Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
From Sketchers to Starbucks
He’d worn out the Sketchers box though Bob tried taping it back together. Time to buy another pair of shoes or find another box.
“Don’t worry, Sue, it’s fine.”
“I’ll make do.”
“It’s still great for napping.”
Starbucks to the rescue.
“How’s that, Benji?”
“Little hard on the neck, Sue.”
“Sorry. That better?”
“Perfect. Thanks, Sue.”
Seven pictures, all squared. And it you look hard enough you’ll find a few 7’s sprinkled throughout.
~ Susanne
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Pileated Woodpecker – a Visitation
“It’s a woodpecker!” Bob saw him in the backyard and called me to come quickly with my camera. (He knows me well.)
And not any woodpecker, a Pileated Woodpecker, the largest in North America, a flaming, red-topped beauty.
I didn’t want to miss the bird, camera or not.
He was on the Douglas Fir free, big as life, hunting insects in the bark. While I went to find my camera, he flew over to the Hemlock, where I managed to get a shot off before he went higher up in the tree.
One good shot, though a bit blurry.
“The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. Look (and listen) for Pileated Woodpeckers whacking at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, carpenter ants, leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. The nest holes these birds make offer crucial shelter to many species including swifts, owls, ducks, bats, and pine martens.”
Meanwhile, back on the ground, Benji was not impressed.
~ Susanne
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Falling Leaves at Nolte State Park
Yesterday we took a walk at Nolte State Park through the woods, around Deep Lake. We love it any time of year, but especially during autumn.
It was still mostly green, but there was a hint of color in the trees.
Leaves are starting to fall, filling the cool air with indescribable fragrance, adding a crunch to our step.
Vine maples are bright chartreuse, as sunlight filters through them.
But it won’t be long, till fall colors dominate as in the pictures below from November, seven years ago. I’ve squared them for #SevenforSeptember.
We’ll be back for that.
Sharing with #SundayStills, Autumn.
~ Susanne
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Seven O’clock Sunset
I love this time of year when summer has turned to fall, and the sun begins to set earlier and earlier.
I was in my office when I saw brilliant colors in the sky and went outside to capture them.
It was near 7:00 pm, so I squared the photos and am sharing them with #SevenforSeptember.
We’ll have 12 hours of daylight today, with sunrise at 6:55 am, sunset at 7:07 p.m.
Then we’ll march towards the shortest day of the year in December on the winter solstice, when the sun will rise around 8:00 and set by 4:30, bringing sunsets earlier and earlier for my viewing pleasure.
~ Susanne
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Fair and Square
How could I resist?
We made it to the Washington State Fair last week, as we have for as many years as I can remember. It’s the largest fair in the Pacific Northwest, formerly and forever known to locals as ‘Puyallup Fair.’
I do indeed have pictures from our visit seven years ago that I can square and share for #SevenforSeptember.
Notice how blue the sky was that day in September of 2017!
Not so on our visit seven days ago when clouds filled the sky. Summer left in a hurry this year and slammed the door shut on its way out.
Okay, I don’t go on rides much anymore (exception for Disneyland)I but I did go on many of them in the past, including the Coaster, my favorite,
and the Swings, the ones below, not the crazy high ones in the pictures above. I remember being lifted up, wind in my face, going round and round, wondering if those thin chains would break and I might go sailing off into the sunset forever. (Yeah, that’s how my mind works.)
Now days, I just enjoy the artistry, with both feet firmly planted on the ground.
The fair started in 1900 in the town of Puyallup, 35 miles south of Seattle. The name Puyallup comes from the Puyallup Indian Tribe who inhabited – and still inhabit – the region. Pronouncing the name correctly remains a test, dividing locals from visitors. Say it with me – Pyoo – AL – up.
~ Susanne Swanson
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Don’t Look Now, But I’ve Been Tagged!
I love a good blog challenge, so when I was tagged by John Rieber, to participate in ‘Tag, you’re it,’ I gladly entered in!
‘What’s it all about?’
‘Just answer the questions, ma’am, so folks can get to know you better.’
‘Sure,’ I said, ‘why not?’
How did you come up with your blog name?
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
I’d been writing cat stories but didn’t know what to do with them, when my brother John suggested I start a blog. So top billing went to the CATS.
In fact, my first post was written by Tiger – did I mention my cats talk? – but Benji eventually became the star!
Trails represent my hikes and travels both near and far; Gardens covers my backyard, flowers and general love of nature. It’s a bit long for a blog name perhaps, but it is what it is.
