Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Remembering the Beautiful Allen’s Hummingbirds
Another cold and rainy day in the Pacific Northwest and the blue skies and sunshine from Southern California are only a memory. Still memories are meant to be enjoyed, are they not?
I love hummingbirds and one of my favorite memories from our recent trip was discovering a new variety – the Allen’s Hummingbird.
This colorful species lives in a narrow strip along the Pacific Coast of California and southern Oregon. Some stay in southern California year-round though most spend the winter in Mexico.
I might do the same if only I could.
~ Susanne
May the Fourth Be with You! – A Visit to Star Wars at Disneyland
It seemed only fitting on the fourth of May to resume the telling of our California road trip which included at its southernmost point, a visit to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth!
How’s this for a welcome?
We’ve been to Disneyland many times before, both together, and as kids. It’s not for everyone perhaps, but we have always enjoyed it, so it seemed like a fun place to shoot for on our road trip to sunshine. In particular we wanted to see the new Star Wars land which mostly lived up to the hype.
At least the ‘land’ did, we only went on one of the rides there, due to the long wait times.
Speaking of rides – we started out at Splash Mountain since the line was short. We had great fun on what is essentially a roller coaster through water, with a big drop at the end. We got soaked and it was all good since it was 88 degrees – yes, we found the sunshine we were looking for!
But near the end of the ride, we got into a logjam as we stopped moving and cars (well, logs, I guess) lined up behind us. And there we sat. And sat. Slowed only? Or completely broken down we weren’t sure.
Until after 15 minutes some Disney helpers came and escorted us off and up the stairs to the right. Yes indeed. Our first ride of the day (not counting the train that circles the park) broke down. (Do you know how happy I was that this happened after the big drop??)
The upside was that we were rewarded for our troubles with a fast pass on any other ride which we used at Millenium Falcon in Star Wars Galaxy Edge. It was a fine ride, but we both liked the original Star Tours ride better which we went on later.
Surprisingly, there were other breakdowns that day, but we were not on them. Instead, we’d come along later after they’d just reopened, and lines were short. So we enjoyed many of our favorites – Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise as well as the aforementioned Splash Mountain and Star Tours. But not our very favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean which was being refurbished.
Overall it was a splendid day. And even though I looked around and saw we were sometimes the oldest people on a ride, I’d do it all again. Old is just an attitude.
Here’s a gallery from the park including some very dapper looking ladies, all dressed up for Dapper Day.
And that concludes this episode of our road trip to sunny Southern California. More to come.
~ Susanne
What’s Emerging in the May Garden?
I’m glad you asked! Let’s start with the herbs.
My herbs are mostly decorative, though I could use them for cooking if I only remembered.
First up are the chives. It won’t be long before the buds open and attract bees into their blossoms.
Next is the oregano and catmint.
Oregano for me.
Catmint for Tiger and Benji.
There’s a special kind of emerging from the lilac tree this year – flowers! My mother-in-law got us the bush many years ago and it has NEVER bloomed before; I guess it didn’t like being moved around but finally forgave us.
Or perhaps I provoked it to envy when I bought a new lilac bush last year and planted it nearby. Whatever the reason, we are happy to have lilac buds and I can’t wait for the fragrance when they open. 🙂
Finally, I give you the climber that steals the show in the May garden – the montana clematis. Just emerging from its long winter sleep, by the end of the month it will take over everything in its path, wrapping it in pink.
And that’s all right with me. 🙂
Sharing with this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, Emerging.
~ Susanne
A Rainy Start on a Road Trip to Sunshine but the Tulips Didn’t Mind!
It was drizzly as we left our home in Washington almost two weeks ago, seeking sunshine in Southern California. The rain continued in Oregon, so much so that we debated whether to stop by the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival even though we had tickets in hand. But as we got closer the rain slowed down and so did we.
It was only a tease; the rain returned with a vengeance as we wandered the grounds. But that’s what umbrellas are for and we carried ours.
We enjoyed our stop, along with the delicious homemade donuts served up by one of the vendors.
Then we pressed on in the rain – blue skies and sunshine would have to wait another day.
~ Susanne
On Cats and Blogging and a Road Trip
First of all, my apologies to the cats.
“Sorry, Benji”
“We worried you weren’t coming back, Sue.”
“We’ll always come back, Benji. You can count on that.”
“Same to you, Tiger.”
“It was lonely without you, Sue.”
“Sorry boys. It couldn’t be helped. There’ll be special privileges for you both in the coming days. And extra treats, too.”
We’d sought to escape from one of the coldest Seattle Aprils on record and found refuge in sunny Southern California. We also found scenic views, theme parks, and a wild and rugged coast, all of which I’ll share with you in the coming days.
But for now, I’ll talk about the blogging I did on the road. On a teeny, tiny, phone. With limited cell service. I managed a few posts, including the last one. But I was unable to comment on the blogs I follow, due to ‘features’ of the mobile version of WordPress, commonly known as ‘bugs.’
