Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Yahoo for Oahu!
Okay so maybe I’m too excited after booking a trip to Hawaii but I don’t think so. Hawaii is to me, one of those places that lives up to the hype. Ocean beaches. Glorious sunsets. Warm, fragrant breezes. What’s not to like about that?
It’s been a while since our last trip and I’d been pondering another for the past year.
But to which island?
My first choice was the Big Island but we’ve already spent more time there than any of the others. And the husband was not enthused about going there again. I need him to be enthused.
And no not Maui he said. It’s not at all his favorite – unlike everyone else we know.
Kauai? Too rainy. Indeed, Mount Waialeale is one of the wettest spots on earth, receiving around 500 inches of rain each year. Honestly we get enough of that here.
So that leaves the most visited Hawaiian Island – the one with the most iconic views – of Waikiki and Diamond Head – made famous by Jack Lord and his gang when I was still a kid, back when I never thought I’d see such a marvelous place – Oahu!
Yes, we’ve been there before but always with a trip to another island, never for its own sake.
So this time we’ll give it more time – and we’ll do the things we both love. Bob will visit Pearl Harbor and soak up the military history of the island. I will relish the beach time including some days on the North Shore, one of the top surfing destinations in the world. No we don’t surf (no surprise there) but wouldn’t it be fun to see some of those monster waves?
And we’ll both be on the lookout for the whales, those beautiful Humpbacks who migrate thousands of miles here to bear their young.
So there. It’s booked and I’m counting the days till I have one of these in my hand.
That should get me through the winter!
~ Susanne
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Over Seattle
You didn’t really think I could stay away till 2020 did you?
Me neither.
After a wonderful week in Southern California we headed back to Seattle yesterday. Mt. Adams and Mt Rainier were beautiful on approach but I was most impressed by the aerial tour of the city, the best I have ever seen. I think we were too early to land so the pilot headed north quite a ways before turning back around to the airport, giving us views of the city and surroundings from all angles.
So here you go!
After passing Mt Rainier we continued north and Seattle came fully into view. Here we are looking east with Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains in the background.
Past downtown, we got a good look at the Ballard Locks, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks to be more specific, the busiest in the nation. The locks and ship canal were constructed over a hundred years ago, connecting Puget Sound to Lake Union and Lake Washington.
Here’s the view from the other side after we turned south, looking west with Puget Sound in the background.
The Space Needle was up next. Can you find it?
Afterwards we soared over the City’s business district and I waved to my old coworkers in the Seattle Municipal Tower, the building with the green slanted top, bottom center.
Views of the West Seattle Bridge and Alki Point followed. The Bridge crosses over the Duwamish River and Harbor Island, another historic structure from Seattle’s past. At the time it was built over a hundred years ago, it was the largest artificial island in the world.
The views of the city were terrific but it wasn’t long before we were landing at Sea-Tac Airport and I have to say –
It’s good to be home. 🙂
~ Susanne
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As the Sun Sets on 2019
Hello all you wonderful people in the blogosphere!
As the sun begins to set on the Year 2019, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for visiting my blog. I understand that we all only have so much time in our day, year, and life for that matter, and I appreciate whatever time you have chosen to spend with Me and Tiger and Benji at Cats and Trails and Garden Tales.
And I also wanted to let you know I’ll be taking the rest of the year off but look forward to seeing you in 2020.
2020?? Can you believe it?
Neither can I.
Happy New Year!
Susanne, Tiger and Benji
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A Rainy Last Day of Fall, Two Cats and Clam Lights!
After a mostly dry fall in the Pacific NW it seems that all the pent up rain has finally been loosed in a fury making today the rainiest Dec 20th on record, with many more like it to come. How quickly we forget!
Benji is distraught and asks me why I don’t turn it off so he can go outside.
I have no answer and he finally settles down to sleep the day away.
Tiger makes the same wise decision.
As for me, I decide to brave a walk at Coulon Park where I have the trail to myself.
Except for the ducks who are happy to find water, water everywhere.
