We returned to Oyster Bay, for another paddle this last weekend, this time with our son Taraz. One thing about Puget Sound - it has moods and nuiances that come with clouds, rain and sun. The last time we were here, it was very sunny, which made for deep color in all my photographs. This paddle was different, in weather that was quite subdued. All the colors became muted and soft.
The water was still, hardly a ripple, with a few raindrops breaking the surface. We paddled completely around the bay, enjoying the sounds of gulls, the flocking up of Goldeneyes, White-winged Scoters, Mallards, and Buffelheads. There were quite a few shore birds, like 'Yellow-leggs' (similar to a Sandpiper). There were a few docks on the water that had oodles of clam shells that had been opened by gulls. Also, the Canadian Geese sun themselves on these docks, that is until we disturb them. Then, with a few wary glances and a communal agreement, they all heavily flap upwards with resounding squaks. They flew just far enough to settle in the water a short ways away.
This is the bay where I video-taped the jellyfish a few weeks ago, and today they were pulsing along, just as precious as can be. I did a little video-taping, but oftentimes my camera just lingered on Taraz, bundled up in his big tan coat and hat, hunkered down in the middle of the canoe. I'm aware that as he gets older my opportunities to film him will be limited, so I just focused on him until my film ran out.
