We always enjoy our time in Port Townsend and so we decided to spend another perfect Saturday in November in our “Madison of the Pacific Northwest”.

We serendipitously found our way uptown to the Farmers’ Market, busy hosting their season finale, where we danced to bluegrass, ate cookies and purchased perfect vegetables from Nash’s (the cabbage!), hard cider from Eaglemount Winery and delicious whole-wheat hearth bread from Pane D’Amore.

After the Farmers’ Market we drove to Fort Worden to play in the Sound and sun.

When we arrived at Point Wilson we saw a large contingent of birders & photographers waiting at the Point with thousands of dollars of binoculars, scopes and cameras to see, we learned, the yellow-billed loon. This particular loon is rarely spotted outside of Alaska I’m told and is obviously an elusive addition to the life list given the birding arsenal on display.

While we were playing in the surf, I saw movement among the birders and wanted to see what they saw, but my daughter decided sticks in the water were much more important – so long yellow-billed loon, next time.

We were out at midday and the sun was pretty harsh so I decided to try black & white as something different.

Most of the beaches at which we frolic are rocky but Point Wilson’s sports a fine sand, a perfect medium for drawing with sticks and displaying shadows.

The lighthouse from the distance looks immaculate, with its perfect white paint and red roofs standing prominently at the Point – upon closer inspection it’s far from perfect and feels abandoned. I think black & white really embodies the feeling though the color image is pretty cool too.