Howdy

 

And Happy Easter morning to all. 

It was sunny and warm, although windy, when we arrived in Palm Springs on Friday afternoon. We made a short stop at Cabot's Pueblo Trading Post in Desert Hot Springs, as always, for the mandatory photos of me in front of the Big Indian and Museum.

Well, as predicted, the icky Pacific Northwest weather followed us right down to the desert. 

We woke up early as usual yesterday, and sat in the hot tub watching the sun rise while the dark clouds moved in rapidly in from the west. 

The weather fronts here don't mess around like our pokey, slow things! Then suddenly, we were treated to a spectacular full rainbow as the morning light hit the misty atmosphere to the west. I can't ever remember seeing a more perfect rainbow and was too awestruck to run in and get my camera.

How could it not be a good birthday after that omen, despite dismal rain and temperatures about 30 degrees below normal. But it was a totally relaxing day, with nothing to do except take advantage of the hot mineral water pools. The motel was deserted, except for another elderly couple.

Fortunately, they also have a nice indoor pool here at Lido Palms, along with a sauna. So you don't have to sit outside with rain falling on your head.

A much smaller chance of wet stuff today, and then the desert sun comes back for the rest of the week. 

We lucked out last night on a new Mexican restaurant in town called Delicias Mexican Cuisine.  Desert Hot Springs is not known for fine dining, to say the least. So that was a great surprise. The mixed drink menu was as long as the food menu, and we treated ourselves to couple of real fancy ones.

I was looking forward to a good sleep, but the walls in this old motel are thin. We had noisy, nocturnal neighbors last night-- the only thing I have to complain about.

It never rains in California...

 

Not. 

An unusual Easter weekend storm is expected to bring flooding rain to the Coachella Valley, along with wind and below normal temps. Great timing, huh?

Well, its hard not to be somewhat disappointed after looking forward to a sunny desert vacation for months. The worst weather will be Saturday, but we'll be hunkered down at our spa motel in Desert Hot Springs. 

Along with an outdoor pool, they have a covered mineral water hot tub I intend to take full advantage of. Then after the storm passes, next week looks pleasant when we move down to Palm Springs. 

I'll check in later from the Golden Wet State. 

Big garden, litttle garden

This looks like a glorious spring garden, but the lush green is mostly clumps of invasive scillia, my nemesis. It spreads prolifically and crowds the spring bulbs and everything else just coming up, from lilies to hostas. 

Scillia grows from tiny deep bulbs that are impossible to dig out without disturbing everything around them. So each spring, I hack the tops off to give the other plants some breathing room, which only makes the problem worse. Then the scillia leaves die back, and you forget about it for another year.

There's endless gushing about the joys and satisfaction of gardening, not so much the frustration and hard physical labor. At some point, it just gets to be too much. 

Drifting into a smaller world as we age is common and that's OK. There's a certain freedom to not burning energy on unimportant things. Like digging bluebells, a real labor of Hercules. 

And who says bigger is better? Like this dish garden I made a few weeks ago with an old bonsai pot and some china knick-knacks.

And another one that survived winter on the front porch. Miniature garden worlds are enchanting, and you can weed with two fingers!

Dante

 

Before Easter, we traditionally watch something from our DVD collection of old Biblical classics, like "Ben Hur" or "The Robe." However, this week we got hooked into a new PBS series called "Dante: Inferno to Paradise." 

Dante's epic poem is the most influential work of literature in the western world. I don't know if college students read it these days (other than English majors) but for centuries, Dante was the staple of higher education. 

The program sounds dry, but it combines intense, lurid visual art based on the poem, dramatic reenactments of the story, along with high brow academic interviews. How refreshing to see bright young liberal arts scholars so immersed in literature. It gives a person hope for the future.

John took a real fancy to Dante's white cap with ear flaps and strings hanging down. He kept asking what it's called. I thought it was just a cowl (type of hood) but a bit of Googling revealed a whole host of Renaissance men's headgear. The white cap is called a "linen coif" and the red cap is probably a "sock hat."

Anyway, Dante wears it well. After this show, maybe a new fad?

Happy life

 

Maya posing with the Giant Peach, after the final performance yesterday. Well done!

Start your week off with a smile. That's my sister's dog "Homer," taking a Sunday nap on his woolly pillow.

Where in the world

 

 

Here’s one of the shortest wills ever written: 

“Being of sound mind, I spent the money." Arthur Bland 

I've been doing some air travel planning lately, resulting in a case of sticker shock. We have a June trip coming up for Dad's memorial service in Colorado, which will double as a long overdue family reunion. I'm looking forward to it, but the logistics of getting everyone to Cripple Creek at the same time are daunting. 

