True Love (and birds of Maui)

We went a little Southwest of Gig Harbor to the great state of Hawaii for a little R&R. Cindi and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary (actual date August 18th) with some great friends of ours on the Island of Maui. Who would of imagined that 25 years earlier this young 20 year old bagging groceries at Lucky Grocery store in Davis California and a much older 21 year old girl named Cindi Wardelman would still be married 25 years later! It is definitaley a “God thing”. Jesus has been so gracious to us and we honestly love each other more today than we did back in 1984!
Ok, getting back to pictures….The bird population here is amazing. Here are some shots from the first day…

Ray Nash Valley sights

Cindi and I have been taking walks down Ray Nash Valley lately. The sights, sounds and colors have been pretty amazing. This is a “must do walk” for Gig Harborites in the Spring time..



Dad this is where I want to get married...sound good? ok great

Big Boy Darts.....

I went over to a buddies house this afternoon to shoot Archery with some friends. I had not shot archery for over 10 years. Like most sports, it comes back once you start practicing. New compound bows can shoot an arrow over 300 feet per second! If you look closely in a couple of these pictures (click on the picture) you can actually see the arrow in flight. We shot at ranges from 15 yards all the way to 60 yards. My friend’s daughters even got in on the fun.

Strutting his stuff....

I had a great time the other day watching a male Hooded Merganser show off around his female friends. It is amazing how large these drakes can make their head look while doing a dance in the water… check it out…

Trying to impress the women...

A long, long time ago...

OK, so this has nothing to do with "Views from the Pacific Northwest"...but I couldn't pass this up. We spent Easter weekend with my parents at their house in Davis California. My parents have owned the house since around 1952. Here is a picture of me in my parents backyard back in 1970ish. My brother came across this while going through an old box of Kodachrome slides.

I think there is a little Dennis the Menace in me...

California Images...

We are enjoying the sun here in Northern California. My parents backyard has an abundance of wildlife and flowers. (No ducks or Bald Eagles....but still lot’s of cool sights).

Orange Eating Squirel
Iris Mourning Dove Coo
Easter Squirrel

Warm Days

What an amazing three days in a row of weather! It was so nice we decided to pull out the boat and head to the water. Other than a bad solenoid and bad gas (in the boat), the boat ran great.

We had some good friends over yesterday late afternoon and we went on a tour from Ray Nash Bay to Gig Harbor. My friend is an avid photographer and we had a blast capturing all kinds of pictures.

Old Turquoise Blue Eye... (Brandt's Cormorant)
SUV through Rainier

Bridge Traffic (Cormorant style)

Surf Scooter on the run.... Surf Scooter takes flight....

Common Loon sighting...
Red-Necked Grebe viewing