The fauna and flora define us.

This is scotch broom, an invasive species here in the Northwest. It looks fabulous in the sandy shoreline, between the water's edge and the road. It was not planted here; it found its way by some clandestine back road, driven by wind, crushed into the sand by eager teens playing soccer.

All around this area we are surrounded by Douglas fir, Madronas, Rhododendrons and gorse. Yes, gorse, the same gorse that grows in Ireland and Scotland. During pioneer times, and for the last 150 years of statehood, Oregon coastal pastures were planted with gorse to support the dairy industry.

If you look on Google Map you will see a ring of yellow around this area, miles and miles of gorse and scotch broom punctuating open pastures. In the coastal range you'll see mountainous areas all in green, snakes of rivers and receiving lakes in blue, and lights around the cities on the I5 corridor, the main commercial highway connecting Washington State to the north to California in the south.

At the entrance to each state there are agricultural stations preventing plants and backyard fruit from entering another state. We can't take our weeds and dump them on our neighbors' back doors. We're stuck with them.