Got my goat on Ptarmigan Ridge

Oh yeah! See those fluffy things that look like clumps on that snow field (and above)? Well, if you enlarge that picture, you will see that they are bonafide MOUNTAIN GOATS! Although my Senior Trailblazers group takes binoculars every week, on this week's hike on Ptarmigan Ridge we were able to see four of them. And they are my first!! So, I'm calling this hike the one where I got my goat(s).

Twelve Seniors Trailblazers set out from the Senior Center on a beautiful day, although we were in heavy fog until somewhere around 10:00am. Once the sun came out in earnest, we saw nary a cloud anywhere, all day long. Temperature was perfect as we headed up to Artist Point to start our hike to Ptarmigan Ridge.

We had a few scary snow fields to cross, and since everyone was very careful and we helped each other, we were successful in navigating the crossings. Here you see Dan heading back across the snow to help Amy, since it was very steep and you just didn't want to fall. That said, though, our views on Ptarmigan Ridge were nothing short of spectacular.

As we were getting ready to stop for lunch, you can see the glorious Shuksan Mountain lighting up the landscape. We also had marvelous views of Mt. Baker almost the whole hike. Last year when we headed up this trail, it was cold, blowing so hard the rain was hitting us sideways, and there was no view. This hike today was the exact opposite: sunny, warm, light breeze, and absolutely breathtaking views.

The fall colors were enough to take your breath away all by themselves, and I thought this picture also shows you, who were unfortunate not be out there with us today, the amount of snow still left over from last year. In another week or two, it is possible that all of this will be covered with fresh snow, and we will be so happy that we were able to be there today. The parking lot at Artist Point was so full of cars it looked like a summer weekend, not a Thursday on the last day of September!

Here's Peggy finishing the last of her water at the end of the day, with the parking lot in sight. That signage tells you that she is standing at the junction of two trailheads, and we were all a little reluctant to head back down to sea level, after having spent the day here, hiking eight or so miles in the brilliant sunshine at the end of September. It was just a wonderful day.
:-)

Banana Cream PIE

I love PIE! I got this recipe from my sister in law and it is wonderful!

Ingredients:

2 large boxes(5.1 oz.) vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

Whisk this together

Then add:

2 cups cour cream

1 large container whip cream

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix all together. Then cut up bananas and line bottom of pie shell. Divide the cream mixture into 3 pie shells. Refridgerate them for 1 to 2 hours.

*TIP: I didn't have any graham cracker pie shells so I had to make sugardoodle cookies and blend them up with some butter to make the crust. It was pretty tasty !

One good tern deserves another

This summer Bellingham was inundated with Caspian Terns, the largest species of tern (link takes you to the Wikipedia site about them). Since I have become a birder myself, I joined the Whatcom County birders listserv a while back and regularly receive emails of sightings people have of various birds. The Caspian Terns that came to Bellingham this year are far in excess of the 2009 numbers, partly because of the collapse of their breeding grounds at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge near Sequim. Bald eagles and coyotes had been decimating the colony there, so the terns abandoned the site.

Joe Meche is President of the North Cascades Audubon Society and is a frequent correspondent to the listserv. The pictures I've got here are taken by him and shared through email. He put that first picture on to show that many of the birds have as many as three bands on them. He and 20 local volunteers captured, banded and released 252 Caspian Tern chicks on July 30. I have taken much of the information in this post from his newsletter article on Whatcom Watch Online: (To Everything Tern, Tern, Tern: Bellingham's Caspian Tern Summer). If you enlarge that picture, you can see the Bellingham bands (I think they are the cool orange ones). From that article linked above:

Some of the bands we read as we scanned the colony told us that birds were here from Dungeness and some from as far away as East Sand Island on the Columbia River, the Tri-cities area, southern Oregon, and the San Francisco Bay area. A real highlight for Ladd came when she spotted a bird that she had helped to band as a chick in early spring near Pasco! No one really knows how the word was spread among the birds about Bellingham, but they kept coming! One bird that was in the colony was banded on East Sand Island in 2001!