If your blog was a person (fiction or real), who would it be?
Actually, my blog is a person, and that person is me – Susanne – or as my cats call me – Sue. I don’t think it would veer far from Susanne and Tiger and Benji!
What helps you create new content if you feel like you need some inspiration?
My cats provide material with their antics, cuteness, and life challenges. Tiger is aging (aren’t we all?) and Benji is down to 8 lives and 3 legs, adjusting to his tripod status back in May.
And I’m continually inspired by nature and my travels. (The feature photo is from the Quinault Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula, one of my favorite places.)
The highlight of our recent trip to Wenatchee (other side of the mountains from Seattle, for those who don’t know) was watching a pair of Ospreys feed their young with fish from the Columbia River. I used my Lumix FZ300 with its amazing zoom to watch them on a platform high above the river. It was amazing!
All that said, when the well starts to run dry, WHICH IT DOES, I can always get ideas from challenges (including this one!)
In fact, my latest post was a response to two different photo challenges, and the bees were from my backyard.
Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?
Not sure what that would look like, but I’d be open if there was a topic that worked for both of us. Cats? Travels? Gardens?
Is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?
Definitely!
I wish I had more technical tools at my disposal to better understand the software under the covers (WordPress.) I wish I had a test bed, that provided more than just ‘preview’ of a post in draft – they don’t always come out the way you think they will. (Okay, the tools probably exist, but no doubt cost more money and training, so maybe I’ll just plod along as I am.)
Do you have a specific style of blogging?
Authentic, I hope.
When I started out over seven years ago, I focused mainly on stories, but as I pursued photography, I began to include more and more photos in my posts. Now, the photos often tell the story. Or trigger the story. And I hope the stories and pictures inspire you to appreciate the beauty of the world around you.
Now I’ll, add my own question!
What do you like most about blogging?
I’m glad you asked. 🙂 I like the writing. The starting with nothing, groping to find what you’re trying to say, and having it all come out the way you hoped, in the end. Oh. And I like the folks, too. The other bloggers. Who follow. And comment. And produce their own marvelous posts as well.
DONE!
Now, Tag, You’re it! If you’d like to participate (no pressure, folks!) just copy the questions above and answer them in your own blog post; then leave a link to your post in a comment!
~ Susanne
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Don’t Worry – Bee Happy!
For this week’s #Sunday Stills color challenge – ORANGE – I looked no further than my own back yard.
And I squared all seven pictures for #SevenforSeptember.
~ Susanne
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Benji’s New Stairs
“Just for you, Benji.”
“What’s that, Sue?”
“The new stairs.”
“Oh that! About time! I appreciate it!”
Benji has always had a perch in my office and had no trouble getting to it with all fours.
But now as a tripod, he can’t jump as high, so he had to find another way: onto my chair, across the desk, and around the printer, which wasn’t convenient for either one of us.
So I looked and looked for a new perch but couldn’t find anything suitable, till I finally found some stairs online, and they were delivered yesterday.
And I’m happy to report that they work perfectly to give him easy access to his throne, I mean perch.
We do what we can.
~ Susanne & Benji
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Seven Colors of the Rainbow
Did you know there are seven colors in the rainbow? I guess I did, though I forgot the specifics until I began to look for sevens, for #SevenforSeptember.
We don’t get many rainbows here in the Great Northwest though we do get lots of rain. So when we see them, they’re special, like the one I saw at Coulon Park (below), where most of the colors can be clearly seen, even as they meld into one another.
Red – Orange – Yellow – Green – Blue – Indigo – Violet
They always appear in that order and ROYGBIV may help you (and me) remember them.
The gallery of seven squares below includes all the colors of the rainbow, from red to violet. Yes, that’s a lavender plant, but looks more like violet to me. And indigo? Well, use your imagination. Some think it doesn’t belong in the list of seven rainbow colors at all.
Who came up with the list anyway?
Turns out, it was Isaac Newton, back in the 1660’s who began a series of experiments with sunlight and prisms and demonstrated that clear white light was composed of seven visible colors.
According to Wikipedia, “Newton, who admitted his eyes were not very critical in distinguishing colours, originally divided the spectrum into five main colours: red, yellow, green, blue and violet. Later he included orange and indigo, giving seven main colours by analogy to the number of notes in a musical scale.”
But enough of that. I’ll close with another rainbow, from our first trip to Hawaii in 2007, and a verse.
“I will set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.”
Genesis 9:13
~ Susanne
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My Sweet Benji
That is all.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 