June, 2022
In my last blog post, I drove down to the shore of Birch Bay and explored a little bit of the beach there. I noticed a bunch of homes on top of a bluff, an outcrop of land off to the south. This afternoon (in this blog post), I took a drive to look at those homes up on that bluff, on that outcrop of land just a few minutes south of the state park … the outcrop of land that is the southern point of Birch Bay.
Nice homes! Not so awfully fancy and high-priced, but very nicely maintained and comfy and cozy. Most weren’t too wide, side to side, but they were built longer/deeper from front to back than they appear in my photos so they had plenty of room inside and they were positioned close enough (though not too close) on the top of the bluff/bank, above the beach down below them, so they had a spectacular view of the western sunset over the salt water of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea and the hundreds of islands of the USA and Canada.
Not only were all of the homes deeper from front to back than they appear, but also a few of them had a daylight basement on the bluff/bank side of the house so a few of the homes were two-story homes with both stories having a full view out over the water.
Here are some photos …
And then, an empty lot (below). Design and build your own home! This lot wasn’t actively for sale — there was no for sale sign on it — but I might think the owner could be persuaded.
The home above looks tiny, as maybe some of the others above do too. But this home is longer going back towards the bluff. It was a nice size home, as were all of them here. The width of each house from the front view is deceiving.
And this thing (below) needed a photo taken of it. It’s a mail box! Indeed, it’s right next to the road/street and it’s used as a real mailbox. A blue kayak … bringing your mail to you. 🙂
This was a handsome house, one of the few here with a garage. And it had a huge wrap-around deck with bird feeders and hanging plants. Because it was a two-story house, with stairs, this wasn’t my favorite, but it was a close second!
During my drive through this community, several owners were out and about and waved to me, just saying hi. That doesn’t happen much in communities in the USA. This place felt so comfortable. Of course, I waved back. 🙂
What I thought would be a simple, regular, ho-hum average drive through a community of homes turned out to be pretty special.
It was now late afternoon, so I headed back to my campsite in the Birch Bay State Park. But it wasn’t quite time for dinner yet, so I walked through the campground, just looking at other people’s rigs (homes on wheels) and listening to the birds. I came upon a campsite that had an older, smaller Escape trailer in it. Cool!
I slowed my pace to see if I could ascertain whether the owners of this Escape trailer were onsite and were amenable to a chat. The single woman owner was outside, apparently setting up for her dinner. She looked at me and waved. So I said “hi” … and she did too … and I walked partway over and she came out of her campsite and we enjoyed a very nice chat especially when she found out that I, too, owned an Escape trailer (she had noticed my trailer on her walk earlier in the day) … and she also knew she could trust me when she saw that her dogs liked me, that matters!
She gave me a quick tour of her Escape trailer … it was an older 15-footer in excellent condition. She had it tricked out in a number of ways that I wished I’d taken photos of. But what was the best of all was that, as we stood outside by the wood camp table, she said “Oh! do you like birds? I found a Hummingbird’s nest!”
That got my attention! I’ve never seen a Hummingbird’s nest. So she showed me. Look at the photo below, just the first photo below, don’t look further below yet, just the first photo … do you see the nest? Don’t worry if you don’t. I know where it is in the photo below and even I still have to hunt for it. But take a look at the overall perspective … and then I’ll zoom in for you.
Wow! How amazing is that? Even if the nest is empty now.
She noticed it a few days ago when she first arrived at the campsite. Hummingbirds were flying in and out of the nest and there were still youngsters in it that were just starting to fly. So it seems the youngsters flew the coop, they left their first home, just a day or two ago.
So here’s that same photo above but with a RED ARROW pointing to the Hummingbird nest.
This is but one reason why the understory around Pacific Northwest trees is so critical … vine maples, all manner of berry bushes (huckleberry, salmon berry, blackberry, thimble berry), salal, oregon grape, bleeding heart, all manner of ferns, and so many other native plants. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, please don’t clear out the understory bushes and plants around trees. Hummingbirds and all manner of other folks need those plants. This Hummingbird nest was 2 or 3 feet above the ground. I’m told that when we humans clean out the understory, then the Hummingbirds will do what they need to in order to find a safe nest and often end up with a nest high in the trees, such that eggs fall out in a wind, the babies fall out in a wind, etc. I’m told that Hummingbirds prefer a safe home near the ground in amongst this dense understory. I think I would too.
This whole day was just super! The walk on the beach this morning with my bird friend Little Towhee, that started the day nicely … and then I had a very interesting drive through a warm, friendly community of people and their homes … then the friendship of another RVer as she showed me her home on wheels (and her dogs) … and then to have the home of a Hummingbird shared with me.
Homes. Homes are special, everyone’s home is special. And really good, perfect homes come in all sizes.
The word “home” can be so deceiving. It’s so different for people who live in different places on the earth, and for other animals too. I like that you touched on this, but didn’t do it with a heavy hand. My favorites homes … photos #1 and #9 … well and the Hummingbird home too for sure! 🙂
Thanks Paul. Well said.
They sure do come in all sizes! I would love to live in any of them. Except the hummingbird nest, I wouldn’t fit in that. But I also remember my own home is pretty special too.
Yes, this was a reminder to me, too, that my home is just great, just the way it is. That hummingbird nest was tiny!
Love that hummingbird nest. The woman who saw it was paying attention! I like seeing the human “nests” too. 🙂 #1 is my favorite.
Ah yes, human “nests”. 🙂
Super cool! I like #6 but I bet the ceilings are low inside. The kayak mailbox is really great.
I liked #6 a lot too. But yes, the ceiling seemed to be right at the top edge of the front door. Might feel like a cave inside. But someone loves it. 🙂
That nest must be TINY, oh gosh to see one closeup, as long as it’s empty. That was great. We have lots of “hummers” where we live now in Arizona but neither of us has ever seen a nest. We’ll ask around! Makes our permanently parked motorhome seem huge.
I didn’t get close enough to measure the nest, but I would guess it was about an inch-and-a-half wide. Indeed, my home is immense compared to that nest! even tho my home isn’t all that big. Hope you find a nest or two to see in your area Wanda.
How nice that another single woman camper would be comfortable showing you her camper. Although I think single women doing anything seem to be ok with other single women, it feels safe. Love the homes, love the hummer nest! Besides the hummingbird nest which I just want to go sit in!!! my favorite human home is #1.
I think so too, Kinny. Women do seem to most always feel safe with other women. I didn’t ask to see inside that woman’s trailer … she was the one who asked me if I’d like to see the trailer. Of course I did! 🙂 Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know how it feels to be so small and sit inside a hummingbird’s nest? What a great idea.
I’ve tried hanging purpose-made wooden hummingbird “nests” in my trees (I live on 5 acres of trees). I have hummingbird feeders on the front and back of my house that are drained at least once a week, so the hummers are all around me, but no one uses the “nests”. Ok, maybe I’ve put them too high because of erroneous info! And maybe they just want their own home that they build and that they feel is perfect. I really like this blog post with the idea that a perfect hummer nest is deep in the trees and safe in among the undergrowth in among the trees. I like my home in among these trees too!
I put a wooden hummingbird nest outside my home too, Cindy, as high as I could reach, and used a step ladder too. It’s in a protected spot, and I put red ribbon nearby to attract the hummers (or so I was told to do). The nest had been there for a year, no takers. And I too have lots of hummingbirds around me who are feeding, but there isn’t much undergrowth around our trees. In truth, I hope their nests are so well hidden that no one can find them. 🙂