Magnuson Park
April 2nd, 2007. Pictures
(click on each picture for a larger view.)
We went to Magnuson, Sand Point today. I took some thimbleberry and carex obnupta to the WNPS nursery for the upcoming sale, and helped clean and move things around for a bit. I've noticed that on most occasions that I've visited the nursery, over a dozen by now, this little guy is usually hanging around keeping us company and talking. Rick, the nursery manager, said that this hummingbird is there almost every time he works at the nursery, which is several times a month. He perches near the fence line and watches us, and then he puts on a display of aerial maneuvers. This involves flying about a hundred feet up, so we can barely see him, hovering, and then diving so fast that the eye has trouble tracking him. At the bottom of this dive, as he pulls up and comes to a sudden stop about fifteen feet off the ground, he gives a sharp chirp. He'll repeat this several times before coming to rest on his perch again. At home, I had heard this chirp for years before finally tracking down the little hummingbirds in our woods who do the exact same thing. After helping in the nursery and watching the bird, which Rick named Rufous, the dogs and I headed over to the off-leash area.
As always, we had a blast. Since it was a Monday, the swim beach was only half as crowded as the weekend. The fellow above was having a great time, but he got confused about fetching on a few occasions. Kelsy takes her fetching very seriously, and she is careful to always get her tennis ball, not one of the dozen other balls flying around the park. I believe this boy's owners said he was probably part greyhound and part great dane.
While I was throwing the ball for Kelsy and keeping an eye on Porter to make sure he didn't start any trouble, this little guy ran up to me with some urgent idea in mind. I offered him a tennis ball, but that wasn't what he wanted. I petted him a bit, but that wasn't it, either. Then I decided he wanted his picture taken. He sat nicely for three shots, the last of which was the best one, and then he ran off. It wasn't until I got hom and looked at the enlarged photo that I noticed what an interesting face he had. He was right to insist that I take his picture.
Porter gets freaked out by larger dogs. Usually, he is the biggest dog wherever he goes, but at the off-leash areas, there's always one or two dogs bigger than him, and he gets snarly about it. At the swim beach, three Grate Danes were having fun, and Proter walked up to them with his bad attitude. I quickly intervened and directed him over to the other side of the swim beach. One of the Great Danes wanted to play with Porter, and he came over to get Porter's attention and then ran off, causing Porter to chase him. He did this several times, with Porter chasing him all over the area. When Porter caught up to him, instead of being playful, he started to growl again, so I had to redirect his attention again. Why I didn't get a picture of the Great Dane trio, I have no idea. The were with three women who probably weighed less then the dogs, and could have ridden them like horses.
Kelsy fetched her ball in the water several dozen times, swimming out about fifty yards each time. When she comes back in, her wagging tail makes an arc of water droplets. You can't see it with the naked eye. It only shows up in photographs.
You get to and from the swim beach along a long, narrowish path with fencing on either side. I threw Kelsy's ball over the fence, accidentally. I would have climbed over and got it, if the fence weren't topped with barbed wire. Kelsy was heartbroken, and she ran back and forth searching for her lost ball.
The trees had new growth of a yellowish-green that stood out against the dark clouds.
The play area nearest the parking lot had mounds of bark. I'm not sure if this was new bark they were preparing to spread around or old bark they were preparing to take away. These mountains of bark made excellent play features.
A pair of dogs decided to play King of the Hill, and enacted an epic battle. Several dogs watched the spectacle. I'm not sure who won, or if they know who won.
At the south end of the 350 acre park, a row of sculptural monoliths mark a straight line (probably running exactly north and south, by my estimation) that people honing their surveying skills can use to practice on. Each stone has two holes in it, one high and one low, and the holes line up so that you can see through all ten of them.
From the south boat launch area, we walked north along the paved trail, past all the signs that say No Dogs Allowed on Seattle Beaches: $500.00 Fine. This was okay because we'd already been swimming at the designated area, so the dogs were mostly content to walk along on their leashes and wait for me while I took over a hundred pictures. The flowery mead above was dotted with daisies. At the right of the picture is a fine example of a black cottonwood. They smell good, this time of year, as the sticky new growth bursts out.
Above is a nice cloud with what might be a crab apple tree. It was a good day for clouds, and Magnuson has many wide open spaces that are ideal for cloud watching.
This sculpture is one of a row of about twenty sculptures that look like the dorsal fins of a pod of Orcas. They are actually the fins from decommissioned nuclear subs.
Above are three dogs sitting atop Kite Hill. A few people were attempting to fly their kites, but the wind wasn't cooperating. The hill did offer a spectacular view.
What's this? The sign above the door says 19, I think, and it seems to lead under a mound of earth. A bomb shelter?
This was the first time I had explored Magnuson beyond the native plant nursery and the dog area. There's always something going on here--plant sales, concerts, kayaking events, sword fighting, volunteers tending the gardens, geocaching, soccer and baseball games--so you can always find something to do. It is also an excellent place to do nothing.
(Pictures from April 14th have been added to the Magnuson gallery.)
