich Bay, points west toward Naval Hospital Bremerton.
To my knowledge, the peninsula accessed by Marine Drive has never been given a geographic name. Roughly a mile long, it’s a good-size chunk of land to be unnamed. On maps and charts, cartographers either label it as Marine Drive or just draw in the distinct shape and let it go at that. Area residents have gotten by for years by calling their neighborhood Marine Drive and likely don’t need any help from me. But if they do decide to name it (and Marine Point isn’t the overwhelming favorite), my suggestion is Duck Point. That’s appropriate, I think, given the number and variety of waterfowl paddling around in the local waters. And the Zillow outline.
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
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