Oyster Blog — News from Here

Phil Lewis Day, a local guy who works wonders with wood, stopped by to show us some of his creations.  The basket below is made out of many pieces of firewood glued together and then polished smooth in a lathe... its design was inspired by Native American woven baskets. The basket below is made out of curly maple. Occasionally big leaf maple trees have 'curly' grain... no one knows what makes the trees grow this way. Locals also call curly maple 'music wood,' because it's often used to make guitars, or 'wavy-gravy,' because it's so valuable. Phil put the band-aid...

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Because the muddy clam net featured in the last post's video didn't quite cut it for people wanting proof that this is indeed the nicest time of year on the Canal, we took a few scenic shots this morning to better illustrate the joys of early September. Everything is still, and mild, and warm enough for sunbathing, but there are no people because tourist season ended when school started. And crab season is over, so there are no boats on the water. We have to admit that the silence is really nice.  

Watch the sun set over the Olympic Mountains from anywhere in the world at Dr. Dale's webcam. (Or check the webcam on a rainy February day and be glad you don't live here). The webcam looks across Hood Canal towards Brinnon, a small town located about 20 minutes north of the oyster farm. Although the oyster farm itself isn't in the picture, on the left of the webcam screen you can see the peaks of The Brothers and the headwaters of the Hamma Hamma river. Dr. Dale's map of the view from his webcam:

Our friends Rita and Jamie from Wyoming Aero Photography stopped by a month or so ago and took these amazing shots of Hood Canal and the Hama Hama tideflats. All photos by Rita Donham. Hood Canal, looking north. Hama Hama tideflats from the north. Hama Hama tideflats from the south. The cluster of buildings on the left of this photo contains the shucking plant, the wet-storage building, and the retail store.