Lindy Low LeCoq

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #171: Weird & Wonderful ~

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

How I love the critters and living organisms that fit this category! Though I don’t often visit dry desert places, when my younger sister lived in San Diego, my older sister and I visited her and she treated us to many of the beautiful sights in the area. The photo below is a detail of cacti taken at the SD Botanical Gardens.

There are over 12,000 species of moss, so identifying them has not been a priority of mine, however, the shape of the one in the middle of the gallery below is a giveaway!

From the Pacific Ocean, many different critters are washed ashore. Though no expert, I have made an effort to learn what they are and a little about them. A year ago I posted this photo of a single pink blob, about 2-3 inches long that I found. Steve Morey (The Outer Shores) identified it for me – Rat-tailed Sea Cucumber.

“Active nocturnally, they vary in size, from small to over 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches) in length. They are found on, under and within rocks, rubble, and sand from the inter-tidal zone to depths that exceed 300 m (984 feet). They feed by ingesting large amounts of the sand/mud substrate and filtering out the organic matter, and are prey for fish, sea stars, crabs, gastropods, and marine mammals.” https://mexican-fish.com/sea-cucumber-of-the-molpadidae-family/

The above creature looks like a Moon Jelly that has produced a clone. I have searched the internet and have yet to find out what it is for sure. I welcome suggestions!

Alloniscus is the mystery midnight Rune Writer of the dunes. It is hard for me to be selective taking photos of their wonderful, abstract patterns in the sand! I like how the little plants accentuate the image above.

Our constant Pacific Ocean wave activity on the Long Beach Peninsula (WA) creates what I call ‘natural sand-paintings’. One of my favorites is this image that appears to me as an angel, with wispy wings on either side of the face, as it reaches for the feather.

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Thank you Leya for another fun, weird and wonderful challenge!

https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2021/10/23/lens-artists-challenge-171-weird-and-wonderful/

Posted in Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, mycology/mushrooms/fungi, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, weekly photo challenge | Tagged bugs & critters, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Long Beach Peninsula, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography, weekly photo challenge | 11 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Pacific Ocean Storm Surge ~

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in nature photography, pacific ocean, Report from the Edge of a Continent, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged Long Beach Peninsula, nature photography, pacific ocean, photography, Report from the Edge of a Continent, Wordless Wednesday | 4 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170: Street Art ~

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

As the 1989 centennial anniversary of Washington State approached, the timber and fishing industries that had supported the Long Beach Peninsula were in decline. Hoping to attract tourists, Ilwaco Port Director Bob Peterson spearheaded an effort to “paint larger-than-life murals on the exterior walls of buildings.”

Painted in 1986 by artist Thomas J. Teitge of Hailey, Idaho, this mural was a “window into the past” on the side of what had been the Doupé general goods store in Ilwaco. “Starting on the left side of the work, a contemporary child carrying a skateboard is walking toward the scene of downtown Ilwaco, circa 1920, complete with the narrow gauge railroad running down Main Street.”

The building has been unoccupied for many years, though it seems to be under perpetual renovation. I was sad to see that the above mural has been scraped away, leaving only hints of the original painting.

The above restored triptych, on the side of Long Beach Pharmacy in the center of downtown, depicts 1920’s era beachcombers and clam diggers.

This large mural by William Garnett, depicts net fishermen with horse seiners. It is on the side of what is now the Olde Town Trading Post coffee shop building in Ilwaco. When I drove by this week, I noticed scaffolding along the wall. I can only hope the mural is being restored. What a shame it would be to lose this illustration of peninsula history.

Painted by Colin Williams, this mural on the side of the Long Beach Elks Lodge depicts a historic shipwreck near Cape Disappointment, where the Columbia River enters the Pacific Ocean. Known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” thick fog banks, strong currents and waves, and powerful winds have been the peril of many ships since exploration began in the 15th century.

Painted Pacific County, Damian Mulinix, The Chinook Observer, July 25, 2017.The Long Beach Peninsula, Donella J. Lucero and Nancy L. Hobbs, Arcadia Publishing, 2004.

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Thanks to Patti for another opportunity to shine a little light onto the history of this place I call “The Edge of a Continent.”

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #170: Street Art

Posted in Art, history, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, pacific northwest, photography | Tagged Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Long Beach Peninsula, photography, Street Art | 6 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday ~ Lake Sakajawea Park ~

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in nature, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged longview washington, nature, photography, sacajawea park, Wordless Wednesday | 2 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #169: The Ordinary ~

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Here is another challenge right up my alley. When I’m outside, it’s not unusual to find me crouched down to get a photo of some small bit of life passing by. As Jello and I were on our way to the beach yesterday, a striking woolly worm stopped me. Also known as a woolly bear, legend has it that this caterpillar is a predictor of upcoming winter weather.

Isabella tiger moth larva *(Pyrrharctia isabella)*

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, “the wider the rusty brown sections…the milder the coming winter will be. The more black there is, the more severe the winter.” Looks like we’re in for stormy weather in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), USA!

