Signs of the Season

So it is barely the middle of September, but I think I saw snow falling on the top of Mt. Olympus during our last rainstorm and the temperatures are below 50 degrees at night already. My gut feeling is that we are going to have a much colder winter this year, with snow levels dropping below 2,500 ft.

While I am not the Farmer's Almanac (my father worked there as a Marketing Director ages ago), and I have not seen any fuzzy worms, I have had a fair amount of accuracy forecasting weather trends. Not that anyone has any records of mine, but I just seem to sense it and I respect that intuitive feed.

I have a friend over in Hong Kong who says it has been unseasonably hot, but he doesn't live there full time so he doesn't know what that means. I think the weather patterns are all 'calli-whumpas' (turned about and upside down) because Mama Gaia is trying to sort out some things. Kind of like when you had fall cleaning and threw things around when you weren't sure what to do with them.

But all summer has been cooler than normal over here, lots more small craft and gale warnings in the Juan de Fuca Straits, and now we are getting a smattering of rain showers and plenty of cloud cover to make the temperatures plummet at night.

Canadian Geese in the Solmar Pond, Sequim, WA

I usually do not bring out my heavy duty down comforter until after Halloween, but I am not sure I will last that long since my present covers have little warming capabilities. And my cats have found their own cozy places, so I don't even have them cuddling up to me anymore.

Female mallard duck among the geese; didn't see her mate.

The ducks and geese are leaving enough feathers floating on the nearby pond to make a least one down pillow, possibly two.

That usually means they have new (pin) feathers coming in and in the effort to break the casing, they knock out older ones.

I remember when my birds were moulting how they preened and groomed significantly more often. And there were lots of feathers flying around.

Lots and lots of sleepy geese; worn out from flying south?

Whatever is going on, I am aware it is cooler, and I'm still hoping for some warm fall days. There are still some trails I want to walk and places I want to explore.

I recently saw a photograph of Thorndyke Lake in Jaffrey, N.H. It was reflecting some beautiful foliage, but my sister tells me that they've been having a drought and the colors are no where near as intense as they might be for this time of year.

So, find your color where you can, get warm, and just enjoy what Mother Nature is throwing at us... she is always full of surprises!

Victoria Summer Walk

There is nothing so lovely or enlivening as a walk around Victoria, B.C., and when it's sunny and low 70's, it is pure bliss.

The American Volkssport Association has a local group called Olympic Peninsula Explorers which I joined earlier this year.

Our annual Canadian trip was this past weekend of July 24th, and our hosts and hostesses were so gracious and welcoming, it felt like we were coming home.

As we waited for everyone to gather, we watched the boat ballet in the inner harbor.

Once everyone was together, we headed out, past the 1,100 plus restored cars that had gathered for the weekend from all over the NW.

It was reminder to me of the days when I helped my father restore the 1932 Model A Ford and later he was interested in a 1931 Buick, but it was the first experience that taught me how to take apart, and put back together, a combustion engine.

Victoria water taxi ballet...

This information has served me well with my own cars. I saw a 1949 Ford convertible, one of my cars from the past, but no 1955 Ford T-Bird. But then we didn't walk past all the cars, either.

What sort of amused me was the high level gloss paint on these restorations, when those of us who once drove some of these cars in their original condition knew the paint job was no where near what can be accomplished today.

Huge car show with restored vehicles from early years.

It was also the Busker's Festival on the other side of the harbor, but we were not able to break away from our own group before our ferry deadline, so I'm going to mark this on my calendar for next year.

City gardens featured sweet peas
along with edible kale and lettuce.

Our 'guide' from the Wanderers was well-versed in local knowledge and walked us through some well cared for neighborhoods with sweet gardens and curbside decorations to inspire us.

I particularly liked the gnome homes on Pilot Street, and the 10-foot tall holly hocks seen in a back alley cut-through all in the Jamestown area.

The Garden City Wanderers hosted the OlympicPeninsula
Explorers in the waterfront park in Victoria, BC.

This area has many Victorian homes, but is also a desirable location for those wanting to rebuild with 'green' and modern designs.

Gnome home 'base' planted at
the base of a maple tree.

Incorporating the whimsical exterior 'little folks' residences on a shady street only made our walk that much more enjoyable.

Full view of the gnome home... I intend to do this someplace.

Another view of the gnome home.

Closeup of room and entry.

Another gnome home.

Breakwater walkway has recently been completed for enjoyable walks. 

We reached the edge of Vancouver Island, near where the cruise ships come in, and then returned via Pilot Street, passing more curbside entertainment.

Another interpretation of a fairy cottage.

