Snoqualmie Falls

Look who is visiting us from Green Bay, our favorite and most frequent guests; Mom and Dad! They arrived yesterday, on my birthday. What a perfect gift. We had a few friends join us for dinner and I made some fancy hamburgers with Portuguese linguica sausage and ground sirloin, garnished with an orange aioli and cilantro leaves and sliced pineapple. Cooking is so much fun in summer when I have the time and can experiment. Of course I had my favorite birthday cake, the Heath Bar cake mom has made me since I was about 8 years old. Yummy! The guests seem to have slept well, although mom was awake first (I'm sure that surprises non of my siblings). Today we ate breakfast and lounged on the deck and I had a run and then a walk with my mom. Then off we went to Snoqualmie Falls. I hadn't been there in about 14 years! Due to the record snow in the mountains last winter, it was really flowing fiercely. Don't worry, Lisa and Lynn, I took good care them; no one got too close to the edge.






What was I doing, catching flies? I think it is difficult to get a good picture of Chris and I together and usually I blame it on him but this time it is me looking somewhat of a goofball. Oh well, at least it shows that I was happy!

Woo Hoo!

I sure am happy about these results and had the race been NEXT weekend they would have looked even better because my upcoming birthday will put me in the next division.

1:54:20
Distance HALF MAR
Clock Time 2:06:22
Chip Time 1:54:20
Overall Place 2034 / 15541
Gender Place 882 / 11339
Division Place 30 / 794
Age Grade 70.6%
Pace 8:44
Ttlrace 15541
Ttldiv 794
Ttlsex 11339
5 Km 26:24
10 Km 53:50
9 Mile 1:18:25

The weather was flawless, nary a cloud in the sky and about 70 with a light breeze. The course was, as they described, fast; certainly easier for me than the hills I run going to and from Alki from my front porch. The stretch along Lake Washington was beautiful; made me want to visit Seward Park at a more leisurely pace. Hearing the band that played in the Mt. Baker tunnel made awesome echoes and was wonderfully energizing. Drawbacks were the masses of humanity that made long lines of traffic to get to the starting line and then the lines at the porta potties, getting out of downtown from the finish line was lengthy too. I had alot of anxiety about the run the night before and did not sleep well. People say marathons are a good way to see another part of the country but I am not so sure. I read where people get up at four in the morning to navigate their way to the starting line and I saw people walking a good two miles from hotels just to get to the start. Of course they were walking faster than the cars were driving. When I got home from the race all I wanted to do was take a warm shower, wear comfy clothes, lay around, read, and watch TV. Now if I were in another city I would feel like that was a waste of my time to explore but I wouldn't have the energy to do any sightseeing.

Today my quads ache a bit and I know I will have to do my yoga stretches for my hip flexors (sciatica is still bugging me) but I think I will be a little less sedentary, maybe getting into the flower beds to pull weeds.

Low Tide at Seahurst Beach

Click on this mosaic of pictures for a more interesting view:


Low Tide at Seahurst Beach
Originally uploaded by mtnester.

I worked for two last hours in my classroom early this morning, then we hit the beach. Today there was a minus 4 low tide which is to be the lowest tide of the summer. The Sun Ray sea star had 21 arms. The little white dot you see on the sea star pulls water into its many tube feet allowing it to move and grasp prey; just a tidbit we learned from a beach naturalist today. In the picture where I am pointing to the tube worm, if you look closely you can see eggs of some sort on the side of the tube. I had no idea the eggs were there until I uploaded the photos! I just had my finger in the photo to give it some perspective. See the big clam that Chris is holding? We retrieved it from where a seagull had dropped it on the beach. He was none too pleased that we had HIS clam. When we put it back down, the bird clumsily picked it up into his beak and flew about 20 feet, dropped the clam onto a rock and there was his lunch; fresh seafood! We picnicked on the beach too; sandwiches for us. What a wonderful way to spend the first hours of freedom from the classroom!

And the prize for the most amusing find at today's low tide goes to the 'Beach Ball'!