It is fascinating to speculate on how the birds let each other know where the happening place is to be found each summer. Before the summer was over, the colony here in Bellingham had become the second largest on the Pacific Coast. And this particular area they chose is scheduled for development by the City of Bellingham. Here's another Joe Meche picture:

These birds are ground nesters, and it's amazing to me that they are able to find their own chicks again after flying out to the bay for fish. Caspian Terns fly over the water and dive-bomb right into the water. The fish don't have a chance. I enjoyed learning all about these birds during the summer, and I just this week received a picture of a Caspian Tern giving a farewell salute (also taken by Joe).

This magnificent bird looks to me like he's saying goodbye as he migrates to South America or wherever it is they finally end up for the winter months. I love the aerodynamic look of him as he tucks his legs into his body and allows those mighty wings to do their thing. The birders are calling this the Bellingham Summer of the Caspian Terns, since at least 700-1,000 new chicks flew off to parts unknown, born and bred right here in my own home town. More than 250 banded youngsters will tell us how many of them will return here next summer.
:-)

{Smart} Music

Have you ever heard that listening to Mozart can make you smarter? I have, but I've always wondered if it was really true.

My sister's 6 yr/old little boy is a genius. At his young age, his IQ scores are off the charts, so much that the school doesn't even know what to do with him! My sister has recently been studying the "Mozart Effect", trying to figure out if that has anything to do with her son's extrordinary IQ. (When my nephew was a baby and toddler, my sis played Mozart in his room at bedtime and while he slept, for a calming effect.) I think my nephew was born with smart genes, but who knows... could Mozart also have something to do with it?

Here are a couple of website links that my sister recently sent me for free downloads of Mozart's music....
Musical Soup Mozart Downloads
Jerusalem Music Center

I now play Mozart in my home at bedtime, in the morning while getting ready for school, and during study/homework time. I call it "Smart Music", and my kids enjoy it's calming effect. I hope our "Smart Music" is stimulating their little brians. But whether or not it does that, it's calming, and my children are learing to appreciate the fine art and beauty of classical music.

What are ya gonna do?

Taken from Huffington Post

It's sure not easy explaining to little ones about the death of a loved family member. I was both amused and bemused when I read this letter from Heather to her grandfather, who had obviously passed away recently. It also gave me something to think about. As this post title says, "what are ya gonna do" to explain to Heather where Grampa Larry is right now?

Or maybe Heather knows something I don't know. It seems very interesting to me to consider that the younger we are, the more we might know about the way things really are. My own thoughts about death are tangled up with fear and loss, so in many ways I think I don't have a clue. I also wonder what kind of holidays they have up there. And I wonder if I would be proud to have a grave with my name on it!

Maybe it's wishful thinking to consider the answers to these questions, but I kind of like the feeling I get when I get into Heather's mindset. It's a whole lot more fun and optimistic than my usual feelings about those family and friends who have passed on. Who knows? Maybe Heather is an enlightened being who has come to Earth to give me answers. I hope you enjoy her letter as much as I have.
:-)

Hannegan, Take Two

The Senior Trailblazers were scheduled to drive 75 miles south to hike up Rainbow Ridge, but the weather was very iffy, so we decided instead to attempt another assault on Hannegan Pass. While I was away last month on the East Coast, the Trailblazers headed up toward the pass during another questionable weather event (Geezerhiker wrote about it here), who described a very wet hike, with actual soaking rain that caused them to turn around and head back down before reaching the pass.

Today's forecast was not much better, but at least we would not be driving 75 miles to hike in the rain, so off we went up the Mt. Baker Highway. Only nine hardy souls showed up for this one, definitely a much lower number than usual. But we hike, rain or shine, on Thursday. The picture above shows that although it did rain on and off, it was quite beautiful with the fall colors and the view of the valley. After a short while, though, we had to stop and don our rain gear.

Al, our leader (also known as GeezerHiker), broke out a new rain poncho that assured us nobody would ever mistake us for a bear (it's that season again). The skies spit on us now and then, but as we headed up the 2,000 feet of elevation again, incredibly the sun broke out to cheer our spirits.

As you can see, the flowers of the fireweed are long gone, but the husks were in the sunshine while the background was in shadow, and I thought this picture showed the beauty of our surroundings quite well. The trail was very wet, much more so than it was last year (when I thought I would expire from heat stroke), and those few sun breaks were all we had for the entire day.

