Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Seagulls – Just Because
I looked for a photo challenge to share my seagull pictures but came up short – I decided to share them anyway.
Seagulls, like crows, get no respect. I like them, but then I like crows too.
According to Wikipedia, “Gulls are resourceful, inquisitive, and intelligent, the larger species in particular, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behavior, attacking and harassing predators and other intruders.”
Clearly I wouldn’t mess with this one; he brought along his bodyguards. 😉
“Certain species have exhibited tool-use behavior, such as the herring gull, using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish, for example.”
I found this one foraging for mussels and clams on Whidbey Island.
Though seagulls are fun to watch in their natural setting, they will pester you in the city, demanding that you share your lunch. They stoically wait nearby, watching for any sign of weakness, hoping you will toss them a fry.
If you relent you will be surrounded by others demanding their share.
That’s it for seagulls.
Just because.
~ Susanne
Magnificent Views Sailing From Seattle
One year ago today we returned to Seattle from our second cruise.
We’d left the Emerald City seven days before under cloudy skies fretting about the weather. Why had we booked so late?
The answer was two-fold. First, to celebrate our anniversary. Second, it didn’t really matter. As the ship sailed out of the Straight of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean, the sunset over the Olympic Mountains was magnificent – providing some of the best views of the entire trip.
Having gone on exactly two cruises I hardly consider myself an expert. But if I could only do these two from Seattle – one north to Alaska – and this one, south to Monterey – I think I would be satisfied.
Someday – when the pandemic is far, far behind us.
~ Susanne
Flowers and SpiderWebs
From yesterday’s walk at Soos Creek Botanical Gardens.
~ Susanne
Welcome Back, Benji!
This morning when Benji joined me in my office and scratched my chair I let him do it. And when I sat at my computer to read the news (yes, still flabbergasted) and he stretched out in front to annoy me I was thrilled.
Why?
Wednesday afternoon I took him to the Vet to get his shots, 2 vaccinations required every 3 years, a process we both hate.
Afterwards, he slept through the night and woke up Thursday lethargic, his movements slow, with hardly a greeting or desire for breakfast. I gave him some treats and he went back to bed. I called the vet and learned that these side effects aren’t unusual and could last up to 24 hours (why don’t they tell you?) and when I should be concerned. I already was and counted the hours; I wanted my old Benji back.
I was happy when he joined me in the garden yesterday afternoon but he was still not himself with little interest in the bird chatter around him.
So I was thrilled this morning to have my rambunctious boy back, eager for breakfast, and hopefully recovered. He’s now settled down for his morning nap.
I made note of it all for 3 years hence when I will seriously consider whether to have these vaccinations again.
~ Susanne
Hello October!
October in the Pacific Northwest means peaceful walks along the Cedar River where trees turn the same color as the salmon running in the river. It won’t be long till I see them red and tattered fighting their way upstream.
Dropping by for Photo a Day Challenge.
~ Susanne
The Dahlias Stole the Show
In my last post I told you of our trip to Point Defiance – the zoo, aquarium and surprise at the rose garden. But of all the gardens at Point Defiance I think the Dahlia Garden stole the show.
Sorry I couldn’t just pick one! 🙂 For Cee’s Flower of the Day.
~ Susanne
Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, and a Blast from the Past at the Rose Garden
Last week after having been being cooped up for days – first by smoke from wildfires, then by the heavy rain which followed – we were desperate to get out. So despite the rain we drove south to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, where we had tickets to enter at an appointed time, with a handful of other masked visitors.
We’ve been there before but every trip promises a new adventure and this day didn’t disappoint.
The rain stopped in time for us to leave our umbrellas in the car and we walked the beautifully landscaped grounds under mostly blue and cloudy skies. In fact my first picture looks more like Arizona, not a rainy day in Tacoma.
Point Defiance is a jewel of a park with forest, trails, a fort, gardens, zoo and aquarium.
I like the aquarium the best as I always have mixed feelings seeing animals confined, no matter how lovely the spaces.
The jelly fish are my favorite – I could watch them all day long,
including one of the largest, the Lion’s Mane Jelly.
And who doesn’t love sea otters? Nobody enjoys their meal like these rascals who ate and swirled and summersaulted in the water.
After we had our fill of the zoo we headed to the gardens just as it was starting to rain again. Surprisingly we’d never been there before as there’s so much to do in the park.
We moved on quickly to the Rose Garden enjoying the fragrance and color of the still blooming roses.
As we were leaving I stopped to read the sign giving the history of the Rose Garden. The Welsh designer, Ebenezer Roberts had worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1888. He designed the rose garden in 1895 along with many other Tacoma parks.
As I read the sign I noticed a familiar image above Ebenezer Roberts’ name.
And there it was, a picture of my grandmother, Elsie Chapman as a little girl in the early 1900’s, standing with her mother, my great grandmother. The photo was likely taken by my great grandfather, O.T. Frasch who was an early Seattle photographer.
Oh what a surprise! So I went back through the garden wondering where she had stood. Was it here? Or perhaps over there? And of course there was no way to tell and it really didn’t matter, but I knew without that little girl I wouldn’t be here and so I owed her some time there.
~ Susanne
Let’s Cruise to Alaska!
Virtually of course! Pandemic wanderlust has struck again and since cruising has been put on hold I thought it only fitting to reflect on my very first cruise – to Alaska – 3 years ago this month!
I came to cruising late in life but I quickly fell in love with it. And I found out how easy it is, especially since I boarded the ship in my hometown of Seattle – that beautiful anarchist jurisdiction – forgive me for that. 🙂
There were several ports of call on our itinerary including Juneau, the capital of Alaska;
Sitka, the most devoid of tourists,
and Ketchikan, one of the rainiest cities in North America! (Despite its reputation Seattle doesn’t even come close.)
All had something special to offer but my favorite port of call wasn’t a port at all, it was a full day of cruising in Glacier Bay.
You can probably tell the weather wasn’t great; there was heavy cloud cover and light rain most of the time.
But that didn’t stop us from getting up close and personal with the glaciers.
I would love to return and take in more of the magnificent scenery of Alaska. But that will have to wait until the pandemic is far behind us and the cruise industry recovers.
Until then, there’s nothing like a sunset from sea.
~ Susanne
Happy Together from the Turtles of Coulon
Did you get the title? If not, you’re too young and that’s okay too! You can tell me in the comments. 😉
Yesterday on the first day of fall in between days of rain which is our new normal, we had a wonderful sunshiny day and I spent it with a friend at Coulon Park.
It was the first time since March that I’d done anything with someone other than my husband – and we walked and talked and ate, and walked and talked some more.
And we stopped to visit with the Turtles in their usual hangout.
The whole gang was there – grandma and grandpa, mom and dad, a couple of teenagers, and a little youngster who enjoyed the view atop one of the others.
They jockeyed a bit for position, stretched out their necks and limbs to soak in the rays, and took turns on the log – Happy Together.
~ Susanne
Monday with Benji
Sleeping till noon.
Finally waking up to say hello.
I couldn’t resist.
Happy Monday from Benji.
~ Susanne and Benji
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 