Puget Sound Cooperative Colony

Ennis Creek mural 3

This is the second of two Ennis Creek murals painted by Corey Ench on the building that houses the Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles. This one, set in 1889, portrays a group of early Port Angeles settlers, a utopian group called the Puget Sound Cooperative Colony. Hoping to improve their world, its founders were responsible for many Port Angeles firsts. They built the first Port Angeles opera house, many of the first local Christian churches and the first schoolhouse. The steam shipyard and lumber mill depicted in this mural were also the work of the Cooperative.

Ennis Creek mural 4

Although the Cooperative disbanded after ten years many of its members remained in Port Angeles and contributed to its development.

Ennis Creek mural 5

Both murals are nicely done. Here is a closer look at some of the detail work. The murals were completed in 1997.

The S’Klallam of Ennis Creek

Ennis Creek mural 1

There are two “Ennis Creek” murals outside the Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles that portray scenes of local history. Created by Corey Ench, the first mural portrays the Native American history of the Ennis Creek area. The scene is of a S’Klallam village in 1750, an era “before contact” with white men. The traditional canoes shown here are an historic design still used today. Each carved from a single cedar log, the boats are both seaworthy and beautiful.

Ennis Creek mural 2

Because of the mural’s location it was impossible to back up far enough to get it into one frame. I know it can be stitched together in Photoshop but, regrettably, I don’t have the time and climbing gear to tackle that learning curve right now. I also haven’t cropped these shots. Above the diagonal of the roof line I was taken with how well the mural’s sky color caught the color of the day I was there.

What’s a nudibranch?

Nudibranch

The Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles has a tank devoted to nudibranchs, also known as sea slugs. These are tiny invertebrates. For me, the closer you get the more beautiful they are. This little creature was only about an inch long.

Nudibranch 2

I’m not an underwater photographer. Hopefully you can see the delicate form of this tiny and beautiful animal.

Sea star

Here’s a more common sea star. I’ve added this one to the mix because it looks to me like a human on Superbowl Sunday after a few too many beers.

Indoor tidepooling

Anemone elegant

The Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles allows visitors to take a close look at tidepool creatures without the hazards of slippery rocks and crashing waves. And the closer look an aquarium offers allows a glimpse at the stunning beauty and diversity of underwater life. For me anemones are a case in point.This one is aptly called an elegant anemone.

Anemone green

This is a giant green anemone.

Anemone pink

And I think this is a fish eating anemone. They’re not as benign as they may appear.

Click here if you’d like more information about tidepool life and where to tidepool on the Olympic Peninsula.

Feiro Marine Life Center

Child at Feiro

I explored the Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles recently. It is a small educational center with aquariums as well as several tanks that allow visitors to touch sea life. The Center offers a representation of the more typical marine life of our region: nudebranchs, echinoderms, and cnidarians. Tomorrow I’ll show you examples of some of these critters.

Let me count the ways…

Valentines 1

I started celebrating Valentine’s Day a little early this year when Doodlebugs, our local scrapbooking store, announced that they were hosting a drive to collect handmade Valentine cards for patients at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. I love Valentine’s Day. And since making greeting cards is an addiction for me, that was all the excuse I needed.

Valentines 2

If the deadline hadn’t been the end of last month I’d probably still be making them. I’m not the only addict. The drive collected over 700 cards.

Happy Valentine’s Day!