Then we have a Danube River cruise reserved in 2025. Maybe I've had too long to think about it-- getting cold feet. Rivers are notoriously unpredictable and you could spend more time on a bus and in hotels. And do we really want to travel in such close quarters? 

The boat moves mostly at night, not great for light sleepers. During the day, you're docked in an industrial area with dozens of other boats, nothing like the PBS advertisements showing well-heeled people lounging around the sunny deck drinking wine and watching castles. Someone else described it as a "floating nursing home." Ha!

I'm making it sound awful, but river cruises are very popular and you never know until you try. The Viking reviews are pretty evenly split between "amazing" and "if I could give this zero stars I would." Anyway, before the hefty full payment is due in May, I'm looking at other European tour and cruise options. So many choices, so little time.

Anyway, aren't we lucky having these first world problems?

March 22nd is "As Young As You Feel Day." Which means: stop acting your chronological age-- get out there and have some fun.

 

Spring treats

 

The whole house smells wonderfully of hyacinths. I cut the nicest ones yesterday and brought them inside before the rain bends the heavy flowers into the dirt.

Last September, I remembered to buy a bag of bulbs from Costco and they bloomed florist perfect. Like tulips, hyacinths peter out over time. But what a rewarding flower for not much work or expense.

We had the first asparagus last night, all the way from Mexico and less than $2 a pound. It is a wonderful world, for those of us lucky enough to have such abundant and fresh food. I cooked them lightly in olive oil and butter, with a splash of lemon juice.

To go with, a baked potato and a little sirloin steak. Yes, the plates were cleaned. Sometimes we have the willpower to save a bit for a steak nacho lunch the next day. Not this time.

World Sparrow Day

 

"A certain traveler who knew many continents was asked what he found most remarkable of all. He replied: the ubiquity of sparrows."   Adam Zagajewski

I can hear the house sparrows now chirping in the dark, under the eves of the house. They've started their courting and nest-building in the old box on the shed, which has seen countless generations.

The remarkable stretch of warm weather is over and clouds rolled in last night. We're done with the brilliant sunrises and sunsets for a while. And I'm heading off to the gym after a week hiatus, then a trip to Costco. After a great weekend, back to usual routines. But! We have a trip to southern California to look forward to next.

Spring Equinox

 

Spring sprung during the four days we were gone. The magnolias and cherry trees are blooming on our street and the first tulips opening in the yard. Everything is green, as green as it gets here, and everyone in Seattle (except John) did the first lawn mow over the weekend. 

The spring equinox occurs today at 8:06 PM pacific time. It's the sweet spot of the year, when day and night are about equal-- a happy and hopeful time of year.

Making memories

 

The Merc Playhouse occupies the old Twisp Mercantile Building, built in 1926. The Mercantile once provided Methow Valley settlers with provisions for home and farm. When the business closed, the building sat idle for many years.

Thanks to the group of founding directors, The Merc opened its first season of professional theater in 1999. The Merc is a community treasure in the Methow Valley, an intimate space for adult and children's productions, concerts and lectures.

This delightful play we just saw, "James and the Giant Peach." was produced by the local Thomas Zbyszewski Children's Theater Group. 

Tom Z. grew up in the Valley, and performed at the Merc Playhouse in nearly a dozen productions. In August 2015, Tom tragically lost his life while fighting the Twisp River wildfire, one month shy of his 21st birthday. To honor his memory, The Merc established the Tom Zbyszewski Children's Program.

This program has since touched the lives of hundreds of local children, including our Maya above (in rehearsal for Peach.)

The weather was warm and sunny. I rode my bike around town and we grilled the first steak of the year. On Sunday, a long hike with friends up at Amanda and Tom's property, then John and I watched some of Nova's dressage lesson at the barn outside of town.

This arena was a sea of mud when I was here a few weeks ago. 

My brother Dave also came over to see the play, and we had a family breakfast on Saturday. Then the icing on the cake of a great weekend, our neighbors Bruce and Karen invited us over for dinner last night.  It's back to our quiet Seattle reality today, with much more typical weather next week.

Crows never forget

 

We were under surveillance the minute we arrived yesterday, with much cawing and excitement as they spread the word, that "lady" is back. Might it have something to do with the freezer-burned mince pie I left out for them last time?

