May Day!

Do you know that May 1st (May Day) is halfway between the first day of spring and the first day of summer? It's also called Beltane in many parts of the world. The Celtics celebrated it as a springtime festival of optimism. It's an amazing time of the year here in the Pacific Northwest, with everything exploding with blossoms and nonstop flowers everywhere. The rhododendrons (Washington's state flower) are also coming into full bloom; I've still got to go around to find the best places to capture them in pictures. Can't wait too long or I'll miss them.

May Day is celebrated all over the world. In Hawaii, it's also known as Lei Day, a time to celebrate island culture and Native culture in particular. From the Wikipedia link above:

Invented by a poet and a local newspaper columnist in the 1920s, it has since been adopted by state and local government as well as the residents, and has taken on the sense of a general spring celebration. The first Lei Day was proposed in 1927 in Honolulu by poet and artist Don Blanding. Leonard "Red" and Ruth Hawk composed "May Day is Lei Day in Hawai'i," the traditional holiday song.

In other parts of the country, May Day is observed by making May baskets. I first learned of this tradition from one of my blogging friends, Connie at Far Side of Fifty and have followed her progress with her homemade baskets for the past four years now. Today I went looking for some way to create a few May baskets for the nearby apartment dwellers who have children. I bought some chocolate and found that it wasn't so easy to find anything to use as baskets, but I finally realized that I could use those little reusable paper bags that people give presents in these days. Once I finish this post, I'm going to make the baskets and go ring a few doorbells. That Wikipedia link explains the tradition here:

May Day was also celebrated by some early European settlers of the American continent. In some parts of the United States, May Baskets are made. These are small baskets usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. The giver rings the bell and runs away. The person receiving the basket tries to catch the fleeing giver. If they catch the person, a kiss is exchanged.

I have always liked giving and receiving gifts, so I bought myself a nice little bit of chocolate that I can share with my special guy to commemorate the day. I do hope your day is filled with nice things, too. Oh, yes, one more thing: our male goldfinches are now in full dress uniform! I took this picture yesterday through the front window of two males and two females. During the winter, they both look almost the same, but then the guys get all bright and beautiful, like this:

Now I'm off to ring some doorbells and run away!
:-)

Flowers for Leontien

{{Hugs}}

I am offering this perfect rose from last summer's Farmers' Market to Leontien, a woman I had never heard about until last week, when Theresa from the Run*Around*Ranch invited me to be in on yesterday's surprise for her.

Although I didn't participate, I checked into what was posted yesterday and the surprise bunch of blog posts with flowers for Leontien and am sitting here simply overwhelmed with what I've learned about the power of the blogosphere. Here's a bit of background.

Leontien is battling cancer and has determined that she will fight it with all her might, inspiring three bloggers with the idea of providing a list of blog posts that would make her realize that she is not alone in her struggle. Not having known anything about her until I looked at her blog (Four Leaf Clover Tales), I felt a bit reluctant to participate. Until today. The beautiful and overwhelming flowers and posts that have been created here cannot help but inspire anybody. Please take a look at Nancy's blog called A Rural Journal where you too can join the caravan (she's hosting the gift page) and give Leontien your flower, your hopes, a virtual hug, whatever. As soon as I've finished this, that's where this one is going.

This was all the brainchild of Buttons, who enlisted the help of Theresa and Nancy. I received an invitation to be part of the surprise from Theresa and, as I said, I declined. That said, the power of the blogosphere, of love and hope has given me the desire to spread this to Leontien from any of my own followers who might not have heard about it. At this moment (it changes continually), there are 186 flowers and posts on the site. The inspiration I've gained from a random sampling just fills my heart with joy. I'll spend a bit more time crying healing tears, not only for Leontien, but for all of us who have joined together to spread some love.
:-)

Misty Blanchard Mountain

Today six of us hardy Senior Trailblazers set out in a wee bit of rain. We would have had a seventh person, but he's new and didn't realize that we don't allow dogs along on these hikes. He'll be back, though. The schedule said that today was to be "Mikey's choice" on Blanchard Mountain. He hikes all the trails on this mountain often and knows them well. His choice, however, was a 12.3-mile loop, and we agreed to go, IF the weather cleared up. It was only raining a little when we got to the trailhead, and we were hopeful.

The trail wasn't in the best shape, as it rained all last night, too. It kept trying to clear and the mist would stop, but just when we would take off our rain hoods, it would start up again. The plan was to hike up to the Lilly and Lizard Lake area and possibly take a side trip to North Butte or even Samish Overlook, if it looked like there might be a view. No such luck.

By the time we reached the lake, I saw that the skunk cabbage has grown quite a bit since we were here last. The odor is the reason for the name; every once in awhile we would get a whiff of... something rather organic and a little skunky. Apparently this is what attracts its pollinators. Here's a fascinating link about skunk cabbage, also called swamp lantern. You can also see the raindrops on the lake; it was raining at that time but not too much.

About noon, however, the rain picked up in intensity. Linda has just purchased herself a new raincoat made of the same magic quality as mine (eVent) and so far is happy with it. She got a chance to give it a good workout today. We decided to have lunch under the trees at Lilly Lake, and although it was still a bit drippy, nothing like the rain on the lake itself, as you can see from this picture.

