Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Busy as a Chickadee on a Spring Day
We’ve had four days in a row of pure sunshine and temperatures reaching the 70’s; the sun-starved natives of the Pacific Northwest are rejoicing!
The chickadees are happy too and busy excavating nests in the snag we left standing for this purpose.
I hope they find the accommodations suitable.
I’m delighted to have them.
~ Susanne
Pie on Pi
We had pie on pi day.
Did you?
At Copper Creek, Mt Rainier.
A day well spent.
-Susanne
Yellowstone National Park – Favorite Park, Favorite Feature
Despite two gorgeous parks in my own backyard – Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Park – my favorite national park is still Yellowstone, the world’s first, and largest in the continental United States.
I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve visited. From our first trip, tent camping back in the eighties, to our last, upgrading to Snow Lodge at Old Faithful.
No, we haven’t seen it all, at 3,400 square miles that would take a lifetime. But we have seen some of the best in the park, including Upper Geyser Basin, home to 150 thermal features including Old Faithful, Riverside Geyser and Crested Pool.
We saw hundreds of Buffalo, concentrated mostly in their favorite places, Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley.
And what’s not to like about these grand and glorious falls?
Yellowstone is home to the largest, high elevation lake in North America, sitting at 7,733 feet.
While the lake is too cold for swimming, and the hot springs would scald you to death, you can swim in the Firehole River.
There are many other wonders to enjoy when visiting all four corners of the park and walking the boardwalks among the thermal features.
But it was on my most recent trips to Yellowstone (2018, 2021) that I discovered my favorite feature of all – Grand Prismatic Spring.
“Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest and one of the most brilliant of Yellowstone’s many colorful hot springs. Its massive expanse stretches approximately 200 ft. across. The high temperatures of its water (160F) ensures that the spring is often cloaked in steam. Deep underneath us, magma from an active volcano heats water that rises to the surface through fissures in the rocks. The result is a hot spring that pours almost 500 gallons of water per minute into the Firehole River.”
I saw it the first time at ground level, shrouded in steam, mysterious and golden.
It was awesome but I couldn’t grasp its enormity and true colors until our next trip when we discovered the overlook. (See the tiny people on the hill above?)
We learned about the trail from staff when we stayed at Old Faithful, who told us it was a must-see while we were there. Yes indeed! The short, moderate hike took us high above the springs for a bird’s eye view, one I will never forget!
Can you say ooooh-la-la?
To commemorate this special place, I even created a little framed version of the spring using the National Park Service App.
Hope there is at least one more trip to this magnificent park in my future! I hope there’s one in yours too!
~ Susanne
Spring Green
Last month we had tantalizing glimpses of spring and I puttered in the yard, snipping and trimming and straightening up the garden, even planting a new rose, Ketchup and Mustard – I refuse to give up on roses.
The birds were out and about thinking it was spring too. This junco gave a wonderful performance in song to attract a mate.
Then March came in like a lion and brought our first substantial snowfall of the season.
Even though it was gone the next day, it’s been cold and rainy ever since. Spring is fickle in the Northwest.
But it won’t be long until spring green begins to flourish everywhere: a green that is young, full of energy and new life, and providing the accent to other colors to follow.
I can’t wait. 😊
~ Susanne
Surprised by Snow
Yesterday that is. We woke to our most substantial snowfall of the season and even then it was no more than an inch or two.
But it was enough for me to get my seasonal pictures of snow on the berries out my front door.
No more snow in the forecast but who really knows?
That’s what makes life interesting.
~ Susanne
Rainy Day at Redondo Beach
Saturday started out clear and (mostly) sunny. We were desperate to get out of the house after a long, rainy week, so we headed to Redondo Beach in Des Moines (the one in Washington not Iowa.)
But the sunshine was fleeting and by the time we arrived at our destination, the wind had picked up, the sky was turbulent, and rain began to fall.
Storm clouds hovered in the distance and whitecaps whipped up the water.
Bob wondered whether we should walk or not; it was freezing cold and it felt like the picture below, drained of all color.
“Well, you see, dear, there’s a rainy-day challenge so at least I’ll get some pictures of rain,” I thought but didn’t say.
Instead I replied, “Let’s walk down the boardwalk and if it gets too cold, we can always turn around,” and so we did.