These flowers are called a name related to eggs, but now I've
forgotten it... sunny side up?

Brilliant lilies!!

Thistle or artichoke? Or just that
awful stinging nettle BC size?

Peach colored rose has delicate
scent... would like to find it for
my own garden.

Interesting gate...

Last of the R2AK rowers returning to Victoria?

There was plenty of gentle joking about our upcoming presidential race and warnings that if we wanted to seek asylum after November it was probably going to be causing Canada to sink into the Baltic Sea with all the folks running over the borders.

I always meet new folks and this was no exception.

The food was delicious, served as a picnic overlooking the Fisherman's Wharf area. There was a broccoli salad with raisins and grapes that was so refreshing and crisp!

3 p.m. ferry took us back to Port Angeles, WA. It was warm
until we cleared the harbor and then the gale force winds
drove most of us back inside until arrival.

My personal walking goal was the 5K, but with walking to the ferry in Port Angeles, walking around and then off the ferry in B.C. to the park, then a delightful walk past Tudor Printing (again) in the Jamestown area, I reached 16,576 steps or about 8 miles!!

I was feeling just a little worn out by the time I got home, but a hot bath and some post-exercise vitamins restored everything to normal on the morning after... such a wonderful memory!

Approaching Port Angeles; see, there's no one on deck!

Sandy and the Chocolate Factory

Apologies to Willy Wonka... but I have the very best Son In Law ever! Knowing my love for chocolate, he decided to make an appointment for a tour of the Theo Chocolate Factory here in Seattle and to go with me... that's sweet, isn't it?

As you will see on their website, their mission statement is "Proud to be the only Organic, Fair Trade, Fair for Life certified Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Factory in North America." (Like many public relations and mission statements, this is their statement, and I do not know if it is completely factual. There are lots and lots of chocolatiers in this area and in North America... can they really be the ONLY one?)

Isn't it amazing that there are people all around the world working together for the good of all concerned, and mostly what we hear about is those who aren't? Like the naughty children who get attention while the well-behaved ones seem to disappear into the background...

Last week for blueberries, but not beer...

But due to a variety of things, we decided to cancel it until my next trip out here. I have now put it on the Must-Do things when you visit Seattle. In looking at their website I learned so much about chocolate and growing the cacao and the importance of keeping your chocolate properly cooled - it's definitely not like those chocolate things you pick up in a rush which I will not dignify by naming. That would be like trying to compare a well-aged wine to something inside a paper bag.

The qualities of fine chocolate are just like those of fine wine... and like wine, when you are going to taste chocolates, there are some things to do first:
1) Make sure you have eaten something ahead of time. If you are taste-testing chocolates and you are hungry, you will gobble it and miss the fine nuances that going slowly will allow.
2) Not a good idea to have complicated foods beforehand... garlic and onion linger to affect the taste of chocolate. (I was such an uneducated heathen before that I thought that is why you ate the chocolate - to get rid of the onion after-taste!)
3) Have a pitcher of room temperature water and a plain cracker (saltines without the salt, for example) nearby to wash out your mouth between tastes. (Wonderful! As this suggests, you are going to have lots of different kinds of chocolate to test and taste... sounds like a really fun way to have a party, doesn't it?)

Did you know that chocolate can have a temper? (I have a temper tantrum when I cannot get good chocolate - LOL!) "Temper" (from the Theo website) refers to the crystalline structure the cocoa butter molecules form in the chocolate when cooling from a melted state (during production) to a solid form. The cocoa butter takes on a different structure based on the temperature at which it’s cooled, resulting in a chocolate that is soft, greasy and spotted (at the wrong cooling temp) or hard with a nice shiny, even surface (at the right cooling temp)." 

The proper temperature at which to eat chocolate is at 'room' temperature - about 75 degrees F; not pulled out of a bag from a hot car, or grabbed from the refrigerator, or horrors-of-horrors, eating the one that sat in your rucksack for three weeks being heated and cooled depending on where you were.

Like tasting wine, tasting chocolate requires some patience, some time, and plenty of chocolate options. I honestly think this tour helped to make me more of a chocolate connoisseur and further justifies my philosophy that good chocolate is good for me/you. The antioxidants and the theobromine, a mild stimulant similar to caffeine, are reportedly beneficial. But this is only in chocolate with careful processing because if it is overworked, all those benefits disappear. But Theo Chocolates take it another step by saying that eating and buying their products improve things worldwide... now that is a great reason to eat their chocolate!

Mt. Rainier in August on a particularly clear day...

