Magical day at Cornet Bay

Marjan at lunch break

Only nine hardy souls showed up at the Senior Center today for our usual Thursday hike. It could have had something to do with the headlines in the Bellingham Herald yesterday: "Possible snow, hail, and thunderstorms on tap for Whatcom County," with the warning that we could wake up to snow here in Bellingham this morning. I looked outside and shook my head at my folly as I woke to rain but headed out anyway. We decided to forget our scheduled hike to Stewart Mountain and go to the Hoypus Hill trail system in the Deception Pass area. It starts at Cornet Bay and winds through the forest.

I was thinking we were a bunch of crazy seniors as we drove south through the driving rain to our trailhead, windshield wipers at full strength and thinking that driving thirty miles to hike in the rain was going to be one of the least pleasant hikes I could imagine. But as we approached the Deception Pass area, the rain lessened, then finally stopped before we left our cars to start the hike. And yes, it was a truly magical day, with us winding through the green forest with sun and clouds. It was a bit on the muddy side, since the area had received a lot of rain.

As you can see from the picture, my boots and gaiters were well used as a patch of sunlight illuminated the situation. Although the clouds came and went, it wasn't cold and the mud was navigable. There were even bike tracks through the worst of the mud, as those mountain bike riders wouldn't let a little thing like MUD stop them! The trails were well marked, with whimsical names marking the way.

Al had downloaded the trails onto his GPS system from a website, and he was able to keep us from getting lost. The trails wound gently uphill and downhill, nothing like our usual elevation gain. But we did see that the trails were sometimes overgrown with fresh nettles. Last year I brushed against one of these and my hand burned and tingled for days. The fresh greenery around this tree is a very healthy patch of the stuff.

It makes me itch just to look at that picture! But we were careful as we wound through the thickets of nettles and nobody made the mistake of touching any. Even Mike who usually wears shorts was covered from head to toe on this hike. When we reached our starting point, we had traveled eight-and-a-half miles and gained and lost a mere 750 feet. But the entire day we never had a raindrop fall on us while we were hiking, although we certainly did on the way there, and on the way back we also had rain. So, it was indeed a magical day. I will leave you with a picture of Cornet Bay, showing the Deception Pass double bridge. Nine happy seniors headed home after a fine hike!

:-)

My kooky brother-in-law

I've been thinking quite often these days about my brother-in-law, Pete, Norma Jean's husband for almost five decades. Don't ask me why these pictures kept intruding into my consciousness, but I remembered he had sent me this series of three pictures sometime in 1985. They made laugh then, and they make me smile with fondness now. He died on February 10, 2011, just a few days past his 67th birthday. He wrote a post about his final birthday here.

Pete finally decided to start a blog in early September 2010, after having spent a vacation with his daughter Allison, who was promoted to Lt. Colonel in the Army and who also gave birth to a beautiful daughter in June of the same year (and is raising alone). After having been badgered about it from all sides, he didn't actually say he would do it, but he left the door open. He ended up writing more than a hundred posts before the end.

I was visiting Allison also, as her guest, along with my sister Norma Jean. The five of us, counting Lexie, or the seven of us if you also count the two dogs, Lou and Moose, all gathered in Alexandria, Virginia, last August for the ceremony to celebrate Allison's achievement. It meant a lot to Pete, and it is the subject of his first blog post, which you can read here. Pete was a gifted writer, and since he's been on my mind lately, I hunted down those three pictures and scanned them for this post. I think he is probably having a laugh himself; if there is a heaven, he's there.

Pete was not a perfect person, but then again, who is? We sometimes engaged in enthusiastic arguments. I enjoyed many things about him, not the least of which was his intellectual curiosity.  Sometimes I think that those who are intellectually gifted have a particularly hard time fitting their square pegs into the round hole of society. During those three weeks I spent in Florida with Norma Jean, she shared a piece of his writing with me that is dated 1/20/85 (about the same time those pictures were taken), and he entitled it "To My Children: A Layman's Guide to Living, or 'Life Isn't Fair, Allison'." It is in outline form, listing 11 different categories: Friends; Work and career; The Cosmos (universe); Family; Education; History; Politics; Everyday living; Religion; Self; and Your future society. I'd like to share with you that last category, as he wrote it.

1. Accept concept United States is no longer power it once was
• United States, as we know it, will probably not exist in far future
2. Global society -- we're no longer self sufficient
3. Fear a new wave of conservatism and repression
4. United States economy too increasingly dependent upon non-essentials
• Recreation and leisure-centered economy
• Information services replacing goods and products that are basic needs
5. Will see increasing separation of classes
• Believe there will be a political revolution
• Increasing separation of affluent/educated and the lower classes
6. Outer space will be place of future, predicting now:
• Global warning systems, civilian visits to space, colony to moon
• Space will likely be the primary battleground of the future

He wrote all this in January 1985!!! The guy was not only prescient in many ways, but I truly hope that some of the things he predicted will not come to pass. However, many of the things he wrote have definitely come true today, with no hint back in 1985 (to me, anyway) that the United States would be like it is at this juncture. He saw it, though. It seems quite clear to me that Pete was someone I am proud to have known, proud that he was part of my life, and I wish we could talk together about all this.

