Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
A Snowy Hike at Nolte State Park
Earlier this week, on a snowy day, we ventured out to the Green River Gorge and Nolte State Park (we have 4-wheel drive) where all was peaceful and serene
We stopped at the Black Diamond Bakery for breakfast and had the restaurant to ourselves, with Mt. Rainier on display through the window.
We took the one-way bridge over the Green River Gorge for a look down at the falls, 155 feet below,
while enjoying the morning light above.
Soon after, we arrived at our final destination – Nolte State Park – where Deep Lake was iced over
and guarded by this seasonal visitor.
We took the trail through the woods around the lake, which was sometimes free of snow,
sometimes not.
It was refreshing. Beautiful. And therapeutic.
~ Susanne
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Bobcat Sighting and we now have Indoor Cats!
A bobcat came into our backyard yesterday in broad daylight and looked through the window at Tiger and Benji. I have never even seen one in the wild before, much less in a residential neighborhood. After this scary sighting, we will now officially have indoor cats, another adjustment for Benji, who’d been used to going outside during the day. At least he has a lot of good indoor space, as he has already mostly taken over my office!
I’m thankful Bob built the window seat recently, so Benji can sit on high and watch the action. Tiger won’t notice the difference as he rarely went outside. Life is full of changes for all of us, and so we keep adjusting.
~ Susanne
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A Snowy Sunday
We finally got our first snow of the season today and I for one am happy.
Easy for me to say, as there’s no ugly commute in my future.
I got my grocery shopping done yesterday so the cupboards are full. There’s a fire going in the fireplace as there is every winter day in our home. Cats are in, though Benji did go outside to check it out.
I had been worried about the hummingbirds the last few days. They were here regularly throughout our cold snap last week, then went awol. I was so happy to see them feeding this morning, despite, or perhaps, because of the snow.
As I am ready to post this, I see the snow slowing, and a blue sky emerging. Is it over already? Tomorrow will tell.
~ Susanne
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New Window Seat – What we do for Benji!
“I hope you appreciate everything we do for you, Benji.”
“Of course I do, Sue, but what exactly do you mean?”
“Have you noticed I’ve practically given my entire office over to you.”
“First the stairs, I’m glad you use them, but they do take up a lot of space.”
“And now the window ledge – it was custom built, you know, according to my specifications. I wanted you to be able to look out the window easily, anytime you wish.”
“Love it, Sue. Tell Bob I appreciate it.”
“Will do Benji. But my point is: you have the stairs, you have the perch, and you have the window ledge. That being the case, would you please move? I need to use the computer.”
“Sorry, Sue.”
~ from the office of Susanne and Benji
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A Visit to Bremerton and Harborside Fountain Park
Across Puget Sound, just a ferry ride away from Seattle is Bremerton, home of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
On its waterfront is lovely Harborside Fountain Park, where you’ll see water shooting out of what looks like a giant submarine, at least during the summer months.
I squared the pictures above for #GeometricJanuary while there’s still time.
But arguably the best part of any trip to Bremerton are the views of Seattle from the ferry,
and the grand mountain next door.
~ Susanne
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My Anna’s Hummingbirds
As temperatures continue to plunge, I’m taking extra care to keep the hummingbird feeders thawed out and replenished. That means remembering to bring them in at night and returning them first thing in the morning; otherwise they are frozen solid. My sweet little birds perch in the trees before and after coming to feed, so I’m able to capture them at rest, these below, from yesterday ~
I caught the shining one in the maple tree out front this morning.
I love them all! 🙂
Sharing with #SundayStills, Watching and Feeding the Birds.
~ Susanne
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Windshield Art – Frosty Squares
This morning when I started my car, I saw lovely ice crystals on the windshield of varying shapes and sizes.
These are extraordinary, I thought to myself, all the while realizing how very ordinary, they were. Works of art, I thought, so I explored them more in color.
We haven’t had any snow this year but the icy ferns and frosty flowers looked like snowflakes to me.
Snowflakes and frost crystals are geometric so I squared the pictures above for GeometricJanuary.
I didn’t square the one below as I liked seeing the frosty crystals gallop along horizontally.
