Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Lincoln Park on a Blustery Winter Day
It’s been raining like crazy the past few days and windy too, but when it slowed down a bit we took a chance and headed to Lincoln Park in West Seattle. This park has everything you’d want for an urban hike: old growth forest, nice trails and Puget Sound beachfront where if you’re lucky you may see orcas frolicking in the water!
We carried umbrellas though we didn’t need them as we started our walk through this grove of fragrant Douglas Firs.
The trees are giant and to prove it Bob agreed to pose next to the largest of them.
Next we took a trail to the bluff overlooking Puget Sound before heading down to the beach. Colorful fallen leaves littered the trails looking lovely against the water far below.
The tide was in and the waves slapped furiously against the shore tossing drift logs about in the surf.
I kept my eyes glued to the water in hopes of seeing the orcas that made a show here recently.
Alas, not today. Though I’ve lived here my whole life I have yet to see these beautiful creatures in the wild. I hope I do before it’s too late as efforts are underway to save these critically endangered orcas of Puget Sound.
After our walk on the beach we headed up the hill and back to our car for nearby Spud’s Fish and Chips at Alki. By that time the wind and rain returned with a vengeance and waves crashed over the seawall.
We learned later a tornado touched down about the same time in Port Orchard, a small town across the Sound. Tornadoes are very unusual for this area though windstorms are not. There was catastrophic damage to homes but thankfully no serious injuries reported.
We were lucky to enjoy such a beautiful walk in the middle of a miserable week of weather. Such is life in the Great Northwest.
~ Susanne
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Benji’s Fishy
I found his little Fishy in the closet the other day where it had disappeared for months. It’s small and flat so it slips (too) easily under doors, couches, stoves or what have you.
Benji fell in love with it all over again like a long-lost friend. Chasing it. Batting it around. Flinging it into the air.
Carrying it here and there like a prized trophy and always on the move making picture-taking hard – though you can see I tried.
I found him in my closet wrestling with the shoes where he had deposited it. Then with my purse where he fished it out again.
He seemed to like to put Fishy into precarious situations so he could rescue it again. Near the sofa for instance where he would occasionally bat it underneath.
When he couldn’t get it out I came to the rescue though it wasn’t easy being a big couch and all. So I moved Fishy into the kitchen where it slid around the floor nicely.
until it needed another rescuing – easier this time.
As I write this Fishy has gone into hiding again.
I’m sure it will turn up someday when I need – I mean Benji needs – more entertainment. Honestly, I don’t know who had more fun, him or me.
~ Susanne
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Winter Bouquet
For this week’s photo prompt from Travel with Intent, ‘White,’ I looked no further than this bouquet.
I picked it up at the grocery store for $5 and am still wowed by the star chrysanthemum. It was money well spent.
~ Susanne
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It’s a Cat’s Life
A Saturday afternoon. House is clean, fire’s warm, waiting for family to arrive.
These boys think all the fuss is for them.
Well. At least for now, it’s a cat’s life.
~ Susanne
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Dreaming of Sunny Arizona
Most of us who live in the Pacific Northwest will at some point long to escape the gray and rainy days of winter. The lucky ones are ‘snowbirds’ who migrate south to the blue skies and sunshine of Arizona. Unfortunately I am not one of those. Still, I have managed to visit a few times and thought it was time to recall those sunny days in Arizona.
I’ll start with the red rock country of Sedona, an awesome place with a lovely name that exudes both peace and strength. No words are adequate or even necessary to describe its beauty.
Next up is Boyce Thompson Arboretum an hour east of Phoenix. Founded in 1924, it’s the largest and oldest botanical garden in the state of Arizona. We discovered it by taking the scenic route between Phoenix and Tucson.
Speaking of Tucson, wouldn’t you enjoy hiking at Saguaro National Park? We did.
Of course there’s that other National Park that’s good for hiking too, just ask him.
Grand Canyon, beautiful from every angle any time of day.
Okay that’s enough of Arizona. It will have to tide me over till our next trip to somewhere sunny.
The forecast here in the Northwest calls for cloudy with a chance of rain pretty much everyday until next April. Or something like that.
~ Susanne
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Blue and Gray and Cloudy Day
Earlier this week I found a break in the rain and got my walk in at Coulon Park where the clouds were awesome.
