Steve Hill photo of a Blue Heron, taken yesterday:

From the Daily World story on 57-36 Lady Hyaks victory: North Beach needed the first half to find its groove before overrunning visiting Ocosta in this Pacific League contest on Thursday night.

The Hyaks (8-0, 15-1) led 24-19 at the half, then picked up their offensive groove against the Wildcats (0-7, 7-8).

“It took us a little bit to get warmed up a bit,” North Beach head coach Brett Mackey said. “In the second half, we executed better offensively. Defensively, we were up and down. As a whole, with the (weather) layoff, I was pretty pleased with the way we played as a team.”

Dramikha Skaar and Iyah Bastian led the Hyaks with 14 points each. Skaar added 10 rebounds for a double-double night and Wakeena DeLaCruz scored 11 and swiped six.

From Grays Harbor County Emergency Management: A High Wind Watch will be in effect from 10am – 10pm today. Rain showers through the day with a possibility of 1-2” of snowfall in higher elevations this afternoon.  This storm may have sustained winds of 29-35 mph gusting 40-55 mph along the Coast. Gusty winds can snap tree branches and cause power outages. Grays Harbor County Emergency Management is urging all citizens along the coast to prepare for possible power outages.

From the National Weather Service: HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR THE CENTRAL COAST UNTIL 3 PM MONDAY…* SEAS MAINLY 16 TO 20 FEET. *LARGE WAVES WILL CONTINUE TO BATTER THE BEACHES THROUGH MONDAY…. RIP CURRENTS AND LOCALIZED BEACH EROSION CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THE LARGE WAVES. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO FISH OR OBSERVE WAVES FROM ROCKS DURING HIGH SURF CONDITIONS. UNWARY BEACH WALKERS CAN BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD AS WAVES SUDDENLY RACE FARTHER UP THE BEACH THAN NORMAL

Looks like Lorraine T. and Tony Byers are the low/high score leaders in the North Coaster Quiz (see earlier entry). Deadline is midnight tonight to enter your scores. Prizes to high/low scores.

Extra credit question:

My yard art is:

a) one or more float(s)

b) one or more crab pot(s)

c) Sasquatch or other wood carving

d) the sign “Property Protected by Smith & Wesson”

Scoring: a) 5 points; b) 10 points; c) 25 points; d) -50 points

Awe-inspiring photos of the late-afternoon sky from Emma Davis, who adds some great photography notes: There were lots of really cool looking clouds today, must be from the storms blowing through. The two dark sunset photos were taken at sunset as the sun was disappearing behind the next wave of storm clouds. To deal with the overwhelming brightness of the sun and preserve cloud detail, I used a really short exposure and a variable density filter. The clouds had this wonderful rainbow fringe effect around them – red-yellow-green-blue. I think it must be because they are heavily laden with moisture and the water droplets were refracting the light. This effect was much more visible (more greens and blues) in person, but the short exposure and the filters heavily emphasized the red end of the spectrum.

Hearty souls out last night looking for the razor clams, and conditions should be “challenging” again today for Part II. Low tide around 5:30 p.m.

HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING… … SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS… NORTH AND CENTRAL COAST…. WINDS HAVE EASED THIS MORNING. LOCAL SOUTHERLY WINDS 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE LATE SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A HIGH SURF ADVISORY… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM SATURDAY TO 4 PM PST SUNDAY. * SWELLS… WEST SWELLS 15 TO 20 FEET.

* IMPACTS… EXPECT DANGEROUS SURF ON SAT AND SUN… ESPECIALLY AT HIGH TIDE. DRIFTWOOD AND LOGS WILL BE TOSSED ABOUT IN THE SURF… AND WAVES MAY SWEEP UNEXPECTEDLY HIGH UP BEACHES AND ACROSS BREAKWATERS.

And beware of extra-powerful rip tides.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY… WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SATURDAY.

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS… THE SAN JUANS AND WHIDBEY ISLAND AND THE COAST.

* WIND… SOUTHEAST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH SHIFTING TO SOUTHWEST LATER TONIGHT.

* IMPACTS… GUSTY WINDS MAY SNAP TREE BRANCHES AND CAUSE LOCAL POWER OUTAGES.