Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Hike to Marymere Falls, at Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent is my favorite lake in Washington, the USA, and maybe the whole world, though of course I haven’t seen them all.
An ancient, glacier-carved lake over 600 ft. deep, we never get tired of visiting this beauty any time of year.
Even though we didn’t stay there on our recent trip, we did drop by to take the hike to Marymere Falls, .9 miles one way through old-growth forest to a 90 ft. waterfall.
It was a hot sunny day (a heatwave meant temperatures in the nineties) but the woods kept us cool.
I captured Bob with his fishing pole surrounded by the sun’s rays.
I left him behind at the stream to try his luck,
while I continued up the trail to Marymere Falls.
A few switchbacks up the steep trail, and I arrived at the falls.
Here it is flowing.
Every trip to Olympic National Park leaves us wanting more, so we’ll return again this fall after the crowds have thinned, hopefully to stay at Lake Crescent or nearby Sol Duc, where Bob will try his hand again at some catch and release.
~ Susanne
Fan Tan Alley
I don’t know how many times I visited Victoria before I found Fan Tan Alley, a study in red and photographer’s delight.
According to Wikipedia, “Fan Tan Alley is an alley in the Chinatown neighborhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that is known for being the narrowest commercial street in North America, being less than 0.9 m (3.0 ft) wide at its narrowest point. It runs south from Fisgard Street to Pandora Avenue at the block between Government Street and Store Street. Named after the Chinese gambling game Fan Tan, the alley was originally well known for opium factories that produced opium until it was made illegal in 1908.”
An easy trip from Seattle, even better by Black Ball Ferry from Port Angeles. I think I’m overdue, if Canada will still have us.
Sharing with #SimplyRed Squares
~ Susanne
Bird Photo Fun – Looking for Red in Squares
I love the birds that visit my yard, but only a few of them are red.
The male House Finch sports a rosy red head to attract his plainer looking lady friend.
Here they are on the roof, with background erased for effect.
The male Northern Flicker is a regular, nesting in the snag, and has a handsome red mustache.
His larger cousin the Pileated Woodpecker has quite the flaming top! He rarely visits so it’s always a thrill when he does.
The towhee has a rust-colored sides (hence the name Rufous-sided Towhee,) and his eyes are near to red.
The male Anna’s Hummingbird is perhaps the most striking bird to grace my yard, though not red, he’s attracted by the red bird feeder.
Sharing my squared red birdie pictures with Sunday Stills, #Fine Feathered Friends, and Becky’s #SimplyRed.
~ Susanne
The Red Among the Lavender
Lavender was the star of the show in Sequim last week, but I found plenty of red, too, in the poppies and crocosmia.
But the fields were mostly purple at Purple Haze Lavender Farm,
and Jardin du Soleil.
Did you know that Sequim, Washington is the Lavender Capital of North America and that you can visit dozens of lavender farms there? Well now you do!
Sharing the reds with Becky’s Square Challenge, #SimplyRed.
~ Susanne
Poor Tiger – the dreaded visit to the vet
I hated to do it, because of the stress it causes for both of us, but it goes with the territory.
Tiger’s a sweet boy, a senior cat of 17 in human years, and had been sniffling, sneezing, and wheezing for a few weeks. Time to head to the vet in the new carrier.
We tricked him into it (he’s not nearly as fast as Benji) and the howling began immediately and lasted most of the journey. Twenty minutes later we were in the office, where the carrier became his new favorite place.
“I’m scared, Sue.”
“I know, Tiger. I don’t like going to the dentist either, but I go because I know it’s good for me. At least you get to bring a hiding place with you.”
“I’d rather go to the dentist, Sue. How much longer?”
“Trust me, Tiger. You wouldn’t. Anyway, it will all be over soon.”
The new vet was a cat person, with four of his own, and tenderly cared for Tiger, doing most of the exam through the various openings in the carrier. Much better than the old, hard-sided one.
“Right, Tiger?”
The ride home was quiet. I was given antibiotics for a respiratory infection to be administered twice a day. Tiny pills I will attempt to hide in treats. Good luck with that.