Dry for 24 Days

and no rain in the forecast! I emptied the top yard rain barrel a couple weeks back and have started using the second 55 gallon drum but it is in a mosquito ridden area so I am not as fond of filling my watering cans there. Having rain barrels does not mean you don't turn on the sprinklers; that is still a daily chore (actually more of a pleasure) in our yard. I do a different quadrant every day, or I wander about with the hose in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.

This morning I ran 14 miles along Alki (back and forth 1 1/2 times), bought an iced coffee, came home and after a nice cold shower I worked on report cards and now I have spent two hours reading blogs, newspapers, and in general, wasting time and sipping a couple beers. School ends for the kiddos next Friday and after that I have at least two days of clean up and organizing to do in the classroom. This has been a great year; I have a charming group of 5/6 year old students and a few of them are little geniuses I believe! Anyway... more to post once the chalkdust settles!

For You...

a June bouquet of one rose the color of the moon, one peony in ravishing pink, Columbines nodding their crowns, Coral Bells, and sweet smelling dianthus.

Beauty in the Backyard

Did you ever try to photograph a bee? It is NOT easy. They don't sit still. Therefore, here you have the Bee's Behind.



The bees know the Goat's Beard is in bloom and are they ever busy! This actually would have been a good video as the bees were VERY audible as well as visible when I took these pictures.

Our Newest Garden

Here is our new vegetable bed with one of the rain barrels smack dab in the center, which makes watering very easy. The tomatoes seem to like it here. They have cleared the top of the cages in only three weeks; but then we did have all that hot weather last week.

Also in this bed are pole beans, one sugar pumpkin, lemon cucumbers, two sunflowers, radishes, and carrots. Yes, I may be over zealous in my planting!

A Changing Front Yard

In 2006 our front yard looked like this:


Now, after some expense, much toil, and time to grow, it looks like this:



It used to be that I hardly ever looked out my front window because I would only be looking at a parking pad or our truck. Now the Venus dogwood is in full bloom and I have all kinds of treasured plants tucked here and there and I spend lots of time gazing out the window, enjoying what I see and trying to decide what new plants to add. Also in front, although not as attractive, is my experiment at straw bale gardening (I explained it in a post last fall). It does take a lot of water as other people had warned. It was unusually hot here last week. It felt more like Hawaii than Seattle and I watered three times. The biggest surprise is the lettuce that is thriving in front of the bales. I planted it as an afterthought. We have had two or three salads off of it already! In the bales are two pepper plants, a tomato and a pumpkin plant, also a few bachelor buttons and some beets.

What In The Devil...

is going on here? I won't even pretend I can explain this to you. Last night I followed this Afro-Peruvian Dance of the Devils Parade in White Center. No, it did not draw huge crowds; I doubt that there were more than 25 people who followed the parade (and most of us with cameras) and 50 or less at the Cafe afterwards to enjoy this wonderful international music. Some of the performers had just arrived from Lima, Peru. It began and ended at Cafe Rozellas and there the musicians and dancers performed more music, singing and extraordinary dance for us. The music was very lively with lots of percussion; jawbones and little wooden boxes on straps worn around the musician's neck. The boxes had lids they opened and closed as they struck the sides with a wooden stick. My favorite dancing was the street dancing from the coast of Peru which is a little like impromptu soft shoe tap dancing (although I have no photos of this because my memory card was full). Each dancer tried to 'out step' the previous dancer. They were very energetic and their facial expressions added humor to the competitive nature of the dancing. They were clearly enjoying themselves and so did the audience.

Low Tide at Lincoln Park

This is my favorite photo from my low tide walk in Lincoln Park today. These are Sculpin eggs. I didn't see a Sculpin, just lots and lots of tiny eggs on seaweed.

One of many SeaStars, looking very vulnerable in the low tide.

Today's mystery: a molt from a crayfish or what?

Here you get the 'big picture' of the low tide.

A Dog Whelk

A Kelp Crab with missing pincers

The sea lettuce in this picture was flecked with a dusting of shiny purple specks; my photo does not do it justice.

An anemone closed up tight waiting for the tide to come back and cover him.

