Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Looking for Red and Pink on a Green and Rainy Day
Monday, Monday and rain is falling here in the Pacific Northwest.
Though I was looking for red and pink for this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, I firstly found raindrops on green.
Fortunately, the green was surrounded by red berries,
and even the droplets contained some red. Look closely and you’ll see me inside, wearing a red sweater! 😉
Pink was harder to find but I remembered a pastel sunrise from last month, in shades of pink and lavender.
The piglet matches the same color scheme, his soft, baby pink nose and ears, blended nicely against his lady caregiver.
Speaking of ladies, I found this one in a fancy rose dress, at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The show returns to Seattle this week and hopefully we’ll make it again.
The rose below was much more modest though just as beautiful. It adorned a parking strip, and I was surprised to find it still blooming in January.
Finally, I saw this otherworldly sunset over Astoria a couple years ago. I’ve never seen another one like it; unfortunatley the gorgeous colors were due to smoke from wildfires.
And that’s enough red and pink for today.
~ Susanne
Heads or Tails with Tiger and Benji
Whilst I was recuperating on my bed last week I had two regular visitors –
Tiger
Benji
Both ends were welcome.
Happy Caturday from Tiger and Benji.
~ Susanne
A Study in Green – the Quinault Rain Forest
The Hoh Rain Forest gets most of the press for its fabulous Trail of Mosses, but the Maple Glade Trail in the Quinault Rain Forest is every bit as beautiful and definitely less crowded. Off the beaten path, on the remote southwest edge of Olympic National Park, we had the trail to ourselves on a mild winter’s day and everything was dripping with green.
Reflecting on Quinault for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Green and Weekly Prompts Color Challenge, Green.
~ Susanne
A Charm of Hummingbirds!
That’s what a group of hummingbirds is called. I rarely see them in groups, though I occasionally see a couple sparring for rights over the feeder.
So last month during our record deep-freeze, 14 degrees overnight, I added an extra one to a new location, to give the hummers more options where to eat. They appreciated it. And lucky for me, I can see this spot from my office and take pictures without bothering them through the window.
Not only do I get to watch them drink
I get to watch them perch on the branches nearby in between feeding.
No wonder they’re called a charm of hummingbirds.
Sharing with Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
Blue Skies over Port Townsend, Gray and Rainy at Dosewallips
We managed a quick getaway to Port Townsend this week on the most promising day of the week, weather-wise if not health-wise, and skies were mostly blue.
A bit of shopping, a bit of walking, and we decided to drive back along Hood Canal, with a stop by the Dosewallips, the river and state park. It was rainy but we were dressed for it and didn’t go far, just enough to enjoy the fresh air and stretch our legs.
According to the Washington State Trails Association, “The Dosewallips River flows through some of the most scenic portions of the Olympic Peninsula, weaving through rain forest to the shoreline of Hood Canal where, at the mouth of the river, sits one of Washington’s most popular State Parks.”
The giant eagle’s nest was still there, though I saw no eagles. Do they go somewhere to hide in the rainy weather?
We made the same trip last year and saw this:
Neither did we see elk, though they were plentiful on previous trips.
We did see other mysterious lifeforms hanging from the trees and sprouting from logs below.
Speaking of mysterious life forms, I was both surprised and not, when I tested positive for covid after we returned home. I’d suffered from cold symptoms off and on for the last few weeks and tested negative several times earlier this month. So I didn’t think too much about it when I woke up and felt a sore throat coming on, until later that night I was feeling pretty miserable.
Thankfully, I’m feeling good enough to be up and posting and hope it will pass soon.
~ Susanne
Birdwatching at Coulon Park
I went for a walk at Coulon Park on a gray and cloudy day.
A Crow was also out for a walk,
and startled when I took his picture; I assured him I was on his side.
Another bird landed in a distant tree and I snapped a photo by faith; I couldn’t see him clearly, but my zoom could. It was a Kingfisher, not uncommon, but a first for me.
A pair of Hooded Mergansers swam by,
the missus took the lead, the flamboyant male followed.
A Cormorant looked like batman, drying his wings.
while an Anna’s Hummingbird rested, deep in thought,
pondering the day.
I don’t remember exactly when I became a birdwatcher. I only know it makes a good walk even better and gives me Something to Do.
~ Susanne
Benji and the New Post
“Good morning, Benji. Just wanted to thank you for your cooperation.”
“Who, me? What for, Sue?”
“I think you know, Benj, but I’ll spell it out for you anyway. For using the new post.”
“Oh, that? Not to worry, Sue. My middle name is cooperation.”
“Hmmm. Not so sure about that. I think it had more to do with the catnip.”
“It’s a start, but I’d like you to use it without that. I can’t have you turning into a junkie.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sue. You can trust me.”
“I hope so Benji. But let’s keep working on it. In the meantime, you may still use the chair for sleeping, just not scratching, okay Benji?”
~ Susanne and Benji
Favorites in Aquamarine – From my Travels
Who doesn’t love aquamarine? Not me, but it’s in short supply here in the Pacific Northwest during the rainy winter months.
