Red Barn Mornings

Since returning from the Palouse farm lands of eastern WA a few weeks ago, we have seen little sun over here on the west side of the Cascade mountain range. The few days that have begun with dancing light have become "red barn mornings" for me. The photo above, like some others in my collection of Palouse images are graced with red barns. Early morning light on red paint is so fun to encounter when rounding the bend. It jumps. And there are many, many bends in the Palouse. 

I had hoped to share more images of the Palouse with you today but errands, chores and pesky muscles took the lead. Yesterday was our annual educational beach walk at one of the local State Parks known as Kopachuck. It is a great low tide classroom location, filled with enough accessible critters to delight young and old. Marine Biologist Alan Rammer was in good form and our crowd appeared to number about seventy-five. 

There were many local activities going on this weekend including the Gig Harbor Garden Tour that draws a thousand or more folks. We were pleased with our beach walk turn out, and those attending were more than pleased with Alan's information. Everyone leaves with a far better understanding of who lives below the water line and how to gently and respectfully interact with them. Possibly the greatest sign of success is the extent that folks will go to, at Kopachuck Park, in order to reach the talk. 

It is a VERY steep hill that needs traversing to reach those rocky shores. My rigid walking today is testimony to what a few trips up and down that hill can do to someone in less than great shape. And yet... one woman made the slow journey down and up with the assistance of canes. Another made the experience possible for her physically challenged daughter. Pushing, pulling and traversing that hill and the large downed logs at shores edge, with her special stroller. Her daughters grin said it all. She had a GREAT time. Never discount the power of determination and love.

I have two big THANKS needing attention, but they will have to wait a bit to do them justice. For now I simply want to say thank you so very much to Kittie at The Block and Jack at Sage to Meadow for your kind awards. Kitty, this thanks is LONG overdue and I really appreciate you helping me find the message I missed. You have both honored me with your kind and thoughtful observations, support and amazing blogs. Congratulations Jack on a year of blogging! I can't wait to catch up with both of you next weekend. My seasonal demands are beginning to slow and rumor has it there is a "three days off" stretch on it's way. 

Until then.... Endeavor!

    

Extra Busy

The truth. What can I say about being so long gone from the blog other than that, the truth. I've been overwhelmed. A range of things lovely, wonderful and not, support the choice of the word overwhelmed. We have all been there in one way or another I'm sure. 

Still. That is no excuse for not getting online long enough to at least say I'm gone for a bit but... I will be back. No excuse and I apologize for it and thank you each (you know who you are) for checking in and caring. In my new job as with my previous job, May and June are extra busy on weekdays and weekends, so I suspect my attention to SeaMist and Sunsets will continue to be limited for awhile. 

A couple of the things that have taken place between my last post and now include a quick trip to California for a wonderful wedding, and a trip to Eastern, WA for a work related training. Following the training I took a day off and drove on to the area of WA farmland known as the Palouse. It is one of those places that makes my camera bag twitch when it's name is spoken. My hope had always been Spring or Fall for the journey. I'm so happy the Spring timing worked out.

Someone with time for setting up a tripod and who uses a more elaborate camera would have done a bang up job. The area was rich with shades of spring green, big sky, magic clouds and evidence of hard field work around every turn. 

Do Google Palouse so you can see some of the beautiful photos the experts have taken of the area. Like everywhere else, first light and last are magical times to capture images. On the Palouse that is especially true since it is a vast sea of hills. I really don't remember the last time my hand reached for my heart so often in reaction to beauty. Many of those images are locked in my head rather than in the camera as there was no place to stop. 

I haven't even had a chance to look at most of the photos yet.  But, I know this without looking; when time and schedules allow, there is much more ground to be covered in South Eastern WA and photos to be taken. Hugs to each of you!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Be sure and search the tall grass 

for those colorful surprises...

Rumor has it, the fellow who hides those special eggs 

did such a good job he's plumb tuckered!

The photos above were taken a) in a shop in Sequim, WA whose name has gone to that mystical short term memory loss spot for now (I'll add it when said memory has been retrieved) and b) a bronze sculpture in the downtown park in Sandpoint, ID. They have a terrific farmers market on Saturdays!

A Bicycle Built for Two

If memory serves, the handwritten note on the deeply yellowed newspaper photo read June, 1927. Need be, I will correct the number when I happen upon the paper again. The setting... Main street of a small farming community in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley of California, where a parade is underway.

Each time I look at this captured moment from long ago, I want to reach out and steady the riders. The position of the handle bars, peddlers and bike all take me back to my first spin on such a conveyance. Wobbly at best, but oh so fun. I do hope you've had that experience as well. 

