Another day, another walk around town

I'm sure liking this so-called winter we're having.  Sure, it's a bit chilly and frosty in the mornings, and some days it barely gets above freezing.  But the clear sunny days!  I'll take it.  I want to take advantage of them as much as possible and get out for walks.

Today I wandered downtown again - it's always nice by the water (though if you do the walk often enough it's a bit dull).  I stopped into a couple of shops in hope of finding some good tea, but no.  I'll just have to make a stop at the Skagit Valley Food Co-op for that.  I'm in search of a couple more caffeine free teas to drink in the evening, instead of wine.

I should mention that I've gone one week without drinking any alcohol.  Woohoo!  I'm feeling better already, and if I keep this up AND walk as much as possible I should be able to fit into those clothes that got a bit squeezy!  It will take a bit of work, however.  But with more days like today, that will make it a lot easier!

Anyhow, here's a few things I saw on the walk today...

Oh dear.  Nothing good could have come from the consumption of this rum in the park gazebo.



It got better after that though.  The low angle afternoon sun made some great shadows.



The birds were busy everywhere, but this lot were trying to settle down on the log.  The were noisy as get-out chattering at each other and flying here and there.  But they were trying.



The days are getting longer, but the sun still goes down pretty early.  The ducks were enjoying the golden glow on the water.




What a beautiful day!  And another is expected tomorrow.

Cheers!

More beach!

It's been cold here for days.  Cold enough that some of the frost doesn't melt, if it's in the shade all day.



It was another gorgeous sunny day, and despite the cold we got out for another walk.  Today we headed to Deception Pass State Park.  The walk around Cranberry Lake is one of our favorites - it's not too long, and you get a little bit of forest and a bit of beach.

Look at the happy little wave!



How can you not love this place?




We are so fortunate to live where we do.  It's easy to get out into a natural place, just a short drive in any direction will get us to a park with a beach and forest.

Ahhhhhhh.

One more day of my mini holiday.  More reading, relaxing, and another walk are in store.

Oh hello!

Today was a beautiful day.  Cold, crisp, sunny.

Perfect for a walk at Ebey's bluff!



Wow.

It's been a while since I've stopped by here.  I was rather busy in 2015, with this "Year of Making" thing I was doing.  Writing wasn't very high on my list, but I did a lot of crochet.  A LOT.  I also did quite a lot of doodle drawing, and a few other assorted things.  What I did manage to do was "make" something every day for 365 days in a row!



The only thing I usually do that often are sleep, eat, and have a wee.  Heh.

This year I'm not committing to do anything for 365 days in a row - anything out of the norm, anyhow.  I have set a goal to read at least 100 books, which should actually be quite doable.  The great thing is I don't have to read YA books anymore if I don't want to - woohoo!  I'll read one, as one category of the 2016 Reading Challenge is to read a YA book.  I do have an ARC here that I want to read, when I'm in the mood.  Maybe I'll take up blogging more regularly again this year.  I suddenly feel in the mood to write (which has also been lacking for a while).

Here is a peek inside bull kelp:



And a couple more lovely scenes from our walk.  Happy New Year!

Holiday!

We headed off to the ocean for our (almost) annual Darwin Day adventure.  Last year we missed it, due to the dreaded broken leg.  It would have been just silly to go to the coast and sit in a cottage and do nothing, when we could do the same thing at home for free!

Much different this year, since Michael can get around fairly well.  Not 100%, but much better.  It was really nice to get away for a couple of days.  I'm working through the photos, so it will be a couple of days before I do my full write up, but in the meantime here are a couple of photos from the trip.

Syd got to run free on the beach a few times, and he really enjoyed it.  Especially when he discovered the dead crabs, and ate lots of crab legs.  Naughty dog!

I'm happy to report it didn't mess his guts up too much, and I did not have to get up and walk him in the middle of the night as I had feared I might.

Whew!

Things started out a bit rainy and wet.

It was what we expected though.  The winds were wild on the first night!

Gorgeous day!

After many days of gloomy gloom, the skies cleared up today and we had SUNSHINE!  It was a truly wonderful thing.  Even better, I had the day off work so we could get out and enjoy it.

We decided to go for a walk without Syd.  It's great to take him out, but it's not always the most relaxing thing and I pretty much have no freedom to take pictures or enjoy the scenery.  Plus, we wanted to go to Ebey's Landing, and that walk just isn't a good one for Syd.  TOO LONG.  He's pretty much good for only a couple of miles, and this walk is 3.5 miles.

TOO LONG.

Michael wasn't sure if he'd be able to make the whole hike, as it was the first time he'd tried anything so long his he broke his leg.  I'm happy to report he made it just fine!  He was quite pleased, though he's paying the price now.

The hike starts out with a bang and a big set of stairs.

Then it levels out for a bit as we cross the prairie and head for the bluff.

It was a bit chilly out there, but by the time we got to the top of the hill I had to take my sweatshirt off.  I could pretend it was spring!  The climb up to the trees is the most difficult part of the hike.  It's actually quite steep at the end.

 The trees on the bluff have a lot of character, after many years of high winds blowing off the water.  We haven't hiked here so early before, and I noticed the branches were much more visible and eye-catching with less grass and other vegetation blocking them.

The trail down to the beach is steep and changes often as people take different routes and cause erosion.  I've always liked this sign at the bottom of the trail.

Hiking only!

I was hoping to find some tidbit of beach debris to bring home, but everything was too big or too embedded in the sand to move.  Michael found a hat on a stick, which quickly became a hat on his head.

It's quite nice!

I'd like to have more days like today.  It was so nice!  I'm ready for spring now.

Stranded

A few days ago we took the dog for a walk on our favorite beach - and we saw this:



I'm pretty sure he was stuck.  The path down looked pretty treacherous - and in fact there really wasn't a path.  Just a cliff.  Easy enough to climb up, not so easy to get down.  I worried that when we passed by again he would have fallen and snapped his neck.

But no, he was still sitting in the same spot, and talking on his phone.  I wonder what happened to him?

Nice sandy cross beds, by the way...