So for this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, # Aquamarine I went looking in my archives and found it in my travels.
I’ll start with the Canadian Rockies.
Can you name this lake? She’s famous, one of the most beaufiful in the world.
Lake Louise
Moraine Lake
Not far from Lake Louise, Moraine Lake is just as beautiful, maybe more so, I never could decide.
Perhaps I need another visit to Alberta, Canada!
Big Sur
Further south in the Lower 48, is Big Sur, California. It’s hard to find a better road trip than this beautiful coastline.
And while you’re there, be sure to stop and stretch your legs,
for a peek at Pfeiffer Falls. You’ll be glad you did!
Now let’s head further south and west, for a look at some wonderful beaches in Hawaii.
Makaha Beach, Oahu
Makaha is on the remote leeward side of Oahu, home to big wave surfing in the winter, only the experienced need apply.
I was happy just to walk on the beach and sink into the deep and velvety sand.
Meanwhile, on Maui
There’s no shortage of accessible beaches on Maui in all shades of aquamarine. So many in fact, I’m hard-pressed to remember the names of these below. Perhaps you’ll recognize them.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a rather subdued aquamarine at sunset, Turtle Bay, Oahu.
And that will do for today’s dose of aquamarine.
~ Susanne
Cats Behaving Badly – or just Behaving as Cats
“Benji, guess what? I got a new book. It’s called, “Cats Behaving Badly - Why Cats do the Naughty Things They Do,” by Celia Haddon.
“Is Tiger acting up again, Sue?”
“Actually no, Benji, I was thinking of you.”
“Me?? What on earth are you talking about?”
“Honestly I was considering some of your behaviors, and how we might change them.”
“Which behaviors, Sue? This one?”
“No, not that. I allowed you to mess with my crafts, even found it cute.”
“Is it that you don’t like me sleeping in your camera bag?”
“No, I don’t mind that as long as my camera’s not in it.”
“How about your inbox?”
“No, that’s okay, Benji. Just don’t shred the papers.”
“Well then, what’s the problem?”
“I was thinking of my chair, Benji. The one you can’t refrain from scratching every morning. I was wondering why the squirt bottle hasn’t worked.”
“Then I read this, ‘Cats that scratch furniture in the presence of their owners have discovered that it is a way of getting human attention, if not human approval.’ I think you just want my attention in the morning. Is that it, Benji?”
“You’re slow, Sue, but that’s part of it.”
“It also says, ‘An indoor cat has to scratch somewhere in the house and, if there are no posts available, he will scratch your furniture.’ Honestly Benji, you’re not exactly an indoor cat, you’ve got the whole backyard at your disposal. What more do you want?”
“I’m not outside all the time, Sue. And the little cardboard box on the floor isn’t great. I’d rather stand and stretch my legs while I scratch.”
“I see. A new scratching post, a deluxe model, will that help?”
“That should do, Sue. I’ll let you know after you get it.”
“Okay, Benji.” I’ll go shopping this week.”
“Thanks, Sue. I’m glad the book helped you!”
“It did, Benji, just not the way I hoped it would.”
“When cats behave in ways that are difficult for us, we are the ones who have to change. we can’t change them, except by changing ourselves.”
And all the cats said, ‘amen!’
~ from the desk of Susanne and Benji
San Diego – the Kiss, the Hope, and the Ship, USS Midway
It was just last month that we booked a few nights in San Diego. This was the first time we stayed on the waterfront, a perfect location for touring the aircraft carrier and museum, USS Midway.
It had rained the night before and was a bit cloudy but still warm enough for a pleasant walk on the Embarcadero.
We passed many eateries and shops on our way to the Midway, and eventually saw the ship ahead.
But first we stopped at the Kiss, (“Unconditional Surrender”) a statue of the iconic moment captured by Life Magazine after WW2 was finally over. Many visitors staged their own versions of the Kiss in front of the statue.
Nearby we found Hope – Bob, that is.
I remember his shows in front of the troops (on TV during the Vietnam era, not WW2, just so you know.) Thanks for the memories, Bob!
After the Kiss and the Hope, we boarded the Aircraft Carrier USS Midway, and spent most of the day exploring the many decks, narrow passageways and rooms below.
The ship was commissioned in 1945 as the largest ship in the world. It has 18 decks, weighs 69,000 tons fully loaded, and is 1,001 feet long. This City at Sea carried 4,500 crewmembers, served up 13,000 meals daily, handled 43,000 pounds of laundry weekly, and 80,ooo haircuts annually. We tried our best to imagine living aboard this giant ship and wondered how sailors didn’t get lost in the maze below (they did.)
The Flight Deck above had great views of the city and naval base across the bay.
There we listened to retired pilots describing the challenges of launching and landing jets on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean, often at night and under radio silence. We heard more stories at home from our son-in-law, a former Navy pilot, of his own exploits landing an F14 at night. Not for the faint of heart, hats off to all of them!
After a full day on the Midway, we walked back to the hotel, stopping for dinner as the sun began to set.
It was a perfect day.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 