After waiting impatiently for signs of spring around Puget Sound, I wound up spending the first day of the new season in central California, travelling for work. I left behind a warm, sunny Seattle that finally felt like spring and arrived in a rainy, cool Sacramento. The rain passed quickly, and the brief showers made the unfamiliar scenery feel more like home. On the trip I had several long, exhausting days, but managed to find moments to enjoy, including a fantastic restaurant walking distance from my hotel and a picnic lunch in the sunshine under some flowering fruit trees. After arriving home late Friday night, I took it easy Saturday, catching up on some reading in between much needed laundry and cleaning. After a mostly sedentary March, I finally hit the trail again on Sunday for the month’s Alpine Trails Book Club hike. Our group was smaller than it’s been in months, and it made for a laid back morning. The roaring, milky green Stillaguamish and small signs of spring (including the first trillium sighting of the year!!!) sighted along the trail were just what I needed after such a long week. Spring is coming!
Read moreLife: Week 12
Spring has officially arrived, and with it an new color palette filled with the pinks and greens of new growth. On sunny days, the sweet smell of tiny pink and white blooms perfumes the breeze. With the longer days, even as work has been increasingly busy, I managed to fit in a much needed midweek walk on the Powerline Trail! This time of year, as different plants begin to bud and flower, the trail changes drastically from week to week, so hopefully I'll find the time for another evening walk soon to mark the progress of the season. Over the weekend, after a quiet (and rainy) Saturday sent indoors, Andy and were out on the trail Sunday morning, joining the Alpine Trails Book Club for our March hike. It may have been chilly, but we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted with mostly sunny weather for the day. Without rain to dampen our spirits, our group was able to linger over lunch and spend plenty of time discussing the complexity of our March book - Reclaimers. You can read more about the book & hike in my post here.
Read moreLife: Week 12
After a long wet winter, it's finally beginning to feel like spring! It rained almost every day this week, but most days, there were at least a few hours of sunshine. The rhubarb in my parents backyard has finally started to sprout, a promise of rhubarb pie in the near future. Skunk cabbage is blooming, and while I have yet to see any, I've heard the trillium is too. Even so, our March Alpine Trails Book Club hike on Saturday was surprisingly wintry. On a trail a little over 2000' above sea level, we wound up in an unexpected snowstorm. While the cold, damp weather made our 7 mile hike one of the quickest in book club history, the storm made for some magical conditions along the trail. Once again, winter seems reluctant to leave Puget Sound!
Read moreLife: Week 12
This was a quiet week. I spent most of the week trying to get over my persistent cold (I think it's finally gone!) so I didn't do too much. By Saturday, I was feeling well enough for a long walk at the Redmond Watershed Preserve. Even though it's close by, I haven't been to the Watershed in nearly two years. The last time I was there, it was a sunny summer day. On the overcast, spring Saturday, the woods were damp and muddy, with trillium and young ferns poking up everywhere. For Easter, we had an early dinner with some of my family, and I made a strawberry rhubarb pie. It's been a while, but it was just as delicious as I remember!
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