Woah! The last week and a half hit me hard. Between work suddenly getting overwhelmingly busy and catching a nasty cold that left me feeling perpetually exhausted, I was struggling. I'm finally feeling better, but needless to say, I've got some catching up to do around here. You can expect to see a few new posts from me in the next couple days!
Read moreLife: Week 11
Every year in early spring, I find myself surprised by the return of birds, and the constant music of their chirps, squawks, and trills, especially on rainy mornings. Along with unpredictable weather and the scent of early blooms in the air, it's one of the sings of spring that I've come to enjoy the most. After not hiking for several weeks in a row, I was determined that Andy and I would manage to fit in a hike this weekend. With unstable snow conditions in the mountains, I decided on a nearby lower elevation trail. Built in 2017, the trail to Heybrook Ridge is still pretty new, and this was our first visit. On a misty Sunday morning, we were one of only three cars parked at the trailhead, and we only passed a handful of people on our short hike. After an easy climb up to the ridge, we even had the viewpoint to ourselves! Even if the tops of the surrounding peaks were obscured by a blanket of grey clouds, this was level of solitude on such an easily accessible trail was astonishing. I'm sure this trail would be packed on a sunnier day, but this is definitely a hike I'll want to revisit in the future!
Read moreLife: Week 10
Work has already started to get hectic, an ominous sign for the busy spring season to come, and as the days grow longer I've been desperately looking forward to the arrival of Daylight Savings Time, when there will be enough daylight for post-work walks in the evening. After several frosty days during the week, we had a blissfully warm and sunny weekend. The timing couldn't have been better, since Andy and I had plans to spend the weekend on Whidbey Island. Since the tides were crazy high during the day, we didn't spend as much time as we typically do walking the rocky beach. Instead we opted for a lazy Saturday, leaving the cabin only for donuts at a new bakery that seems to have opened solely to satisfy my random craving for fried dough, followed by beer and lunch at a local pub. The rest of the day was spent soaking up the sunshine with a glass of rose and the latest issue of the Washington Trails magazine. It was the perfect little slice of almost-summer!
Read moreLife: Week 9
These days it's feeling less like winter, but not quite like spring. One bit of excitement for me over the week was finding fresh looking, locally grown (probably in a greenhouse, but still) rhubarb at the grocery store. I immediately bought a pile to bake into my all-time favorite pie. Even if it's not yet spring outside, strawberry rhubarb pie makes the change in seasons feel a little closer. After a lazy Saturday mostly spent baking the aforementioned pie, Andy and I got an early start Sunday, headed for Vashon Island to prune the apple trees. The morning was mostly cold and overcast, with the occasional patch of blue sky and from the ferry, we were treated to incredible views of the Olympics along the horizon. As we worked the morning away pruning the apple trees, we noticed the occasional raindrop. Shortly after lunch, the light rain turned to a downpour, followed by a brief hailstorm. Luckily, we'd completed our pruning by then, and just had some final cleanup to finish in the storm. By the time we'd reached the ferry terminal to head back to the mainland, we could once again see small patches of blue sky. Maybe spring is closer than it seems...
Read moreLife: Week 8
February has felt deceptively spring-loaded this year, so naturally for the last week for the month winter reasserted itself. Over the course of the week it snowed 3, maybe 4 times. Obviously I lost count. Each time it snowed just enough to mask everything in a sparkling dusting of white, but by late afternoon any trace of the snow had melted away. During the week, I managed to make it out for a few walks around the neighborhood and along the Powerline Trail to enjoy the temporary winter as it melted.
Read more