in which I jump out of a perfectly good airplane

I celebrated my birthday (just a little late this year) by going skydiving!  I've never been before, though I'd been wanting to for years and years.  I did a tandem jump from 13,500 feet, with about 60 seconds of free fall before my instructor deployed the parachute.
Bill at Skydive Snohomish was my instructor, and he was great.  Thanks, Bill!!  It was such a thrill, I'm looking forward to going again already!

hike: glacier mountain

Finn and I set off for Granite Mountain Sunday morning with four liters of water for the two of us, way more lunch than I could eat (I'm usually ravenous when I hike, but not this time), and not a speck of extra clothing (an oversight on my part, but I was way too hot to care). And, sans camera. But whatever, we all know what Mt Rainier looks like on a spectacular cloud-free summer day, right?

Eight miles round trip. Every single step out was uphill, and every single step back was down. Certainly an exercise in heel blistering and toe bashing. Ow. But great. Really great, actually. The top half of the trail is almost entirely exposed, sparse trees creating little oases along the way. On the way back down, Finn would plop his butt on the trail in these shade oases and refuse to move for several minutes. Once we were back into the forested lower portion of the trail, he trotted right along.

I am nearly as sore as I was after Mt St Helens last summer (ok, probably not even close, but it is reminiscent). Wait a minute... that too was eight miles... up... back.... view of mt rainier.... same old, same old....

hike: ira springs trail to mason lake

The goal of my second hike of the season was origininally Bandera Mountain, but I changed course to Mason Lake as I reached the trail junction. The Snoqualmie Pass area was socked in with clouds, so I opted for a scenic lake, rather than a view of the clouds. I estimate 8-9 miles total, as I took the "Road Closed" sign too seriously and parked on the forest road about a mile shy of the trailhead (the way between the sign and the trailhead was completely passable, and about 40 cars were in the parking lot when I got back ot the trailhead... oh well. Four and a half hours, round trip. A lovely hike, a very well maintained trail -- you'd have to work really hard to get lost on this trip.

view from the trail looking out over Snoqualmie Pass

dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis) dotted the trail edges, along with bear grass, indian paintbrush and lupines.

mason lake, from its outlet, where the trail approaches the lake

hike: anderson butte

My first hike of the year was to Anderson Butte, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. I was aiming for Watson Lakes, but for a multitude of little reasons, I turned back early, around what I think was the foot of Anderson Butte. Most of the hike was on a snow field, so the trail was sort of a decomposed remnant of a snowmobile trail, getting thinner and weaker as we went. The snow was rapidly melting -- I could hear the snowmelt rushing along the streambed that was under our feet at some points, which made me nervous -- both for myself and for Finn -- if one of us had crashed through the snow, serious trouble could be had, or at the very least, some real discomfort for the return trip. I also got an embarassingly late start, and I wasn't prepared for hiking in the dark. So I called it a day before all the little stresses turned into a big stress and ruined the hike.

It certainly was beautiful though!


aforementioned snowmelt underfoot





finn tries his hand (paw) at forest management






that's Mount Baker there, hiding behind the clouds in the distance

skagit river eagles

I dragged Finn along to the Skagit River today (say SKAJ-it) to see the bald eagles that take up residence there in December-February for the annual salmon feast. According to the Eagle Watchers docents on hand with info and spotting scopes, the high count for this season was on 30DEC09: 255 eagles. I saw nine. I'm sure there were many more there to be seen, but as Finn hasn't yet learned how to drive, I had to keep my eyes on the road, where there weren't any eagles. We went for a rainy walk at Rockport State Park, which we had entirely to ourselves. The outing certainly scratched an itch I had for a hike, and I saw something new, which is an item I need to add to my list of resolutions.


The Skagit, with two eagles (that I know of) in this photo


Just the scenery

alpaca shearing

I was generously invited to the annual alpaca shearing event at Vashon Island Alpaca, which took place yesterday. I helped with fleece gathering and bagging, as well as animal handling.