He was not a believer, but I am. If I am right, we will have that conversation someday (somewhen?). 
:-}

Easter reflections

I know, it was a cheap shot (the title, I mean). I took this picture at Lake Padden this Easter morning. It is a little swampy area off to the side of the path around the lake. I also saw quite a few skunk cabbage, but since we were out for a walk, I didn't take a lot of pictures. This one had possibilities, though. I've been looking for pictures of reflections to send Joan for her April contest on Reflections. (The link takes you to her site, the winner of March's contest, and the rules for entering.) I've already sent her my entry; you have until next Saturday if you decide you want to send one in.

But, since I got started reflecting on Easters past and present, I will indulge myself a little with a reminiscence or two. When I was a little kid, I loved the pastel colors of Easter, the fact that I always got a new dress, and that I would have an Easter basket filled with chocolate things, along with those icky pink-and-yellow peeps. I actually disliked their texture. Not to mention that they are made of some mysterious sugar mixture. The link takes you to a page that explains about many efforts to dissolve those things; they don't. But I did like decorating hard-boiled eggs and eating chocolate bunnies. That, and the magical look of the Easter basket filled with shiny cellulose "grass" that managed to get tangled up with the jelly beans. Thinking about past childhood Easter events always gives me a little indigestion. I must have indulged in sweet things one time too many.

Although I probably did go on some Easter egg hunts, I don't have any recollections of any. However, as an adult after I started skydiving, I do remember one Easter at Skydive Arizona. I used to travel from Colorado to Arizona in the wintertime, and the last boogie of the season was usually at Eastertime. I was camping out in the tent area and woke early one Easter morning, making my way to the showers, when I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker that early birds MIGHT find some hidden Easter eggs. Peeking under the bannister next to the showers, I spied a plastic egg! I picked it up and looked inside; there was a ticket for a free jump! I used it that Easter Sunday. Talk about a happy skydiver! The staff had hidden a few dozen eggs with prizes inside. The grand prize was free jumps for the entire day, but I was happy with what I had found.

This Easter Sunday is particularly pleasant, even if I haven't felt moved to eat any Easter eggs, chocolate or not, and I haven't got any plans after a wonderful morning walk with Smart Guy. I have read all the blogs that I follow and am filled with warm wishes for a blessed and happy Easter, and I have given a few of those myself. It's a wonderful day.
:-)

Oysters, Lizards, and a blogger

Beginning of hike at Chuckanut Drive

I had a hard time thinking of a title for this Senior Trailblazer trip. We met at the Senior Center and discussed our options: it was already raining and the skies looked terrible over Stewart Mountain, our scheduled hike for the day. We decided to flip this week's hike with next week's, so fourteen of us headed to Chuckanut Drive to start what was to be our nine-mile (round trip) hike to Oyster Dome and back.

We also had a new hiker with us today: Kimberly from just me - alive, a blogging friend who barely qualifies to hike with us (being a grandmother and in her mid-fifties, we let her get away with it). She had been reading my blog and decided to head to Bellingham from her home twenty miles south, and visit the Trailblazers! She walked in and introduced herself. If you visit her blog (which I linked), she compares what her medical numbers were before she decided to get in shape, and what they are now. It's very inspiring.

She was worried about keeping up. It was not a problem, as she is running half-marathons and is very strong. Not to mention a very fun person and I hope she comes back! This picture was taken with the only view we had all day, as the clouds thickened and made it feel quite cold, if you can call 37 degrees (2.7 C) cold (I can). Once the rain and snow hit (see previous picture), we decided not to make the final push to Oyster Dome but instead take the trail over to Lizard Lake. This would add about a mile to our hike, but we had already accomplished most of the uphill, so off we went, crunching snow underfoot and big drops of cold rain and snow falling onto our heads and down our backs.

As you can see from these skunk cabbage sprouting up through the snow on our way to Lizard Lake, even they are emerging slowly during this cold spring. It's a full month today since the first day of spring, and they should be much farther along. We finally got to Lizard Lake and had a very cold lunch break, taking maybe twenty minutes before heading back onto the trail. Everyone was cold and a bit miserable. We took the loop over to Samish Overlook before heading back down to the cars, and we saw this from the overlook:

You are looking out from Samish Bay towards the Olympic Mountains, and Samish Island is the land mass in the foreground. The Trailblazers commented that they have never seen the tide this low, making it look like you could walk right over to the island. They called it a "minus tide." After looking up the definition, it seems to be a low tide that is actually lower than sea level, which happens occasionally but not very often. By the time we left the overlook and started back on the final push to our cars, I realized that we had covered a fair distance: almost eight miles to be exact, and we still had two miles to go.

