Musings

In the wee hours we heard serious wind; I was glad I was cozy indoors. When we ventured out on the road we found downed trees and many branches and so on. See the organic matter in our lane?

Farther along our trail, we found a rooftop water tower structure that lacked its tank. Absence is okay.

We picked a nearby place to eat, and whatta view! We watched the street become dark.

Best beet salad ever. All beets, no foliage.

And, as a timely capper, we reached the streetcar enclosure and started to figure out when the trolley would arrive, and presto the rain began. Lucky us, our stop was a mere 100 feet from the door to our hotel.

And now we are ensconced, warm and safe. Happy. Happy.

😀

Posted at 10:31 PM | Comments Off on Shine and rain

When I walked this morning, I caught a good glimpse of the mountains, all lined up on the skyline beneath the clouds.

I also found a pair of kissing bugs. Yellow ones.

Posted at 10:33 PM | Comments Off on Out comma about

Sometimes it’s fun to start with a tightly cropped view of a world you’re momentarily visiting…

…then zoom out a bit…

…and then a lot. In the lower left (at Dock 10, Salmon Bay) in this marina just upstream of the locks we visited the other day, is the good ship Loki, presenting the starboard side view in the shot above, and only its anchor chain/rope in the first photo…. Thank you, Droney and the Guru, for the third shot….

Posted at 8:09 PM | Comments Off on Harbor views

We always enjoy our visit to the locks in the Ballard neighborhood, NW Seattle. The official name of this waterway is Salmon Bay; it’s the seaward link for the waters of Lake Washington, which flow into the Shilshole (say: shill-shoal) Bay of Puget Sound. The passage is also called the Lake Washington Ship Canal. When they’re migrating upriver, visitors can see salmon jumping in the fish ladder; not today.

However, we did visit these statues, which mimic wave curls. They’re by Paul Sorey, and called “Salmon Waves” (2001).

This is the Salmon Bay Railroad Bridge across the Bay/Ship Canal. It’s a bascule bridge; it is due to be replaced with a vertical-lift bridge very soon, which means today was probably our last chance to see it….

Posted at 7:41 PM | 2 Comments »

This duo of Santa yard-decoration pigs is one holiday back…yet still perky and giggle-worthy.

Meanwhile, down at the beach, the Olympics were out again today, and so was the tide (when we visited).

Posted at 6:56 PM | Comments Off on Remnants

Another sunny day with glorious views of the Olympics…

…and busy shipping activity on Puget Sound, despite it being…

New Year’s Eve! Happy happy!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Happy eve!

After dawn, it was clear and lovely, and I found this droplet on a Pieris out front.

Later…surprise!…the ground fog blanketed us. Nice to walk in, though. Ghostly, one fellow we encountered while walking called it.

Posted at 7:13 PM | Comments Off on Yes: ghostly

We were rolling along in a fine version of open skies/open road…then…airborne white stuff that was instantly clingy. Not good given the high pass ahead of us. Sure enough: to cross the pass, vehicles must have “traction tires”—wha? Not us. What to do?

We checked the obvious alternate routes via internet info (especially highway department webpages)—same traction tires problem. So, we checked a less likely choice a bit farther away…and traction tires were recommended, not required, and the temp was a bit higher. Meaning snow, but not a frozen road surface. And, as you can see, a salt truck ahead of us. Safety first!

Then, we descended further, and rain. Rain! And more rain! Nonstop rain. Followed by a traffic jam, negotiated deftly by the Guru. Followed by safe arrival! In time for cocktails and dinner. Yay!

Posted at 11:58 PM | Comments Off on Success

Today the most frequent wildlife species we saw were bald eagles and magpies. Both have contrasting coloration. The eagles were all solos, except a pair circling each other (squabbling?).

I have no photos of the eagles, but one was sitting on a fencepost, several were sitting in trees, and one was flying right at me upslope from below. And not far away. Stunning. I’m guessing they’re congregating in the valleys for the winter…where we drove much of the day.

We saw many rimed trees…evergreens in the first shot, and cottonwoods next. Finally, we got into some sunshine—and our world got color!

But the clouds kept getting in the way…still, the juxtaposition of Black Angus and feeding troughs/bales and irrigation pipes all on snow is a nice contrast to the shapes of the trees on the slopes above.

The atmospheric obscurity adds to this sunset shot over the Clark Fork of the Columbia River—we have crossed the continental divide. “It’s all downhill from here,” as one sage noted in a somewhat similar situation.

Posted at 9:53 PM | Comments Off on Bald eagles!

We started out in sunshine, but we could see a cloud bank the way we were headed. This had the makings of a day of “Drive on, and watch the light and weather conditions change!” Yup. Eventually, we climbed into the clouds.

At some point the splat of the raindrops changed to lack homogeneity, indicating frozen elements, which soon transitioned into actual flakes of w____ stuff. But temps well above freezing—whew!

Another hour down the road: full sunshine again.

Followed by a colorful sunset etched with industrial and artistic elements.

Later, a modern “peaky” bridge…. Not much light for the camera to work with…yet excellent effect, ¿no?

Posted at 11:35 PM | Comments Off on Drive on