Salmon Season!

A beautiful sunny day so we took off for Carkeek Park on Puget Sound 20 min away as we heard from son Eric that the salmon were back.   Piper’s Creek is a lovely shaded creek where some Chum and Coho salmon return every fall to lay their eggs (spawn) and then die, leaving nutrients for many creatures and the forest.   It’s such a fascinating life cycle that nature has devised.  (HERE is a kids’ version of what happens in this creek.…I always look for kids books when I want a straight explanation without too many words!)    
We had a nice walk and saw many dead salmon  (2 in this photo) but could not spot any live fish swimming upstream.   We used to call this park the “train park” when kids were little as the railroad runs along the Salish Sea shore there and you have to pass over a high bridge over the tracks to get down to the beach ..  You can see the shadow of the bridge in the extra, plus a couple other views of the creek …the bottom right is near the mouth where we thought we’d get to see one struggling up…but we didn’t…and a closeup salmon to see how they change.  Silver to pink and a feisty snout. Too many people for my comfort, but all were masked.  I’ve since learned there was some “event” going on this whole weekend, bringing out more people and kids I suppose.  There’s a great playground and lots of forest trails as well as the beach.  We were very lucky to snag a parking spot.  


I do hope everyone that everyone in the US who celebrates Thanksgiving had a good day yesterday ….It was as perfect as it could be for this time and place!   But it’s hard not to be horrified at what this virus is doing,( and our president.  53 days to go.)