All this information was gained from the website and you can read the details there. They also have some awesome recipes using chocolate. While I missed out on the chance to be a chocolate taster, my waistline is the better for it and hopefully on my next visit I will have had plenty of sleep and can fully appreciate the tour.

NOTE: There are over 50 chocolatiers in the Seattle area... this is only one of them, so if you are coming this way, perhaps you will want to take the Pike Market Chocolate Lover's tour as well so you can sample other decadent, delicious and dreamy possibilities. You can see why I love this area, can't you?

Swimming Across America in WA #2

This will be the second year for Swim Across America in Seattle on Lake Washington. It takes place on Saturday, September 11 and here is the link for all the information about the long distance swimming event, which gets under way VERY early in the morning... good place to see the sunrise!

http://www.swimacrossamerica.org

I was a volunteer last year and have offered again for this year but have not heard back as yet. Whether or not I am doing that, I will certainly be there to support the swimmers.

The upside-down triangles are prayer flags which are filled out by anyone who wants to remember someone who has been affected by cancer or by family members paying tribute to the swimmers or for groups to recognize someone. Last year I honored the late competitive motorcycle rider, Andre, who wrote the blog "http://motocancer.blogspot.com/" He was afflicted with Multiple Myeloma.

My dream is to not have to put anyone's name up there for this disease or any other kind of cancer.

As you can see, the weather was ideal for this kind of an event. I will be intending for a repeat version for this year as I cannot imagine how much harder it might be to complete such a course in the rain or other inclement weather.

As the swimmers complete their two miles, there is a group of volunteers ready and waiting to help them out of the water, give them refreshments and a towel. When it is all over and done, the donations received will be going to the local Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, as it did last year.

HOPE WE WILL HAVE LOTS OF SUPPORTERS!!!

Boats!

And more boats... we went to the Shilshoal Marina, north of Seattle, for a boat show today. I have a MM friend who loves being around boats and water, at least as much I do, I've surmised. So I took some pictures with him in mind, because he has plenty of other things on his... These are for you, B...

It was so hot... 103 degrees in the sun! I kept finding a space of shade and

standing in it while I waited for Jey-hu to go in and inspect all the large, multi-thousand dollar boats. He enjoyed himself and I was happy to see him wandering and dreaming. I went aboard a couple of them, but I am such a realist that I know it is unlikely I will ever own a boat again and am happy to simply sit on a dock and watch them bobbing about.

If you look closely at the stern of the powerboat in the center of the photo, the name is "Obsession," and well defines how I rationally see these items today.

And yet, like an addict, I cannot stay away. I am drawn to them like a fly to the spider's web, all the time thinking, "I can fly away anytime I want." But my hands feel the tension in the lines tying them to the dock, my body flexes as I get on board in the same old smooth and easy way it once knew as a daily activity, and the smells assail me with memories of "when I was a liveaboard," and I wonder if I really will ever be able to NOT dream about another one... a smaller one...

Friday so soon?

It seems unsettling that Friday has appeared so soon - what happened to the other four days? In reviewing my week, I can lay claim to being too busy to even grab my camera - and no car travel except to run to the post office.

Here's a shot I took earlier in the month, driving around the little Lake Stevens that used to be a resort town and is now resorting to being a full-time village 45 minutes from Seattle. I noticed with the more moderate temperatures that we have suddenly shifted into pre-fall. The mornings are cooler, it seems to take longer for the sun to burn through the cloud layer, and the cherries have gone past their prime. However, the raccoons (nine of them!!!) all showed up for a fruit dessert last night. Couldn't get the camera in time to shoot them.

At the beginning of July (see first photo up on the left) I had just finished planting my "red-white-blue" theme in the entry garden, to cover up the soil that was just sitting there. This shot proves to me that it was worth it, because the garden has really thrived (see photo on right) and now I have such a lovely floral greeting every time I come and go through the front door! This was a treat for me because the gardening in the NW is quite different from what I was doing in Florida. The second photo, taken this morning, shows that there has been some growing going on after all!

Now the plans are for us to head back to Lake City, Florida (about an hour west of Jacksonville right off I-10) in a couple of weeks - so stay tuned, dear readers, for another road adventure as we drive back across the U.S. in my other vehicle. And I will take you on a tour of Florida while we are there as Jey-hu has missed that state in his previous jaunts.

I found a picture on another camera that I had missed entering into my SeaFair shots... this is not the ideal boating costume, in my humble opinion, but this young lady certainly carries it off with aplomb. I wish I'd had a chance to talk to her and especially after the event, to discover what she thought about it as I gathered from her comments prior to getting into a 'tender' to take her to her destination that this experience was all very new for her.