Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Weekly Photo Challenge: Awakening
I love to walk in the park nearby for exercise and fresh air and I love to take pictures of the trees. Last month they appeared black and craggy, exposed like skeletons against the clouds and sky.
This week you can see fresh green leaves emerging as their covering.
It is a time of awakening.
~ Susanne
Benji and the Chair
I have a special chair in my office. I’ve had it many years and I’m starting to feel the springs in the seat. Many cats have made their mark on it including the current feline residents. All have loved it but none as much as Benji. He has used it more effectively than all the others. The chair is worn and it’s time to replace it. I don’t know how to break the news to him.
Perhaps there’s room for two chairs in my office. We’ll see how it goes.
~ Susanne and Benji
Rainy Day Walk and the B-17
Rain, rain and more rain was the forecast for the week, along with wind and stormy weather for the weekend. So we weren’t surprised to wake up to heavy, pounding rain this morning. Did we dare go out for our walk? We headed to Starbucks to consider our options and after running a few errands the rain slowed down. We decided to take a chance and headed to the Cedar River Trail where sunbreaks and patches of blue accompanied us on our walk.
The Cedar River Trail follows the river north into Lake Washington. On one side of the river is the Renton Boeing Plant, that recently turned out its 10,000th 737. On the other side is the Renton Municipal Airport, which not only serves Boeing, but also other small planes.
Today we were treated to a special one. I heard its distinct rumbling before I saw it taxiing on the runway. I knew it was from another era and my husband identified it for me as a B-17.
We watched it take off, circle the sky and come in for a landing again and again over the lake.
And then as we finished up our walk and headed for the car, the rain returned. We won this time.
~ Susanne
A Smile on the Face of the Tiger
For this week’s photo challenge I give you the sleeping Tiger.
I do believe that is a smile on his face.
~ Susanne
Road Tripping though the Beautiful Skagit Valley
An hour north of Seattle lies the fertile Skagit Valley known for its fields of tulips and daffodils.
We were fortunate to be at the fields yesterday, on a weekday without the crowds, and before the rain was scheduled to appear. The daffodils were full and glorious in bloom. The tulips are still waking up but many wonderful colors were on display.
The fields above were at Roozengaarde, the largest producer of tulip bulbs in the country. Their display gardens show the magic that occurs when you put the best combinations together.
Enjoy!
Susanne
Big Sky After Sunset
~ Susanne
Springtime at Seward Park
Since rediscovering Seattle’s Seward Park last year, it has become one of our favorite places to walk. Less than 30 minutes from our house, this beautiful park on Lake Washington has beaches, old growth forest, hiking trails, picnic areas, and scenic views of Seattle. Yesterday’s walk was chilly yet bright and full of color.
The welcoming garden at the entrance to the park was fragrant with rock daphne in bloom. The 8-ton Taiko Gata stone lantern in the center was a gift from the City of Yokohama in 1930, to thank the citizens of Seattle for their assistance to Japan after the devastating Kanto earthquake in 1923.
We explored different areas of the park this time, including the amphitheater where young people were playing the latest outdoor games.
From there we walked through the forest,
then back to the lake via the Hatchery Trail.
There we saw a handsome mallard duck, alert yet as still as a decoy, watching his mate nearby.
We finished our walk around the park on the lakeshore trail,
and enjoyed views of the Seattle skyline, dwarfed by the massive cloud hanging overhead.
There were clouds yes, but fortunately our spring walk in the park was rain free.
~ Susanne
Benji the Cover Cat
“Hey Benji, remember when you were just a young lad and we took pictures of you for American Rescue Cat? We had to take a lot to finally get one that was suitable. They’re all here in The many faces of Benji
“Wow Sue, I really was young then, wasn’t I? And pretty wound up, judging by the pictures. I hope I wasn’t too much trouble for you.”
“Not at all Benji. You were lots of fun. You still are! But now that you’re a mature cat of two, I thought we could get an updated head shot of you.”
“Sure, no problem. How’s this?”
“Ha! Very funny Benji.”
“Just kidding Sue. I know just what you’re looking for. How about this?”
“Perfect Benji! You’re still the best cover cat!”
~ Just for fun, from Susanne and Benji
Rise/Set – Weekly Photo Challenge
What could be better for this week’s photo challenge than Sunrise and Sunset? It’s impossible to pick just one picture so I will give you a few of my favorites from recent travels.
First, Sunrise!
I’m not much of a morning person so I don’t often get many of these. But a couple of years ago we were on the island of Kauai (my first and only time) when a hurricane was forecasted to land early the next morning. Needless to say I slept light and arose early enough the next day to catch this wonderful sunrise. Fortunately the hurricane failed to materialize.
This next picture was taken in Florence over the Siuslaw River on a trip to the Oregon Coast last year. According to my husband, the early riser, it started out in shades of brilliant red. Still, I was happy to catch the unfolding golden colors over the river.
Sunset!
No early rising necessary, so I have quite a few more pictures of the sun setting in my collection, which makes it very hard to choose just two. But here you go. The first is from Lincoln City during the same trip to the Oregon Coast last year. You can’t lose with a sunset over the ocean.
But they’re pretty spectacular at the Grand Canyon too, where I took this photo last fall.
That is all.
~ Susanne
Columbia River and Ginkgo Petrified Forest
Starting from the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, the Columbia River winds through my home state of Washington before flowing into the Pacific Ocean. I like to sing Woody Guthrie’s song whenever I cross the River.
“Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on!”
Last weekend before we crossed the River at Vantage, we stopped first at Ginkgo Petrified Forest, where the stony trees seemed to glow under gray skies.
According to Wikipedia, “Around 15.5 million years ago, the region was lush and wet, home to many plant species now extinct. A number of these trees were buried in volcanic ash, and the organic matter in the tree trunks was gradually replaced by minerals in the groundwater; the resulting petrified wood was protected for millennia by flows of basalt. Near the end of the last ice age, the catastrophic Missoula Floods eroded the basalt, exposing some of the petrified wood.”
The visitors center was closed and so after a short walk we headed to the other side, stopping to take in the vast size and beauty of the mighty Columbia, flowing silently under dark and heavy clouds.
The view of the River was amazing as was the view of these wild horses above (officially called ‘Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies.’)
It was well worth the stop on both sides.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 