Coho Waiting for the Rain...

reblogged from QuestX

The beautiful autumn we've been having is definitely causing trouble for the salmon in the smaller tributaries...
...in reviewing the tributary to the larger creek, no salmon are able to move upstream beyond the first riffles, effectively restricting the coho in shallow pools.


This physically restricts the normal breeding patterns of coho: mates restricted, spawning site selection limited, spawning and redd progression restricted.



This is a very large pair, the larger coho is ~3' long.

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Coho Salmon - Competing for Space and Mates

reblogged from QuestX

Coho salmon competing for spawning habitat and mates... in a tributary of Woods Creek, Snohomish County, Washington.
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The Elephant Child (photos by Ian Salisbury)

Ian Salisbury, general manager of a safari lodge and amateur photographer, captured this scene, very reminiscent of Kipling's "The Elephant's Child" in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

After hearing that a lodge guest had witnessed a similar attack, Mr Salisbury took his camera to check it out, "The action was so quick, a couple of seconds, and fortunately I had the camera pointing in the right direction. Having spent 30 years in the African bush I realize how lucky I was to catch the scene."

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Today in... the Creek ~> Jockeying for Position.

reblogged from QuestX

Coho salmon jockey for position in a tributary to Woods Creek, Washington.




.For best viewing change settings to 1080 HD.

Today in ~> the Creek ... confluence... Woods Creek

reblogged from QuestX

Yesterday we took the time to film at the confluence of the forks of Woods Creek... while we were there we saw several salmon jump just below the confluence and caught one on video (see video below at ~ 16 seconds in).

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~> best viewed in 1080 HD (re-set your YouTube settings ; ) 
The west fork enters on the lower left; downstream flows to the right.
The Woods Creek confluence is north of Monroe on Yeager Road.

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Today in~> the Creek... just add water.

reblogged from QuestX

With yesterday's rains the water levels have risen dramatically and the salmon are on the move...


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The video was captured in 1080 HD, please change the settings (lower right corner of the video) to experience the video at it's optimum.

Today in ~> the Creek ... Coho Waiting for Rain

reblogged from QuestX

The water levels have definitely dropped since Sunday.
The water in the main creek is no longer high enough to allow for fish passage over barriers and the water levels in the smaller creek have dropped enough that the fish are effectively trapped in short reaches, are restricted to moving downstream, or are at/ near the confluence of the tributary and main stem of the creek.




^Video of Coho moving downstream today, waiting for more rain.

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Today in ~> the Creek ... Coho Salmon Spawning

reblogged from QuestX

Today in the Creek...


Every year when the late October / early November rains swell our Creek (a tributary of Woods Creek, Washington) Coho salmon are able to pass the many fish barriers and ascend the creek.

This year we knew the salmon were just a bit downstream of us for almost 2 weeks before the rains this past weekend allowed them upstream access. Now that they are here the eagles will not be far behind...

We've been incredibly distracted recently, but we're wrapping things up, catching up, and will be posting a lot again soon! . .

31 Days of Halloween!(+1!) Nov 1 - Day of the Dead

Make: Skulls!
Recipe: Krispy Treat Skulls!
Made:Skulls!



Make: Day of the Dead Skulls

Recipe: Rice Krispy Treat Skulls and Skull Cake

Made: Leather Day of the Dead Masks

~> The first recipe I'm posting for Day of the Dead is crispy rice treat skulls! Information about the skull cake will be posted second.



~~> Recipe: Rice Krispy Treat Skulls

Most of this recipe follows a regular rice krispy treat recipe!
Basically, the differences are that you smash up the rice krispies before you start and you mash them in to skull molds instead of a pan! (you can do this with any firm mold and they are great used as cake toppers or individual treats)
ONE batch would fit a 13x9x2 inch pan.


Ingredients:
Rice Crispy Treat 
3 Tsp butter OR margarine
1 package (10 oz., ~40) regular marshmallows OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows
5 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal (a bit less makes for a denser cast of the skull, can decrease to 5 cups)
Decoration (optional)
fondant/sugar paste or marzipan
melting chocolate
sanding sugar
sprinkles


Crush the rice cereal a bit in a heavy food bag (a freezer bag works fine); you can use a rolling pin or the back of a wooden spoon). Smaller pieces make for more detail in your castings of your food molds! (and make the treat much more dense!)
Use a light baking spray on your mold pan (I used the Wilton  3-D mini skull baking pan as a press mold).
Use a large saucepan (a paella pan or wok also works great ; ) to melt butter on low heat, add the marshmallows, and stir until melted in.
Add your crispy rice cereal and stir until evenly mixed and well coated.
Use wax paper or a buttered spoon/spatula to press mixture into molds (or you could lay it out on aluminum foil and cut it with cookie cutters).
Allow to cool.
These are best if served the same or the next day. If you need to hold them you can freeze them between layers of wax paper for up to 6 weeks.


~~> Recipe: Skull Cake

There are (at least) two good 3-D baking molds for "full sized" skulls available: Wilton and NordicWare. The Nordic Ware pan has a more complete skull shape, with the back of the skull being more rounded, but may be harder to find. Wilton also has a 3-D mini skull baking pan with molds for 4 complete smaller skulls which are great for baking or using as a press mold.
Prep baking mold (grease / lightly flour).
Fill with any standard cake recipe or mix (The recipes and mixes we have used are given here).
Allow to cool and remove from mold pan, breaking the edge of the cake/pan border with a butter knife.
After the cake has cooled, cut the un-molded edges flat and spread some frosting thinly across both facing edges to "glue" together.
Gently frost the cake. Using the Wilton mold I tend to frost the base differently than the skull.
Then pipe decoration. You can use a small plastic food bag with a tiny corner snipped off for piping.


~~~> Made:

  

           

  

Enjoy! 
 
DeWyk