Duly Appreciated

Look at all those flowers! It looked and smelled like a floral shop around our desks this week. We also had breakfast treats on Monday, a car wash on Wednesday, a Barbecue from the principal on Wednesday, soup and salad lunch from the PTA on Thursday and a 'goodie bag' of wine, bread and sweet treats from assorted Sanislo families on Friday. Sanislo teachers are certainly a pampered bunch. Better than all of the 'goodies' was the turn out of 19 parents/grandparents for our Friday field trip to the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union on Friday. Go here to see a few photos.

We are having OUTSTANDING weather for this Memorial Day Weekend; blue skies sunrise to sunset. I awoke at 6:00, made coffee, picked rhubarb and made a pie, at 9:00 I ran about 13.5 miles to Alki and back (The first ten minutes I groan and after that there is this grin splashed across my face that just can't be erased; I love to run!). There was this incredible low tide and savvy beach combers were out at Lincoln Park, Lowman Beach, MeeKwa Mooks and Alki. Once at home I fixed these wonderful omelets filled with asparagus and Spam (yes, Spam) and cheddar cheese. Then I went into the gardens and deadheaded tulips, weeded, and planted Impatiens. After that I got online and read a little of this and that (Today's recommendation is Big Happy Funhouse Read the comments.) The most memorial thing I have done this weekend is to listen to audio clips of a marine in Vietnam from the late 1960's on NPR. I hunted high and low for a link of this audio but since I could not remember the title, I was lost.

Now both of my blogs are updated and it is time to fix dinner. Enjoy your long weekend!

U District Street Fair

The above is a "Hockneyized" version of one photo I took at the University District Street Fair yesterday. If you want to see the original photos click on the title of this post and it will take you to my Flickr account. It was perfect street fair weather at about 75F. The U District Street Fair is the unofficial 'kick off to summer'. The DH and I enjoyed browsing our separate ways and then we met up to share a margarita at the Ness Floral Shop that is now a tavern, return to the car and compare notes. We both got a bit nostalgic about our young years when we lived on 52nd NE and we just rolled down the hill to enjoy the music, street fair food and of course the 'skin' that was on display if the weather was anywhere above 65F.

Other than that, I ran, and ran for a good solid 2 hours yesterday BEFORE walking uppety ump miles at the street fair. We had Greek style pizza at White Center Spaghetti House last night and I tried to watch a DVD with the DH last night but my eyes would NOT stay open. I slept for TEN hours last night; I needed that!

Today I have worked for about 5 hours weeding and planting beans and a couple of sugar pumpkins. Now I am frittering away time on the computer and at some point I need to get upstairs and fix dinner (bok choy, peas pods and chicken stir fry with cashews). There is a wee bit of school work to attend to as well.

Kubota Gardens

It's grand to know people who live adjacent to places like this. It was a beautiful day in Seattle today and what better way to end it than walking in Kubota Gardens with friends. It was a great way to unwind and better yet, the entire weekend promises to be full of sunshine!

Suzy The Duck Visits Seattle

Suzy The Duck Visits Seattle
Originally uploaded by mtnester

Suzy the Duck came all the way from Lodi, Wisconsin to visit me herein Seattle! I wish I could have shown off our city in sunnier weather but then again, she IS a duck!

Delicate

It is pouring rain right now and there is supposed to be more rain along with wind into tomorrow. But I just looked at these photos from yesterday and couldn't help but share them with you. The fading tulip and the cluster of cherry blossoms against the blue sky are the definition of 'delicate pink'. Once the winds blow through the petals will be scattered. I had 'teacher friends' over on Friday after work and we lounged on the grass, gabbed, snacked, and added a few bottles to our recycling bin. I'm happy that I was able to share our yard at it's Spring finest.

Onwards

Yesterday ended with a half inch of rain and lots of pine cones and tree crap falling from the enormous cedrus deodor into the street. The wind really blew; it seemed more like a fall storm than a spring one. We even made a fire in the fireplace and watched the TV show Southland which is a new police detective series set in L.A. Then I stayed up way too late just reading blogs on the computer and as you can see, changing the colors of my own. When we woke up to sun and clear skies this morning I was torn; garden/run or run/garden? I chose to run and I really pushed myself. I ran for two hours and fifteen minutes which is what it took to get from my porch to the Cactus restaurant on Alki and back. I did stop to tell call the DH at my half way point just to let him know I was still on my feet and loping along. So how far is this run? Hard to say since I meandered a bit on the return route and in some instances I took pedestrian stairs instead of streets (lots of steep hills) but I think it was 14 miles or close to that. If you run, you may enjoy this video. It's pretty cute. I related to most of it; even the dive bombing crows. However I do NOT blow my nose on the sidewalk, that's what sleeves are for (but NOT in the kindergarten)!

