Hanging On - Letting Go

When summer was coming to an end, I was melancholy. I wanted to hang on to this time of warmth, flowers and freedom. Then Autumn burst forth in all it's glory. It was an especially beautiful fall here in the northwest, with climatic events lining up just right for brilliant color. Now we are into November. Leaves are still lingering, but with the coming of wind and rain, they will soon let go their hold and fall to the ground, to be raked up from lawns and flower beds before they turn to mush. In the uncultivated hillsides, ravines, woodlands and roadsides, the fallen foliage will collect to feed the soil for another growing season.

Again, I want to hang on to what we have now. I will miss the color, especially against the occasional blue sky. But in letting go of this season, I look forward to the next. We are coming up on the holiday season - Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. There will be new beauty to enjoy, and indoor fun to be had.

Here is a fond farewell to the color we've been enjoying in our yard.

Down the driveway, at the street, we borrow color from the neighborhood.

In Tom's greenhouse, Summer is being preserved.

Letting go - looking forward.

Weather update: Reports of up to 8 inches of rain have fallen in parts of Washington State in the last 24 hours. Rivers are experiencing flooding: the Tolt, Skykomish, Skokomish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Stillaguamish and Satsop Rivers are all at or over flood stage.

Once again we are seeing news video clips of salmon swimming across roads.

Skywatch - From Aloft

Our sky here in Seattle today is hanging low, gray and heavy with rain. So I am posting photos I took last week as we lifted off from Seattle-Tacoma Airport on our way to Colorado.

It was just after sun rise as we headed up through the clouds. The clouds from above seem much more benign.

The low angle of light silhouetted the Cascade Mountains, and highlighted the fog filling the valleys.

For more sky pics from around the world, go here.

Proud To Be An American

I got this shirt a month ago in the mail as an unsolicited "gift" along with a request for a donation to a Veterans group. I put it in the give-away bag.

But last week, I got it out. I thought that if the election turned out as I hoped, I might just want to wear it. Today I am. I am also flying the flag.

For a long time now, I have not felt that pride. The Bush administration took away my flag and turned it into a symbol of false patriotism. Pride was weighted down with the burden that we as a country were not what we should be, not nearly what we could be. Our pre-emptive war, our go-it-alone attitude, our for-me-or-against-me, friend-or-enemy world view was frightening as well as embarrassing. We traveled extensively in Europe during the last three years, and we knew what they thought of our president over there.

Here at home we were falling apart. Hurricane Katrina showed us that our agencies were hollow shells, the real professionals replaced with political pals with no skill. Capitalism run amuck without regulation rewarded the powerful rich and left the rest of us picking up the pieces when the house of cards collapsed. Our personal freedoms were invaded. Our environment suffered.

Now we have hope again that we will be the country we can be, that we should be. That once again we can be a beacon for the world. That we can once again take back our flag and restore our pride in our America.

BTW -These photos were taken with my new camera. I bought a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, a small, light weight, two AA battery powered point and shoot camera, with plenty of manual options and a 10X zoom for those birds and beasts and bugs in the bush. I'm having fun learning to use it.

It's a good day.

For another reaction to the election, check out my son's blog. It is listed at the top of my blog list - Ambiguously Disgruntled. Be prepared for the "attitude" of a 33 year old young man, but if you like it, leave him a comment. He'd be blown away.

President Barack Obama

As I type, Sen. McCain is graciously conceding the election. It happened so fast, and I was distracted this evening, so it is slowly sinking in. I'm not sure what I feel. There is affirmation that what I believed would happen actually did happen. There is hope that a President Obama can and will bring about change that we need, especially in the hearts of Americans, a people that have been riding a wave of selfishness, led in this by an administration that has set the example of taking care of yourself first, last and always. We need a new example, one of taking responsibility for one's actions, and reaching outward to find common ground with others in our nation who share common dreams. And we need a new image in the world, one of caring about the people, not just the power. Many of us feel anger over what has occurred over the last eight years. Some of us will call for revenge. But that will not be the tone our new president will take. He is a problem solver, one who will call for identifying what went wrong, and then finding ways to fix it. There will be an African American family in the White House. Hopefully that will help to heal some old divisions and wounds in our country. But it will not be automatic. There is work to be done, patience to be tested and held on to, forgiveness to be offered and accepted, enormous problems to be addressed and solutions to be found through working together. President Obama will face a tremendous task. We must help him.

Returns of the Day

We arrived back in Seattle last night, in the dark and in the rain. We awoke this morning, too early, to the dark and the rain. Where did the sun go? While in Colorado we enjoyed days of sun and temps in the upper 70's - almost too hot. It was easy to forget we had turned the calendar to November, except that it got dark much too early on Sunday and Monday. But now we are plunged back into reality. November is not Seattle at it's best. It's currently 41 and raining, with heavy snow in the mountains. We may have a dry day or two this week, and the weatherman says we could get back up to 60 degrees by the end of the week - warmer rain?

