Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Dropping by for Peace
It’s been a very rainy week in the Pacific Northwest, drenching us all and flooding our rivers.
It’s also been a very busy week, but regardless of the environment, inward or outward, I am at Peace – I have God to thank for that.
But that doesn’t mean some places aren’t intrinsically peaceful.
So, for this week’s Sunday Stills photo challenge, I went looking for places that exude #Peace and found them (as usual) on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
Are you feeling peaceful yet?
I hope so. 🙂
~ Susanne
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A Visit to Kualoa Ranch on Oahu
The long and rainy months in the Great Northwest are upon us, time for some armchair travel!
How about a trip to Hawaii?
We visited our two favorite islands back in September – the Big Island of Hawaii and Oahu – I’ve shared from both already.
But I thought Kualoa Ranch, a 4,000-acre private nature reserve and working cattle ranch on Oahu’s windward side, deserved its own post.
The Ranch is set at the foot of the gorgeous Koʻolau Mountains, the dormant fragmented remnant of an ancient volcano.
“What remains of Koʻolau is the western half of the original volcano that was destroyed in prehistoric times when the entire eastern half—including much of the summit caldera—slid cataclysmically into the Pacific Ocean.” Wikipedia
If you do nothing but gawk at the beauty of the Ko’olau Range, you do well. But it’s even better to take one of the tours into the valley, where you’ll get a closer look at the mountains, and no doubt recognize some of the scenery.
“If the views look familiar, it’s because Kualoa has been the site of over 70 Hollywood movies since the 1950’s. Blockbuster films such as Jumanji, Kong Skull Island, Jurassic World, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Tears of the Sun, and 50 First Dates have all been filmed at Kualoa. TV shows like Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P.I. and LOST have also used the amazing backdrops. Kualoa is known as Hollywood’s “Hawaii’s Backlot,” and has been seen by more than a billion people in all the movies filmed at the ranch over the past 60 years!” About Kualoa Ranch
Of all the movies filmed here, Jurassic Park is probably my favorite.
Did you know that one of the most iconic scenes in the movie, wasn’t meant to be filmed on Oahu? Most of the movie was filmed on Kauai, but when Hurricane Iniki hit, they had to relocate and finished up at Kualoa Ranch. (The heavy rain in some of the movie’s sequences was real footage from the hurricane.)
The valley where Dr.Grant and the kids ran and hid behind a giant log is one of the stops on the movie tour.
And also the site of Skull Island.
There’s a lot more to see on this tour, and there are other tours you can take, too. But that will do for now.
Now to get there.
The most direct route to Kualoa Ranch from Honolulu is through the Ko’olau mountain range.
But if you have more time, you can take the coastal route at least one way, around the bottom of the island.
We took that scenic drive another day – Oahu’s Windward Side.
Whichever way you go, I hope you get a chance to visit Kualoa Ranch someday yourself.
~ Susanne
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Looking out my Window with Benji
Facebook reminded me that 9 years ago, this was the view from my office window. It was Benji’s first snow.
There’s been no snow yet this winter, but we still enjoy looking out the window.
“Right, Benji?”
“Of course, Sue.”
This morning, I replenished the feeder in front, and the hummingbirds appreciated it. They deplete their sugary drink faster here probably because of the better tree cover.
This was a male Anna’s hummingbird, though I wasn’t sure at first as the flashes of pink were only occasional.
Much has changed in 9 years for Benji, but much is still the same. He may be down a limb, but he still loves looking out the window from his new accommodations. We do what we can.
~ Susanne
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Textures in Nature and Art
I love the word ‘textures’ – say it slowly and you can hear its rich sound and even see its meaning in your mind’s eye.
Nature, like life itself, is textured and nuanced. Not only smooth, but sometimes rough, not merely soft but also coarse; sometimes wet and sometimes dry. Thick and thin, lumpy and bumpy, and full of ups and downs. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I was born and raised in Seattle and have seen plenty of gray skies, completely gray in fact like today. Though we don’t top the list of rainiest cities in the United States, we are near the top of the cloudiest. So, I might reasonably wish for more sunshine and blue skies but then I’d miss out on breakthroughs like this,
and buoyant clouds like these.
And what a treat to see skies filled with cirrocumulus clouds!
Perhaps my favorite are lenticular clouds – I brake for them when I can.
They sometimes hover over Mt. Rainier, looking quite like a UFO, and did you know it was here the phrase was coined, though called flying saucers first. I often see Mt. Rainier wearing a cloudy cap, but unfortunately, often while driving on the highway.
I found them here racing toward the mountain, though not there yet.
Trees come in all textures too. I like the big foot on this one.
And the bark on this one, a Redwood.
The bark on the Madrona is special, crispy and peeling to reveal a slick and shiny surface beneath.
Rocks come in all textures from ordinary pebbles to magnificent gems deep in the earth.
Artists understand the importance of textures perhaps more than most, and I’m grateful for their work.
