Ah, Bellingham. Since some friends moved north, Andy and I have been making frequent trips to visit, and every time we do, I come home dreaming of making a permanent move to the city. Bellingham has all the things I love about Seattle (mountains, water, tons of nearby hiking) in a smaller, less crowded package. Recently, there's also been an explosion of fantastic new bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. It certainly didn't hurt that on the particular weekend we were in town, while rain was forecast from Portland up into Canada, we had nothing but sunshine in Bellingham! It was like a lovely little island of summer. Perhaps someday Andy and I will find ourselves moving north, but for now it's certainly lovely to have good friends who don't mind our frequent visits!
Read moreLife: Week 11
Every year in early spring, I find myself surprised by the return of birds, and the constant music of their chirps, squawks, and trills, especially on rainy mornings. Along with unpredictable weather and the scent of early blooms in the air, it's one of the sings of spring that I've come to enjoy the most. After not hiking for several weeks in a row, I was determined that Andy and I would manage to fit in a hike this weekend. With unstable snow conditions in the mountains, I decided on a nearby lower elevation trail. Built in 2017, the trail to Heybrook Ridge is still pretty new, and this was our first visit. On a misty Sunday morning, we were one of only three cars parked at the trailhead, and we only passed a handful of people on our short hike. After an easy climb up to the ridge, we even had the viewpoint to ourselves! Even if the tops of the surrounding peaks were obscured by a blanket of grey clouds, this was level of solitude on such an easily accessible trail was astonishing. I'm sure this trail would be packed on a sunnier day, but this is definitely a hike I'll want to revisit in the future!
Read moreLife: Week 9
These days it's feeling less like winter, but not quite like spring. One bit of excitement for me over the week was finding fresh looking, locally grown (probably in a greenhouse, but still) rhubarb at the grocery store. I immediately bought a pile to bake into my all-time favorite pie. Even if it's not yet spring outside, strawberry rhubarb pie makes the change in seasons feel a little closer. After a lazy Saturday mostly spent baking the aforementioned pie, Andy and I got an early start Sunday, headed for Vashon Island to prune the apple trees. The morning was mostly cold and overcast, with the occasional patch of blue sky and from the ferry, we were treated to incredible views of the Olympics along the horizon. As we worked the morning away pruning the apple trees, we noticed the occasional raindrop. Shortly after lunch, the light rain turned to a downpour, followed by a brief hailstorm. Luckily, we'd completed our pruning by then, and just had some final cleanup to finish in the storm. By the time we'd reached the ferry terminal to head back to the mainland, we could once again see small patches of blue sky. Maybe spring is closer than it seems...
Read moreLife: Week 5
Early February is an odd time in the PNW. It doesn't quite feel like winter anymore, but it's also definitely not quite spring. Right now the days still feel too short, especially during the week. February gets hated on a lot around here, and some years I hate it too. As usual, I've been longing for the drawn out evenings of summer, but this year I'm finding a lot to enjoy in the shortest month of the year. There's so much promise, so many green things just beginning to bud and sprout and poke up through the soil.
Read moreLife: Week 33
I was all over the place this week, quite literally. Monday, I jumped on a plane to spend most of the week in Florida for work. After work, instead of walks on the Powerline Trail, I found myself walking on the beach. They were short walks, since even with the ocean breeze the humidity and heat of Florida were a bit too much for me. Still, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Florida, especially the delicious food, and the Cuban coffee a coworker made for the whole office on my last morning there. Our company is spread out across the country, and this was the first time we got together as a team in one office, and there was lots of good conversation and laughter. No one in the group had ever been to Washington, so they were all curious to know if it's really as cold and rainy as they'd heard. It's so funny to me to leave home and hear how by beloved green state is perceived.
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