But we have things to do, inside. Laundry, of course. Grocery shopping. Making sure all the clocks are set back. And I will be shopping for a new camera. My auto focus has gone out, adding to a list of malfunctions on my six-year-old Canon. It's time for a new one. I can't live without my camera!

I took several photos this morning with a manual setting, with mixed results.

All the lovely leaves on my Full Moon Maple are now off the tree and on the ground. November is soggy leaves month. The blurry focus symbolizes the heavy, wet air.

The litter from the cedar tree will now blanket the patio.

So after a lovely Halloween in the land of sunshine and grandchildren, we are back home, settled in, and ready for whatever comes next.

The big news today is that it is finally ELECTION DAY! We voted so long ago that it's about time we got some results. We have hopes for Democratic victories for President and Governor.

Here's to Many Happy Returns of the Day.

Halloween Fun

After an uneventful flight (always the best kind) to Denver via Alaska Airlines, we were met by our son-in-law, Corey, and driven out to Fort Morgan. There we were forced to settle in and wait for our grandchildren, one of which was in kindergarten class, and the other napping at daycare. These two had seen my blog and had a preview of Arachnia, so when they got home the first thing we did was try on Gramma's costume.

That evening we carved pumpkins. There seemed to be an endless supply. I carved faces for four of them, following instructions as to how they should look.

The next day, Thursday the 30th, we went to school. We started in the morning at Irene's preschool, where our little black cat greeted us with big hugs. We went trick -or - treating at the next door community services building, played games and ate goodies.

Then in the afternoon we visited Isaac's kindergarten class and shared in more fun.

Of course we had to check in with our daughter at her school, where parades and parties were in full force. She is a very tall witch!

That evening the high school put on a trick-or-treat for the young kids in the community during parent conferences. They did such a good job of decorating that Irene had to hide under my cape frequently when things got to scary. Notice the tail protruding from under the cape.

Halloween Day there was no school for kids - it was a teacher workshop day. We played and had some fun in the leaves. Then about 4:30 we all got dressed up to go to town. Main Street was to become a parade of costumed candy consumers. Corey blended in nicely even though he was headed for work - on duty on this All Hallowed's Eve.

We stopped for dinner at a restaurant along the way and we were entertained by a steady flow of trick-or-treaters in the restaurant as we ate. Then we returned to the streets for more candy.

The old mining train engine in the park make for a great photo op.

But the best part of the evening was back at the house. We got our lights on, lit our jack-o-lanterns, and opened for business. Across the street the neighbors were doing a good job of freaking out the kids, and some adults too, with beheadings, chain saw massacres, and knife wielding zombies, so many a weirded kid cautiously approached our porch, but they found only friendly witches and a kindly young officer to give them candy. Did I mention it was still about 65 when we ran out of candy and shut off the lights at 9:00?

I just had the best Halloween ever. Grandparents have the most fun, along with teachers who are retired!

Beware The Spider Bite

It's that time of the year. Spiders are everywhere.

One night last week one of those creepy arachnids crept into my bedroom, scuttled onto my bed, lurked on my pillow, and then.....bit my neck! Then it skulked off into a crevice.

I know this because the next morning I awoke with an itchy and stinging welt where my night visitor had left its venom.

I had no serious effects at the time, just a constant irritation as I tried to remember not to scratch the itch. The welt has now subsided.

But there seems to be a more lingering effect, a change in appearance and behavior.

I seem to be attracted to spiders. I find myself drawn to hunting them out in the garden.

I don't seem to mind having them around.

I have taken to calling myself Arachnia, Spider Witch.

Tomorrow I am flying to Colorado. I was planning to go by plane, since it's a long and cold flight by stick. I hope they let me on the plane.

I might have to disguise myself in my old persona.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Have a Ghoulishly Good time.

Garden Touring

Sunday we went touring in three wonderful gardens full of fall color. Here is just a bit of the beauty we beheld.

A Day In the Country, Part II

After enjoying the Puyallup Saturday Market, (see previous post) we walked across the city park to one of our favorite stops, The Central Perk, where we perused the newspaper while we sipped our lattes.

Walking back through the park, we stopped to say Hi to Ezra Meeker, an Oregon Trail pioneer and founder of Puyallup.

This is the site of his original cabin, and the structure behind the statue supports the original ivy planted by his wife in 1862.

Then we were off to Sumner, and another favorite stop, and a mecca for gardeners, Windmill Nursery. We love to look at the plant selection, many of which are now in autumn foliage, and appreciate the masterful and entertaining displays. Don't you just love the color of pumpkins?

Returning home, we took the back roads - no freeways today - to enjoy the color of the countryside.

We passed pumpkin patches, some meant for jack-o-lanterns, and some planted as real crops, destined for the cannery. (I know this is blurry, but along these narrow roads there was no place to stop and take a photo)

We did stop briefly along the Green River for a stretch, and to acknowledge Mt. Rainier, somewhat hidden today in the haze.

Back home, we were welcomed by our own maple, now quickly coming into it's glory.