And instructions to help Tiger lose some weight. He’s up to 14.5 pounds. I can’t even lose my own excess weight, but will do my best to help him. Less food, more activity. (I may try it myself.)
And that’s all for Saturday #Caturday.
~ Susanne
Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge
I love having the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop to Seattle, but there’s nothing like being immersed in them at Hurricane Ridge. We spent a few days on the Olympic Peninsula earlier this week, a wilderness that includes Olympic National Park.
I found the map below on the waterfront in Port Angeles. Hurricane Ridge is a 45-minute drive into the heart of the mountains from the coastal town, but a world apart.
There are several hikes you can take at the top, we took the easiest, Cirque Ridge. Mountains on one side, sea on the other, this view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Canada to the north.
These tiny people went higher up onto Hurricane Hill.
We saved our legs for a different hike later that day at Marymere Falls, which I’ll share in a later post.
From the park newsletter, Bugler: “The story of the Olympic mountains began deep beneath the ocean, as the collision of two massive tectonic plates forged the landscape we admire today. Towering glacier-clad peaks like Mount Queets, Deception and Olympus rise dramatically from the lush, old-growth forests, separated from one another by river valleys.”
A couple days away does a body good.
~ Susanne
Red, White and Blue at Coulon Park
The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle, especially in the summer at Coulon Park, my favorite place for a walk.
In addition to the brilliant blues above and below where sky and lake reflect each other, I found red and white in the boats.
On land, the Coulon Walkers also wore red, white and blue
making them fit for this week’s Sunday Stills challenge, Red, White and Blue.
~ Susanne
My Sweet Benji
I have to admit I sometimes feel sorry for Benji. He’s making the best of his life on three legs but can’t do what he used to do.
He still plays
but not like before.
He still climbs,
but not as high.
He still sings in the morning; but not at the top of the landing. (We blocked that off to prevent any falls – it’s a long drop to the stairs below.)
And yet, he still seems so happy.
Making the best of it, as we all must do, as life evolves.
Happy Caturday from Susanne and Benji!
Just Keep Swimming – like the Salmon!
I wanted to share something for this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, #Swim, but I’m really not much of a swimmer. (Don’t get me wrong, I loved swimming in lakes when I was a kid, and I still love splashing around in warm ocean waves when on vacation.)
But then I remembered the salmon who faithfully return to their spawning grounds in the Cedar River every fall. It’s a sight to behold! I have plenty of photos from visiting them every October and since they are beautiful in red, I have squared them for #SimplyRed.
The Cedar River flows through the city of Renton, even under the library, where people gather to watch the salmon return.
“In September, adult Sockeye head up the Cedar River as it swells with new rainfall. As they migrate upstream their bodies transform to display their dramatic spawning colors.”
“Soon after spawning, the adults die. The nutrients from their decomposing bodies are added to the base of the food chain that supports the salmon ecosystem.”
They must have lived a good life, having survived their journey to the ocean and back, and ready to give themselves up for future generations.
~ Susanne
Backyard Birding and Crow Youngsters
I sat on the back deck this morning, watching the birds. I usually look for the tiny ones: hummingbirds, chickadees, nuthatches, and finches as they are regulars, and plentiful.
But this morning I noticed a couple of crows in the fir trees. They were smaller in size, seemed unsteady on the feet, and occasionally fluttered their wings, calling for someone to feed them. Youngsters.
An adult was nearby, mom I assume, but I never saw her feeding them or come to their rescue. Perhaps she was teaching them how to search for bugs in the bark for themselves.
Not everyone likes crows, but I’m intrigued by them. Not only intelligent, they’re beautiful to me as well.
I watched their antics a while, then wondered if I’d discovered their nest. About 60 feet up in the Douglas Fir tree is a round mass of twigs and debris I never noticed before, a couple feet in diameter where the limbs attach to the tree. Hard to tell from the pictures with so much interference of surrounding branches, but you get the idea.
I’m happy the birds like it here. Not only for the tree canopy, shrubs and bird baths, but how about a stream too?
It turns on and off with the flip of a switch.
My husband built it years ago, but it was out of service for a few months while he renovated it.
I forgot how much I like it.
The birds do, too!
Hopefully, they’ll be back for a dip now that it’s flowing again.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 