November Photo Tour of Point Defiance Park

Here in Tacoma on what some call "Black Friday," the clouds shared the sky with November sunshine, giving us a nice break from the rain. If you've had enough of shopping, traffic, and rushing to catch some elusive bargain, remember that in the background of our lives nature moves at its own perfect pace, whether or not you notice. But shouldn't you?

Come along for a breath of fresh air and some serenity through today's photo tour of our beloved local treasure: Point Defiance. Even though many readers know this place, those who don't live around here might enjoy the journey. We'll start out at the ferry landing and take a walk along the waterfront,  then back up through the woods. (Video included.)

Let's wander over to the boat house, just past Anthony's restaurant. It's a great place to enjoy all the action, especially during salmon season, when proud fishermen return with their catch. You can also watch the ferry on its way to Vashon Island and observe seagulls and other birds up close.

This video is best watched on YouTube. Just click on the YouTube logo.

No James Bond action in this video, but it offers what we too rarely take the time to do, and that is to pause long enough in our busy lives to quietly and patiently observe nature, in this case the behavior of seagulls. If you are reading this far from your Northwest home, here's a chance to watch them again and hear their haunting cries.

A long paved walkway tucked under the hill on the point's northern tip makes a lovely place to wander. Shady in the summer and sometimes downright cold in winter, it can be busy or bare. On this day, I enjoyed the solitude.

Bare tree trunks clustered here offer their own beauty.

This must be some kind of lichen.

We are approaching Owen Beach.

During the summer, Owen beach swarms with people, dogs, and cars. I like it best in the off season.

These old steps lead uphill from the beach to the road above.

Watch out for cars in the summer, but by November you might have the place to yourself.

The canopy of trees changes with the season. Few leaves remain.

              Ferns grow on tree trunks in the moist, shady environment of a Northwest forest.

Even the deer feel safe from traffic.

                 I followed them through the playground and then they disappeard over the fence.

The flower gardens have been put to bed for the winter and signs tells us that new plantings of bulbs hide deep under the mulch and soil, awaiting spring. However, even these plants now gone to seed offer their own beauty and remind us of the way nature's cycles go on without regard for mankind's folly.

As we officially enter the holiday season, I wish you happiness and peace.

Photos and text copyright 2011 Candace Brown

August Twilight at Point Defiance

Every day of our lives includes twilight, an event that occurs 365 times each year and is often ignored. Then after it happens, we realize the light is gone. Every 24 hours twilight arrives, brief and silent, but with a message as clear as the cry of a gull. Are you listening? It reminds us of this request of life, one you've heard so much that it too is ignored: "Be present in the moment."

















Last Monday evening, with a profound awareness of that message, I walked along the beach at Tacoma's Point Defiance Park with three other people. We witnessed a melding of sea and sky, day and night, like I'd never seen before. The tide on that occasion was high against the bulkhead, so high it seemed we could reach out and touch the water of Puget Sound as it spread like rippled satin in shades of apricot, lavender, plum, and indigo, still touched by the distant luminosity of a sunset just missed. Our friend, so affected by the scene, almost whispered, "How do you even begin to describe this?" I've tried here, but he and the others could tell you I've failed. My best efforts can't equal the experience of "presence."

Around sunset last evening I once again craved the beach. I went down to Point Defiance with my camera, hoping to find that scene again. What I found had its own beauty, a sense of peace and tranquility and the essence of the maritime Northwest. But I can't give you what I witnessed on Monday night. Those moments are gone, except in memory, and even the best memories are less than what "now" has to offer. If I had known that fact in the past, I would have wrapped my arms around all those other pieces of what was then the present and cherished them more deeply.

The present, like the look in a person's eyes, the taste of food, a whiff of the sea, a musical harmony, a gentle touch, and especially the company of beloved souls, must be savored with gratitude during that very second. What have you missed already, that will never come again? Have you ever tried to hang on to the sound of a loved one's voice after they are gone? Did you ever wish for just a few more seconds during an embrace, or a snippet of time from a long ago childhood? These things all slip away.

August enters it's last phase and we notice the days getting shorter. Tonight, when twilight returns, as brief and silent as always, just be still and think about what it symbolizes. These moments are your life and tomorrow's memories. Don't forget to pay attention.

Copyright 2010 Candace J. Brown

Fyddeye- a new maritime history community

Joe Follansbee has done it again. His knack for being the right guy with the right idea at the right time means good things happen that wouldn't otherwise. He just started an exciting new web community called Fyddeye to connect people who care about maritime history, on the local level and around the world. Now I want to help him spread the news.

If you're a regular reader you might remember me writing about this busy freelance journalist, webmaster, and author last April in a blog post called Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe . Even if you just discovered Good Life Northwest you might know Joe because of his involvement with 4Culture , the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, the Maritime Heritage Network, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Community, his numerous articles in Seattle area magazines, and his book, "Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona."

You won't find "fyddeye" in the dictionary. On the site, Joe says its source was a word that refers to a sail-making tool and the human eye. That's logical, since he always keeps an eye on what's happening in the world of maritime history and preservation efforts. And it's a good thing, because treasures from the past can disappear in the time it takes to blink, if nobody cares. If you didn't care before, you will after you become a fan of Fyddeye. It's a place for people Joe refers to as "maritime heritage advocates," lovers of historic ships and lighthouses, to read and contribute to news and information about preservation efforts, urgent needs, and successes.

It isn't all serious either. The tone is friendly and fun and I can see it becoming the web equivalent to places like the Point Defiance Boathouse here in Tacoma, where you see old friends hanging out with steaming cups of coffee, just catching up on the latest catch. Or maybe they just need to be around water and boats. Having grown up on an island, I know that homing instinct that makes me want to lean on a railing, smell salt air and hear the seagulls. And I care about old ships, like Puget Sound's "environmental ship," Adventuress, which I've written about many times.

So come aboard! Your friends at Fyddeye are waiting, just a click away. For now at least, you have to bring your own morning coffee. But you never know with Joe...




Copyright Candace Brown 20009