Their webbed feet serve them well. I on the other hand find out quickly that my own shoes are not waterproof, nor are the jeans that end up soaked to the knees.
I pass by Ivar’s Clam Lights, a festive holiday display that will light up the evenings – for those who brave the elements.
The clams are still and silent waiting for the evening show; but I did manage to catch them strutting their stuff a few years ago.
Happy Holidays to you all from the soggy Northwest! 🙂
~ Susanne, Tiger and Benji
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Today’s Visitation – An Anna’s Hummingbird Stops by for a Drink
Yesterday I replenished the feeders and this morning watched as an Anna’s Hummingbird came by for a drink.
It was a wonderful way to start the day.
For both of us.
~ Susanne
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Cheered by Vibrant Colors
I’m looking outside my window this morning. The sky is milky and somber and there’s rain in the forecast. Maybe till next April.
So for Cees’ Fun Foto Challenge, I went through my archives looking for color. And found sunshine. In a sunflower standing tall and proud in Sequim.
Guess what else I found in Sequim? Fields of lavender, vibrant in color and heavenly in fragrance.
I think I’ll have a seat. Stay awhile. And breathe it in.
Ahhhhhh! I’m feeling better. So I’ll conclude my search with a trip to the tulip fields in Skagit County.
Cheered by Vibrant Colors, I’m ready to start my day.
~ Susanne
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Sewing Fun with Benji
I should have known the boy would get in the way.
I’d bought some kitchen towels at a craft fair for hanging on the stove. I liked the concept – they wouldn’t fall on the floor like my other ones do. But the seller had used the cheapest towels possible and after I washed them they looked thin and pathetic.
I can do better I thought to myself so I bought the materials, retrieved the sewing machine from where it was collecting dust and set up my workplace in the dining room There was only one problem. His name was Benji.
‘Surely that dangling cord is just for me,’ he thought and there was no way to dissuade him.
So when the reprimand didn’t work I distracted the boy with the measuring tape and it soon became his favorite toy.
We played and played but when I stopped he cried – so we played some more; until I finally returned to my sewing and he came to watch.
Then his eyes got big and I knew it was only a matter of time
before he sprang.
So we played measuring tape again –
until he got tired and went for a nap
and I completed my towels which now hang tight from my stove.
There will be more towels.
And there will be more play with the measuring tape.
We’re both happy.
~ Susanne and Benji
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Hooray! I Finally Got my 2020 Cat Care Calendar!
It finally arrived! All the way from the UK! My 2020 Cat Care Calendar!
Take a look and you’ll see Benji featured for the month of May.
In addition to three calendars I also received a few other goodies including a certificate – and in case you couldn’t tell by now, I am thrilled to be one of the winners.
I owe it to the sweet Benji who visited me one day while I rested in the garden and looked straight into the camera.
~ Susanne and Benji
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A Late Fall Walk at Seattle’s Seward Park
After a record dry November the rain has finally returned to the Pacific Northwest but mainly as drizzle and not enough to keep us housebound. And so with umbrellas in hand we headed for a walk at Seward Park, a jewel in the crown of the Seattle Park system on the shores of Lake Washington.
We started our walk at the Audubon Center where I was surprised to find roses still in bloom.
We took the path around the park next to native forest filled with giant evergreens,
and bursts of seasonal color.
On the other side was Lake Washington where trees still wore their fall clothes,
and the lake was calm save for the stirring of ducks and seabirds.
The clouds hung low over Mercer Island
finally settling over the floating bridge and Seattle skyline.
By the time we finished our walk the rain was falling gently but this cormorant was not daunted.
Neither were these hummingbirds feeding in front of the Audubon Center.
After working up an appetite and refreshed by our walk we headed to Geraldine’s Counter for the best breakfast in town.
It was a perfect Saturday rain and all.
~ Susanne
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Looking Up with Benji
Look! Up in the sky!
It’s a bird!
It’s a plane!
Only Benji knows for sure and he’s not talking! 🙂
Happy Weekend from Susanne and Benji.
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 