Salmon Creek

We just got back from a glorious walk at Salmon Creek Park. It is just at the end of Hazel Dell Avenue. Dana and Kal live on 82nd Street off Hazel Dell Avenue. This is the closest park right in the city. Despite that, it has a wild area along the side of the creek.

We hoped to see some birds Dana mentioned that live there. We were blessed. The first birds we saw were ducks. Ducks live just about everywhere, even in our little manmade creek in Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks. Dana said we might see an osprey at Salmon Creek. We did see a bald eagle nearby on the way out on our walk. Soon, there was a lady stopped still in the path. She was watching three bald eagles across the creek high in a tree adding to a nest. We all had them pointed out to us. Even Alan, Sir Whingealot, spied them. He does like birds. He said he couldn't see them very well. They were far away.

When we walked out as far as we wanted to and turned around, we scared two bald eagles high in the trees beside the path. They flew back to the nest across the creek. I should add that this creek is as broad as a river this time of the year in this rainy place. We were delighted to have a sunny day.

Next, we saw two blue jays. When Don prepared to shoot them with the camera, they both flew off, one at a time. The photo opportunity was missed.

Last, we saw a huge osprey nest in the cross poles of an old telephone pole. The phone wires are long gone. The manmade tree limbs are ideal for the size of an osprey's nest. Nobody was home, though.

We walked on down past the parking lot where we had left our car so that we could take a look at the swimming hole and raft where Kal swims in the summertime. On the way, we picked up sticks so we could play Pooh sticks on the bridge over the creek. We had fun playing Pooh sticks and Don and I remember when Dana and Cate played Pooh sticks on a bridge in England not far from Dover where my paternal grandparents lived before emigrating to western Canada in the early years of the last century.

Alan, Kal and Dana played on the fun spinning equipment in the playground. We have never seen these two contraptions. They work like a top for one or two kids. That was a fun end to our walk in the sunshine.