Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
The Cool Colors of Summer
According to the calendar it’s still summer in the Great Northwest with fall arriving on the Autumnal Equinox, September 23rd. Meteorologists opt for September 1st which seems a bit early – I’d say it’s somewhere in between. Either way, I thought I’d share these cool colors of summer before the yellows and reds and oranges of fall take over.
These blues and greens are from my recent trip to Soos Creek Botanical Garden.
The bees are from my garden, where they are enjoying the last of the blooming mint.
~ Susanne
Share this:
Benji and the Fair
Yesterday we headed south to Puyallup for our annual visit to the Washington State Fair, but not before this happened.
“Please Sue can I come too?”
“Sorry Benji no. The fair is for people.”
“Really Sue? No animals allowed at all?”
“Well, not exactly – there are lots of animals there.”
“Just no cats.”
“None?” he persisted.
“Well sometimes there are cats but they’re in cages.”
“Are you making this up?” he asked.
“No really Benji. Some cats let little girls put them in cages for all to see.”
“I wouldn’t like that Sue.”
“I know you wouldn’t Benji. And you wouldn’t like the noise either. Or the food.”
“Or people flying around.”
“Okay, okay Sue. I get it! You just go ahead and I’ll stay here and hold down the fort.”
And that is what we did.
~ Susanne
Share this:
Doo doo doo looking out my back door
This was the view looking out my back door just a few years ago.
Twenty-two acres known as the Tiffany Park Woods were behind us. Lovely, dark and deep, they were home to deer and other small critters and full of birds that sang in the morning and owls that hooted deep in the night.
Of course I loved it – and was sad when the land was sold and we had ringside seats to a logging operation.
The logging took months until all but a few strands of trees were razed – and this is what I saw looking out my backdoor.
‘This too shall pass,’ we said.
And it did. Slowly. Until the infrastructure was complete and finally we had quiet again – save for the building of houses – slowly – one by one.
And though we hate that the woods were lost and the animal evicted – we’re happy that many birds still call our backyard home.
Chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, hummingbirds, woodpeckers and more.
And when we finally got our promised cedar fence – I have to say – perhaps selfishly – the view is better than before –
looking out my back door.
~ Susanne
Share this:
– Promote Your Blog! –
Happy Labor Day ! Why not join the meet and greet from Dr. Phoebe! 🙂 And check out her blog which is full of helpful, healthful tips! 🙂
Dear friends,
It is no secret that I value this WordPress community and that I enjoy each one of your wonderful blogs. Therefore, today will be a Meet-and-Greet, where I welcome each of you to promote yourself on PhoebeMD.com.
– What to Do –
- Leave a comment with a description of your blog along with a link to your blog or favorite post (be sure to copy the entire web address so it shows up as a hyperlink to allow others to easily visit you).
- Take a minute to visit some of the other blogs listed in the comments (Don’t be shy—make your presence known by reaching out and liking and/or following!).
- Feel free to share or reblog this post to spread the word.
- Bookmark this post and revisit as many times as you would like to see who else has joined the party.
Remember, one of the best things…
View original post 78 more words
Share this:
Precious Cats
I couldn’t let the Lens-Artists Challenge Precious Pets go by without sharing pictures of the cats who’ve been part of our lives these past many years.
I’ll start with dear Annie, the only Siamese I ever had and the most long-lived of them all. She was with us for almost 21 years, from 1986 until she went to the Rainbow Bridge in 2007. We weren’t crazy for taking pictures back then but I still have one from her golden years, though it doesn’t adequately convey her striking beauty and deep blue eyes. How can I explain to you that she understood me?
Next was Henry who was left behind when our neighbors moved away. Hard to believe they abandoned him but we found him wandering in our backyard and took him in. When he was later diagnosed with diabetes, I – the most needle averse person I know – gave him insulin shots until the disease got the best of him. What we do for love!
Our sweet Joey deserved more than his four short years but at least we know they were good ones. He had the biggest fur and the tiniest meow of all my feline friends and was a true and loving lap cat.
Now there’s Tiger who we brought home from the cat hotel where his previous owner left him. Tiger – whose beautiful green eyes won us over and still reflect his gentle soul.
He was Top Cat in our home when I started this blog (you may have noticed his image on my gravatar.)
Top Cat that is, until Benji moved in and took over. Benji – the small kitty with the big personality, whose antics keep us on our toes and laughing too. Benji who loves being a cat, as Bob is wont to say.
So there you have it. Precious Cats.
~ Susanne
Share this:
As Summer Winds Down
It was Summer’s last hurrah as I visited Soos Creek Botanical Garden earlier this week with temperatures in the mid eighties, the sun bright and burning my nose.