After ten full miles and more than 2,300 elevation up and down, I feel quite justified in self-medicating with a wonderful glass of wine. After we started our final push to the cars, the sun had the audacity to come out and shine on us! People were starting up the trail as we headed down, and now as I sit at my computer I'm looking out at skies filled with more sunshine than clouds. I feel pretty darn satisfied, though, and I've met my first blogging buddy, Kimberly! It was a great day.
:-)

Books and other stuff

More tulips from last week

Because I always love to look at pretty flowers, I'm putting in a couple more pictures from my visit to RoozenGaarde last week. I was planning to write a nice leisurely post about the books I'm currently reading, but after having spent a couple of frustrating hours creating a list of books and a profile in Shelfari in order to create a nice display for my blog, I gave up. The limitations of their widget are too difficult to deal with, at least for me.

Several of my blogging friends use Shelfari (which is an Amazon app, if I'm not mistaken). It gives me a chance to link to descriptions of the books, and I was quite pleased to see that I could also create a bookshelf for books I have read, am reading, and want to read. Here's a screen grab of what I was able to get:

What a lot of work it was to get this far! However, I am going to simply explain what books I've collected and why I feel like I have suddenly come upon an embarrassment of riches when it comes to reading. You know how you browse for a book and end up discovering a new author? It seems I've just discovered several. My friend Judy also gave me some books to read and I'll just put those on the bottom of the pile, since she's not in a hurry for their return.

If you enlarge that Shelfari list, you'll see that I'm currently reading four books. One is The End of Overeating, the corollary that follows from Mindless Eating, which I finished last week. I'm reading it in the evenings after snuggling into bed, and I pick it up from my nightstand and read until I get sleepy. (That can sometimes be quite a short time, so who knows how long I'll be reading it?) I've gotten my fill of books about food for the moment. Wish it were that easy to get full when I'm eating.

Judy also gave me a book last year that really turned me on to the mystery of numbers, especially prime numbers. I wrote about it here. In the comment section of that post, Entre Nous asked me whether I had read Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea yet, and today I picked it up at the bookstore. It had to be ordered. It looks fascinating! I read the first chapter on the bus and could hardly wait to delve into it.

But as soon as I got home and started to read The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, I was lost again, wanting to read THAT book. As you can see, I have definitely fallen into a period of being lost in several good books, and I felt inspired to share those riches with you. After spending way too much time on it, and being totally unable to figure out how to put a decent bookshelf widget on my sidebar, I have finally finished this post so I can explore my new treasures. But first, yet another gander at the flowers.

:-)

Market day

This is the third Saturday that our Farmers' Market has been open for business, which started the 2011 season with every day so far a bit under the weather: first with cold and rain, last week with rain and cold, and today, the best so far, with some sun breaks amongst the cold and just a few sprinkles. As you can see from this young lady making herself a smoothie on the Juice Peddler, she's dressed for our spring weather in coat, gloves and hoodie. I myself thought it was a little cold for a smoothie as I warmed my hands on my coffee cup. She's generating some warmth, however, by pedaling her smoothie to the right consistency.

Here's the clever Juice Peddler's sign, and you can see the skies look pretty darn good, considering. This has been the coldest and wettest spring in many decades, as was proven by Cliff Mass on his weather blog. His post on "Are Northwest Springs Getting Worse?" has a "spring fever index" showing the number of days since 1948 between February 1 and April 15 that are 55 degrees F or warmer. This year we have had the lowest number since at least 1948, by a LOT! Look at his graph here:

As he explains in that article, it is not just our imagination that it has seemed so much colder this year; it has been enough to make old-time Washingtonians add socks to wear with their sandals! I still see people walking around in t-shirts and shorts, even when it's nowhere near 50 degrees, but not me. I'm still bundled up and even when hiking I wear quite a few layers.

Back to today's market scene. I saw the most amazing young busker singing and playing her guitar. She is so excellent and professional, I could not help but ask her how old she is, and I found that this young lady is only NINE.

At the rate she's going, by the time she is sixteen she will be playing on stages to appreciative crowds. As it was, by the time I left I saw crowds gathering around her and practically begging her to continue singing. She also has quite a repertoire; in the hour I wandered around the market, I never heard her repeat a song.