Sometimes it seems we spend our lives dancing with the center of gravity, learning to trust and find balance as we go. Much like riding a bicycle built for two.

These riders have my admiration. In that part of the country in June, it was and is HOT. By the convention of the day they were dressed in heavy hose, fitted dresses and probably struggling between needed concentration and bursts of laughter, as they made their way along the parade route. Rather daring for two women in 1927. That is how I like to remember my grandmother (Nana), the lead rider, as daring convention. And she did, in many ways. 

Born in Texas in 1885, she later made the move to California with her husband, by train in 1913. They worked side-by-side as they saved to open their first of a small chain of stores. Before they could realize that dream World War One arrived (1918) taking my grandfather (Pappy) to Washington for Army training. Rather than staying at home, Nana followed him to be near by, as he went through basic training at Fort Lewis. She lived in a boarding house and recalled it in detail when I later moved to Washington. I can still hear her voice on the phone..."Now Chrissie, just catch the trolley to 15th, go up the hill four blocks and the house will be on your left. I wonder if the owner is still there? Do be careful, I had a man follow me from the trolley stop once, right up to the house. Tell Mrs. .... I said hello if you see her." Nana was one hundred years of age at the time of the conversation. That trolley? It lives in photos at the historical museum.

During the war she returned to Texas to be near her parents and sisters. Following the war, after spending time in France and Germany, Pappy returned to Texas where once again he and his wife boarded the train for California in search of their dreams. Those dreams were realized with determination, good business sense, hard work and humor. When their children reached high school age, off Nana and the kids went to Detroit to pick up a car and drive it home. She decided it made no sense to go that far without going all the way, so on they drove covering the East coast top to bottom. The photo of them smiling from atop the Empire State Building says it all. Fine choice, no fear.

She loved to travel and would have done more had Pappy enjoyed it. In the 50's she visited Mexico, Hawaii and other places, always returning with fun tales. I think Nana found her strongest center of gravity when she traveled. While adventuring. When breaking with convention. Making the most of a lifetime that took her from horseback to jet. For one hundred and two years she stayed fully engaged in life. That was the true adventure. Miss you Nana.

Floating: That Between Place

Following a schedule heavy week, I could blend right in with these drifty cattle today. This small herd, photographed last summer in Sequim, WA, came to mind last night as I was drifting away, floating through past springs and summers. My last thought was of the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA where a summer visit guaranteed time in the sand in that "between place". Not asleep, not alert...but just right. 

In the distance, faint blended sounds of ocean and activity. Waves, laughter, roller coaster screaming, merry-go round organ music, vendors selling their goods, and the sun. I swear, even the sun had its own sound on days like that. And all along the beach, sun bathers with magical transistor radios were tuned to things like the Drifters newest hit... 

Under the Boardwalk

I'll return to the Silverdale, WA board walk (above) this spring and summer, to see how the seasonal colors vary from this winter version. Don't look for sun bathers on sandy shores here. However, it is still water with little noise to interrupt a mind in that "between place".

Earth Day...Set it Aside

I'm headed to the foothills tomorrow for a meeting. Though it won't be held in the area you see here, Paradise in the Cascade mountain range, this isn't too far afield. This committed group of folks concentrate on keeping their dear Nisqually watershed healthy for future generations. It is a quest being undertaken in places around the world.

I choose to believe we can do that; save our planet from our own misuse. This globed gift we dwell on deserves our attention, love and respect. Hug a tree if you will, but protecting and planting them will get us closer to our goal. Earth day is not far off, April 22nd. Why not set it aside. Clean something, plant something, save something! You will make a difference, truly.

Time: At Peace with it's Flow

Time, always more in control of me than the reverse. 

There are periods when I am at peace with time's flow. I think of them as ocean days; some filled with blustering salted winds, others with calm shore lapping waves. Each providing the version of energy necessary to meet the days needs. Then there are other periods where no manner of internal perspective shift gives them balance. Being a soul whose hands dampen at the thought of heights, those days feel like my imagined version of standing on the glass floored platform that juts from the rim of the Grand Canyon; headed for a long fast fall...no parachute, no jet pack. 

The older I become, the more ocean days I'm gifted. That is the first grace of age I think. Being gifted what we need when we need it most. Deeper wells of patience. Patience and presence of mind. Enough to find a handhold during an unplanned free fall, or at least take in the view on the way down. The second grace? Understanding those free falls build energy as well. 

The trick it seems is not trying to control time. But you knew that didn't you?

Below is a website page from a couple of years ago, 

found this morning in my archives. 

If you click on it, a larger version is available for reading.