Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Celebrating Two Seattle Parks for the #Great Outdoors Month of June
You don’t have to go far to enjoy the Great Outdoors in the City of Seattle. In fact there are dozens of wonderful parks you could visit, but I’m sharing my two favorites!
SEWARD PARK
“Within the Seattle city limits, Seward Park boasts 300 acres of beautiful forest land, home to eagles’ nests, old growth forest, a 2.4 mile bike and walking path, an amphitheater, a native plant garden, an art studio, miles of hiking trails, shoreline, beaches and more.” Seattle Parks Website
We love walking the paved path around the perimeter of the park on Lake Washington, where we enjoy a variety of sights including the mountain, when it’s out.
There are also great views of the Seattle skyline
and Lake Washington Floating Bridge, the second longest floating bridge in the world at 6,620 ft. (The Evergreen Point bridge, a few miles north, is the longest at 7,710 feet.)
Sometimes we take the trails through old growth forest in the middle of the park,
for some forest bathing!
Afterwards we find a restaurant nearby, this one in Columbia City, for the best breakfast ever!
It’s pretty hard to top Seward Park, but it just might be possible at Lincoln Park.
LINCOLN PARK
“Lincoln Park is West Seattle’s major multi-purpose park – a nose-shaped bluff on Puget Sound just north of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. Switchbacks on the north and gentle trails to the south connect a mile of seawalls, rocky beaches to a bluff of grassy forests and meadows with play and picnic areas galore.”
It has many of the same features as Seward Park with lots of trails through the woods, a different body of water, and different set of mountains on display.
There are wonderful trees, including a grove of Redwoods,
trails through the woods, on the bluff overlooking Puget Sound,
and trails to the Sound below
where you’ll find a saltwater beach,
with lots of pretty rocks.
You’ll have great views of the Olympic Mountains,
and if you’re lucky you may see a whale as I did once, though I don’t have the picture to prove it.
(In case you wondered, it looked like this one, from our cruise to Alaska,
not like this one, an Orca in Hood Canal last year.)
After we’re done traipsing through the woods and along the beach we head to nearby Alki, for the best fish and chips in town.
As a bonus, I like to admire the pictures on the wall of Luna Park, which stood here more than a hundred years ago. They were taken by my great-grandfather O.T. Frasch, an early Seattle photographer.
So there you have it! You can’t go wrong with either park, both are great to visit, any time of day, any kind of weather, all times of the year.
Inspired by this week’s Sunday Stills, Great Outdoors
~ Susanne
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Busy as the Birds and the Bees in the Spring Garden
Yes I’m busy, but not as busy as the bumblebees on my lavender.
These tiny creatures know their job and do it well, playing a crucial role as effective pollinators.
The birds are busy too. Chestnut-backed Chickadees are currently nesting in one of our birdhouses, that I honestly didn’t think ever got used.
It’s a bit worn but they don’t seem to mind, and the rent is cheap.
They’re in and out all day long hunting and collecting food for their young.
The Rufous-sided Towhee is larger than other songbirds, but smaller than the Robin it resembles. They’re distinctive ground feeders and appreciate the birdbaths I’ve scattered about the yard.
The Juncos are plentiful, feeding on the ground and in the trees above, including in the Douglas Fir, where you can see tender new growth. I’ve had to discourage these friendly birds from nesting in garden pots and under the back deck, for their safety from you-know-who.
While Benji seems content to watch the action, I do my best to keep an eye on him.
~ Susanne
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The Birds were out, and the Mountain was too, at Coulon Park
It was a gorgeous summer-like day when I went for my walk yesterday at Coulon Park.
All the usual birds, along with their young, were out and about, too.
I walked the paved trail along the lake
past the sailboats,
and the turtles,
and didn’t see the mountain till I rounded the corner.
There she was – Mt. Rainier in all her glory –
– is there a prettier mountain?
~ Susanne
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Treated to a Rufous, On her way North
Anna’s Hummingbirds visit my feeders year-round, male and female both dark green, the male especially handsome with his ruby red crown.
But this weekend, I saw flashes of brown and rust on a first-time, smaller visitor, the Rufous Hummingbird.
She was a beauty, though like the Anna’s, the male is more striking, with more intense coloring, including a copper-colored crown.
I watched her land and keep an eye on her surroundings, alert for intruders.
Soon an Anna’s showed up
and I watched them spar until the Rufous was driven off,
the Anna’s the winner, at least for this round.
Hummingbirds are the smallest birds, with the ability to fly straight up and down, sideways and backwards, and hover while they use their needle like bills to sip nectar. The Anna’s is medium sized 3.5 – 4 inches long, the Rufous a bit smaller at 3.5 inches. The Anna’s doesn’t migrate but stays on the Pacific Coast of the US year-round. The hardy Rufous migrates almost 4,000 miles solo, nesting as far north as southern Alaska, wintering as far south as southern Mexico. They can be seen in the Seattle area in the spring and fall.
I was happy to provide a source of food and water for them on their journey.
~ Susanne
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Benji, One Year Later – Still Soaring!
“Benji, you’re so inspirational!”
“Why do you say that, Sue?”
