Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Welcoming the Spring Equinox in the Pacific Northwest
It happened March 20th this year, the astronomical start of spring.
The March equinox (also called the vernal equinox) is the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn equinox in the Southern, when the sun crosses above the earth’s equator and night and day are roughly equal in length.
Here in the Seattle area, it means, we’re marching towards the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, when we hope to see more blue skies and sunshine!
Strangely, we only got our winter snow recently and while it was beautiful, it was a bit late in the year for my taste.
The snag was covered in snow for a few days, but before that the Northern Flickers had already returned to their nests in the largest cavity,
where this youngster was born a few years ago.
The Flickers have always been willing to share the snag with smaller birds, including Chickadees
and Nuthatches.
But this year, for the first time, there’s been competition from a more aggressive bird – the European Starling.
Though the flickers were watchful,
I’m afraid they lost their nest to the interlopers.
I hate to see the bullies win.
On a more positive note, the Rhododendrons are blooming – did you know they’re Washington’s State Flower? They come in all sizes, shapes and colors.
As do their cousins, the Azaleas.
See how they glisten in the rain?
“April showers bring May flowers,” so the saying goes, but here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s October, November, December, January, February, March, and April showers that bring us our May flowers!
May is, indeed, the floweriest month in my garden, when the Clematis takes over, here’s a sneak preview!
I’m happy to be hosting #Sunday Stills again this week while Terri is road-tripping!
Feel free to link up with your own Equinox post, whether Spring or Autumn, and use the tag Sunday Stills.
Debbie from Between the Lines will host next week’s challenge.
~ Susanne
Singing for Joy on the First Day of Spring
Today is the first day of Spring in the Great Northwest and this House Finch is singing for joy!
Hoping to attract a mate!
I’ll have much more to share on the Equinox when I host #Sunday Stills this coming Sunday!
See you then. 🙂
~ Susanne
A Coulon Walk with Snowy Mountains, Bald Eagles and St. Pat Walkers
I took a walk at Coulon last week before the snow hit. It was biting cold and dreary gray, but I saw plenty of eagles.
The stony walkers (Phillip Levine’s 1982 bronze sculpture “Interface,” ) looked as cold as I was, not yet dressed for the coming occasion.
I returned to Coulon yesterday for another walk saw the snow-covered Olympics were positively glowing!
The eagles were still hanging out though I only had my phone with me so couldn’t get much of a close-up.
And the walkers were finally dressed for the holidays.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
~ Susanne
A Gallery of Green for Sunday Stills
I’m happy to be hosting Sunday Stills this week for the Color Challenge: Jade Green, Light Green, Peridot.
My feature photo is a Fire King mug in Jadeite, collectible glassware from the 1950’s.
I love the shape and the color of the coffee cup, which holds a mere 6 ounces, long before the world supersized.
But the best greens are found in nature. The gallery below includes an assortment of greens from my home state of Washington, aptly named the Evergreen State.
The picture below is from Hoh Rain Forest, a popular attraction in Olympic National Park.
But the Quinault Rain Forest, is just as beautiful, smaller and more intimate.
And I can’t forget the prettiest green eyes you’ve ever seen. It was Tiger’s soulful eyes that won us over many years ago. He’d been dropped off at a cat hotel when his owner no longer wanted him. He was 5 years old at the time and is now the ripe old age of 18. We picked Benji out from the other cats at Seattle Humane almost 10 years ago. He was still a kitten and won us over with his spunk!
Now it’s your turn – show me your green and don’t be daunted – any shade will do! Tag your post ‘Sunday Stills’ and feel free to link to this one. 🙂
I’ll be hosting Sunday Stills again next week and Cathy from Between the Lines will host the week after. Terri will be back in April!
~ Susanne
Surprised by March Snow
I’d already taken to celebrating spring, then woke up this morning to snow.
It’s wet and sloppy and too late in the season for my taste.
But still pretty.
~ Susanne
Ranunculi Ranuncula! Joy is Everywhere!
I borrowed a bit of joy from the Italian song to celebrate the Ranunculus in my garden!
Sharing this burst of sunshine with the #FlowerHour. 🙂
~ Susanne
#Seascapes of the Washington Coast – for #SundayStills
Washington State has many wonderful beaches, and I especially love those on the dramatic northern coast, wild and scenic.
I’ll start with Rialto Beach, isolated and primordial, with ghost trees and sea stacks, and the starting point of long hike north into the wilderness, for those equipped and so inclined.
Just down the road is another favorite, Second Beach. You’ll find First, Second and Third Beaches south of Rialto. (I guess they ran out of names, or maybe imagination!)
Second Beach requires a short hike through the woods, before you reach the gorgeous beach below, with smooth sand and giant sea stacks.
Next up (actually, down, further south) is Ruby Beach, recently voted as one of the best in the world by Lonely Planet. (I love it, but it’s no better, in my humble opinion, than any of the others in this post!)
Finally, I’ll close with Long Beach, furthest south and near the Columbia River, my favorite all-purpose beach, quite different from the others, offering a wide-open and very long beach (hence the name) and old-fashioned beach town.
Sharing my Seascapes for this week’s #Sunday Stills, hosted by Cathy at Between the Lines.
I’ll be hosting next week’s color challenge while Terri is away for the month – so start thinking about #Jade Green!
~Susanne
Join me under the Sea – the Strange and Beautiful in my Favorite Aquariums
I love aquariums and visit when I can to see the marvelous creatures under the sea.
Even the smallest fish are a joy to watch, these clown fish at my local Seattle Aquarium.
The octopus was also at the Seattle Aquarium and made an interesting study with reflections on the glass.
I loved the garden eels at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, swaying in the current and hiding in the sand when danger was near.
I also loved seeing the – new to me – upside down jellies! They are distinctive due to their unusual habit of resting upside-down, with their bell on the sea floor with their arms extending upwards.
Speaking of jellies, my favorites are housed in Monterey on the California Coast, at my favorite aquarium. I can watch these beauties for hours!
The sea nettle is well equipped for capturing food, stinging prey to paralyze before using its arms to bring it to its mouth.
The purple striped jelly ebbs and flows with the current; its sting is painful to humans, though not fatal.
Crystal jellies flow in the current
as do moon jellies. These are what I picture when I think of jelly fish, white and translucent.
Unlike the bloody comb jelly, notable for its blood red stomach that makes it nearly invisible in the deep sea where it lives.
All are fascinating!
“Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small.”
Psalms 104:25
~ Susanne
About Last Night’s Moon
It’s been ages since I attempted to capture the moon but I saw it rising last night and went outside with my camera, but no tripod.
My house is surrounded by trees, so it takes a while to see it unobstructed.
Later that night, or rather, very early this morning, there was an eclipse, but clouds were in the forecast, and I wasn’t willing to stay up all night hoping to see it.
I did catch one a few years ago.
Maybe next time.
~ Susanne
Spring is Almost Here and the Birds are Nesting
Northern flickers have returned to the snag out front, a dead tree we left standing for the birds and other wildlife.
They use cavities they hammered out in previous years and will excavate more if necessary. Smaller birds appreciate the holes, too.
House finches prefer the arborvitae in back, this male looking fine, sings to woo a mate.
Who could resist?
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 