Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
First of Three Days
Yes, that is sunshine you see here in the Great Northwest! According to the local news, we are about to experience three rain free days in a row, for the first time since last September!
To celebrate day one, I went for a walk at Coulon Park yesterday wearing a baseball cap to shield my eyes from those foreign rays.
I was not the only one out.
It was a gorgeous day with temperatures reaching close to 60 degrees. But please note, I did NOT say it was cloud free.
This is still January after all.
~ Susanne
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The Power of Snoqualmie Falls
We had some errands to run yesterday in the Snoqualmie Valley and stopped by Snoqualmie Falls on the way home. The river has been at flood stage all week – with many parts of the valley flooded. The falls were raging with power, with more water coming over than I’ve ever seen before.
We tried to get a better look and I got drenched by the spray.
Snoqualmie Falls drops 268 feet, higher than Niagra Falls though certainly not as wide. Here’s how it looked on some of our earlier visits different times of year when we hiked further down for a better view.
I wish I had a picture from almost 40 years ago – no smart phones then – when Bob and I dined at the restaurant overlooking the falls – on our first date.
Well done, dear!
~ Susanne
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Snow on Berries
An ordinary garden shrub sits outside my front door which makes it an easy object of my photography. On the first day of our winter storm in December, I went outside to capture the snow as it began to fall and collect on the berries.
Happy to share white snowy pictures for Cee’s Midweek Madness challenge, White.
~ Susanne
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A Rainy Day Lament
After the snow and deep freeze that followed, we’re now enduring heavy rain in the Great Northwest, courtesy of another atmospheric river. The cats are getting restless.
“When’s it going to end, Sue?”
“I wish I knew, Benji. Believe me, I’m tired of it too.”
“But at least you have plenty to do, Sue. I’m bored. Can’t you play with me?”
“I did, Benji, but I can’t all the time. Can’t you play with Tiger?”
“He plays too rough for me,” Tiger replied. “Maybe you could just put the boy outside.”
“How about that, Benji? You want to go outside, maybe hunt a few varmints? It looks like the rain is slowing down.”
“Benji?”
“Wise choice.”
~ Susanne
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Birds of a Feather at Juanita Bay
After a break in the weather yesterday we visited Juanita Bay Park, a protected wildlife area on the shores of Lake Washington.
We took the boardwalk and joined other birders who pointed out the bald eagles high in the evergreens above. (Yes, I had my Lumix and zoomed in.)
There were visiting trumpeter swans below, and in the distance behind them, a great blue heron fishing.
As we continued on our walk, we passed the heron looking just as I expected.
Until he perked up at some disturbance, thrusting up his head feathers,
transforming himself into some other flamboyant creature, at least to me.
Lake Washington is the second largest natural lake in Washington, bordering Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, and Renton on the south. Many wonderful parks dot the edges of the lake, all offering something unique. We’ve been to many of them, but this was our first trip to Juanita Bay in Kirkland; I’m sure it won’t be our last.
~ Susanne
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Benji Always Makes Me Laugh
Whatever the season,
Wherever I may find him,
Benji always makes me laugh.
And yes, I was inspired by today’s #bloganuary prompt – ‘what makes you laugh?’
~ Susanne
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Finding Inspiration in Three days of #Bloganuary
Yes I did, I signed up for daily prompts from Word Press to inspire my blogging, then mostly ignored the emails. Regardless, here’s a brief response to three of the prompts so far, at least my 1,2,3.
Prompt 1: What Road Trip would you love to take?
If asked a few weeks ago I would have said, Route 66, the Mother Road, one of America’s earliest highways running from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. It sounded quite romantic but the more we considered the actual road and the amount of driving involved it seemed like all the good stuff was in the West, mostly Arizona. Like we discovered in Williams, on our trip to the Grand Canyon a few years ago.
So why drive rickety roads through the barren lands of Oklahoma and northern Texas (no disrespect meant) stopping by the occasional quirky restaurant or giant ball of string? Instead, we’re planning a loop through the Southwest, mostly northern Arizona and southern Utah, with stops by the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley and a few of the other National Parks in the area. And yes, with occasional forays onto the Mother Road.
Prompt 2 : Write about the last time you left your comfort zone.
Are you kidding? I’ve been living outside my comfort zone for the past two years just like the rest of you – in a covid infected world: speaking from my little Zoom box, seeing myself as others do (hey – that’s not normal!) and wearing masks in public, all the while wondering if I’m doing enough to stay protected from those nasty airborne particles!
Speaking of masks, my first were homemade from scraps of fabric I had around the house. (I probably looked like I was wearing a pillowcase in those early days but we do what we can.) You may recall I had help from Benji.
Prompt 3 : What was your favorite toy as a child?
I suppose there were some but kids in my era had more fun playing Hide ‘n Seek late into the summer night, jumping across creeks, and building forts in the woods.
But if I had to pick something it would be my troll doll. With its happy face and goofy smile, colorful fragrant hair (I still remember that smell), it was portable enough to take to school. Wish I still had it. I picked up the one below in a collectible store and though the orange isn’t quite what I remember, it will do for now.
Hmm. Perhaps there is inspiration to be found in daily prompts!
~ Susanne
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Is it Spring Yet?
Inquiring minds want to know.
~ Susanne
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Happy Hummers and First Monday of 2022!
After eight long days, the snow of 2021 is finally melting, and we are left with slush and drizzle – welcome to the first Monday of 2022!
A strange number for a year, don’t you think?
When I was growing up all the years started with NINETEEN and rolled easily off the tongue. 1960, 1970, 1980 – you could pick any two and easily calculate the distance between them. Back then, 1984 was futuristic and 2001 was a distant science fiction movie!
Granted, we’ve been in the two thousands for more than 20 years already – I guess I should move on, huh? Okay, will do! 😉
During these days of snow and freezing temperatures I managed to post on my blog almost daily. The same thing happened during a previous major snow event- Snowmageddeon in 2019, when I also posted on Hummingbirds in the Snow. I couldn’t get as close then with my Sony as I can now with my Lumix. (Did I mention how happy I am with my new camera?)
I heard this one in the evergreens above my yard and zoomed into his world.
“You again,” he seemed to say as he turned my way.
Yes, indeed, time to go.
Happy Hummers to you!
~ Susanne
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A Look Back at the Road Trips of 2021
Hooray for road trips – the only way to travel during a pandemic! There were many close to home this year in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest – to Mt. Rainier – Olympic National Park – and the Columbia Gorge.
There were also trips farther afield as when we headed south in April, on Highway 101 to enjoy America’s West Coast – America’s Best Coast – through the Redwoods to San Francisco.
And after Labor Day to Yellowstone – to enjoy more of the magnificence of nature.
I guess you could say life itself is a road trip and I’m thankful for the journey.
Hoping your trip through 2022 is a safe and happy one!
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 