Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
If you plant flowers, herbs and shrubs, and add a water source, they will come! I became a backyard birder accidently some years ago at my home in Seattle, when I planted a garden. The birds were attracted, so I hung feeders. I don’t… Continue Reading “Happy National Feed the Birds Day!”
It was just last month when the Pacific Northwest was hit with torrential rain that lasted several days, flooding our local rivers. In Renton, the Cedar River rose over 18 feet, higher than the previous record, closing the Community Center. This was the view… Continue Reading “Stormy Weather, Flooding Rivers and Cheerful Hummingbirds”
I once picked up a travel book on the Pacific Northwest and was surprised at their top 10 attractions. There was nothing listed from Washington State except the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle – huh? Have you ever been to Washington? So… Continue Reading “Top 10 Pacific Northwest”
Multnomah Falls is the more famous of the two, and one of the top attractions in Oregon, receiving 2 million visitors a year. It can be reached easily from the main Gorge Highway, 84. At 622 feet high, it’s one of the tallest in… Continue Reading “Best Waterfall on the Columbia Gorge – Latourell or Multnomah? You Decide”
No snow yet in the lowlands here, so I haven’t been able to capture berries covered in snow, the pictures below are from past winters. I’m still hoping for snow, but the berries on my doorstep are still beautiful adorned with raindrops, which are… Continue Reading “Bright Red Berries”
We only did a few major trips in 2025, and they were all in the West. It was fun looking back on them, and I admit I got carried away with my pictures. Even so, I hope you enjoy them. Click on any picture… Continue Reading “Traveling the Best of the West – A Look back at 2025”
On our drive to Bellingham last month, we took the scenic route (it’s all scenic) and stopped by the Skagit Valley, where migrating birds had arrived for the winter. You may remember the Skagit Valley for its fields of daffodils and tulips in the… Continue Reading “Winter Birds of the Skagit Valley”
The last two weeks have been intense. The Pacific Northwest has been ravaged by fierce weather; heavy rains caused severe record-breaking flooding, resulting in road closures, evacuations and homes under water. Many suffered the loss of everything and are thankful to be alive. A… Continue Reading “Stormy Weather, Jury Duty, and a Walk in the Garden”
Earlier this week we took a walk at Nolte State Park on a rainy day, through the woods around Deep Lake. We saw all manner of mysterious life forms. The very next day we took a walk under blue skies and sunshine at Coulon… Continue Reading “What a Difference a Day Makes, One Week in November, Two walks in the Other Washington”
Yes, indeed. It’s that rainiest of months in the Great Northwest and leaves are on the ground, the mushrooms are, too. I like mushrooms but I don’t pick my own, though they’re everywhere in Seattle area forests and parks. But I have gone mushroom… Continue Reading “All the Leaves are Brown and the Mushrooms, Too”