Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Let Sleeping Cats Lie
My sweet Benji.
~ Susanne
Raindrops on Roses
This afternoon I went out to survey the garden and found little to celebrate.
Except. for. this. one. little. rosebud.
With raindrops hiding in its petals.
And that was enough.
I planted the ketchup and mustard rose earlier this spring but as sometimes happens, selected the wrong location. I cut it back and moved it later in the heat of summer.
Apparently, it has forgiven me.
We shall see.
~ Susanne
Wild, Wild Webs and Their Inhabitants
For this week’s Sunday Stills challenge, I’m remembering the morning I went outside and saw this.
And this, as if some teenage spiders had entered for sport and tp’d* the entire yard.
I take less offense when they paper the trees with their webs, where I won’t run into them.
unlike the poor dismembered creature below, who I found in a web near my front door.
Eeek!
Sorry (not sorry) to share these images, but it is that time of year.
~ Susanne
(*Tp, as in toilet paper, a juvenile prank from long ago.)
Seven Years Ago – First Cruise to Alaska
Facebook has been reminding me all week that it was seven years ago, the last week of September, when we went on our very first cruise, and it was to the great state of Alaska!
So for Becky’s Challenge #SevenforSeptember I went back and squared some of my favorite photos from that cruise, starting with our departure from my hometown and favorite city, Seattle.
We sailed out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca as the sun was beginning to set, and honestly it was magical.
My favorite part of the ship was the Promenade Deck where I walked alone every morning, enjoying the fresh air,
and looking for any signs of this:
The highlight of our trip was sailing though Glacier Bay.
Even though it was rainy and overcast, we loved seeing the many glaciers and baby seals resting on ice floes.
I’m hoping to go back earlier in the season and see Glacier Bay on a clear day, to catch the mountain ranges surrounding the bay, just like in the pictures, here.
~ Susanne
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
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
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
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
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
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
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 