Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Gallery of Cobalt Blue
I love cobalt blue but it’s not so easy to find!
So I went through my archives and found some in the most unusual places, starting with Texas! No, not in the bluebonnets, those lovely wildflowers that adorn Texas in the spring, but from the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.
I found a blue lady in the lobby, on track and moving forward, so I squared her for #SquaresRenew.
I found more blue inside, in sculptures of rock and pigment,
and ‘In Search of a Mountain,” by Anish Kapoor.
In Florida, I was impressed with the beauty of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, shimmering in cobalt blue.
And nothing says cobalt like a winter sunset over the water, this one closer to home, in Port Ludlow on the Olympic Peninsula.
I’ll close with another square for #SquaresRenew – ‘Up We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder!’ with the Blue Angels. They fly over Lake Washington during Seattle’s Seafair weekend every summer.
And that will do for cobalt blue!
Sharing with Sunday Stills #Cobalt Blue.
~ Susanne
Share this:
About those Northern Lights
Like most of you we heard there would be a spectacular display of Aurora Borealis over the weekend; the Northern Lights would reach much further south than is typical. The Pacific Northwest was included, and clear skies were in the forecast.
I also read that the best time to see them Friday night was between 12:00 am and 3:00 am when I expected to be sound asleep, so I conveniently forgot all about it, until I saw the magnificent pictures everywhere the next day.
So when I heard that Seattle was promised another display Saturday night, I made some effort to see them. But not from our house, we don’t face north, and are surrounded by trees; my dear husband offered to drive me to a high spot nearby.
We arrived around 10:00 pm and could see Renton below, ablaze with manmade light, and the Seattle skyline in the distance.
Other folks began to arrive and wondered where the show was.
“There’s something there,” I said “the sky should be inky dark, but there’s some kind of haze if you look closely.” Bob was not impressed, and I too had my doubts.
Yes, we saw smudges of color hanging over the horizon and I snapped a few photos. And I suspected if we waited longer (but how much longer? hours?) we might see the dancing colors in the sky everyone had raved about. But we were both SO tired, and less than 30 minutes later, headed back home.
The pictures aren’t great but I do see more color in the images than I saw with my naked eye.
The Northern Lights might show up again tonight. I envy those folks who got a good view out their front door. I wish I was camping somewhere away from the city lights but alas, I am home, still not facing north and still surrounded by trees. And I quite can’t imagine getting up after midnight to try to find them again (nor trying to convince my husband to drive me somewhere.)
Sigh.
This will have to do.
~ Susanne
Share this:
Kitty Selfie
“Smile, Benji.”
Testing my new phone’s camera. I upgraded from Samsung Galaxy S9 to S23. Not exactly cutting edge, the S24 came out earlier this year. I like to let them work the bugs out first and save some money in the process.
Not the top of the line but it’ll do just fine. I got the base version to retain the small size.
I took the photos and loaded them directly to WordPress, using the jetpack app on my phone, with no edits. I like the clarity and look forward to learning more of the features.
And Benji makes a great model, don’t you think?
Happy Caturday from Susanne and Benji! 🙂
Share this:
Traveling the Oregon Coast in Black and White
Not exactly on purpose, in black and white, that is. We had good weather the first half of our recent vacation in the Redwoods, but on our drive back home up the Oregon Coast? – Not so much.
It happens.
Still, it IS the Oregon Coast and there was much natural beauty to enjoy even shrouded by clouds and rain!
Bandon by the Sea
We spent the night in Bandon, one of my favorite places on the coast. The next day we stopped by Face Rock but didn’t venture down to the beach as it was pretty miserable. Even the sparrow seemed a bit under the weather.
Newport
The next night we spent in Newport and visited Old Town on the waterfront, where we found dozens of (noisy) and somewhat hostile (to each other) sea lions.
We did catch a break later that night with a reprieve from the rain and took a walk on the beach just before sunset.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse and Outstanding Natural Area
Yaquina Head is just north of Newport, and you can see the Lighthouse in the first picture above from the night before. The next day we visited the lighthouse close up.
This is the tallest of Oregon’s lighthouses at 93 feet, and my favorite. It was first lit on August 20, 1873.
We’ve stopped by many times before, but this was the first time we took the stairs down to Cobble Beach below. Wow! The tide was out and tidepools were full!
“The cobblestone beach was created roughly 14 million years ago as a result of the Columbia River basalt lava flow. Over the years, powerful erosion processes break down beachside cliffs releasing basalt cobbles. The cobblestones become smooth and polished from the constant tides and storms.” OregonDiscovery.com
We crossed the slippery stones to the tidepools, careful to avoid stepping on the millions of mussels and other small creatures.