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The shearing itself is done by a three-man team of shearers: one man using the clippers, while the other two held the animal. Kind of like different cuts of beef, there are different parts of the fleece: "one" is the back, "two" is the neck and the upper parts of the legs, and "three" is the belly, the topknot and lower parts of the legs, if it's not very dirty. We who collected the fleece and bag it (one large plastic bag for each type) would scamper around the feet of the shearing team, pulling shorn fleece off and picking locks of it up off the floor, working as quickly as possible to keep it tidy, out from underfoot, and organized into the three types.


Jake, a farm regular, and I made a good fleece collecting team




most of the animals stood throughout the shearing, but not all of them.


Knitters: you know that baby alpaca yarn we all oooh and aaahh over? This is it.... baby.

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After several rounds of that job, I helped fix some jagged wires in a fence of the holding pen, and then I helped prepare the animals for shearing. Each animal was identified by serial number and name, then rounded up by one person (basically by grabbing their head and neck--I let the pros do this bit), and then holding them--this is where I came in--for a blowdown with a high-powered hairdryer, and some fleece-picking, if necessary. And yes, I jumped right in when asked to pick twigs, lichen bits and.... other bits... out of the critters' fleece.


a little alpaca ass-grabin'


a good mix of befores and afters, for reference

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I tell you though, there is just no end to how funny these guys look after they've been shorn....


this guy insisted that they leave his sideburns


...and they sure can bend!

I had an incredibly good time, and I sincerely hope I can come back and do it again next year.

Thanks to Bill and Lee for having me, to Nathan and Harlan for allowing me to help, and to Cohni and Josh, for inviting me, and for taking pictures!

first hike of 2009

Finn and I hiked to Lake 22 (near Mount Pilchuck) today. We arrived early and were the first ones on the trail, which was lovely. The first two-thirds of the 2.7 mile hike in were snow free (some mud), and last third as well as the entirety of the lake, was still very much snowed in. I let Finn romp off-leash in the snow (both for his enjoyment and for our safety -- I needed all of the balance I could get on the slippery, actively melting snow).

from the trail

nearly to the lake (where's Finn?)

panoramic of Lake 22, with one of the cirques that makes up the backside of Mount Pilchuck.

springing

These pics are mostly for Eric's benefit -- so he can see what's going on in the garden, as the crocuses have come and gone, the daffodils are waning, and the tulips are beginning to show up....


I love these split-corona daffodils, but I don't know what this variety is called. They have a lovely smell, unlike most daffodils, and they remind me of fried eggs (apparently I have a thing for fried egg flowers, because I just brought one of these home for the garden, and I adore the tiny little daisies that pop up in lawns around this time of year). If you know the name of these daffodils, please leave me a comment and let me know!


a different specimen, elegantly posed against the chimney.

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In the back yard, we have:

Grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum)

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

the dogwood (Cornus sp.) patch


the large Japanese maple

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On to the veggies....

The camera refused to focus on something so skinny, but that there is an asparagus spear! It's about 12 inches tall, and did I mention that it's skinny? I'm on the lookout for more spears, but so far as I can tell, there's only one other, and it's about 1 inch tall.

We had another volunteer violet in the veggie space again, so I transplanted it to a pot where it will thrive until it gets hot, and then it will fry.

All three blueberry bushes are getting ready for the bees....

and the apple tree is finally joining the party.

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Out the gate and around the corner to the front yard....

The front yard Dicentra, behind our new vine maple (Acer circinatum). This "heart" came with the house, and has faithfully bloomed spectacularly for the last three years. For the first two years, we had to crawl between the Rhododendron you can see in the background and the camelia that was where the maple is now to see it, but it was there, blooming up a storm. It does even better now that it's not so cramped.

Eric, do you remember the name of this guy? I don't, except that I think it has "clark" somewhere in it. And look! It has a baby off to the right. I had to lift another plant off of it to see it -- we may have to do something about that.

Witch hazel (Hamamelis sp.)

More Muscari.

