January 18

-5 and snowing. Looks like about 2" overnight.
Thinks look a bit tenuous for tomorrow's departure. We will have to weigh sitting at home for another day or two against being in the motorhome on the Olympic Peninsula. Rain will come sometime.
The juncoes are really busy on the feeder this morning.
This weather may delay M's cousins coming from Saskatchewan (House sitters). The -40's out that way won't make for nice travelling.

and sucked out as much liquid as he could before breaking his way into the meat.

He kept gathering oysters for a few more minutes but didn’t eat anymore. He was still hungry but realized he could not afford to make himself sick and too much of the high salinity liquid along with too much food would likely cause just that.

He went back to the log and retightened his footwear then proceeded slowly along the beach in the opposite direction that he had gone before.

He not only searched along the last tide debris but also examined the high tide line just short of the bush and shrubs. For several minutes his only successes were more plastic bottles, a few sheets of old news paper and half a dozen plastic shopping bags. The most valuable find was a bundle of fish net. Everything he found, he carried along until he had an armful then deposited them at the bush line and marked the spot with a bag tied to a branch.

He didn’t hurry and he slowly worked his way around a curve in the beach and out of sight of where he had come ashore. Finally he spied a glass wine jug lying on a bed of small water worn twigs. ‘Glass!’ He could make a sharp tool and maybe improvise a better foot covering for his one foot. He laughed aloud!

As he stepped forward to retrieve the jug he noticed an opening in the bush and on closer examination he realized he had found a game trail. He followed it a few feet and then in a damp spot he saw a small hoof print. “Aha,” he muttered. “Fresh meat if I can find some way to catch it.”

Bob turned and went back to the beach and looking around he spotted a curved log that was in the full sun. He went and sat then leaned back into the curve. “Gotta have a plan.’ He thought. “I need shelter, food, a fire would be nice, I have to explore and see if this is a big or large island or an island at all. For the first time he looked, really looked at the water out from ‘his’ beach. He saw that there were craggy rocks just breaking the surface and telltale signs of underwater rocks and then about a half mile away was another piece of land. ‘How come I didn’t see that before? Guess I never looked out at all, and I guess no boats will be coming through with all those rocks.’

As the sun warmed him he closed his eyes and gradually slipped into a light sleep.

Perhaps a half hour later he woke with a jerk. ‘God, I’m thirsty.’ He thought. ‘I should be doing things instead of sleeping.’ Nevertheless, in spite of his thirst he felt greatly refreshed. Wide awake and without further thought, he moved all his close finds to where he had dozed then made his way back down the beach and carried all those items back to the one spot. Finally he moved up the things he had left where he had washed ashore.

Once he had everything together he smashed the glass jug and using a shard he cut open the rubber boat bumper and fashioned a primitive moccasin-like shoe, he used it to replace the denim pad he had tied on.