If you enlarge it, you can see why we decided to cut our lunch time short and head back to the cars the most straightforward way possible. We were all getting cold and pretty wet, even with all our wonderful rain gear. We didn't talk much as we listened to the dripping of the rain on our hoods and made our way back down the trail to the cars. However, I did get one nice picture once the rain had let up a bit. It's very beautiful here, but all that green comes at a cost: plenty of precipitation.

By the time we returned to our vehicles, we had covered more than ten miles and climbed and descended around 1800 feet of elevation. We were all discussing our plans for the rest of the day, such as a hot bath, warm clothes, a nice cup of tea, or even a hot toddy if it was late enough in the day. I knew I wanted to get this post written so I could enjoy sitting down after a good day outdoors, even if it was a bit on the moist side. It always helps to have good friends to commiserate with, as well as sharing the joy.
:-)

Happy birthday, Daddy

Taken by Peter Stewart

Tomorrow, April 25, would have been my dad's ninety-fifth birthday. He only lived long enough to enjoy his sixty-second, passing away of a massive heart attack in July 1979. That's a long time ago now. Pete, my brother-in-law who took this picture, died himself last year. That's Norma Jean standing behind Daddy, long hair cascading down her back. Now it's short and has a lot of gray in it, but she's still on this side of the grass.

Looking at this picture brings back such memories. You wouldn't know it from this picture, but Daddy was a morning person. I wonder what was going through his mind as he was making his coffee to take to work. It must have been the period after he retired from the Air Force and was working at General Dynamics, but I'm not sure, since I was out living my own life and wasn't around much during this time. But when I look at this picture, I project my own existential meaning into a thought balloon over his head: a rather melancholy reverie wondering what it's all about, the inevitable march of days, years, decades, with little imperceptible changes adding up to huge life changes.

My parents had seven children, me being the oldest. I'm turning seventy this year, and Mama has been gone for almost twenty years now. My son Chris, gone almost ten years. All of my parents' children are alive today, except for Tina Maria who was born prematurely and never had a chance to live at all. I was thinking that if I was able to have a nice chat with Daddy, he might wonder what's been going on down here.

It would take volumes to tell him everything, but there are a few things I would tell him if I could. First and foremost, thank you, and Mama too, for giving me the opportunity to have had such a rich and varied life. You would have loved what has happened in the world of electronics. I remember when you built yourself a television from scratch (or maybe it was a Heathkit). You loved all things electronic, and the blogosphere, the World Wide Web, is a real entity that would have sounded like science fiction while you were alive. I now have two blogs which I use to keep my writing life alive, to reminisce like I'm doing now, as well as to chronicle the wonderful existence I am experiencing in retirement.

Norma Jean and I use video chat to keep in touch a few times a week. Remember when I was a kid and we watched an old program called Believe It Or Not that projected a future world? I remember it said that by the Year 2000 we would have Dick Tracy-type wrist watches that would allow us to communicate face to face. Well, you would have to see today's iPhone to believe it! What a difference it makes to be able to laugh and share with Norma Jean virtually while we are on opposite ends of the country. Yes, you would have loved all the video advances.

I think you would also be proud of all that your children have accomplished. Although we are all as different as most family members tend to be, we all share some traits that can be traced directly back to you and Mama: we are all hard workers, skilled at our jobs and able to make ethical decisions that impact our chosen fields positively. You have dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We have all been good parents and remember you and Mama with infinite fondness.

So, Daddy, I wish you happy happy birthday! Your memory will never fade from my heart as long as I live, you can count on that.
:-)

Three weekends in a row

Columbines showing their faces

This is the first time in ages I can remember us having three nice weekends in a row! This hardly ever happens this early in the season, and I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come. Last Wednesday, Cliff Mass, when he realized that it was going to be nice again, wrote a post he called "We Win the Spring Trifecta!" and compares this spring with our last one. Nice difference.

After a splendid six-mile walk this morning, I headed over to the Farmers' Market. All the vendors are a bit in shock themselves: ever since opening day (it's only on Saturdays), the weather has been wonderful. This young man is bicycling his way to a smoothie, and you notice that his mother is NOT wearing a jacket and has bare arms. (It wasn't that warm, if you ask me, but we tend to overdo it when the sun is shining.) The young lady in the picture below and her mother are prepared with sunglasses. I asked for permission to take her picture, she's just so cute!

By the time I took this picture, high clouds were beginning to form overhead, but it wasn't making any of the myriad smiles go away. Any time we have such beautiful weather, nobody is complaining. Once I headed home, I thought about writing a post and pondered making another photo safari, but the only thing I've been taking pictures of (other than those two at the market) are the amazing flowers that are abundant everywhere. Those columbines are under the steps to my apartment. My front porch flowers are coming along nicely, too.