A few skittish deer in the yard, and a flock of turkeys busy doing what turkeys do in the spring. The yard and entire town bare of snow. No dirty melting berms...

A photo I took last March--what a difference. 

Two of the young thespians (Maya on the left) in costume for the Merc Theater production of "James and the Giant Peach." What a treat in store for us this weekend.

And now, instead of staring at a computer screen, I'll watch the sun coming up.  Have a great weekend.
 

Magnificent obsession

 

Birding megalister Peter Kaestner in the Philippines on Feb. 9, after snapping a photograph of his record-breaking bird, the Orange-tufted Spiderhunter. 

 "An obsessive birder since childhood, Mr. Kaestner woke up that morning in February with 9,997 birds on his personal “life list” — more than 90 percent of Earth’s scientifically recognized species and three away from a singular milestone. But he felt hurried. In an essay for the American Birding Association he had outlined his plans to become the first person to document 10,000 sightings."  New York Times

There are roughly 11,000 bird species in the world. Fewer than 60 people have ever seen 8,000; fewer than 20 have surpassed 9,000. 

Of the 11,000, only 750 species are found in North America, and Peter bagged the robins and sparrows when he was just a kid. Now he's searching for birds presumed extinct or extremely rare, which takes him to the most remote and dangerous places in the world.

Our flock of common little birds were chattering away as I tackled more of the yard clean up yesterday. Do they sense its going to be 70 degrees soon? Ah, spring. That's the warmest we've been since last October.

Plant a Flower Day

 

One more day of cold, unsettled weather and then guess what? Sunny skies for the rest of the week and temps close to 70 over the weekend. That's the recipe for Seattle going spring fever bonkers. Gentlemen, start your lawn movers.

I picked up these Globe Thistle seeds at the senior center thrift store, of all places. I have no idea if they will even germinate, but someone went to the trouble of putting them in a labelled baggie. I'll find a place to plant and see what happens. It's a pretty flower the bees like, and I don't think as invasive as alliums. Famous last words.

A week early

 

We both agreed this was one of the best corned beef dinners I've ever made. And I've cooked a few! 

Marji, sorry you missed it by a day, but glad you're safely home with the pups in Las Vegas. 

I braised the meat with onion in a slow oven until it was almost fork tender, then added the carrots and potatoes. We had peas instead of boiled cabbage for a change. The pot liquid made a nice gravy--not too salty because I rinsed off the package slime. 

OK, enough of that. 

How are you doing on daylight savings time? It's obviously much harder on the working folks than retirees. There was a rash of early morning car crashes in Seattle, and that's not a coincidence. Twice a year, the same talk about it going way, but Congress apparently has better things to do.

 

Tete-a-tete

 

No wonder this is the most popular miniature daffodil. We still have a few scattered in the garden beds, but I'm always accidentally digging them up, or they get covered by clumps of scilla (bluebells.)

The only way to truly clean up this bed is rip it all out and start over.

Since my hands are getting too old for that kind of work, might as well raise the white flag.

"A weed is just a flower growing in the wrong spot." Cecelia Ahern
 

You know those people who just can't leave a puzzle alone? We've done two Wentworth puzzles this week, although I was a minor contributor. 

Marji flies back to Las Vegas tomorrow, so today we're topping off the visit with oysters and chips at Alki Beach. She was a trooper yesterday, sitting in the cold listening to my crazy ukulele group. This has been a really special time.

We came, we saw, we climbed

 

My sister Marji has already seen the main tourist attractions in Seattle, so yesterday we took her to Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. It was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, and built on a section of clear cut land just above downtown. The area was first used as a cemetery, which is still adjacent.

 

 

The park is home to the Asian Art Museum, the Volunteer Park Conservatory, and the 100+ year old legacy water tower. Climb the steep spiral stairs, and you're rewarded with panoramic views of Seattle from the observation deck.

Also overlooking Seattle, the famous sculpture "Black Sun," created by Isamu Noguchi in 1969. To locals, known simply as the donut. Along with the Pike Place Market bronze pig, one of the most touched pieces of public art in Seattle. And part of urban legend-- the Soundgarten song "Black Hole Sun" was inspired by the donut. 

We always enjoy the Conservatory in winter, a warm glass gem box filled with botanical treasures. We had it almost to ourselves, and parked outside the front door like royalty. When does that ever happen in Seattle? 

Unfortunately, the weather is cold and grey, and Mt. Rainier hasn’t been out all week. But we've had an good visit. Today Marji tags along for some ukulele music and the authentic Seattle coffeehouse experience.