On the trail, I asked those ahead of me to stop so I could get a picture. Dan, in the middle here, is famous for all the pictures I've taken of him over the summer. That's Al behind him and Peggy on the right. With only nine of us, we set a pretty good pace and actually made it all the way to the pass. This is the view we had:

In other words, nothing. No view. And the wind blew from this direction, making us, the wet and tired hikers, quite cold and uncomfortable in no time. Fortunately, everyone on the hike today had rain gear and cold weather gear. We threw on our warm clothes, including gloves, stamped and huffed for a very few minutes after eating our lunch before heading back down the trail. By the time we reached our cars, we were all warm and toasty from the exertion and ready to call it a day. Eight miles and then some, 2,000 feet up and down, and every kind of weather except warm and dry. In other words, a really good day with my buddies, average age of those on today's hike: around 70. Not bad. I've got a few years left, I'd say.
:-)

Mealtime Plan

With life being so crazy right now(and the kids schedule adjusted) I need an improved Mealtime Plan. I've been inspired by my friend Holly, who does a 2 week meal plan. She loves having everything ready to go for dinner for 2 weeks. It will be good to have the Plan posted on my frig(with a cute magnet-of course).

I found this great site and printed off the planning sheet. I picked one of my cookbooks like I did here to plan out of for the 2 week period.

I'm hoping that it being written down and in plain view will ease my dinner time worries.

{Chocolate} Banana Bread

I knew I had to make Banana Bread with all of these leftover bananas. But I wanted to try something new. . .


I found this great recipe to put these bananas to work for our tummies. We love chocolate-what better way to jazz up regular banana bread than to put chocolate in it. [Although I added more chocolate chips than the recipe calls for]

Hope you enjoy making & eating this super yummy bread!

Reduced bus service

I ride the bus almost every day and, partly because of the ongoing recession, our bus service here in Bellingham has been drastically cut back. My route to the gym every day, #10, has been eliminated. Another route has also been eliminated (the #9 to the hospital), and to cover an area that would have gone completely without service (mine), the routes for the #3 and #4 have been altered to include my section of town. Instead of catching the bus at the end of the apartment complex driveway, I have a five-minute walk about a block away.

I can deal with it just fine, except that before I was able to catch a bus every 30 minutes, and now it's only every hour, and Sunday service across the entire county has been eliminated.  I have a car and can drive if I have to, but what about those who were using the bus to get to work on Sundays, or church? They are now out of luck.

There was a public hearing about the cuts to bus service, and one way or the other the county was going to have to reduce service by about 14%, and cutting one full day of service was the best way to go, since fewer bus drivers and other staff would have to be laid off and everything can be closed for the day. Now they are looking at eliminating transfers, which means every time someone gets on the bus it will cost them $1, even if they are transferring to another route to get across town.

For me, as a senior, I only pay $35 for a quarterly pass that I can use for unlimited rides from the Canadian border all the way down to Mt. Vernon. But for those who use the bus to get to work and are not yet 65, they pay double that amount for a quarterly pass. At the bus stop this morning, I talked with a woman who uses the bus to get across town. She will still pay a $1 each for two buses to get to work, because her husband picks her up at the end of the day and works out to be cheaper than spending $70 for a quarterly pass, or $25 for a monthly pass.

The hard part, to me, is that whenever there are cuts to be made, the reductions in service hit the people who are least able to afford them. The gap between rich and poor grows wider, and more and more cars are forced onto the road, whether or not someone wants to use the bus. It's a vicious cycle, don't you think?
:-{

Great BOOK!

I have been borrowing these books from our Library from this author. She is amazing at writing. I'm having a hard time putting these books down. [I even take it in the car and when there is a red light I see how much I can read. I can read almost a page and a half. I think that's a good use of time].
They're set around the 1890's. Even though its fiction, there's history, inspiration & romance. Its fun to be in a different "world" at times but how things have changed.


Anyone else read any good books like these?

City of subdued excitement

For some unknown reason (at least I haven't been able to find out why), Bellingham, Washington is known as the "city of subdued excitement." And now, there's a viral video on YouTube that is all about my new home town:


I listened to it a couple of times, the beat is rather catchy, and I've been to all the places shown in the video. The phrase about "Subdued Excitement" adorns several walls around the city. Maybe now that this video has gone viral, somebody will be able to tell me the answer to that mystery.