At noon I had my usual treat of Ethiopian food: spicy lentils, vegetables and potatoes in turmeric and other tasty spices. Not to mention that the food was also piping hot and served on a special bread made with teff, a grain that originated in Ethiopia and has a unique texture. Apparently it's a very small grain that's filled with big nutritional benefits. (The link takes you to the Wikipedia entry explaining the grain.)

I also went to the Village bookstore and now have six new books. It's a good feeling to have so many new adventures in reading to explore. Fortunately I only bought three books and the other three were lent to me by my friend Judy, who will get them back someday. Two of the three I bought were used, so they didn't cost me too awfully much, but I still spent more than I intended. A good day, and as the afternoon wears on, the sun breaks seem to be holding. It's almost 50 degrees out there!
:-)

Bowman Bay

I almost decided not to go hiking with the Senior Trailblazers today, since I woke to heavy rain that had turned to heavy SNOW by 6:30am. But once I checked out the weather forecast, I decided that it would not last and that if I didn't go, I'd be really grumpy if the sun actually came out. So, I set out for the Senior Center after taking some pictures of the tulips in the snow. Twelve of us showed up, and by the time we got in our cars to head down to Whidbey Island and Bowman Bay, there was more sun than clouds in the sky. As we headed southwest, it looked like the day would certainly be better than it had started. And I was right.

We began our hike up the trail above Pass Lake and, as you can see here, the moss has proliferated from all the rain we've been having. It was a little chilly, but by the time we had hiked uphill a bit, we shed our coats and gloves. Linda decided, when she saw this swing as we reached an old abandoned orchard, that she would like to give it a try. We all got out of the way as she swung out and... down. That old rope had a lot of stretch in it.

After playing in the orchard and taking pictures of flowers coming out, we headed back down to visit both Lighthouse Point and Rosario Bay. The skies gradually began to be more clouds than sun, but the flowers were everywhere. Here's a picture of some flowering currants with the sunlight shining through.

After we had hiked to Lighthouse Point overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we decided to have some lunch and rest a while. Still no rain, but as you can see here the skies are a sort of mellow grey. This picture almost looks like a monochrome, especially in comparison with the others I took.

However, after I had satisfied my growling stomach, I walked around looking at the sights. So many kinds of flowers! I think there are two or three kinds of moss and the kinnikinnick flowers (I think) are what you see in bloom. The waters of the strait are below, with the shadow of a promontory only visible by its reflection. I fell in love with this picture and had to show it to you.

We kept seeing this lovely little orchid-type flower, and nobody could identify it for sure. We thought perhaps it's called a shooting star, but this picture shows that once it raises its head up to the sunlight, it's got the little "beard" you see on orchids. Anyone who might know what this flower is, I'd love to identify it by name.

Fairyslipper or Deer's Head Orchid (thanks, Catbird Scout!)

Just as we were walking back to the cars, after hiking nine miles and a little more than 2,000 feet up and down, it began to rain. Up until that moment, we had had a sprinkle or two, but the rain never materialized until then, so I knew I had made the right decision, to spend the day in the beautiful outdoors with my Senior Trailblazers. Now it's time for a bit of wine before dinner. Until next time...
:-)

Tulipmania

Since today is the nicest day we will have for the rest of the week, I thought it would be a good day to head down to Skagit County and look at the RoozenGaarde display for the annual Tulip Festival, which officially ends on Friday. Judy and I headed down after our workout class and spent a fine day in the sunshine taking pictures of tulips and daffodils. Judy was looking for some tulips that aren't terribly tempting to deer, as they eat hers every spring before she has a chance to see them bloom. Fortunately, there are some varieties that aren't as tasty to the critters, which she will order and plant for next year. Here's a closeup of that beautiful arrangement right behind us:

The display this year is almost impossible to share in all its glory, but I'll give it a try. Some of my favorite flowers stand out from the others because of having especially long stems, their shape, or because of their amazing color. Pink, purple, red, orange, yellow... all the people walking around were smiling along with me, snapping pictures and exclaiming when one particularly stunning arrangement would be discovered in full bloom.

Last year I walked to the fields behind the garden and saw rows and rows of different tulips, but this year that same area has been planted with one variety of daffodils instead. I didn't realize that each year all the bulbs are dug up and replanted. It must be a pretty wonderful job, designing the fields of flowers and seeing them come to fruition each spring.

These white beauties looked almost iridescent in the sunlight. If you enlarge the picture and look across the path, you can see that there are still tulips that have not yet begun to bloom. Some of them have intriguing names and make me wonder if perhaps I should take another trip down there this season. After the tulips are gone, the iris gardens begin to bloom, and perhaps the best idea is to spend more than just an afternoon looking at these flowers. I will leave you with a picture of three friends I made today:

I heard them gossiping about all the visitors who were oohing and aahing at the beautiful gardens. I think they were spending time taking in the sights, too.
:-)

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