The lilacs are coming, the lilacs are coming!

spring cleaning

treetops at carkeek park, seattle

I am sometimes asked by my California-based friends and family if the dreary weather of the Pacific Northwest depresses me. I went to college in extreme northern California, where it was also often foggy and wet, and I've lived in Portland since then. I remember the same feelings when I lived in those places as well: I certainly don't feel depressed, or even down about the weather (I've always quite liked the rain), but man, if that first warm, sunny day of spring isn't the best thing ever, then I don't know what is.

evidence of sunlight

I had an action packed weekend this weekend: birdwatching early on Saturday (we didn't spy what we were looking for, but we saw some other neat critters -- including a squirrel expelling itself rather comically from a trash can), then therapy dog class, three hours in the garden and then I trotted off to knitting group in sandals. Today I went to yoga, and in a fit of spring cleaning, cleaned the garage and de-grimed the tops of the kitchen cabinets (ew). Took my bike out of hibernation and in for a tune-up, then ran some errands with the car windows rolled all the way down and the stereo (slightly) up.

In finished project news, I finally got the last of the seed beads put on the felted bowl....

finished measurements: 10 inches in diameter, 5 inches tall, Alpine worsted weight wool, in a charcoal grey and pale blue, seed bead embellishments.

snow daze

Some photos from my increasingly snowy neighborhood....

Seattle skyline from Maple Leaf Reservoir

NE 15th Ave, looking north


Finn has taken up a little "donkey kick" to get through the crusty snow

I know the ground is down here somewhere....


my backyard, this morning

Houses across the street -- I love the subtle color pallette here...

Icicles on the car (photo taken yesterday -- you can tell because you can see the ice [that is now under six inches of snow] on the ground).

urban craft uprising!

I've just come home from volunteering with the Urban Craft Uprising Streat Team -- a fantastically good time and kick-ass craft show. Seriously, I've never been to a better craft show. I am so glad I saw the call for volunteers -- I'll be sure to do it next year too, if I can. I hung banners (thanks to Troop 253 for those knot skills -- I had everyone in awe!), I counted folks coming in the door, I directed traffic, I handed out swag bags (greatest job ever -- there were people lined up for over two hours waiting for these bags of goodies, so imagine how thankful they were once they got them!), I sat with authors while they signed their books, I sold UCU merchandise, I "gophered" for the vendors, I helped them bring their wares and displays into the space (lots of exercise there), and I distributed raffle tickets. Reminiscing makes my feet sore all over again.

I had to practice some serious self-restraint too (saving for our trip to Steamboat Springs in January), there were some of my favorites: Texture, glamscience,and Revival Ink (my favorite t-shirt is one of hers). Some of my new favorites are Amphora Candles, Felted Style, Made by Moxie, Rivkasmom, Sam Trout, Semilla Designs, and the famed Yarnia, whose yarns I just couldn't stop touching. Speaking of which, I've often heard the phrase "delicious" and "yummy" used to describe yarn, but I have to admit, I never really understood that sentiment until today, when I saw Spincycle Yarns for the first time (I do believe this will have pavlovian implications for me in the future).

But the two vendors/artists I really haven't been able to get out of my head have been ECOTONES, who needle felts wool and silks together to make the most amazing neck warmers, chokers, wrist cuffs and other beautiful -- nay, yummy -- pieces. Naturally, they don't have a website (gah!), so I just may have to go back tomorrow to pay them a visit. And Fernworks Fine Art, whose jewelry is just stunning.

Oh my, it was a great day.

getting it overwith already

Yesterday, Eric packed a small truck of essentials, and early this morning, he started south, on his journey to San Diego and a new, promising job. He's excited about the job, and I've been very supportive (I think sometimes he wished I wouldn't be, so he could use me as a reason not to go). We'll see each other as often as we can, but for now, while tears are frequent, I am determined not to wallow around the house feeling sorry for myself.

Ergo, my to do list for today:

Farmer's market to get ingredients for thanksgiving dinner (potatoes, mostly)
haircut (I had an appointment yesterday, but completely spaced it)
IKEA & REI
plant crocus, snowdrop and narcissus bulbs
walk Finn (it's a lovely crisp autumn morning)
laundry and general house cleaning

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Before he left (as in, at about 11pm last night), Eric finished our new bed....

The details: solid oak head and foot boards, and side rails. Queen size bed, pine slats. As yet unstained, but in the interest of using it (and getting it out of the garage), we assembled it last night and will stain it later.