Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Summoned by the Hummingbirds
It’s been a cold and rainy spring, so I haven’t been out in the garden much, nor paying enough attention to the hummingbirds. They let me know it.
I was recently summoned from my office on the third floor of our house. I’d let the feeders run dry and a hummer came and hovered in front of the window to let me know. This was a first. My office is on the third level of our house and faces the front yard; the feeders are in the backyard against the fence. The smart little bird knew where to find me.
It took me an hour or so to make fresh nectar and refill the feeders. But the hummers were forgiving and soon back feeding.
Even willing to pose for me.
I do love those sweet little birds!
~ Susanne
An Early Spring Hike on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River
I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of Washington State. Just over an hour away past North Bend we enjoyed these vistas while hiking along the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River.
We started out on the Oxbow Loop Trail with this peek (not peak though there was that too) at the river.
Then we were surrounded by mossy green trees,
Oxbow Lake,
and the craggy peaks of the Cascades.
What more can I say about an easy, flat, two-mile hike through the forest with river and mountain views?
Only that we’ll be back.
And there are many hikes to choose from on the Middle Fork, as Bob seeks to find the best access to the river to fish.
In fact, we’ve already returned since we took this hike at the end of March. I have pictures from last week’s hike to Camp Brown on the warmest day of the year.
But I’ll save that for later.
~ Susanne
Wenatchee Street Art
Last month we visited one of our favorite towns in Washington – Wenatchee, on the east side of the mountains where the sky is always blue and a river runs through it, the mighty Columbia.
We stayed in a new hotel on the banks of the river,
and walked the trail in front as the sun was setting.
It is also an art walk, and sculptures adorn the trail.
Have you ever seen a monkey on a skateboard? You will here.
Or one of my favorites – a big foot known as Ped?
The robin looked like a sculpture but was not – he was merely posing for me.
Next door is the Public Market where you’ll find a spirit of community, local crafts, fresh fruit and restaurants.
Two blocks away you’re in old town Wenatchee where you can shop and continue to enjoy the art.
This one reminded me of something from childhood though I couldn’t put my finger on it. A moth, perhaps? But no – helicopters dropping and twirling under a tree. Thank goodness for the sign – Samaras!
Who says art isn’t educational?
And that will do for now.
~ Susanne
Birds of Coulon with a Shoutout to the Coot
Of all the waterfowl I’ve seen at Coulon Park –
the seagulls
the ducks
canadian geese
and great blue heron.
The one with the greatest numbers gets the least respect from me – always in the background and never featured.
Apologies to you american coot but even your name does you a disservice.
A nondescript bird in grey and black, they flock together unaware they are mostly ignored.
I stopped last week to enjoy the daisies
and found them doing the same.
They seemed happy
to finally get some attention from me.
~ Susanne
Bird Condos for Rent – Excavation Continues
Chickadees continue to move into cavities in the snag and I welcome them.
In the meantime, excavation continues thanks to the Northern Flicker.
Click on pictures in the gallery below to enlarge them.
The rapid rat-a-tat-tat of the pecking resounds throughout the neighborhood, while the woodpecker grips the snag securely, letting the chips fall where they may.
I just hope the chickadees save a room for him.
~ Susanne
Memories from Seattle’s Pike Place Market and the Showbox
My earliest memories from the Pike Place Market are from my high school days, when I’d go downtown to buy bell bottoms from the Army Navy Surplus Store, and everything smelled of patchouli.
Years later when I worked downtown, I’d visit the Market on my lunch hour.
I’d grab something portable to eat and maybe pick up some fruit or flowers.
Mostly I enjoyed the walk and the sounds and smells of the lively, rough and tumble place.
Sometimes I stood on the corner and paused, near the same spot my great grandfather stood 100 years before,
when he took this picture.
O.T. Frasch was an early Seattle photographer, and my mother’s grandfather.
He took hundreds of photographs documenting Seattle’s history, and I’m pleased when I see them posted around town or referenced in the local paper and museums.
I don’t know whether he ever photographed the Showbox across the street, where my mom worked in the fifties before I was born.
I love her stories from that era and need to hear more of them while I can.
Of Guy Mitchell, who arrived drunk but sobered up enough to perform and bring the house down. I remember him myself from a record we had; I thought ‘Pretty Little Black-eyed Susie,’ was about me, though my eyes were blue not black.
Of Jack Smith, a friendly crooner who told her his life story; and another crooner named Eddie Fisher. There was Ginny Sims, Joni James, Woody Herman, and the Mills Brothers, who invited her to a party after hours where she visited with their wives. Many of these names are fading from history but are still alive in her memory and now mine as well.
The Showbox itself was nearly torn down a few years ago but was saved from the wrecking ball, just like the Market 50 years earlier.
For the history of the Showbox, click here.
For more about the Pike Place Market click here.
Inspired by my mom and Sunday Stills #Urban Focus.
~ Susanne
Just a Kitty Sleeping in a Chair
Nothing to see here.
Just a kitty sleeping in a chair.
~ Susanne and Benji
The Azalea and the Mason Bees
My azaleas are blooming and lighting up the yard with purple, and the largest of them has become a bee magnet.
It not only attracts honey bees,
it also attracts mason bees and I’m only now learning the difference.
My hubby put up a mason bee house a couple years ago under the eaves of our home.
We recently noticed bees flying around it and entering the holes. Actually, my husband noticed it. I was puzzled as to me they looked like flies.
In fact, they’re roughly the same size, but these native, solitary, insects are mason bees, expert cross pollinators, of the genus, Osmia.
They don’t have hives and they don’t make honey, but they do gather pollen, some say, more effectively than honey bees.
Here’s the story.
When the bees hatch in the spring they emerge males first, followed by females. After mating the males soon die and the female looks for a nest.
Then she collects pollen from shrubs and flowers and deposits it inside the narrow chamber. Once she has a sufficient nugget of pollen, she lays an egg on top, then follows up with a partition of mud to seal off the compartment – hence the name mason bee.
She does this repeatedly until the chamber is filled with eggs, then plugs the entrance to the tube.
Inside, the larva eats the pollen, then spins a cocoon and enters the pupal stage, maturing and hibernating through the winter. In spring the males exit the nest first, then females, and the cycle of life continues.
The mason bees that emerged from their house recently were greeted by this giant azalea.
Off to a good start.
~ Susanne
Let’s Celebrate Daffodils!
I didn’t make it up to the Skagit Valley this year for peak daffodil season, but I do have many pictures to share from previous years! No law against that, right?
Aren’t they beautiful?
Yes, but I don’t feel comfortable going up this year, after I learned workers went on strike last week, due to low wages and unsatisfactory working conditions.
I hope it all gets resolved fairly; we depend on and value our agricultural workers!
Next month the tulips will take over the Skagit Valley. Hopefully the Tulip Festival can go on in a peaceful way, unhindered.
~ Susanne
Sorry I’m Late, Tiger
“Late for what, Sue?”
“Your birthday. I think we already passed it.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sue. I forgive you. How old am I, anyway?”
“You just turned 14. But in human years, you’re over 70!”
“Over 70! No wonder I’m so tired!”
“Anyway Tiger, I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you what a great cat you are. We love your gentle ways and sweet personality.
And how you keep Benji in check – the little rascal – we couldn’t do it without you.”
“Tiger?”
“Sweet dreams, Tiger.”
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 