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Tag Archives: photography

Thankful for …………………

What are you thankful for? Here are some of the things that make me grateful.

 

Living in this beautiful place

 

Sam still has the heart to be with us even though she lives with pain that might make me want to curl up in a ball and cry

 

Warm pumpkin cranberry loaves

 

Pomegranate seeds in champagne

 

Brussells sprouts ready to roast with balsamic vinegar

 

Carmelized onions for the dressing

 

A table to share with our loved ones

 

Warm conversation after a satisfying meal

 

A bluebird morning on groomed ski trails

 

Laying down the newest track with my sweetie

 

Us, in front of our Christmas Tree

 

I am grateful to the 35 year old tree that will soon grace our living room

 

And I’m grateful to Ken for doing the heavy lifting

 We are SO grateful to be here together in this place. It doesn’t get any better than this.

 

Let It Snow!

Six to eight inches of powdery white stuff on the ground this morning! Lots of shoveling to do but also fun times ahead. Soon the ski trails will be groomed and the ice rink will be icy. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…….

Maybe it’s time to put the chair away?

Luna loves snow and snow loves her. She’ll be coverd in it before the day is over.

 

Why Did The Grouse Cross the Road?

Ruffed Grouse on Lester Road yesterday. I love their slooowwww, measured steps. It’s almost as if the bird is thinking ‘if I take it easy and don’t make any sudden moves, no one will notice me on this snow-covered road’.

 

 

 

 

To get to the other side, silly.

 

 

 

 

Less than desirable photo quality is due to shooting through the windshield.

Early Winter

Yesterday we went for a ‘Sunday Drive’. All the dogs piled into the new car and we took some snacks and headed up the Chewuch River. Not too much snow up there so we had some nice easy walks. Two of the dogs are old and one is nearly lame so we all took it easy.

Our first stop was Falls Creek Falls – pretty in all seasons and some especially interesting ice forms this visit.

The Yellow Belly – Ponderosa Pines – are especially pretty in winter

Rosehips brilliant color and citrus taste make them especially attractive to birds. People enjoy them as well.

We saw two beavers on the Chewuch.

The fresh light snow was excellent for tracking animals. Here is a tiny one – maybe a vole?

And a moose. There were two sets – maybe a cow and calf.

And a big black bear. It walked along the road between when we drove up and when we returned. This was the second set of bear tracks we saw yesterday. I wonder when they will begin hibernating?

Lots of elderberries still hanging from the bushes. Do bears eat these?

And more beautiful rosehips

Ice on the Chewuch 

And the lonely snags from the 30 Mile Fire, ten years ago. Wind blowing through them made an eerie wailing sound. No doubt, these woods are haunted.

Driving in to Winter

Just three weeks after the unfortunate accident with the deer, I have a new car! What a relief to get through all that. I was anxious to see how well it handles in snow and on rough roads so I called a friend and asked if she wanted to go Harts Pass. Who knows, we might see a few cool winter time birds too. On the way up we were treated to three Varied Thrushes. A good sign.

View of the North Cascades, looking south

 

Looking west

 

We hit snow not far above the goat lick area. Not too much and it was cold and powdery. We passed Harts Pass and parked at the horse loading and unloading parking lot and got out to walk. Very shortly we heard and saw Pine Grosbeaks! Several of them coming and going from the tops of spruce trees. We looked away and began to walk up the road some more and I looked back and I saw a Northern Hawk Owl! A first for my friend. She only got a short look at it before it flew down and maybe towards the road to Meadows where I have seen it in past years. It was in the same grove of trees where we saw the grosbeaks. We kept walking up to the last switchback before the road goes UP to Slate Peak, seeing other flocks of birds we judged to be more Pine Grosbeaks all coming from and going the same general direction. The view from the ridge top to the basin below the lookout was beautiful. Lots of big animal tracks in the snow crossed and crisscrossed the openings. We turned back towards the car, again following the road. Below the PCT trailhead, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and looked and stopped my friend – there was a flock of 7 Gray-crowned Rosy-finches feeding on the open spots right next to us on the cut bank! What a treat to see them so close. They were perfectly silent.

Gray-crowned Rosy-finches

Back at the parking lot we saw Mountain Chickadees. We also saw Ravens and a Red-tailed Hawk on our walk. We heard Clark’s Nutcrackers and a Stellar’s Jay. There were bicycle tracks in the snow too! Someone had ridden all the way up, perhaps even to the lookout. We didn’t get that far on foot.

Bicycle tracks in the snow

Slate Peak lookout

We had lunch and drove down to the road that goes to Meadows. Again, lots of interesting tracks. Maybe a lynx? Weasels, coyotes, and no doubt others.

Here are two sets of tracks. One set that we thought might be coyote had been going down the road. The other set that we guessed to be a lynx, had come from the side, then intersected the first set and followed it for quite a ways. There’s a story there, we were sure of it.

We parked and walked back along the road towards Harts Pass. One more highlight was an American Three-toed Woodpecker working the snags. I wondered how often the bird was finding something to eat for all of its efforts. It was joined for a short time by a White-breasted Nuthatch.

The car performed as advertised. I imagine I’ll be happy with it in the long run. Still, I miss the old Honda.

Skies were blue, the snow was powdery, wind was mostly calm, good time spent with a close friend; the whole day was enchanting!