Then yesterday the cool marine air brought in giant clouds that filled the sky overpowering Lake Washington at Coulon Park.
As I returned to the car I found two leaves on the ground dressed in fall colors.
Already?
~ Susanne
Share this:
Bicycling the Back Roads of Mt Rainier National Park
I don’t know how many times I’ve been to Mt. Rainier but this was definitely a first.
Last weekend we drove to the remote northwest corner of the National Park to bicycle the old Carbon River Road. It had been washed out back in 2006 due to major flooding and was permanently closed in 2008. Now it was the perfect place for a bike ride!
So after a quick stop by the Ranger Station
we entered the park and started our ride down the old road.
It starts out paved but quickly changes to compact dirt and gravel. It also starts out level but continues on with a slight incline.
Bob went ahead while I was distracted and stopped to take pictures.
Wouldn’t you?
We passed giant old-growth trees – Douglas Fir and fragrant Cedar – and lots of snags
and blowdowns, where sometimes the wood was mysteriously stacked.
And if this looks like rain forest, that’s because it is. The Carbon River Valley is inland temperate rain forest – thick, lush, fragrant, and beautiful – receiving between 70 and 90 inches of rain a year.
After three and a half miles we stopped for lunch next to the river, which comes from the Carbon Glacier. It was wild and deserted – just the kind of landscape where I would expect to see grizzly bears if I was in Montana or Alaska. Thankfully I was not. And none of the resident black bear came out to greet us either.
From here the road got bumpier and steeper so it was the perfect place for us to turn around.
Going back was fun with a lot less peddling and mostly downhill. And though I didn’t fly down the road like the young ones did on their mountain bikes, I was happy to be out there with them.
While Bob went to get the truck I peeked into the nearby rain forest trail and managed to get a few more pictures. If only I could capture the fragrance too and take it home with me!
Light rain began to fall as we headed back home and once again we were thankful that we live in Washington State and so close to beautiful Mt. Rainier National Park.
Celebrating this week’s 103rd anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service for Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
Share this:
Heads Up with Benji
Though summer is slipping by I still have many travels and adventures – past, present and future – to share with you.
But in the meantime – while I am working on them – here’s a picture of Benji to tide you over.
Susanne and Benji
Share this:
Come Along on a Rainy Day Hike to Twin Falls
What do you do on a rainy summer day in the Great Northwest? Go for a hike in the woods of course! There you’ll be protected by the thick forest canopy and whatever filters through will cool you and refresh you!
And so we headed east to Twin Falls on the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River.
The trail starts nice and easy alongside the river where huge boulders rest in the shallow summer waters.
More boulders with smiling faces greeted us on the trail;
and as we continued through the forest I was reminded everywhere why Washington is called the Evergreen State.
We proceeded upward and after a mile reached the benches where we stopped and got our first view of Twin Falls in the distance.
Our aim was the bridge suspended across the canyon – we were halfway there.
When we were sufficiently rested we went down into the valley where we saw giant Maples, Cedars and this old-growth Douglas Fir.
Then it was all up, up, up and over
to Upper Falls Lookout.
We gingerly crossed the bridge and peered over both sides. This was the view of Upper Falls.
And this was the view below.
But where exactly was Lower Falls?
We crossed the bridge and stopped for our lunch break then headed back down and saw this sign.
Twin Falls Lookout? Funny thing, we’ve always gone to Upper Falls Lookout and somehow missed this one. But O MY GOODNESS – I’m so glad we stopped! We took the stairs down to a small wooden platform – and saw Lower Falls plunging 150 ft. into the river below!
It was magnificent and I should have stayed longer – but I’m a bit afraid of heights just so you know.
It was time to head back and the return trip through the woods was just as lovely – up, up, up, and down, down, down – all in reverse. I would feel it days after.
It was worth it.
~ Susanne
Share this:
Happy Anniversary to Benji!
Three years ago we brought home the cutest kitty from Seattle Humane and named him Benji. It was the best pick we ever made and to celebrate I thought I’d share a few pictures of him from the last few years.
Here he is the day after we brought him home. We don’t know his actual birthday but he was probably around 6 months old.
He looks quite alert in the picture below but he actually had a rough start. He’d recently been neutered, his ragged ear was excessively tipped, and the poor boy came down with an upper respiratory infection shortly after his arrival.
But we loved him and nursed him back to health and it wasn’t long before he ditched the collar and was outside playing, hunting and helping around the garden.
It took him and Tiger a while to figure it out but eventually they did, becoming companions and even brothers.
So happy Anniversary to Benji and a thank you to Tiger for receiving him into the fold. 🙂
~ Susanne, Benji and Tiger
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 