I also returned to 197 Spam comments, and 288 in Trash. You know what they had in common? The phrase, ‘near me.’ Hmmm. I guess I said that a lot to google on our trip and the spammers used it. Don’t ask me how.
But that’s enough for now, as there’s shopping, gardening, and unpacking still to do. Why on earth am I blogging first? 🙂 🙂
~ Susanne
SoCal Floral Beauty and Allen’s Hummingbirds!
When in need of sunshine and a respite from a wintery spring, we Northwesterners head to sunny Southern California!
When it’s a road trip in April you may very well spend your first 2 days driving through rain in Washington and Oregon.
But seriously, don’t lose heart. Persevere and you’ll be rewarded with blue skies and temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.
You’ll be surrounded by fragrant floral beauty,
including roses that thrive in the heat.
And if you’re lucky like I was, you’ll stay where hummingbirds feed, especially the gorgeous Allen’s Hummingbird, which I have never seen in the Northwest.
I still love my Anna’s hummingbirds, but their more colorful cousins nearly stole my heart. I’m so glad my brother shared them with me at his beautiful home. What a treat!
Sharing with Sunday Stills
– Susanne
Sixth Anniversary! My First Blog Post from Tiger’s Corner
I can’t believe it’s been six years since I published my first post on this blog with just a few cat stories in mind. I remember thinking immediately thereafter, “oh no! now what?”
Honestly, I still wonder.
But just when I think the well has run dry something calls me – the kitties – the birds – the beauty of the Northwest – and a post emerges, and that has happened more than a thousand times.
It started with this one from Tiger on April 22, 2016.
“This is the first installment of our new blog and I appreciate Sue for letting me have the first few words. As you can tell by my picture, I am a handsome fellow.
That’s why she picked me out of the lineup at the cat jail. Okay, so it really wasn’t a jail. They called it a cat hotel – without check out privileges I guess you could say. Either way, it was my green eyes that saved me and my brother Shadow from spending the rest of our lives there. Only I wasn’t Tiger then, I was Miracle. And Shadow was Brother Love, I kid you not.
Bob and Sue were so kind to rescue us from our sheltered life and let us live with them in a nice big house, surrounded by luscious trees and thick forest with lots of little critters (who don’t stand a chance, by the way.)
I will let her tell you about all the other wonderful things outside our home like the little framed plots containing lavender and rosemary and strawberries and roses and clematis and vegetables
and oh! the list goes on and on and it is her job to tell you.
As for me, this was only to be an introduction and I have said enough and am tired and ready for one of my many afternoon naps. Talk later.”
~ Tiger
Having a Chat with the Cat
He’s all ears.
And eyes.
– Susanne and Benji
Looking for Gold, Quartz and Diamond – Hiking on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie
We recently discovered a new hike on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River, Camp Brown, in case you wondered. The hike was short, scenic and wonderfully green, with great river access for Bob to practice flyfishing.
While he fished, I enjoyed the scenery, especially Mt. Garfield.
And I focused my camera on the river and rocks, lit up by sunshine on the hottest day of the year.
Sparkly like diamonds I thought.
And I’m sure I saw flecks of gold.
“Look,” I said when we sat down for lunch, “there’s gold in the sand.”
“Fool’s gold,” he said.
“I don’t know about that,” I replied.
I knew there was gold in Washington’s rivers and streams. We’d recently stopped by the oldest mining town in the state – Liberty on Blewett Pass – where gold was discovered in Swauk Creek in 1873.
But honestly, I didn’t really think there was gold in the sand – this was the Snoqualmie River not Swauk Creek – and if there were, the flecks were miniscule. Still, it was fun to dream.
And in my pictures, I saw mostly quartz, not diamonds or gold, as it should be since quartz is abundant on the earth’s surface.
What do you see?
Sharing with Sunday Stills, Quartz and Diamond.
~ Susanne
A Sure Sign of Spring – the Salmonberries are Blooming
Despite the rocky start to spring – we had snow yesterday, and wind, rain and hail last week – the salmonberries are blooming! I found these on the trail recently, on the hottest day of the year when the sun was actually shining, and lit them up from behind. (We haven’t had a day like that since.)
These beautiful berries are native to the Pacific Northwest, growing in the moist and wet forests and near stream banks. They are the berries of my childhood. When I was growing up, we had a huge patch of them near our house and we picked them in all their glorious colors – yellow-orange-red – and ate them on the spot or later with cream and sugar. Yes, we did!
They also used to grow in the Tiffany Park Woods behind our current home, before the woods were razed.
Here’s what they look like when ripening, but gold is only one of their colors.
You’ll also find them in orange, salmon and ruby red though I don’t have pictures of those in my archives. I’ll be on the lookout for them.
Sharing with Cees’ Flower of the Day.
~ Susanne
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