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

I sure hope this beautiful weather holds out through the week, especially since my kindergarten class has a field trip to Seward Park on Friday which includes a short hike on a nature trail. Now I am going to hobble outside on my wobbly legs and try to get a little gardening done.

A Blue Beauty

Look what burst open on this rainy morn! It is my Himalayan Blue Poppy. Isn't it a beauty? It is a shame that she turns her shy head away from the garden path. I really had to work to get a front view picture. It was drizzly and warm today and working in the garden was actually comfortable. However, that has all changed and right now a big black cloud crossed over our house and it is absolutely POURING outside. I am glad I got in my 4 hours of yard work. I put tomatoes and pepper plants into my straw bale gardening experiment in the front near the driveway. The lettuce, beets and mesclun are all looking healthy in their little 'patch' in back.

If I had the time...

I would tell you all about the lovely wedding we went to yesterday at Fauntleroy Community Church. I did not bring my camera as it was the wedding of a photographer and about a third of the guests were photographers or stylists and they certainly had it covered. The bride and groom were co-workers of the DH when he was in advertising at Macy's. The reception was at Salty's on Alki and the food was a wonderful surf and turf buffet. Delicious! The view of downtown Seattle as day faded to night and the lights of the city came on, was breathtaking!

Or I would tell you about the picture that DH took of the elderly lady walking with a cane in White Center as she led her miniature PONY down the sidewalk.

Or I would have a list of the treasures for sale at Florabundance, the yearly Arboretum sale. I exercised restraint and only bought tomatoes, beets and peppers.

But, I must write the parent letter for my classroom and I want to maybe, just maybe, get out into the yard, now that the fog is burning off.

Weekends are altogether too short!

Cock a Doodle Doo!

Cock a Doodle Doo!
Originally uploaded by mtnester.

I didn't get up with the roosters today but I was at the Kornowskes' by 9:15 this morning watching their 'bad boy' roosters sequestered in their mini-pen to prevent them from picking on 'the girls' who have free rein of pecking and scratching everywhere in the yard and pasture. The 'boys' were crowing with all their might as if indignant at their segregated status.

I was back in Kent to run with Lindsey as Joe and Val hiked behind us. We covered six miles of long hills around Lake Youngs. I managed to keep pace (sort of) with the long legged strides of my teen aged running companion. A quiet doe crossed our running path, frog chorus greeted us from trail side bogs, and the smell of skunk cabbage was unmistakable at some points.

As I was having my rural run the DH was on a flight to Port Townsend with our pilot friend, Tom. It was a lovely day of clear skies and temperatures of about 65.

So much is blooming; really too much to mention. Tomorrow I will go to the NW Perennial Alliance Plant Sale. With all the compost spreading I have been doing I have become very aware of my plant inventory and I hope I will be able to exercise some self control in my purchases.

Easter Sunday...

Easter Dinner
Originally uploaded by mtnester.

...was very wet but relaxing just the same. We went to our friends' Joe & Valerie. We were joined by their other friends, Penny and Emil. The food was plentiful and delicious and served in their newly remodeled kitchen. It is SO lovely and spacious!


The Egg Collectors: Galen, Lindsey, and Nathaniel found 99 eggs hidden in the pasture in about a half hour's time. I think we all enjoyed the gathering a little more than usual knowing that Valerie begins her chemo for breast cancer this Friday and cooking food and entertaining are going to be on the back burner at their house for a while. As Penny said at one point during our conversation today, there is no woman stronger than Valerie, she will get through this and we are all here to help her in what ever way we can; both practical and prayer-wise. Click on the mosaic above to see more of today's Easter celebrating and Valerie with her new SHORT haircut! It is very stylish and looks great on her.

Rejoice!