Sharing for this week’s Sunday Stills, #Textures.
~ Susanne
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Saying Goodbye to November
Today felt like the first day of winter, with frost on the ground and temperatures in the low thirties.
Even so, we bundled up and took a walk at a nearby park, where crispy, fallen leaves were still everywhere on the ground.
‘Hey dear,’ I said, ‘can we stop for a picture? I want to get our shadows.’
As always, my husband complied, even waving to the camera without my asking.
Getting my last post in before the sun sets on #November Shadows.
~ Susanne
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Morning Shadows on Lake Quinault
It was an early winter morning at Lake Quinault on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, and all was tranquil.
Time to go back.
Sharing my photos with Becky’s #November Shadows.
~ Susanne
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Red Berries for Thanksgiving
No, not cranberries.
Nandina from my porch.
Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
~ Susanne
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Summoned by the Hummingbirds
I have two hummingbird feeders in my backyard, that I keep filled year-round for the Anna’s who live here. The first two pictures below are from the summer.
But the past few years, I’ve added an extra feeder to the front yard in the winter, to make sure there’s enough food for all when the weather turns frigid.
Earlier this week, I saw a hummingbird hovering around the maple tree in front where I had not yet hung the extra one, willing me to see him. I finally did and hung the feeder.
By the next day it was in use, and I had a front row seat from my office window.
Yesterday there were two at the same time – look closely and you’ll see one waiting on the wing. They’re known to be territorial, but it was civil.
They often perch in the tree before dropping down to eat and I enjoy watching them there, too.
Today, while standing at my window, one came over and looked in, to say hello and thank me for my efforts.
I was charmed, as always, by these adorable and intelligent birds.
~ Susanne
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Seeking a Better Cup of Coffee and Fun with AI
I’ve been drinking the dark brew since high school.
Mom would make coffee in the morning before she went to work, and there was always some left in the pot when I got home after school. I heated it up, added cream and sugar and drank it while reading the sports section to see how my team ranked (usually very well.)
It was an electric percolator, white ceramic with blue flowers and I looked high and low to find a picture to show you but to no avail.
So I thought I’d try the new AI image generator to create a picture for what I remembered – ‘old-fashioned-coffee-percolator-corelle-style-white-with-blue-flowers” and got this in return.
Pretty pot yes, but isn’t something missing?
I tried again.
“1970’s electric coffee percolator white ceramic with blue flowers”
At least a spout was added, but the top’s not right and it’s certainly not electric.
Maybe my instructions were too complicated, so I tried to get a photo of the more commonly used pot.
“‘Electric coffee percolator, silver with clear bulb on top”
Ha! That would be an electrifying start to the day for sure.
Okay, forget the picture. I’m sure you remember coffee percolators, which were used for decades before drip coffee machines came into vogue, starting with Mr. Coffee, then followed by one cup coffee makers requiring the use of a pod.
We’ve used that last method for many years, contributing to waste in the landfills, while not obtaining the best cup of coffee either.
I looked for a better way and found coffee machines reaching into the thousands of dollars.
Then I went to my garage and found this old-fashioned stove top percolator, which made great coffee on many camping trips.
We tried it. We liked it.
I looked for an electric version in the stores but couldn’t find one. But you can find anything online and I did. It was delivered last night. Isn’t it cute?
This morning was the first cup in the new pot.
Success!
No pods necessary. We’re experimenting with all kinds of new coffee, grinding the beans ourselves.
Tell me, coffee drinkers: what is your favorite way to brew a cuppa?
~ Susanne
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Bright and Beautiful in Bellingham
November is the rainiest month in the Great Northwest, so we have to look at the forecast when planning our local travels. One good day is all it takes and so it was, that earlier this month, we headed north to Bellingham for a few days.
Our travel day would be rainy, but we were promised clear skies and sunshine the next day in Bellingham, where we stayed at our favorite place across from our favorite bookstore.
There was a very mellow sunset through the clouds that night over Bellingham Bay.
The Northern Lights were in the forecast, so I kept a watch from our room. Bellingham is the northernmost town with more than 50,000 residents in the contiguous 48 states; so I knew if it cleared up enough, they’d be visible. But it was getting late and we weren’t willing to venture out to escape the city lights. Even so, I knew the pale greens and purples in the sky were the aurora borealis.
The next morning, we took the boardwalk along Bellingham Bay to Boulevard Park under the promise of blue skies.
Our destination was Woods Coffee, our favorite.
Later, we took the backroads north to the little town of Lynden, the northernmost town in the contiguous U.S., with more than 10,000 residents. Looming above the farmland were the best views of Mt. Baker, bright and beautiful,
and of the North Cascades on the Canadian side.
After lunch and shopping in town, we took a hike in a wooded city park,
before returning to Fairhaven for the night.
Rain returned for the drive home the next day, but we didn’t care. We’d had a wonderful few days away and an entire day of sunshine!
Sharing with Sunday Stills, All things bright and beautiful and #November Shadows.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 