Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Is this Washington’s Best Hike?
You decide.
Start at the Paradise Visitor Center and take the trail to Myrtle Falls.
Then leave the crowds behind and keep on going, up, up, up!
Past the 6,400 elevation mark you’ll enter the land of polished rock and wide-open skies; if you’re lucky, you’ll have the place all to yourself like we did!
With plenty of streams, brooks, and wildflowers.
What more could you want in a hike?
Okay then, how about a friendly marmot?
I rest my case.
The Golden Gate to Skyline Trail on the flanks of Mt. Rainier – it’s got everything!
Sharing with Sunday Stills, Trails and Paths.
~ Susanne
They Call it Pleasant Harbor
Pleasant Harbor, on Hood Canal – I feel like I grew up there, though in fact, we only visited my grandparents, who owned a restaurant and shop above the harbor.
During the summers, we’d take the road or trail through the woods down to the dock to fish or swim or just hang out happily like kids do.
Because I’m nostalgic, I’ve gone back to Pleasant Harbor a few times, including last summer, on a camping trip. Surprisingly little has changed.
You can still drive the short road down to the State Dock.
I don’t remember it being a State Park back in the day, but maybe it was. We always called it the State Dock, while we called the private neighboring dock, the marina.
The marina has expanded, and there is access to that area further down the road.
But on the state park side, all is quiet, and the views are still wonderful,
As with all childhood memories, the dock and the beach seem much smaller than I remember.
As you can see it’s not a sandy beach for playing on (though we did); tennis shoes are definitely required! And be careful that you don’t fall and cut yourself on those razor-sharp oysters (we did that too!)
And look at all the creatures attached to the pilings! They were fish magnets!
We’d drop our line from the dock and watch the fish take the hook before we pulled them up. Our bait was often the tiny fish we’d already caught called ‘shiners.’ We also used mussels, and I can still remember the pungent smell when we cracked them open and attached the slimy insides to the hook, which is why I could never eat them today!
I suspect all of us kids have particular memories from those times long ago, of staying with grandma and grandpa during the summer, helping on the shrimp boat, or being sent down to sell papers to the paying customers on the marina. My favorite memory was when I was featured along with grandpa, in the local paper eating a fresh caught shrimp: A Shrimp Story
Speaking of nostalgia, I also found the school in Lilliwaup on Hood Canal that my grandma attended more than a hundred years ago. It’s still standing today and is used as a community center and chapel.
That’s enough nostalgia for one post so I’ll close with a sunset over Pleasant Harbor from an earlier visit, taken from the marina side.
~ Susanne
P.S. For more information about Pleasant Harbor, here’s a link to the Washington State Parks website.
Back in the Pink
Last week at this time I was pretty miserable with whatever’s going around (I haven’t been that sick since covid.) But I’m finally back ‘in the pink’ so I’m here with a gallery to celebrate.
Sharing with #SundayStills, Pink.
That is all.
~ Susanne
Cool Cat in the Garden
“Who, me?”
“Yes you, Benji. You wear the Yarrow well.”
“Very melodious. Thanks, Sue.”
Happy Caturday!
~ from Susanne and Benji
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
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
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
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
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.
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? 🙂
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 