“The way you adjusted this past year. Actually – more than adjusted. You embraced your new life with gusto!”
“Just living my best cat life, Sue.”
“The accommodations help. First the steps,
then the window seat. All appreciated.”
“Glad to hear it, Benji.”
“Even more, I’m glad you let me go outside. I was worried when you kept me in so long.”
“It was a hard decision, Benji, but we knew you wouldn’t thrive without the outdoors. You’re part wild, you know.”
“Who me?”
“Uh-huh. And we didn’t know you’d be able to run so fast with only three legs!”
“I do what I can, Sue.”
“Mostly, I wondered whether you’d be happy as a tripawed; now I know I needn’t haven’t worried.”
“No question about it, Sue. In my dreams, I still soar!”
“Just like before.”
“Indeed, you do, Benji.”
~ Susanne
P.S. A year ago this happened and we had to make a decision for Benji – lose his leg or lose his life – we chose life. We’re glad we did.
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Bees on Blossoms of Lavender
I love this time of year, when the lavender begins to bloom attracting bees, which in turn, attract me. Bumblebees and honeybees are things of beauty with their fat, furry bodies, tiny legs and sheer wings.
I watched them yesterday and snapped a few pictures with my phone.
Soon heavy rain began to fall, and we all went back inside, though where inside is for them, I don’t know.
This morning, I went out again under gray skies with my Sony RX10, to see if I might do better.
Not sure I did.
I liked the color better, it seemed truer to me, though maybe it was time of day and weather. But I didn’t get good closeups of the bees; I haven’t used my Sony in a while so I’m rusty on the controls.
Fortunately, it’s still early in the season. I’ll have many more opportunities to watch the bees on the lavender, and more cameras to play with.
~ Susanne
P.S. I didn’t realize when I posted this, that it’s World Bee Day! Or maybe I did know? 🙂
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Synchronized Flying on the Cedar River Trail
Last week I took a walk along the Cedar River and shared the trail with ducklings.
The trail follows the river on one side,
and the Boeing Plant on the other, (the plant to me, looking like the Twilight Zone.)
They build airplanes there, the 737 in particular, and have since World War Two, when they built the Superfortress, B-29.
The Cedar River Trail ends where the river flows into Lake Washington. In addition to the Boeing jets, I saw many birds in flight, including a crow pestering an eagle.
The crow was the aggressor, fearless, likely protecting its young, following the eagle closely. I like both birds, so I hope they worked it out.
I saw a more friendly form of synchronized flying, by a pair of Great Blue Herons, with perfectly matched wing strokes.
And that will do for Sunday Stills, #Flight
~ Susanne
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On the edge, with Benji
“So tell me, Benji. There’s something I need to know.”
“Sure, Sue, what is it?”
“The way you sleep on the edge. At first I thought you only did it to me but now I see you do the same thing to Bob.”
“And your point is… what, Sue?”
“Why do you do it? Aren’t you afraid of falling?
“We cats are very nimble, Sue. You know that.”
“Well, that’s fine for you, Benji. But on our side, we’re pinned in! We can’t move!”
“Then it works” he said.
Happy Caturday from Susanne and Benji!
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Have you been to the Ballard Locks? Why don’t you play tourist the next time you’re in Seattle!
It had been many years since we last visited the locks, so on a recent sunny day, we headed north to the Hiram Chittenden (aka ‘Ballard’) Locks. We stopped by the Visitor Center, then watched the boats go through from Puget Sound to the Ship Canal.
You can think of the Locks as a Boat Elevator. They can elevate a large vessel 26 feet from the level of Puget Sound to the level of Salmon Bay in 10-15 minutes.
We watched an Argosy tour boat approach and enter.
You can watch too!
After the water level was raised to match the lake, the ship went on its way. Doesn’t that look like fun? An Argosy tour is now on our list!
“Construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Hiram M. Chittenden Locks was completed in 1917 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Connecting the waters of Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Salmon Bay to the tidal waters of Puget Sound, the canal and locks allow recreational and commercial vessels to travel to the docks and warehouses of Seattle’s busy freshwater harbor.
The complex of locks sits in the middle of Salmon Bay and are part of Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north.
The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:
US Army Corps of Engineers
- To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.
- To maintain the water level of the freshwater Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
- To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion)”.
I got a great perspective from above on a flight home to Seattle. This is the view toward the east, with the Cascade Mountains in the background and Lake Washington in front. Lake Union and the Ship Canal is in the center, and the Locks are near the bottom of the photo, near the outlet to Puget Sound.
By the way, these are the busiest locks in the country, as well as a top tourist destination in Seattle. There’s also a fish ladder that’s fun to visit in the fall when the salmon running, one of the few in the world where saltwater meets freshwater.
After watching the ships sail through we went to Shilshole Bay for lunch,
and had this view of the Olympic Mountains.
It was a perfect day to play tourist in Seattle.
~ Susanne
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Who gets the window seat?
We take turns when flying. Since I’m the travel agent, I get the window going, Bob gets it on the return flight.
But here at home, there’s no denying it.
Benji owns the window seat.
Tiger is content below.
Happy Caturday from the boys!
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 