My favorite weatherman, Cliff Mass, just put up an interesting post on his blog about all the rainy weather we've been having. Apparently, this is just not normal weather around here. Not having many fall periods to compare this to, I wondered how it stacks up to previous years, and Cliff gives an interesting statistic on that post:

For the calendar day yesterday Seattle set a new daily [rainfall] record (.78 inches) ...old record .57 inches in 1983. Want even more? So far this month (ending midnight) SeaTac has received 3.74 inches, which IS THE WETTEST 18 days on record for September at that location.

Okay. I guess I can look forward to more of the same. It's raining hard right now. Whatever happens this fall and winter, I'm pretty happy with the place where I've decided to spend my golden years. And speaking of golden, the colors in the foliage around here are beginning their annual display! Wow, that was fast: last time I looked I was taking pictures of the spring flowers, and now we are preparing for short days and long nights.
:-)

{STAND FIRM}

We had the best Stake Girls Activity Day Camp today. Since I am in the Stake Primary Presidency I was in charge of this activity & with help from above(& other inspiration) it was a great success.

[This group picture was asked to be removed-sorry]

The theme [Stand Firm] came to me and I knew it was perfect for these girls at this age preparing to go into YW's. We then talked about how to Stand Firm -Physically & Spiritually.

Since Angela's kids are in Karate, I asked if Cody & Hailey would show some great tips on how to defend yourself and then the girls were given the opportunity to try the techniques. What a great way to be prepared Physically.

Then we talked about some of the ways to be Spiritually prepared. 1-Articles of Faith (especially #13). 2-Scriptures (Heleman 5:12) and putting on the whole armour. 3- Proclamation to the World for the Family. 4-And keeping a journal(pictures below). We then gave the girls time to pass off the items in their book.


After they were done passing off we had "Ask a Beehive". I think these girls are going to be so excited to go to YW's. The Beehives told of so many great experiences.


Our dessert at the end of the night(sorry pic is sideways). A cup full of "mud".

Just a side note: For the Proclamation part I was really impressed to share with the girls about this article & the power of theProclamation. I have chosen to memorize it like Professor Hill. So I made a handy cheat sheet to help me.


Plastic Name Badges found at the dollar store but I also have seen them at Walmart in the office supply area.

Shrink a copy of Proclamation down(65%) so it can fit in the protectors with double sided paper.

Tie it up with some ribbon for the "book" effect. Great to keep in my purse or pocket.


Our journals: compostition books at Walmart (.25) covered with scrapbook paper. Inside was the Proclamation and space for the group picture(made copies for each girl at Walgreens 1 hour).

Two years, three hikes

Today I went with sixteen Senior Trailblazers up to Herman Saddle for the third time. It was almost exactly two years go that I began my hikes with this group by going on this particular hike. Last year's hike was sunny at the end of August, almost exactly the opposite of my first time out with the Seniors, when it was cold, rainy, snowy, and very windy the whole day. Today was an in-between day: mostly clouds with some sun, but with limited views of our beautiful mountains in residence.

I was enchanted by the clouds, and I snapped this picture to capture the incredible variety in the clouds, and I got this shot of our sun surrounded by those four pink spots. It was just by chance that I took this, but I had to share it with you, as it seems almost magical to me.

We trudged up to the saddle, where we had to cross snow, and then we headed down to Iceberg Lake for our lunch stop. The weather was cool but we didn't have any rain, and when the sun came out in force, we took clothes off; when it retreated behind the clouds, we grabbed our jackets. One of those kinds of days.

As you can see, when we stopped for lunch we all put on more clothes and didn't stay for a long time, as we had a party to attend at the end of the day: Amy (who was at home preparing our party, with the assistance of Dorothy and Gina, the wives of two of our favorite hikers) wanted to have a celebration for Frank, who will be turning 80 in a couple of weeks. Before we headed to our cars, I got this spectacular picture of one of my favorite mountains, Shuksan:

The clouds always add something that cannot be duplicated in any other moment, to me. I just love the sky, the clouds, and the mountain showing me what I get to enjoy when I go on these hikes: nature in all its glory and majesty. This moment is unique and captured here for you to join with me in the ooohs and aaaahs this mountain deserves.

