Joe Hautman of Plymouth, Minn., was named over the weekend the winner of the 75th annual Federal Duck Stamp competition. His painting of a pintail pair nestled in a grassy marsh earned him is third winning entry.

Joe Hautman of Plymouth, Minn., won the 75th annual Federal Duck Stamp competition with this painting of a pintail pair nestled in a grassy marsh.

Second place went to Harold Roe, of Sylvania, Ohio, and third place went to Scot Storm of Freeport, Minn.

Hautman’s winning painting will be featured on the 2008-2009 federal

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Preliminary tests show the four beaches set to open for the first razor clam dig of the season, beginning Oct. 25, have low levels of domoic acid.

All four beaches, Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks, had acid levels less than 1 part per million when test Oct. 8. The state closes beaches to digging when levels reach 20 ppm.

This was the first of two rounds of testing required by the state Department of Health for each razor clam opener.

Results from the final round of razor clam samples to be tested should be

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Check out this picture I snagged off Mount Rainier National Park’s Paradise web cam last night.

At first glance, the camera seems to have captured a ghost hovering above the trees. More likely, however, this is a wormhole to another dimension.

Jeff e-mailed park superintendent Dave Uberuaga this morning to get an explanation.

Uberuaga will likely tell us it’s something like light reflecting off a rain drop on the camera lens. You now, typical government cover-up stuff.

Click below to read the response Jeff got from the park’s spokeswoman .

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Why do Washington surfers love Al Perlee so much?

Well, I found out during a recent visit to his Westport surf shop.

Perlee is a surfing legend and a beach philosopher incapable of giving a straight answer to the simplest of questions.

I found this out when I stepped into The Surf Shop last month to meet the former Stanford football player.

"When did you open this place," I asked the massive man.

"I don’t remember," he said.

No way I was buying that. "You own the state’s most famous surf shop.

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WARNING DON’T VIEW THE PICTURE IN THIS POST WHILE EATING



My 6-year-old son, Alexander, and I just got off the trail in Umatilla National Forest when he headed to the nearest vault toilet to take care of a little business.

About 10 seconds after he entered the outhouse, I heard a scream.

“Dad,” Alex hollered as he ran outside. “There’s something in the toilet and it has cat eyes.”

Thinking a raccoon must have gotten himself into a stinky predicament, I grabbed my camera, flung up the lid and took this picture.

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