~ Susanne
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A Getaway to Bellingham – Fairhaven, Lake Padden, and WWU
A few days away does a body good and so it was for us this week, when we headed north to Bellingham.
Ninety miles north of Seattle, close to the Canadian Border, Bellingham is home to Western Washington University, where I went to school back in the day and fell in love with the town and the campus.
We stayed in Old Fairhaven, a unique, historic district where we could walk to our favorite bookstore, shops and restaurants.
Our first full day there, we woke early and went to Woods Coffee on Bellingham Bay. Then we drove to Lake Padden, a few miles away, a popular park, that for some reason we’d never been to before. Wow! We loved it! We walked the trail around the lake, through the forest, a perfect length of 2.75 miles.
There were a handful of people on the trail, including runners in shorts and t-shirts, though it was in the thirties; must be students we thought, young and hearty. (We were bundled up.)
There were lots of ducks and birds in the lake,
but what caught my attention was a Great Blue Heron hiding in the trees.
After our walk, we returned to Fairhaven for lunch at the Colophon Cafe,
then headed to Western, just before sunset. Western Washington University has a beautiful campus, surrounded by woods, and holds the sweet memories of youth. Old Main is still standing, where I registered each quarter, in person, from a paper catalog, long before the internet.
We walked through Red Square, surrounded by buildings where I took my classes. I especially loved the first two years of school when I had to satisfy general liberal arts requirements. Yes, eventually, there were Business and Accounting classes, which I enjoyed too, but not as much as English, Western World Literature, and History of the Middle Ages.
Across the street from Wilson Library, the large sculpture is still standing, near the Viking Union Building, overlooking Bellingham Bay,
where we were treated to a gorgeous sunset.
We passed more sculptures on our way back to the car (Western is known for their collection,) including these little people,
and stairs to nowhere.
The sun set quickly, and it was dark by the time we were back at our hotel. After freshening up, we walked to dinner, adding to our totals for the day, 17,000 steps, or 7 miles according to my fitbit. (I hadn’t walked that many steps in a day, since our trip to NYC last fall!)
A couple of days away was just what we needed. Time to head home.
~ Susanne
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More Birds in the Winter Garden in all Sizes
As the temperatures have dropped, I’ve had to keep the water thawed and available for the birds, and the hummingbird feeders, as well.
Today they appreciated it as dozens of birds, visited throughout the day.
Starting with Chestnut-backed Chickadees,
and Golden-crowned Kinglets.
Townsends’ Warblers, showed up unexpectedly, covered in even more gold than the kinglets.
A Rufous-sided Towhee, dropped by as well, mostly staying in the shadows; similar but more distinctive than the American Robin.
A male Flicker swooped in and dwarfed them all, landing on a Douglas fir tree, to hunt for bugs.
And of course, Anna’s hummingbirds came to feed,
waiting patiently in nearby shrubs,
perhaps the handsomest of all.
~ Susanne
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Squares from Spokane – Remnants from a World’s Fair
I was born and raised in Seattle and have traveled extensively throughout Washington State. But I’ve only been to Spokane, Washington’s second largest city, a couple of times, usually on the way to someplace else. Sorry, Spokane. (Granted it’s a five-hour drive east.)
So when we actually stopped and spent the night there a few years ago, I was surprised to find a charming city center, mostly on the site of the 1974 World’s Fair.
After looking back at photos from that trip, I realized they would work well for Becky’s GeometricJanuary challenge, so I squared them.
I’ll start with the 1902 Clock Tower, a remnant of the Great Northern Railroad Depot. Though the depot and railroad next to the Spokane River was demolished in advance of the 1974 Expo, the tower was saved and is now part of Riverfront Park. The blocks add a nice touch, don’t you think?
The Pavillion and Sky Ride also come from Riverfront Park, the site of Expo ’74: you can read more about it here if you like: World’s Fair in Spokane
The Red Flyer Wagon (the largest in the world) was built in 1989, not part of the fair, but a welcome addition to Spokane, for children of all ages (including my husband.)
World Fairs seem to be a thing of the past, but they left behind some interesting geometric structures, like this one, from the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962.
And that will do.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 