We persevered and the rain subsided;
the gulls were grounded and fishing in the surf.
On our return we saw scuba divers – in the 46 degree waters of Puget Sound; even with wet suits they are brave souls, indeed!
They were no doubt hoping to see Pacific Octopus (the largest in the world,) whales and porpoises, along with many small creatures we saw inside the Mast Center Aquarium next door, an aquarium we stumbled upon, not knowing it even existed.
It was small but charming and we loved all the colorful creatures, both plants and animals.
I especially loved discovering something new – a Grunt Sculpin – a fish that can walk (or at least hop.)
According to Wikipedia, “The grunt sculpin generally remains close to shore and is often found in empty giant barnacle shells. The common name comes from reports that the fish vibrate or “grunt” when held. Its defining feature is its tendency to “hop” along the ocean floor on its orange fins.”
So……. I didn’t exactly get pictures of the rain except from a distance. But I did enjoy the fresh air, gulls, starfish, anemones and even a walking fish.
~ Susanne
March Comes in Like a Lion or Perhaps a Tiger!
Snow was in the forecast all week though we only got hail along with the cold and rain.
And Tiger turns 16 this month – that’s 80 in human years!
I don’t know the exact day and even the month is only an educated guess.
Wasn’t he a cutie as a youngster? (Picture is from the previous owner.)
He was five years old when we rescued him from a ‘cat hotel’ where he was dropped off after being neutered and waiting to be rehomed.
The poor boy has been somewhat of an emotional mess ever since, but oh so sweet!
Happy birthday to Tiger.
And looking forward to spring!
~ Susanne
It’s Leap Year so Let’s Leap!
Happy 29th from Benji!
~ Susanne
Bird Bonanza in the Skagit Valley
Welcome to the Skagit Valley, where in the winter you may see more bald eagles than you’ve ever seen before. Like we did, last year.
And when the birds move on, you’ll still have this in the spring – Daffodils in March.
Tulips in April.
Worth a visit don’t you think? An hour or so north of Seattle.
~ Susanne
Fun with Photo Edits and Apps
I don’t usually do a lot of editing on my photos, save for resizing and watermarking them in Lightroom.
But for this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge #Photo-Edits I thought I’d use the simple (and free) tool that came with my Samsung Galaxy phone, Gallery.
I’ll start with a picture I took in early December, of fall leaves and mushrooms. I edited the first photo in Gallery using the ‘Cozy’ filter, the second using the ‘Nostalgia’ filter, and the third is the original.
(Click the arrow to advance through the photos.)
I prefer cozy, how about you?
I took the picture of the Point Arena Lighthouse in California near Mendocino, using my Sony RX10. I transferred it to my phone and edited it in Gallery using the ‘Cartoon’ filter. I prefer it to the original, the next one in the slide show.
I found the ‘Cartoon’ filter also improved a photo of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I couldn’t find the original. I must have deleted it, so it wasn’t nearly as cute.
I used my compact Sony RX100M3 on our last trip to Washington DC and took the picture below. I liked how the wings of the African American Museum jutted into the scene next to the Washington Monument, even though the picture itself is rather poor.
But I liked the shapes, so I edited it on my phone, using the ‘Cartoon’ filter, then desaturated it to black and white.
I also edited the original in Lightroom Classic where I resized, filtered it, and added a watermark.
All these tools can help improve a photo. And though I like Lightroom Classic, I’m not sure it’s worth the subscription.
It comes with many more features and apps but I don’t have the desire or energy to learn how to use them. And I’m finding many free alternatives including Gallery on my phone, and the Photo App on my PC, which has both editing and resizing capabilities. (The only thing missing is the watermark, but I’m not sure I really need it; if I do, I can probably find a cheaper alternative.)
My Samsung Galaxy phone is somewhat ancient by today’s standards; an S9 and they just released S24. But I looked at S23 last year and realized that even though the new camera would be great, the phone was much bigger and heavier than I wanted to carry. I already have three good cameras of various sizes and my S9 takes decent photos. (I’ll wait for the next Galaxy that has a great camera AND is small and lightweight.)
That’s enough for now. Let me know which editing tools you like the most, especially if they’re free!
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 