This is the cake that we shared with Frank on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Many of our spouses came to the party to celebrate with us. Frank and his wife Marjan are hiking, kayaking, biking and just generally staying incredibly active here in the Pacific Northwest. Can you believe that in two weeks he will be 80 and she is in her mid-70s? They are an inspiration to all of us!

I hope in seven years when I am as old as Marjan, or in another thirteen years when I am as old as Frank, that I will still be hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and sharing my life with you, my dear readers, as an inspiration to you! Is this cool or what?
:-)

{Tile} Coaster

I made this Tile Coaster a while back & I still love it. I keep it in my craft room for my water. Because my desk is a painted surface my cup left a water ring so now I have to use this to cover it up. It looks cute so I don't mind.


the back (a piece of felt so it doesn't scratch the table)

Trying too hard

Maybe I've been trying too hard to keep my blog posts down to two or three a week. It seems odd to me when I see that I mentioned "Rainy Sunday" on my last post and now it's already Wednesday. But before I get started on today's post, I'd like to point you to an absolutely wonderful blog, if you haven't already discovered it.

Taken from The Land of Linda by Murr Brewster

Murr Brewster has a post today that simply blew my socks off. (The link under that amazing sand castle will take you there.) Sometimes I have to remember, when I read a post like this one, that if I decide to write in a voice that is not my own, it just doesn't work. I wrote to Murr and asked for permission to copy this picture from the post, and whether or not she or her friends made this incredible pyramid. She replied,

Isn't that something? I have a bunch of pictures of it--and no, we didn't make it. We happened on it, just before the ocean claimed it again. It's the sort of thing that just happens in Linda Land. 

 I've been reading a lot and went to see a movie with my friend Judy yesterday. We waffled between seeing "Get Low" and "Cairo Time" and finally went to see the latter. I don't know how I feel about it; it was a quiet movie with good acting, and it dovetails right into the book I'm reading right now: Shantaram, a book set in India. Someone suggested that I read it, and when I saw it in the bookstore I almost didn't buy it, since it's as big and thick a book as War and Peace (well, 936 pages anyway). Once I started it, though, I'm having a hard time putting it down. I wonder how much of this "novel" is simply autobiographical and how much is fiction, since the liner notes about him echo the story I'm reading. I'll write a review of it once I'm done.

Plus I also have two other books waiting for my attention, "Halfway to Heaven" about a guy who climbed all the Colorado Fourteeners with his son, and a brand-new E.L. Doctorow book, "Homer & Langley." At this rate I'll have my nose buried in books for quite a while.

Back to the title of this post, though: "Trying too hard." I follow sixty-something blogs. I don't know how it happened, it just did. Several of my favorite bloggers have a blogroll or mention special blogs or posts they find intriguing, and before I know it, I'm off to read yet another new one and I've become a follower. These days I actually hesitate before heading off to a new blog, because I am already stuck in this time sink that keeps me glued to the computer for way too many hours a day.

How do YOU keep writing in your own voice? I am constantly blown away by some of the brilliance I run across in the blogosphere. Great writing that moves me, makes me think, challenges my assumptions -- these are all given to me every day. I hope I can learn some new tricks of the trade... by amplifying my own writing, not inflating it. Or worse yet, trying to write like someone else and failing miserably.
:-}

{Thanks!}

I love receiving "Thank You" cards whether they are to say thanks for something I made or did for someone. They just make both parties feel good. I think nowadays though, writing Thank You cards has become a lost tradition. Its too easy to just say thanks or email a "thank you". I know this is one tradition I struggle with and want to be better at. I also want our children to continue this tradition instead of "texting" it.

I was inspired, by a movie, where she kept love notes in a container. What a great way to keep them organized but also be able to flip thru them whenever the need arises. I know I have many "off" days where I need a little pick-me-up.

This is where I have some of them(among other places).


I found this at the dollar store.

I just [beautified] it with fabric, ribbon & stickers.


This is where I keep all my Thank You cards. Ready to go.

I think I'm going to try and keep some in my car, purse & church bag. You never know when the need will arise to give someone an little extra "Thank You" to brighten their day.