The hardest part is behind us

Saturday, old place to Monday, new place

We made it! That picture of me Saturday, with my wine in hand at the end of a long day and that blue heated neck warmer around my neck tell the story of how I was feeling. Oh, and don't forget to note the knee pads so I could scrub floors in relative comfort. The internet and cable are up and running, and everything had pretty much gotten back to "normal" by Monday. Sunday was the day that the two young men with strong backs helped to move everything into the new apartment. By the end of Sunday I was worn to a frazzle, and I still had to finish the vacuuming and floor scrubbing of the old place. However, it was all finished by noon on Monday, Labor Day, and we can get accustomed to the new place more slowly. We have a very nice view of Mt. Baker from our front porch.

We have had amazingly beautiful weather for this move, and Seattle is getting close to a record spell of days without any rain. The record is 51 days, and they are already up to 43 days with no rain in sight. We here in Bellingham had a bit of rain a couple of times during August, but Seattle has had nothing. The grass everywhere is dry and the garden is incredibly happy. Here's the view of the garden from my new back porch:

You can see that the grass outside the garden is all brown. I've watered my little plot almost every day, and it's paying off. I've harvested lots of zucchini and green beans, some collards and kale, and lots of tomatoes.

In this picture you can also see my apartment, the last one on the upper left. I haven't had any time to spend in the garden lately; it's in need of some tending, but I'm lucky just to get it watered regularly right now. I've fallen into bed very tired every night, but today I'm finally beginning to feel that I can begin to relax a little. I can understand why moving is considered to be one of the big stresses of life.

I threw out a portable TV that I brought with me from Colorado. I couldn't bear to let it go five years ago, but today I couldn't even give it away. Technology has changed so much in the past few years that an old TV with a tape player is totally useless. And it was such a treasure ten years ago!

That's the news from my corner of the world, and I look forward to my hike on Thursday and my life taking on some semblance of our new normal. Hope you had a relaxing Labor Day!
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A day without internet

It's been a long time since I've used a rotary dial phone like this one. I've grown so accustomed to being constantly and completely connected all the time, without wires. My cellphone is only turned off when hiking in the wilderness where coverage is spotty or nonexistent. With the move I'm going through right now, I will be a day without internet access, although I will still have my cellphone, so I won't be completely without connection. Plus if I need a fix I can always go into town and use some free internet.

It's actually possible that it won't be as bad as I fear, but I'm not optimistic. The move will culminate tomorrow, September 2, so I made arrangements with Comcast to make the switch. When I woke this morning and went to get online and read my blogs, email, and news, I got a message that I needed to activate my new account. To do that, I needed my account number. However, as I learned after more than an hour on the phone with an agent, when you move (even if it's just around the corner), you create a new account. And that number had not yet been assigned! Okay, what happens now? I was able to finally get a representative who managed to reconnect my new account to this address, but who knows what will happen tomorrow? Sigh. I've got a tech coming by sometime in the morning, but it's not clear to me whether he will be forced to create yet ANOTHER account with a new number. In the meantime, I figured I'd better say hello, read my blogs and email while I still can. More to come... sometime.

I long for a normal life again, and although I know it's coming somewhere in the near future (at least I hope so), I can barely sleep I'm so tired. By the middle of next week I'm hoping that I will have finished finding things again. (Where did I put my cellphone charger?)
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A different kind of Thursday post

I didn't go on the regular Thursday hike today, because I'm using my energy to clean our apartment in anticipation of the move this weekend. It's Labor Day Weekend in more ways than one for me!

After Monday's long hike, I realized that today's hard hike to the summit of Church Mountain was not a very good way for me to expend my energy, even though it would be fun. And even though the weather is supposed to be wonderful this weekend, I won't be getting my knees in the breeze, either. Instead I will be on my hands and knees scrubbing floors, dusting places that haven't seen a duster since we moved in. The more I can clean, the less I will have to pay the landlord for cleaning in readiness for the next tenant. And I learned yesterday that this place has already been rented! That means one day in between for the rug to be steam cleaned and any other cleaning to be done. This is a huge job, and we are only moving from one end of the apartment complex to the other. Still, everything needs to be boxed up other than perhaps the clothes in my closet, which I can carry from one place to the next.