The salvia are obviously happy as they spread their roots through the basket, and the fuschia is also blooming. I got two different kinds and look forward to seeing what comes up. The basket on the chair has pansies and sweet pea growing fast enough to see a difference from one day to the next. This time of year, when everything is anxious to make an appearance, the riot of color and birds singing their mating songs, fills my heart and eyes with abundance. And I must leave you with another picture from last week's trip to the Tulip Festival. There were so many wonderful ones, but I have to give Linda Letters a shout-out for her pictures of the same gardens, which are simply spectacular. She lives in Seattle and traveled north to the gardens, while I traveled south to visit them from Bellingham. Please take a moment to look at her pictures. You won't be sorry.

Cascading tulips and hyacinth

It's hard to remember the long gray days of clouds and rain right now. If I tried I could probably do it, but what's the point? Life is pretty darn good in the present moment. As one sage said, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, and today is a gift."
:-)

Trillium time in the Chuckanuts

One of dozens of trillium pictures I took

Today eight of us Trailblazers went to three different destinations in the Chuckanuts: Chuckanut Falls, Raptor Ridge, and Madrone Crest. The weather forecast gave us a 90% chance of rain for the day, with showers in the morning and rain in the afternoon. But we woke to sunshine, not rain, giving us hope for another not-too-wet hike. We were rewarded with a dry day after all, but the sun left before we even began to hike at 8:30am.

Our first stop was the falls, a short side excursion from the Hemlock trail. This is a fairly new trail in the Chuckanut trail system, and the falls might be more spectacular after a heavy rain, but we were happy to see it, some of us for the first time. It's certainly green around the falls. Early in the day, my trillium pictures all had their heads hanging down from the previous night's rain.

I tried to get a picture of the falls without the log in the foreground. Since it wasn't all that good, I decided to appreciate all the green ferns growing out of the log. Our next stop was at Raptor Ridge, a couple of miles farther up the trail. The view from the ridge was diminished by low clouds, so as we left we played with our poles, making them resemble crossed swords. I asked Peggy to come back under them so I could capture a shot of seniors acting silly. It was fun and made for an interesting picture.

Our last stop was at Madrone Crest. The madrone trees are almost all gone now, but the trail is one of my favorite places, and if you're lucky you can get a view of Mt. Baker. We didn't expect much, since Raptor Ridge was basically socked in, but we were fortunate indeed. Still no rain; although the low clouds spit at us now and then, we stayed dry. Every moment we expected a deluge.

By the time we had our lunch at Madrone Crest, we had traveled more than seven miles and had plenty of distance still to go. The hike was intended to be shorter, but since it never did rain, we kept on going, making it almost ten miles by the time we got back to the cars, and covering almost 2,500 feet of elevation up and down. When we returned to the Senior Center and I got out of Al's car, my stiff old body groaned and creaked a fair amount.

Not only the trillum flowers are out everywhere, but the ferns are unfurling. This bracken fern will be out in a day or two; they are so fascinating to observe on their way to becoming full-fledged leaves. I took this picture just as we finished our hike. I had tried all day to get a good shot, but they kept being fuzzy in the low light, and my cohorts are likely to leave me behind if I fiddle around too long. The light wasn't perfect, but this one WAS in focus! It's probably unfurled more than this already.

But I wouldn't know, since I'm home, warm and toasty. And tired. Once I get this on line, I'll go pour myself a glass of wine. It's time to relax for the evening.
:-)

Tulip Festival 2012

Today was a day for tulips, lots and lots of them! My friend Judy and I headed down to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival on a day that had the lowest chance of rain for the week. Last year we went on April 12 and were a little early for the best display. Today we saw at least 70% of the tulips in bloom, and I think our favorite must be the huge pink and red tulips above. I took lots of pictures of this pretty pink thing (below) that has so many petals it almost doesn't even look like a tulip, but it is.

The RoozenGaarde family has created gardens that take your breath away. I learned last year that every single bulb is planted fresh each year, and the gardens are meticulously designed to give every visitor maximum satisfaction. There were plenty of people there, even on a cool and cloudy weekday, visitors from all over the country. The cost is $5 per person, worth every dime.

It's almost impossible to give a true idea of the beauty in all the different arrangements and beds composed of myriad varieties. There are three main flowers: daffodils, tulips (of course), and grape hyacinth. This year I saw three different kinds of hyacinth: the regular blue, some with a pretty white top, and a completely white variety.

The tulips on the right are just now beginning to bloom, while the ones on the left are in full flower. The grape hyacinth are arranged in many of the beds to look like a waterfall (to my eye anyway). We wandered around the beds and exclaimed over the different tulips until we had almost reached saturation. We could hardly take it all in, but then we went to check out the big fields of tulips behind the gorgeous manicured gardens.

The mountains were obscured by clouds and mist, but it didn't take away from the magnificent riot of color to which we were treated. We asked a passerby to take a picture of the two of us for posterity. She happily obliged.

She even took two so I could choose. Somehow the only pictures in the entire batch that didn't need to be straightened were hers. I don't know how I always manage to get my pictures sloping down to the right; it seems inevitable unless I try to compensate, and then they skew uphill. Fortunately for me, iPhoto's "straighten" tool works just fine. Afterward, we headed to LaConner for lunch and to warm up. It was pretty darn cool today, but I didn't see a raindrop until we were on the highway heading home. It's my lucky jacket, don't you think?
:-)