Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
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
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
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
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
My Sweet Benji
That is all.
~ Susanne
Sunrise on the Seventh
The sun rose a huge ball of fire over my backyard, suspended, brilliant, through the trees.
I heard the rooster crow
and rose to capture the fire on this 7th day of September for #SevenforSeptember, yes, while listening to the crowing of my neighbor’s rooster.
Happy Saturday!
~ Susanne
Boeing Jets in Sevens
As you probably know, Boeing was born and raised in Seattle (so was I) so there’s much to see in the way of jets and planes around town at the plants that build them, such as these in Renton.
“Boeing’s 737 factory at the Renton, Wash., site leads the industry as the most efficient airplane factory in the world. More than 14,500 commercial airplanes (707, 727, 737, and 757) or about 30 percent of the worldwide fleet flying today were built in Renton.” Boeing.com
You’ll also find them in abundance at the Museum of Flight where they’re displayed along with their history.
If you’re lucky you’ll see history in the sky as we did one day, while walking the Cedar Trail next to the Renton Boeing Plant, a Flying Fortress, a B-17 taking off and landing again and again, probably for paying customers.
“The B-17 is one of history’s most significant aircraft for its role in the European and Pacific theater during World War II. It’s an iconic plane in the Boeing pantheon and has the statistics to prove it: the B-17 dropped more bombs in Europe than any other plane and was a deciding factor in the Allied victory.”
Museum of Flight
Sadly, Boeing has fallen on hard times lately, and we can only hope they return to their former glory soon.
By the way, there are so many SEVENS in the Boeing lineup, which is why I squared my photos to share them with #SevenforSeptember, a photo challenge.
~ Susanne
Seven Squared Bugs?
What’s that you say?
Squared pictures. Seven of them. Bugs. (I use the term loosely. All bugs are insects, not all insects are bugs!)
So I can ‘double dip’ into two photo challenges, #Sunday Stills and #SevenforSeptember.
I’ll start with an ordinary ‘bug’ resting on a nasturtium. The focus is obviously on the flower not the bug, perhaps a metaphor for life.
On the opposite side of the yard and the color wheel as well, is a bee in a blossom. An insect not a bug, a helpful pollinator.
The nuthatch was looking for bugs in the Douglas Fir tree; I’m sure he found them deep in the furrowed bark.
Perhaps the wren found bugs to feed its young from the same tree.
The skippers are out and about in my garden. They’re butterflies, pollinators, insects with big eyes, antennas, and wings.
And legs. Don’t forget the hairy legs.
Finally, I’ll close with a spider (an arachnid, neither insect or bug!) who caught an unsuspecting bug in his web. Spiderwebs are everywhere now, so watch your step, lest you too be snagged.
And that will do for today’s seven!
~ Susanne
Coulon Park – for All Seasons
I took a walk at Coulon Park yesterday, before summer turns to fall. The sun was shiny, and the lake was sparkly, enjoyed by turtles and boaters alike.
The Olympics were mostly bereft of snow, that will change soon enough.
Mt. Rainier is never bereft of snow, covered by more glaciers than any other mountain in the continental United States.
If I love visiting the park in summer, I love visiting in autumn even more, to see some of the best fall color around.
Winter brings its own beauty, quiet and peaceful.
By now the mountains are covered with snow, but just as often, shrouded in clouds.
Sometimes the clouds contain a rainbow or accent a glorious sunset.
Trees leaf out in spring and flowers begin to bloom.
Turtles emerge
and ducklings learn to swim.
Seasons change, and the cycle of life continues.
No better place to enjoy the change, than at #CoulonPark in Renton.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 