Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Indian Plum
I discovered a new shrub this spring – or should I say I discovered its name?
I’d seen it many times on my walks in the woods, always stopping to admire its growth in the dead of winter and its blossoms in early spring. But it was only recently I learned its name – Indian Plum – and since then I have a new appreciation tor this native shrub, one of the first to bloom in the Pacific Northwest.
I saw it growing abundantly on recent walks in filtered sunlight under the canopy of trees and also under bright sunshine near the edges of the trail.
‘We should get one,’ I told my husband! ‘See how beautiful they are and how easily they grow!’
Little did I know, for as I scrolled through pictures I’d taken earlier in my yard I found one – yes, an Indian Plum I didn’t know I had. It was growing in an unkempt area near the driveway, alongside some blackberry bushes where it got no attention or respect. I could transplant it but since it sprang up where it chose why should I interfere?
Prized by Pacific Coast Native Americans who used the berries, twigs, and bark for food, teas and medicine, it’s also loved by birds and other wildlife.
For Cee’s Flower of the Day and Becky’s BrightSquares.
~ Susanne
Hood Canal Bottoms Up at Alderbrook
Hood Canal will always be a special place to me holding childhood memories of fishing and swimming at Pleasant Harbor where my grandma ran the store and my grandpa hauled in fresh shrimp on his boat.
But that was many, many, years ago in Brinnon on the north end of the Canal; I’ve spent very little time at the south end where most of the lodging and services are. So on a beautiful day last month we spent the night at Alderbrook Resort at the bottom of the Canal and oh! what a pleasant surprise!
We took the ferry from Fauntleroy in West Seattle for a 40 minute ride to Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula.
From there it was a short drive to Belfair at the very end of the ‘fish hook’ of Hood Canal, where we had lunch and visited Theler Wetlands Nature Preserve.
We continued south to Twanoh State Park where Bob fished and I wandered with my camera – this always works well for us. 🙂
The oyster covered beach reminded me so much of those youthful days at Pleasant Harbor, where we fished from the dock using mussels as bait dropping our line next to the piling where the perch liked to feed. I still remember the smell of those mussels and was surprised to learn that people eat them today. They will always be fish bait to me!
It was all so familiar but noticeably different too – at this end, the Olympic Mountains form a backdrop to the Canal; in Brinnon they were behind us.
The same wonderful views greeted us at Alderbrook Resort. We walked the grounds, dined at the recently opened restaurant – limited capacity – no problem for a weekday in winter – and spent a peaceful night.
The next morning we walked in the woods and the thick understory was just as I remembered from taking the trails down to Pleasant Harbor.
We were happy to find a great place to stay on Hood Canal so close to home. During the summer there is even more to do with swimming and boating. We will return.
~ Susanne
Cat in Motion
It’s been a long winter and rainy spring and the cats are getting restless. Though Tiger sleeps the day away Benji demands more action so I thought it was time for a new toy. Not that he doesn’t have 47 others strewn about the house – he does. But he prefers the interactive ones and I misplaced the measuring tape he’d grown to love.
Enter the new mouse on a stick. I keep it in the drawer next to the chair in my office and first thing every morning he comes in ready to play.
“Benji not now,” I say, “I’m trying to drink my coffee,” but who can resist those eyes.
So I open the drawer while he waits patiently as I extract his favorite toy.
I dangle it overhead and he’s all over it – twisting and jumping – attacking till he brings it down with his sharp claws;
Only loosening his grip when he’s ready for more.
We both are entertained.
Shared with Sunday Stills, Respect your Cat.
~ Susanne
Snowbirds of the Skagit Valley
Last week I visited the daffodil fields of the Skagit Valley
and got to see the snowbirds too!
Thousands of snowbirds including snow geese from Russia’s Wrangel Island and trumpeter swans from Canada and Alaska migrate south along the Pacific Flyway to spend the winter in the fertile farmlands of the Skagit Valley.
Maybe they come for the views.
It won’t be long till they start their long journey back to the Arctic.
Sharing with Cees’s Fun Foto Challenge, Birds of All Kinds!
~ Susanne
Changes to the WP Admin Navigation – Revised Support
When I saw this post earlier I thought it didn’t apply to me since I use the Block Editor. But this morning when I logged into my Dashboard, clicked on All Posts and no longer had the list view I prefer I came back to this post and made the change to Account Settings as suggested, and got my preferred view back. I only hope they don’t eliminate this option anytime soon.