We've hired two high school seniors to help us move on Sunday. I will pick them up, take them home after paying them, and am incredibly happy for their strong backs to do most of the lifting. I'm frazzled from all the tasks that need doing, and I find myself starting one thing before another is finished. Got to get a grip! This weekend will be the big push, and after that, we can move in a little at a time. We'll be sleeping in our new apartment Sunday. I will be without internet connection for a whole day! Hope I'll be able to survive that.
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Thornton Lake one year later

The difference is hard to believe

Today the Trailblazers made our third "extra" hike of the year, a longer one than our usual Thursday hikes. We did this for the first time last August, and I thought this picture shows the amazing difference we saw today, versus the frozen lake we encountered last year.

Eight of us headed up to Highway 20 to begin our hike. It was an exciting trip to the trailhead, as the very steep road had recently been reconditioned, and we spun our wheels, all eight of us in Mike and April's Honda Odyssey. We had to get out and let him gain a running start to get up the hardest and steepest part of the rough road, but we made it with no further excitement. We saw only a few other cars at the trailhead.

The trail starts out very mild, with a gentle grade for the first two-and-a-half miles. And then... it begins to ascend up steep switchbacks on a fairly obvious trail. We decided we would like to attempt to make it up to Trapper Peak, which is another thousand feet after we get to the place you see in the first two pictures. We split into two groups, one faster than the other. I stayed behind with the slower group because in the sunshine and warm temperatures, I simply could not go any faster. I made it partly up past the junction to the peak, but I was not feeling all that well, pushing harder than I was comfortable with. I was not alone.

This is the view from the highest point I gained, and I was still 600-700 feet below the summit of Trapper Peak. Three people went on up, while the rest of us headed back down to the overlook of Thornton Lake. We had lunch and I recovered somewhat. I tried hard to get a picture of our fellow hikers on the summit, and while we could spy their movement now and then, they were too far away to get a good shot.

It was a lovely day after all, since I didn't try to make it to the summit (seen on the right-hand side of this picture). I hiked ten miles and ascended and descended more than 3,000 feet. The summiteers had even more distance and elevation. Once we were all together again, we hiked back down to the car and made it to the Marblemount Diner for a wonderful meal before heading back to Bellingham. It's been a long day, more than twelve hours, and since I had a glass of wine with my dinner I'm skipping a second one as I write this. Now for a nice shower and getting horizontal with a good book until sleep overtakes me.
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Oh, my aching back!

I've been weeding for what seems like days in the garden. Actually, it was only about four hours, but they were definitely backbreaking, tough hours on my knees and back, pulling out buttercups. That pretty name doesn't tell the tale of the tough work it is to get that plant out of my garden. In that picture, just a little right of center is a HUGE pile that I pulled today. They are heaped in an unused garden plot and represent perhaps half of what I still have to be completely free of them. I will NEVER AGAIN go so long without weeding. They grow in a long vine and stick roots in every couple of inches. Here's the undone part of my plot:

That green stuff between the plants is mostly buttercup weeds, and I will hopefully tackle the rest of them before too long. They are fairly easy to pull out of the non-compacted soil, but I wrestled with them long enough to feel unable to continue to do any more today. My garden neighbor to the west of me never has ANY uncontrolled growth in his section; he told me he rips it out as soon as he sees it. I will do the same once I get all this under control. That's my hope, at least.

This shows some of the garden fruits. The pretty cabbage in the upper left is probably ready to be harvested, but I am too tired to even think of it right now. We ate one of the cabbages already, and it was divine. The tiny tomatoes just about to ripen are on the upper right; every time one gets close I pop it into my mouth, so I'm the only one to have enjoyed them yet. In the lower left is a beginning baby zucchini. I didn't realize until this summer that the fruit develops UNDER the blossom. I'm watching this one so that it won't get too large, since they are best when under six inches long. And last of all, lower right, is one of the delicata squash. I accidentally knocked one off the vine today, so I cut it open to see how close to ripe they are. Not close, but the seeds have begun to form in the middle; the flesh is not yet orange. Oh, these will be good to eat when they are ready, I just know it.