Pelagic Goose Barnacle – *Lepas anatifera*

This may not look very ordinary to many of you, however along the beaches of the world, large colonies of pelagic goose barnacles attached to drifting wood end up on shore. If the tide rises enough to reclaim their floating home, they will survive, if not they perish. This particular colony, photographed 10/11/2021 had returned to the Pacific by the next day.

Not sure what particular flower made this lovely seed head, maybe dandelion or perhaps a relative. Regardless, this light seed soon to lift and dance in the wind, is a common sight in fields and meadows just about everywhere.

Mushrooms are abundant in the PNW from autumn through late spring, and year round where grounds are damp. Their visual contrast from the flora around them, always catches my eye. Rule number one in my “Mushrooming Without Fear” guide is, Never, never take a mushroom with gills!!! Even from this vantage, clearly this mushroom has gills and is best left untouched where it is. (Alexander Schwab)

Though dogs are very much an ordinary part of our lives, this is Jello – an extraordinary Beagle. I have featured her in several posts, and we spend much time together exploring the outdoors. Unfortunately, she has congestive heart failure which we are treating with medications to keep her as healthy and active as possible. It is a degenerative condition however, and there is no reversing it. So today, I end this post letting my followers know, as I face the reality she won’t be with me forever.

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

A big thank you to I.J. Khanewala for hosting this challenge!

The ordinary

Posted in Beagles, bugs & critters, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography | Tagged jello, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Long Beach Peninsula, nature, nature photography, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, photography | 4 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday + Cee’s FOTD ~ Basil & Roses ~

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in Cee's Flower Of The Day, flowers, Gardening, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged Cee's Flower Of The Day, flowers, gardening, Wordless Wednesday | 2 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday on Thursday ~

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Posted in birds, nature photography, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged Long Beach Peninsula, nature, pacific northwest, photography, Wordless Wednesday | Leave a comment

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #168: Seen Better Days ~

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Oh, my – Tina has me pegged! When I was in high school I loved to go to old buildings near our farm and draw various aspects of them. My affection for once useful structures and other stuff that has fallen into disrepair is still alive and well.

This historical building was originally a Methodist Church and parsonage built in 1916. More recently it was the site of the Sanctuary Restaurant and Antique store. Purchased a year ago, I have high hopes it will be restored to its original charm.

These tall trees have certainly seen better days! Still, there is something alluring about their stark trunks lying in the clear water, and bleached roots reaching toward the forested hills.

There are four wooden structures that house the condominiums of the Breakers. Originally constructed in the late 1970’s they are still solid and in good condition. Being in a constant Pacific Ocean marine environment, sometimes parts of the structures need to be replaced. These two workers were at the third floor level, just outside our window where I was able to take snaps of them removing the pole and setting a new one it place.

Left – rotted pole being taken away. Middle – new pole being set into place. Right – securing new pole to structure. In the center photo you can see blue poles along the front of the building in the background.

Being a fishing and ocean-going community, rope often ends up washed onto the beach. Over time, people (like me) who remove trash, have draped rope over a post beside the trail from the beach to the Breakers. It is a colorful display, often with buoys and abandoned flip-flops tied into the mix!

Along our trails are benches for folks to sit on and rest. After walking by them many times and seeing them in disrepair, I asked management/maintenance if I could have permission to screw them back together and paint them. It was an easy job, and once done, so gratifying to see people using them again. Wish I’d thought to take an “after” photo!

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Lens-Artists Challenge #168 – Seen Better Days

Posted in Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, pacific northwest | Tagged Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, pacific northwest, photography | 12 Comments

~ Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #167: The Colors of Autumn ~

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Lindy Le Coq

Ornamental maple trees are turning on their autumn razzle-dazzle all over the Pacific Northwest, as we greet October with a few days of welcome rain.

The little bright crab-apples (below) caught my eye and made my mouth water. My grandmother made crab-apple butter that was a blue ribbon winner at the county fair, and her pickled crab-apples were a special treat at our Thanksgiving table when I was a young girl.

The stand of holly in my back yard is a favorite place for birds to rest, nest and shelter. Holly berries start out lime green and begin turning yellow this time of year. The color shift continues shading to orange, carnelian and by December, the bright red of Christmas wreaths.

In spring this Wild Rose is smothered in pink flowers and alive with pollinators. Now it drapes a mantle of golden foliage over its old host fence.

While walking in a different neighborhood today, I was curious just what this tree was. I associated the big seed pods with Locust, which led me to identify it on line. Though not native to North America, Mimosa or Persian Silk Tree is very happy in our PNW climate.

Albizia Species, Mimosa Tree, Pink Siris, Persian Silk Tree *Albizia julibrissin*

Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾

Last week I wasn’t able to post to Leya’s challenge of artificial light, the first one of the Lens-Artists Challenges I’ve missed! Sometimes life intervenes with our best laid plans and intentions, so I’m happy to be back participating this week. Thank you Amy for this timely theme!