“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first must help the other.” ~ Vera Nazarian.
Not a Challenge and Comments are enabled.
Following on from yesterday’s post regarding the new navigation implemented on some of our sites.
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Spring Green From Two Days in May
For this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge I found my best Spring Green from two outings last year in May. The Pandemic was well underway by then and we were finding solace in the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.
The first picture is from our walk in the woods at Millersylvania State Park near Olympia. It was our first time there and I’m reminded we need to go back.
The following day we took our little boat to Spring Lake, between Renton and Maple Valley. While Bob fished for trout I watched eagles overhead, and Canada Geese on shore with their chicks – the lumps you see between the pair.
As we trolled around the lake I experimented with some special camera functions for fun – not much else to do if you’re not fishing –
and was happy enough with the results. I have several gifted cousins who could paint these scenes but I didn’t inherit that gene. We do what we can! 🙂
~ Susanne
Daffodils of the Skagit Valley
On the sunniest day of the last week of winter I made the trek to the Skagit Valley and found the fields at Roozengaarde brilliant with daffodils. I excused my husband so he wouldn’t have to endure the waiting while I wandered around taking too many pictures – for over two hours. Right decision – we were both happy. 🙂
According to the Roozengaarde website, “The Roozen family business of growing Tulips, Daffodils and Irises is the largest in the world, covering Skagit Valley with more than 1000 acres of field blooms and 16 acres of greenhouses.”
It was great to be there midweek with only a few others visiting. It was also great to see the trumpeter swans and snow geese abundant in the valley as they fueled up for their long journey back to Alaska and Siberia. I’ll show you more of those beautiful birds in a coming post.
Sharing this one with Cee’s Flower of the Day.
~ Susanne
Bicycling The Foothills Trail with a Stop by Wilkeson
Nothing takes me back to childhood more than getting on a bike. And nothing keeps me riding today more than my electric bike. That, and a good bike trail!
We found one on a recent sunny day – the Foothills Trail – a 21 mile paved trail built on top of an old railroad bed. We started our ride in Orting – a small town with a big mountain – and headed to South Prairie on the most scenic section of the trail.
Mt. Rainier kept watch over the first leg of our journey,
till we passed through farmland
and intercepted the Carbon River.
The river’s source is the Carbon Glacier on Mt. Rainier, and got its name from the coal deposits found in the area.
We rode the 7.5 miles to South Prairie before returning to Orting, 15 miles roundtrip – not bad for the first trip of the year! By then we were hungry and went looking for lunch in Wilkeson, a short drive up the road.
Established in 1877 and incorporated in 1909, Wilkeson became known for its coal cooking ovens and natural sandstone. The town was recently featured in the Seattle Times and the Carlson Block Pizza was not only recommended but touted to be the best pizza in the state.
We found the pizzeria in the former Carlson Hotel, built in 1910. Unfortunately they didn’t open until 3:00 and we were too hungry to wait.
So we walked the short block through town;
not even stopping by the ‘coke ovens’ – though we did the last time we passed through Wilkeson on the way to Mt. Rainier.
It was here that raw coal was heated at very high temperatures to burn off impurities to make ‘coke,’ refining over 10,000 pounds of coal monthly, during its heyday.
We also didn’t stop by the school; built in 1912 from sandstone, it’s the oldest still operating school in the state. Wilkeson sandstone also provided the material for the Capitol Building in Olympia.
For lunch we went to Wally’s Drive-In in Buckley where the burgers were delivered to our truck fifties style. We could have sat inside and though the burgers were great maybe we should have ‘got ribs?’
We’ll be back to ride another section of the trail and time it right to sample some of that pizza in Wilkeson.
Here’s a link to the map if you’d like to join us! 🙂
~ Susanne
St Patrick’s Day Walkers
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the stony walkers at Coulon Park!
~ Susanne
Surprised by Snow
Last week spring was here – maybe even summer – with blue skies, sunshine, and temperatures reaching 60 degrees. But this morning I woke to big, beautiful, sloppy snowflakes falling – winter’s last hurrah I guess.
I love the snow, but there’s a time and a place for everything – now is not the time for snow. Daffodils are blooming in the Skagit Valley and I plan to make the trek later this week – weather permitting – just as I did in 2019. There was no trip in 2020 and you know why.
Ready for spring in the Pacific Northwest! 🙂
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 