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 moreLife: Week 7
Somehow, miraculously, we had a second weekend of February sunshine this year! Usually in the PNW, especially in the winter, all our sunshine is dispersed throughout the week, with little left over for the weekend. This time the sunshine arrived just in time for our February Alpine Trails Book Club meeting! The day started off stormy, and my drive into Seattle for our morning with The Falconer was a little hectic. Over the course of several hours, we had the opportunity to meet several of John's bird, and even take his birds onto the glove ourselves. Even with a heavy leather glove for protection, I was initially intimidated by the idea of handling the huge predatory birds, but it was incredible to experience the birds from up close. While we sat inside, the stormy weather calmed and the sun broke through the clouds. After our morning with the birds, we had a quiet, sunny hike through Seward Park, sharing thoughts on the book we'd read and swapping favorite hikes as we walked. With sunshine on Sunday as well, after a lazy morning at home, Andy and I decided on a short hike through the Paradise Valley Conservation Area before heading to my parents for our weekly family dinner.
Read moreLife: Week 6
A sunny weekend in February is a rare and marvelous thing. After a week of grey skies and cold, damp weather Andy and I absolutely had to get outside to make the most of the glorious weather! We spent Saturday catching up on all the boring errands adult life entails, but Sunday morning, we headed out for some hiking. Rather than brave the crowds that would surely be swarming every snowshoeing route in the mountains, we decided to hike the nearby Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. Our strategy worked surprisingly well, and we saw only a handful of other hikers as we followed a lovely trail through sunny, frozen forest. The hilight of the day for me was finding hair ice in multiple places along the trail. After reading about hair ice in a WTA article late last year, I'd been on the hunt for this strange and uncommon phenomenon. Now that I know this is a good trail for spotting hair ice, I'll definitely be returning for more cold weather hikes in the future!
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