We also stayed far away from the resting seals, who live here year-round.
So, despite the inclement weather, this stop at Yaquina Head proved to be the highlight of our trip home. So never let a little (or a lot of) rain stop you!
~ Susanne
Share this:
Bee Squares
You might think I’m selling something but I’m not; I’m participating in Becky’s #SquaresRenew challenge.
I see renewal everywhere in my garden this time of year, especially when the herbs begin to grow and blossom anew, attracting bees who come for the nectar and pollen to feed themselves and their young; plants benefit as the pollen is carried from plant to plant, for their own reproduction.
Herbs are resilient and faithful, requiring little from me. Over the winter they’re muted and mostly gray but come to life again in spring. Lavender is my favorite, the French variety burgeoning with color first in the tassel on top.
Though the lavender buds are still tiny and tightly coiled, they’re open enough for honeybees to visit, and they patiently work the stalks.
The larger, pale flowers of Rosemary attract bumblebees.
Some bees hibernate over winter (bumblebees and mason bees,) emerging when temperatures climb into the 50’s. Honeybees stay busy in their hives all winter long to keep the queen warm. Both finally emerge in the spring as food sources become abundant once again.
~ Susanne
Share this:
What’s in my Inbox?
It’s Monday morning and I’m ready for work. I check my inbox as my first order of business.
“Excuse me, Benji, but that can’t be comfortable.”
“Actually, Sue, it is. But thanks for checking.”
“That’s fine, Benji but you’re in my way. Can’t you find someplace else to sleep?”
“Well I could Sue, but I’d rather be close to you.”
“Okay when you put it that way. I’ll check my inbox later. Go back to sleep.”
~Happy Monday from Susanne and Benji
Share this:
May the 4th be with you!
Not so long ago …
I couldn’t resist.
Happy Saturday!
~ Susanne
Share this:
May Arrives in Living Color
Spring arrives stealthily in the Pacific Northwest, not in March though the calendar says so nor in April though it teases with warm days between cold and frosty ones. (And the rain? Don’t get me started.)
It’s May that shouts the glory of spring in color.
Not only in green with ferns unfurling;
but in pink clematis blossoming, climbing higher and higher,
and salmonberries ripening (the early red of this one surprised me.)
Each new season comes just when you need it most but it’s spring that brings the most hope, and possibility of renewal and growth.
Sharing with # Squares Renew and Cee’s #FOTD
~ Susanne
Share this:
Two are Better than One, Cats that is
First there was Tiger and Shadow, brothers in the flesh.
They came to us at the age of five, middle aged in cat years, from a Cat Hotel where they’d been dropped off when the owner could no longer keep them. (Yes, there are such things. Poor boys.)
When we learned of their plight, we welcomed them into our home, and they appreciated their new lodging. If there were ever two cats more bonded than these, I have not seen them.
They rejoiced in their newfound outdoor privileges, exploring the garden, stalking the birds and generally behaving like liberated felines.
Alas, Shadow was a sickly one and within the first year departed to the place where all kitties go, only they know where that is.
Then there was only Tiger, lonely we thought.
We may have been wrong.
In any case, we assumed it was so, and brought Benji home from Seattle Humane as a companion; I admit they had a rough start, with Benji coming out on top.
But they finally adjusted and learned to tolerate, if not love one another as brothers,
living side by side.
Which is all one could ask for.
I guess you could call them our #Pets, though it may be something more than that.
Sharing with Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
Share this:
Celebrating the Coast Redwoods for Belated Earth Day
To celebrate Earth Day, we traveled to one of our favorite places last week to enjoy the tallest trees on earth, the Coast Redwoods of Northern California.
Thanks to the efforts of the Save the Redwoods League, formed in 1918, there were many ancient groves for us to enjoy, in the national park and California state parks.
“When logging began in the mid-19th century, roughly two million acres of ancient old-growth redwood forest mantled the coastal mountains of California and southernmost Oregon. Today, just about 5 percent remains. These parks preserve 35% of all remaining, protected old-growth coast redwood forests in California.” Signboard from the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway
We visited many ancient stands of redwoods and because it was the off-season, we often had the trails to ourselves, mostly without any rain.
In addition to the giant trees, there’s much to enjoy in the rich understory of the forest,
along with herds of Roosevelt Elk.
But there’s no doubt, the Redwoods take center stage.
Living up to 2,000 years, growing up to 380 feet tall, the Redwoods are resilient, resistant to insects, fire and rot, determined to keep on living, no matter the obstacles to be overcome. Maybe we could learn something from them.
Yes, #Earth Day was last week, but we just returned from our trip last night, so I’m sharing belatedly with #Sunday Stills, Earth.
-Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 