Merry Christmas!

(OK, two more pictures from Christmas morning.....)

Tracks from the dreaded Timber Yellow Labrador Retriever...

...Dreaded Timber Lab jumping.....

Merry Christmas from the Northwest Pleau's.

This nativity scene was made by my Dad. He created it out of a tree that has been growing in their front yard for the last 40+ years in Davis, California. I believe the tree is a Japanese Bogota. The intrinsic details are amazing.

The remaining pictures are just random shots from around Gig Harbor over the last couple of snowy days....

May the birth of Christ remind us that we are not alone......God is with us...

Enjoy...

Ray Nash Drive street sign and happenings

Frozen snowy Kayaks on our dock

Cold Horses

Happy George in the snow!

Visitor in the snow

This beautiful Bald Eagle showed up this morning in our backyard. I quickly took a couple of shots through our window...

Enjoy!

Snowy Gig Harbor

We have gotten a little snow here in beautiful Gig Harbor. We are hoping for more of the white stuff just in time for Christmas. Snow is always more exciting than 50 degrees and rain!

Olympic mountains in the morning

Aspen in the snow

Ray Nash Bay

Snowy fisherman statue

Christmas Boat Parade

Cindi and I attended the Gig Harbor Christmas boat parade this evening. It was freezing and the hint of snow was in the air. Surprisingly, there was a good turnout of people to this annual event. Here are some photo's....

My personal favorite complete with Fishing poles....

Crowds on local dock...

Rudolph guiding the boat by night..

Fisherman Statue at Christmas...

Santa's arrival Downtown Gig Harbor

Cindi and I decided to go to downtown Gig Harbor for the annual Christmas tree lighting event.
The crowd was huge and everyone (parents included) had a great time. Here are some pictures and an actual short video of Santa’s arrival.

Rudolph's Cousin

Festive Boats

Here he is!

Clam eater (including shell)

I watched in amazement yesterday as this female Surf Scooter came up from a dive with a good-sized clam. (click on each picture for full meal deal)

I had read that Scooters ate clams but to actually observe a Scooter swallowing one whole was amazing. (I don’t think they make a strong enough antacid or laxative for humans to have these kind of eating habits :~)

Preparation .....

Choke Hold...

Down the Hatch!

Loads of waterfowl

It was a great day today for waterfowl viewing. It looks like most of the species of waterfowl that visit the Puget Sound region are now down from Canada.

A pair of Mallards off of Spadoni Hill


A male American Widgeon in Ray Nash Bay


Common Loons racing in Ray Nash Bay


Female Barrows Goldeneye drying off


Surf Scooter looking for clams in Ray Nash Bay

Northern California Wildlife

We are visiting our folks today down in Northern California. My Dad and I went out to the Yolo Causeway located between Sacramento and Davis to view wildlife. The lighting was not the best but the wildlife was amazing! Here are some shots…



Pintail in flight


White Egret taking off

Cinnamon Teal feeding

Red Wing Blackbirds

American Kestrel Falcon

Swimmers Itch

I did not have much time today to go out and about and take pictures. I did happen though to snap a couple of shots that I thought were kind of fun.

I spotted this drake Bufflehead itching his ear with his foot. It looked pretty funny to me... so I decided to see if I could capture the itching with my camera.

Here you go....

Design and Purpose

One of my favorite ducks of all time showed up yesterday off Ray Nash Drive. A pair of Beautiful Harlequin Ducks decided to hang out on a small dock taking in the sunshine. The colors on the male Harlequin are amazing. One web-site explains the male like this….. “Males in breeding plumage are unmistakable with their dark blue color, rufous sides and crown, and striking white patterning on the face, neck, sides, and back”….



After viewing these birds, I noticed some big splashes in Ray Nash Bay directly behind our house. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be a large Chum Salmon. This fish had made a right turn into Ray Nash Bay instead of a left. If he had gone left he would of found the small creek that hundreds of other Chum were heading up…



As some of you may know, I am a Christian. This blog in no way is a “Christian blog”… but, I got to tell you, the more I get out and take pictures on this amazing planet, the more I am convinced this earth did not come about by an “accident” as Evolutionists would teach. I am in no way antagonistic to those who do not believe in a Creator…I am just thankful that I have been introduced to the God that created this world with design and purpose…..



I am also hoping to see more of the rufous colors soon!

Chum Salmon video

The Chum Salmon are making their annual migration up several of the creeks around Gig Harbor. These pictures and short video were taken yesterday at Donkey Creek located on the West end of Gig Harbor.

Ray Nash Valley

Cindi and I took a good walk this morning down in Ray Nash Valley. Lot's of amazing sights and sounds. I look forward to many more walks with more pictures.

Enjoy!

Bufflehead Monday

It was a good day for Bufflehead viewing today in Ray Nash Bay. Bufflehead are fun ducks to watch and the males are beautiful. If the sun is out you can actually see iridescent dark purple, dark green and black all on their head.

My hand dandy “Birds of the Puget Sound” book says this about these birds….13” long, wingspan 20”, small plump diving ducks with small gray bill…