So were the Olympics wearing both snow and clouds so it was hard to tell which was which.
When I returned home it was almost time for sunset and I managed to catch a hint of color through the trees along with gray smudged clouds.
It may be the last sunset I see this week, as heavy rain is forecasted into the weekend.
~ Susanne
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Taking Turns in the New Chair
I have a new chair in my office and it’s really comfy. Every morning after rising I retreat to my office for a quiet time and coffee, though not before I feed the boys. After their breakfast Benji joins me on my lap though there’s barely room for both of us.
When I get up Benji remains for his own quiet time.
Tiger claims the chair later in the day for his own needs. Or should I say kneads?
And that’s all for today.
~ Susanne, Benji and Tiger
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No not Germany, but the Castle is Amazing!
I finally made it to the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, Orlando. I was prepared to like the original Disneyland in California better. Maybe I do. But after getting over the shock of the enormous size of the park, it began to grow on me. Not for the rides exactly but for how you get to imagine yourself in another time and place and have more room to do so. And for the Castle. Definitely the Castle.
When you first arrive at the gate to the Magic Kingdom you find out you are only half-way there. You must travel by monorail or boat to get to the entrance and we chose the boat for the shorter line. On your journey you pass by some Disney resort lodging and then see the Castle in the distance.
It greets you at the end of Main Street,
and wherever you go it looms over the park,
beautiful from every angle
and every time of day.
Yes, we had a good time wandering through the ‘lands’ especially Adventureland and Frontierland, my favorites.
We took in the hokey Jungle Cruise where the third grade jokes were as bad as ever (people didn’t even pretend to laugh,)
rode the steam train, climbed the stairs to the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and went on our favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean (it’s better at Disneyland.)
We took in attractions in Tomorrowland – they were dated – and went on a few children’s rides in Fantasyland when the line was short. And we walked and walked and walked.
The weather was unseasonably cold and even though it was a weekday the crowds were daunting and we were constantly dodging strollers.
Still, when darkness descended the Castle was beautiful. And if you closed your eyes, you just might imagine you were seeing the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, Disney’s inspiration.
I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Disneyland. But the Castle wins at Disney World.
~ Susanne
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A Walk through Time at Columbia City and Seward Park
Temperatures were in the 30’s today but skies were clear and blue so we bundled up and went for a walk at Seward Park. But first we stopped by Columbia City, one of Seattle’s old neighborhoods, full of charm and memories for my husband who grew up there.
We started with breakfast at Geraldine’s Counter
where the walls couldn’t talk so I asked Bob instead.
“This used to be the drugstore,” he told me. “I bought comic books here; actually they were Bantam Books about battles from World War 2.”
I bought comic books from a drugstore too when I was a kid for thirteen cents a piece. Archie comic books – remember Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead? – I wish I still had them.
After breakfast we crossed the street to Halvorson’s Ten Cent store – not anymore of course – where Bob worked as a boy, stocking shelves and doing other odd jobs.
“Did I ever tell you the story about how I broke the corner glass window when I was twelve?” Bob is full of stories – this one not his fault.
The old school, barber shop, bakery and butcher shop were still standing as was the house where he spent most of his childhood.
One block over was steep 42nd street where he rode on the handlebars of the bike being furiously peddled downhill by his neighbor John Malzberger. (No helmets in those days in case you wondered.) And where another time he rode his own bike down the hill but the caliper brakes didn’t work so he stopped the only way he could think of – by putting his foot into the spokes. Oh yes, he stopped. Rather suddenly too and his bike flipped a few times in the air before landing upright. (You gotta wonder how he survived childhood.)
Enough nostalgia – it was time for our walk so we headed to Seward Park where we took the trail along the lake and enjoyed the views under the bluest skies you’ve ever seen – yes, in Seattle.
It was a day well spent.
~ Susanne
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Frosted Over at Bellevue Botanical Garden
This morning we woke to clear skies, cold temperatures and heavy frost. I had to go to Bellevue for an appointment and stopped by Bellevue Botanical Garden on the way home to get my steps in for the day (the Fitbit seems to be working.) Even by late morning, frost was still evident on the fallen leaves where the sun was just breaking through.
I enjoyed walking through the crisp fall landscape looking at the world close up for Cees’s Fun Foto Challenge this week, Macro.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 