Nice and busy

 

It's been a busy and enjoyable few days. That's John and friend Mark checking out the low tide at Alki beach. Mark is visiting from Ohio. 

 

Last night we had dinner here with other old friends we don't see often enough--and enjoyed an overdue social reunion.

It was so warm we ate in the yard, a rare event, especially in June. I made soft soft tacos for five with all the fixings. Terri brought delicious guacamole. For dessert, a frozen cake made with our neighbor's homemade rhubarb ice cream.

Thanks, Wendy!  I saved a piece for you and Bill.

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

"Woman Before the Rising Sun," by Poll Friedrich, c. 1818.

Garden exercise

 

The climbing rose "Joseph's Coat" reaches a short peak of beauty in June. And you better appreciate it because like most roses, he's ugly as sin the rest of the year.

In July, we're having new fencing built along the front side of the house and I'll have to cut everything back then find a new support for old Joseph. 

If you have a climbing rose, then you know they don't really "climb" like vines at all. The prickly, brittle canes need to be attached to something with string or wire, not the nicest chore in the garden.

Speaking of work, today is National Gardening Exercise Day. I have an Apple watch and it lets you track all types of esoteric exercise, everything from boxing to fencing to equestrian activities. For some reason, it doesn't list gardening as a work-out option. An insult to the hard-working gardeners of the world. Has Tim Cook never put on a pair of gardening gloves?

Anyway, when I'm working outside I set it to something called mixed cardio so at least I get "credit" for the exercise at the end of the day. Of course, you have to be careful or the Apple watch turns you into an obsessive person, especially if you have hypochondriac tendencies. 

Well, what can I say about the weather? Not a cloud in the sky and so intensely bright at our latitude, with just a few short hours of semi-darkness in the city.

Extremely low tides at Alki Beach this week, which attracts thousands of people to walk out on the muddy flats and check out the exposed critters.

Swiching gears

 

A vacation house is nice because it gives you a completely different lifestyle somewhere else. On the other hand (and I'm not complaining) the abrupt transition between places is discombobulating for a day or so, going in either direction. Reaching for the coffee pot in the wrong place, finding the bathroom door at night, that sort of thing-- my mind certainly not as "plastic" as it once was. 

Oh, what a fine stretch of weather and unusual for June, which can be cool and gloomy on the coast. The old joke is that summer doesn't start in Seattle until after the 4th of July. It hasn't really rained for over a month so fire concerns are arising. We lucked out last summer in central Washington so everyone is holding their breath. 

A busy week shaping up.

Above it all

 

Another invigorating early morning constitutional with Amanda and Nica, this time up to the bluff above Twisp. No surprise, the mayor and other city notables live in this neighborhood overlooking town. A safe distance from the river, I might add.

These walks sure put my lazy 2-mile city loop to shame. Instead of dodging traffic, how peaceful and beautiful it is, especially when the weather is perfect like this. 

The only thing not-so-perfect about this visit is the mosquitoes. The locals are saying they are much worse than usual. In previous years, I don't remember any at all this early in the summer. Maybe it's because the unusually high river wet the floodplains. Anyway, I'm one of those unfortunate people they love to bite. My ankles and arms are an itchy mess.

Having lunch with a friend in Winthrop today, then going to the elementary school spring concert with Amanda. Back to city life tomorrow. 

Have a good weekend.

Morning perfection

 

Amanda got me out of the house at 6:30 this morning for an early exercise hike before she started work for the day. It was a real steep climb up from the bottom of the coulee where we parked. We went about 2 miles, not quite as far as she usually goes alone, but high enough for amazing valley views. 

Such a variety of birdsong along the way, including some rare gems popping up on my app, like the Lazuli Bunting and Bullock's Oriole.

The does have been bringing their fawns down to graze on the natural grasses in front of the house. It does look like a big salad bowl out there. Our bit of real lawn is looking rough, but frankly I don't care enough to dose it with chemicals.

Thanks to my son-in-law Tom, the wizard of irrigation systems, we got a faucet leak fixed last night and some of the bugs worked out. However, I'm still waiting for the contractor who said he would bring driveway gravel and do some upgrades on the system. Everything requires patience here, especially in the summer. His landscaping business is much in demand and he has bigger fish to fry. 

I'm going to Winthrop today to buy a better mop that might motivate me to give the floors a good spring cleaning. Just another day in paradise.