I spent last weekend in eastern Washington deer hunting. On a very sunny and warm Sunday, I came acoss this butterfly.

I wasn't sure if it was following me, or I was following it.

But when it landed on the trunk of a Ponderosa pine tree, I took a few photos.

Jeffrey P. Mayor
A Red Admiral suns itself on the rough bark of a Ponderosa pine tree.

In looking at a couple of guides, I think it is Red Admiral butterfly. If anyone thinks otherwise, I'm open to changing my identification.

In the same area, I saw a Downy woodpecker flitting about on a pine tree. It never sat still enough to let me get a good photo. They might not have been the white-tail buck I was really looking for, but it made for a fun few moments in the woods.

Crab fishing in waters north of Tacoma and in Hood Canal will reopen on Nov. 1.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this afternoon that four areas of Puget Sound will reopen to recreational crab fishing, based on summer catch assessments.

Starting Nov. 1 at sunrise, marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and 12 (Hood Canal) will reopen for sport crabbing seven days a week through Jan. 2.

Crab fishing remains open seven days a week through Jan. 2 in marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), and 13 (south Puget Sound), where the fishery has continued uninterrupted since June 18.

Sport crabbing will not reopen this year in Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands), marine areas 8-1 and 8-2 east of Whidbey Island and Marine Area 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island), where the summer catch reached the annual quota, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy coordinator, in a news release.

Johnston Ridge Observatory, the closest observatory to Mount St. Helens, will close for the winter Nov. 9 according to the National Forest Service.

The observatory will reopen in mid-May if weather permits.

The visitor center at Silver Lake, five miles east of I-5 on Highway 504 will stay open for the winter according to a statement from the forest service.

Other viewpoints and trails on the northwest side of the volcano will be open and the Department of Transportation will maintain Highway 504 as far as Coldwater Lake. However, the forest service says visitors should prepare for winter driving conditions, which could include sudden road closures.

The winter climbing season start Nov. 1. Climbers are required to get permits at the Lone Fir Resort in Cougar on the south side of Mount St. Helens.

“It’s important that people come prepared with the 10-essentials including compass, map, extra warm clothing and rain gear,” said Peter Frenzen, Monument Scientist, in a prepared statement. “When fog or blowing snow reduces visibility it’s good to have an experienced climber along to lead folks back to the trailhead.

"As wind and snow begin to rebuild the overhanging snow cornices on the crater rim it’s also important to carefully assess how close to go and where it’s safe to look into the crater."

A climber fell into the crater last winter when a cornice collapsed.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has closed its Milepost 8 water access site on the Yakima River in Kittitas County. The site is closed through Nov. 15 for construction, said a department news release.

A department crew is working with heavy equipment at the site to improve the boat launch and add a disabled-accessible toilet, paved parking lot and nature trail.

The work is funded by a $238,000 state lands development grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, the release said.

Other water-access sites in the Yakima River Canyon remain open, including two managed by the department. Information about all the department’s water access sites in south-central Washington is available at .
The News Tribune