Happy Easter everyone! Although spring has been slow in coming, plenty is in bloom here in the Pacific Northwest. My camera focused low to the ground today but there are plenty of bushes and trees in blossom too. Our own pear is close to bursting out; my guess is a week away...if we get sun. If you run your cursor over the pictures during the slide show it will show you the titles and names of the plants.

My mom is in the hospital tonight recovering from gastrointestinal problems that we all hope are getting closer to resolution. It is NOT cancer, and for that, our family offers up prayers of gratitude this Easter Sunday. In fact, she fully intends on being home for Easter dinner. She was quite upset at not being able to fulfill the role of Easter Bunny for her youngest grand kids and she was VERY particular with my sisters about the details for the Easter dessert she had planned, even as she left for the hospital Friday night! I love you Mom! I wish I were with you in Green Bay!

Clear Skies At Last

The rain stopped yesterday and everyone is talking about it even Flat Suzy the Duck who is visiting from Lodi, WI was getting a little peeved at all the gray skies.



So besides carting Suzy down to Pike Place Market, here is the short list of what I have done with my Spring Break;

1. Went to SAM with the DH to view the Colonial America art exhibit on display from Yale. Very good from a perspective of learning about American history but not really my favorite type of painting. I had to think of it as a history lesson, not art appreciation.

2. Went to a play: The Underpants (Not at all racy, as you might think) The play was set in Germany in 1910. It was originally written as a satire of what the playwright saw as the ridiculousness of the emerging middle class. The lead in the play has her bloomers drop (she didn't tie them tight enough; pre-elastic days you know) during a parade, as she is standing on tiptoe to wave at the king as he passes by. All kinds of silliness result between her, her totally embarrassed husband, a gossipy neighbor, and males attending the parade who also saw her drawers drop. It wasn't gut busting humor but light hearted and I appreciated trying to understand the lens through which the play may have been viewed in 1910.

3. Lots of chores: cleaning files, cleaning the oven, paying bills.

4. Talking and writing: on the phone, on the computer; to the daughter, sisters, mom and dad. it is so nice to have time to talk, time to listen.

5. Reading: Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.


This is actually a reread for me. I first read it in the 1970s. Then last year when I read Omnivores Dilemma and Sand County was referenced, my memory was jogged so here I am reading it again, with new eyes. The book was published in 1949 by his son, Luna. Leopold is considered the father of conservationism. I find his writing style very lovely, almost poetic. Also, the setting is Wisconsin, near Sauk County, and the flora and fauna he writes of are familiar to me from my youth. I get a burst of nostalgia for days gone by tramping through the woods with my grandma or grandpa DeNoble, having them point out flowers, bushes, berries, and signs of wild life.

6. Today I have 4 yards of compost/manure to spread in various needy garden beds. But first there is breakfast and I will stroll around my yard, cereal bowl in hand, looking for, as Leopold suggests, 'birthdays' amongst my plants.

"Tell me of what plant-birthday a man takes notice, and I shall tell you a good deal about his vocation, his hobbies, his hay fever, an the general level of his ecological education." from Ch. 7 in Sand County Almanac.

My 'Little Black Dress'

I wish I could say this is me IN the dress, but it's not. It IS the dress I bought today at Ann Taylor which is not a place I regularly shop, this was most certainly a splurge. I already have the perfect red shoes to wear with it and I think I can find a scarf or jewelry with red to spark it up. We have a wedding to go to this month and I have not bought a dress in over a year. Skirts yes, dress, no. I am not overly fond of shopping, especially if it means I must look for something specific, so I was really glad to find this little classic in less than two hours. Why is it that I can find a dozen or more dresses that would have looked good on me when I was 30 but next to nothing for middle aged me? Dress Barn is OK for work clothes, Marshalls is good for browsing and finding an occasional 'steal', Chicos has colorful clothes but nothing with staying power, Target and even Fred Meyers are OK for jeans or t-shirts, and don't even SPELL Macy's in front of the DH, we crossed that store off my list when he was laid off! So today was my lucky shopping day!



Pleated Skirt Sweater Dress
A classic sweater dress with a removable self-belt. Rolled edge at scoop neckline and short raglan sleeves. Waist seam with pleating details at front skirt. Pull-through loops at waist. 20 1/4" length.