Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Summertime in the Garden
Finally! The summer solstice arrived this week bringing sunshine and the hottest days of the year to the sun-starved, rain-drenched Northwest. It was a busy day in the garden, but not for me, I just sat and took it all in – the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees.
Benji joined me on my lap,
when he wasn’t otherwise occupied.
Sharing with Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
Sailing Away to Canada!
At least for the day, last week it was, and we managed to do it on the sunniest day of the week.
We spent the night in Port Angeles and took the Coho Ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria the next morning.
It was an easy crossing with wonderful views of the Olympics behind us and Canada before.
After little more than an hour we arrived at our destination and easily passed through customs.
There were views of the Parliament building on one side,
and the Empress Hotel on the other, both iconic landmarks.
We walked along the Inner Harbour admiring the wildlife
and the boats, while planning the day’s activities.
Our first stop was the Royal Museum, which was already being ramped down for its closure in September. It’s a favorite of ours so we took a final look while we still could. It will be seismically retrofitted and won’t reopen for several years. Here’s a Woolly Mammoth inside.
Next door is Thunderbird Park with its colorful collection of native totem poles.
Afterwards we walked up Government Street for shopping and lunch, and amazingly I managed to abstain from buying anything despite the favorable exchange rate. Instead, we continued on a few blocks further to Chinatown, Canada’s oldest, and the second oldest in North America, after San Francisco.
Though I’ve been to Victoria many times before, I only discovered Chinatown on our last cruise, when we stopped by for a few hours.
My favorite spot is Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street in Canada.
After ice cream (I was adventurous and chose green tea matcha) we walked along the wharf back to where we started. By then we were both exhausted (I’d have 20,000 steps on my Fitbit by the end of the day) and decided to hop on the red tour bus that took us around town through charming neighborhoods, Beacon Hill Park, and along waterfront beaches (this is an island so there are many).
We were finally deposited back at the Empress Hotel, where we did not take high tea, though we could have for $89 a person. I probably would have enjoyed it, Bob not so much. Instead, we found a place nearby for dinner,
then walked over to the magnificent Parliament building
Across the street we waited for our ship to arrive to take us back to the United States.
We left Victoria behind
and arrived back in Port Angeles, Washington, as the sun was setting.
It was an easy walk back to our hotel where we had a good night’s sleep after a long day of international travel! 🙂 The trip home the next day along Hood Canal was also wonderful but I’ll save that for another time.
~ Susanne
Watching the Eagles on Hood Canal
Three days away coming and going
on Hood Canal we saw eagles
and stopped to watch them watching.
~ Susanne
Memories of Pink Rhododendrons
I like pink in small doses offset by other colors.
Like rhododendrons found in the woods.
Washington state’s flower, coast rhododendrons thrive under the dappled shade of forests, like these on Hood Canal.
In fact, pink rhododendrons remind me of childhood trips to Hood Canal to visit my grandma and grandpa. It was a long drive, and as we neared our destination, we’d see who could spot the pink shrubs in the woods first. It was a game my mother thought up to keep us kids busy.
Later, I wanted to see rhododendrons in bloom in the Redwoods, and finally did on one of our road trips to California.
They almost look primeval among the big trees, especially after playing with them in Lightroom. 🙂
Sharing with Sunday Stills Color Challenge, Pink.
~ Susanne
A Nature Walk in Green
In my last post I lamented our rainy spring here in the Great Northwest, too much for even the most hardened local. Still, it does make for some delicious shades of green.
Yesterday, there was a break in the weather so we headed to Nolte State Park.
We left the fishermen behind
and took the 1.4 mile walk through the woods around Deep Lake.
The ferns were thick and tall many with fronds still unfurling.
When we got tired the benches invited us to sit and rest
reminding us why we call this place home.
~ Susanne
Surviving Spring in the Rainy Northwest
To those who just moved here let me say, it’s not always this bad.
Yes, we get a bit of rain in the Pacific Northwest but sometimes it actually stops.
Really it does.
And trust me, you don’t want the other extreme – like last year’s brutal heatwave when we had temperatures in the hundreds for days.
So get outside during the sunbreaks; enjoy the green when you can – after all you’re paying for it.
Take a walk in the park at Flaming Geyser
Hike to Twin Falls
Bicycle the Cedar River Trail
That’s how we get by.
~ Susanne
Playing with Painnt in the Garden
I recently discovered the Painnt application and decided to try out the free version on some of my garden pictures.
Bee on Chives
My Favorite Rose
Lady’s Mantle in the Rain
It was fun to play with but I think I like the originals better.
What do you think? 🙂
~ Susanne
Celebrating Trains, Planes and Automobiles!
My husband likes anything with wheels, so we’ve managed to visit many different museums and historic sites dedicated to them, in our travels over the years.
Trains
We found the Sante Fe 5021 at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento on our recent road trip.
He spent hours inside the excellent museum, while I was in and out, then toured Old Town.
We once visited Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where I took this picture of Bob in front of Big Boy Steam Locomotive # 4012.
I also took his picture in front of Steam Train #2023 at Heritage Park in Calgary, Alberta. In fact, we’ve visited several parks in Western Canada with steam trains, including one in Edmonton, where soon after we boarded Bob disappeared. A few minutes later he returned and said, “I hope you don’t mind. I’m going to ride up front with the engineer.” No, I didn’t mind, and the memory still makes me smile. 🙂
Planes
There’s no shortage of planes at the Museum of Flight in our hometown of Seattle. To be expected I guess, since Seattle was the birthplace of the Boeing Airplane Company.
We found more airplanes at the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in a less likely place – Hood River – where they were tucked in among the automobiles.
Planes and Automobiles
I enjoyed all the brilliant colors and shapes of the planes and cars displayed in the museum.
But not as much as Bob, who spends twice as long as I do, and reads all the fine print.
Fortunately for me, there are wonderful views of Mt. Hood next door while I bide my time. (He extends the same courtesy to me when I take twice as long when we visit gardens.)
By the way – do you know what all these pictures have in common besides the wheels?
Numbers! Thats why I’m sharing this with Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
You Know What They Say About the Early Bird!
This robin does!
Happy Saturday! 🙂
~ Susanne
Benji’s Herb Bed
Literally.
You’ll find him between the catmint and the chives.
~ Susanne and Benji
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 