I made that collage with a new app I bought ($5, TurboCollage) from the Mac app store this week. If you click on it to enlarge, it makes the pictures full size, the better to admire the fruits of my labors. It's time for my wine, and I'm pretty sure my back will be feeling much better after I finish it!
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Scott Paul trail

Today eleven Senior Trailblazers drove up to Schreiber's Meadow to hike the Scott Paul trail. We were at this same meadow only two weeks ago to hike up to Railroad Grade. Although that day was wonderful, it was even more wonderful today. We started the hike at the same trailhead, but almost immediately we took a different trail, the Scott Paul. This trail was renamed in memory of Scott Paul, the Mt. Baker District Trails and Wilderness Coordinator who was killed in an accident in 1993.

On clear days, you have magnificent views of Mt. Baker and Shuksan on this hike. Today we had fog and low clouds, but after the last few weeks of very warm hikes, it was actually pleasant to be in temperatures that worked hard to reach 50 degrees F. Although these vistas were truncated, it didn't matter much as we kept exclaiming over the stunning wildflowers. This bouquet caught my eye and I had to take a picture.

As we hiked along, we had many different obstacles to surmount: fallen trees, streams with no obvious bridge, and a couple of snowfields. Here's one of the snowfields (with apologies to all my blogging friends who have been dealing with really hot temperatures; maybe this will cool you down).

After we had lunch and began our hike again, we  knew that we would be confronted with a suspension bridge that is only in place during the summer months. And before we knew it, there it was. We decided to walk across it one at a time, since it didn't fill any of us with assurance that it would remain in place if we ALL walked across it at the same time.

It was kind of fun, walking across it and feeling it sway in the breeze, with every one of us thinking of movies we've seen with suspension bridges failing halfway across. But we all made it across without even a little problem. Then we started our return trip to the cars. Along the way, we had to cross through some of the most amazing fields of lupines in bloom I have ever seen.

I didn't know that lupines had such a lovely smell. Every once in awhile we would get a whiff that reminded me of delicate lavender bouquets; I can't describe it any better. And the cool temperatures, the company, the incredible wildflowers... well, we were all in a very mellow mood by the time we reached the cars, after having traveled more than eight miles and 2,100 feet up and down. Another day that makes me happy I live where I do and that I have the ability to visit these places. I must be doing something right.
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Moving right along

Our plans to move from the southernmost apartment in this complex to this one, the northernmost unit, are coming along. The previous tenant is moving his couches and furniture (he has three couches, one on the porch and two in the living room) and will be out by the end of August. He said he hopes it will be by the 27th, which is next Monday. But the manager said he needs to get in there and check it all out before he can give me a date. That's all right, as I've been taking the time to get things cleaned up around here.

This is a picture of our front porch, taken last winter when I was feeding the birds in earnest. As you can see, five feeders hang by hooks for the birds to enjoy a steady food source during the lean months, when it's cold and the pickings are very slim. I tried last summer to stop feeding them, but I was unable to let myself think of them not coming to visit me. The very best time to stop feeding birds is after they've had their babies and there is an abundance of food sources. So, this summer the move has forced me to finally do it. I'll miss seeing scenes like this:

The picture was taken in the summer; you can tell by the brilliant colors of the male goldfinch (the top one in front, for example). I've learned many things during these years of birdwatching. I managed to establish a place that many goldfinch congregate. They are still around, although not on my porch in such abundance. Other tenants also feed the birds, so I will still see them. The chickadees and nuthatches are attracted to the suet feeders, and I'll continue to keep those on my new front porch.

The one thing I won't miss at all are the squirrels. They wouldn't stay away, always hoping to get a handout from the stuff dropped on the porch by the birds. They couldn't get to the feeders, although they were absolutely ingenious in their attempts. The overhang of the porch made it very difficult, so they spent their time going around to find what had dropped to the floor.

Cleaning bird droppings from the past four years has not been a lot of fun, but it's a necessary part of my duties as a tenant. It's been days and I'm now almost finished with the porch. We've got another week or ten days before we can actually move, and I'm hoping to have the majority of the cleaning done. Everything else will be in boxes and moved across thirteen apartments to our new abode.

Probably the very best part of the move has been getting rid of what I've accumulated in the last four-plus years. The clothes I brought from Boulder that have not been worn, books I won't read again, and various other parts of my past that don't need to come into the future: they've all been passed along. It's amazing how much more mobile I feel. And! The next very best part: I'm getting to keep the garden I tended all summer long!
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