The day was gray and blustery. The first snow of winter had fallen the day before and more was forecast for the next day. I was on my way to the Edmonds Marsh Estuary with my camera. My mission was to do some photography of the area through the seasons. My photo journaling began unexpectedly as I walked north on the east side of Highway 104. The results of the labor of the many volunteers to free up the flow of water under the highway culvert from Shellabarger Creek amazed me.

Water was flowing freely into the marsh along the west side of the highway. It gave me a glimpse into the possibilities for this sanctuary in the near future. I continued to the northwest side of the area behind the tennis courts along the boardwalk, photographing the wintery scene. It certainly was “fowl” weather.

Even the heron had their heads tucked away from the wind and were not anxious to take flight on this windy day.

Then I came upon the biggest surprise of the day. There at the end of the boardwalk I discovered two bird-watching telescopes. They were in mint condition and part of a memorial to Bill Anderson and his love of the marsh estuary and the hundreds of birds he had photographed over the years.

And the telescopes work! Don’t ask me how I took this picture with my camera through the telescope.

Hope you enjoyed my journey as much as I did taking it. I’ll be back when the snow creates more        photo ops. Thanks for joining me.

— By Bernie Busch

Bernie Busch lives in Edmonds.