Seeing Red...

Afternoon sunshine intensifies the colors along West Sequim Bay Road.

and yellow, and orange and all the subtle colors in-between that remind us that the fall season is well started here in the Northwest. The air is definitely cooler and snow is accumulating on the very tops of the mountains of the Olympic Range. A few mornings ago I could see frost on the rooftops and grass.

It is more and more likely to be in the 40's until the sun has a chance to warm things up and another one of my favorite fruits is being harvested all around the state. Apples!!

This tree, in an orchard near my house, was grafted years
ago and now gives both red and yellow fruits.

I do not know what strain of apples these are, but they are
very dense, crisp and juicy, but not very sweet.

It's a great time to get out and walk in the parks, but sadly many of them are national parks and are closed to the public until the government is operational again.

There is no end to the excitement of living near the Olympics, the wilderness. Sequim is already known for the elk herds that cross Highway 101 near the John Wayne Marina, and I've had several encounters with deer and fawns in this area.

But when we went to the apple orchard near my home, I saw something in the grass that my former life as a Spudette (Idaho citizen) caused me to stop and take a photo.

And, once home, with access to the Internet, I asked the question (Not: does a bear do it in the woods?) but when a bear does it, what does "it" look like? I vaguely recalled the shape from my life in Idaho decades ago, but wasn't sure.

I think this is bear droppings.... or
should I say these ARE droppings?
I'm not sure, but if you are, let's
hear from the experts!

And here is the link for identifying bear poop, also known as "droppings" and sure enough, it looks like what they describe for brown and black bears.

UPDATE: This is indeed the sign of bear(s) and here is a link as to what the Washington State Department of Fish and Game advises people on bear behavior. I will be more careful on my walks, especially in the orchard knowing I am sharing it with a critter.

Some nights I can hear the coyotes howling in the distance, and on Monday nights we put out our trash cans for pickup, but I think now I will wait until Tuesday morning to set mine out so I don't have to deal with the anxiety of either finding it tipped over or hearing it getting knocked over during the night by something a lot larger than the neighbor's dog.

It's surprising enough to find such evidence anywhere, but merely yards from my home is a little niggling reminder that since the wilderness isn't that far away, neither are the creatures that live in it.

Snow in San Francisco and other anomalies

I heard yesterday there was snow in San Francisco. When my girls were small we lived in that area and I don't ever recall having the opportunity to throw a snowball in our front yard. Instead we drove to Yellowstone or up to a snow line on the mountains. I'll bet neither one remembers the day we did that and saw a 'real live black bear' up close... and one of mine - I won't say which one - wanted to get out and hug it.

On my return trip to Florida, I opted for the southern route to avoid any
snow or storms. I managed to keep away from the storms, but this is the
well-known Mt. Shasta in California seen on my left as I drove by.

A lot of people think Mt. Shasta is one mountain. Actually it is two volcanoes, side by side, one more worn away than the other. And there is a third 'baby' volcano imbedded in the base which is too low to have snow on it, but you can see it from the road as well.

Along the way there was a load of road kill, which shouldn't be too surprising with vehicles hitting speeds of 85 and 90 mph even in speed zones of 70. There were several deer in the western states, loads of smaller critters everywhere and much to my surprise, a coyote alongside the road in either Alabama or Florida (I'd lost track of the states by then.) But there were other surprises as well.... I saw a pen of camels right next to a pen of bison and wondered what the owners were planning. Is this a return to the Old Ways? Except being prepared by having camels instead of horses?

Clearly there are deer or elk statues in the back of this
trailer; and I wanted so much for the driver to stop when I
did so I could ask him about his cargo. I'm so shy.

There were peculiar things being carried on trailers and in the back of trucks, too. So many stories, so little time. I may be retired, but I'm not retiring, as in "shy and" so I am willing to approach strangers and say, "I'm curious, why are you... ?" and my previous travel partner found this behavior annoying instead of charming. However, he was perfectly willing to tell the story afterwards as if he had been the one to ask the questions. Oh well, that's all over now.

I was lucky to have the window of weather that I did looking back at the timing of the trip and seeing how challenging the weather has been recently (snow, ice, tornados, etc.) on both the upper and lower sections of the U.S.

Zooming past a Redneck Riviera in Louisiana, I snapped this shot. I  am
not sure if you can see the bayou (body of water) behind the trailers,
but these humble abodes have it all - water, warmth, shade for the dog,
and a place to grow the vittles.

Spring is trying very hard to break through the cold snaps, and this last photo I have entitled "Redneck Riviera," because it seemed to me that it embodies all that is needed for a pleasure palace for Jeff Foxworthy (comedian) and his 'buds.'

Today I worked on the yard and was rewarded with the second wave of robins coming in to snack before heading north. They make a lot of noise rustling about in the leaves for worms and bugs, but everything here is organic, so they probably had a good meal. Wish someone would let me know when they get to New England.

Mountain Loop Highway is closed

   After pretty nearly waxing the paint off the M3, Jey-hu said it was time for us to take a jaunt for the afternoon on the Mountain Loop Highway. The road out of Lake Stevens (WA) heads easterly toward Granite Falls and Silverton (so small you'd miss it with your eyes open!) and although we tried to get to Darrington, the road was still snowed in.    It was chilly, but the sun was really warm and up until about 4:30 p.m. we were enjoying riding in the convertible. Then suddenly it got a whole lot colder and we gave up stopping for what might be good photo ops and headed for home. Still, we got a few good ones.... the snow-capped mountain peaks here are called the "Big 4 Mountain" because when the snow melts, some of the remaining snow sticks to the edges and lays out in the form of a number "4" on the western end of the slopes. Long ago, in the early part of the 1900's, there was a hotel called the Big 4 Inn on a railroad line purchased to provide this unique vacation experience. But the destination resort failed after the 1930's and ended up burning to the ground. Today all you can see is the remains of the lodge's fireplace. While we were there, a bunch of children were seated up inside the old fireplace watching their parents prepare the Memorial Day weekend cookout nearby. What amazes me is how many people were up on this highway, even camping in spots where there clearly was more than a little snow on the ground!

It was delightful to see the Trillium blooming alongside the road and to hear the melting 

snow brooks chase down through the fir trees to meet up with the Stilquamish River (Don't hold me to the spelling or the name - I'm still learning them.) I saw a man carrying his ice chest across the river, walking IN it and wearing only a t-shirt! Hardy souls up here in these north woods!!

   And just as we were driving out of the high mountain range, we saw a black bear run across the road and up into the woods. (If you want to learn more about this creature, I've provided a wonderful link to help. This is a family-oriented blog, after all.) He (or she) stopped and looked back. We stopped and Jey-hu grabbed the camera. Then all we saw was the back end of the bear hightailing it for deeper woods. Fun!