Tag Archives: Burke Gilman Trail

Walking Again

Oh the Places you will go, Oh the Wonders you will see…

I made the horrible timely mistake of stepping on the scale last Tuesday morning. Right then and there I decided it was time to get serious about walking everyday again. I’ve gotten a little more fluffy and soft then I want to be. So I headed out to see what I could see…

 

The Burke Gilman Trail which spills into the Sammamish River Trail is a great place to walk/ride/run in the Seattle Area. My two walking buddies and I walked this trail every Saturday morning for several years before I moved to California. When I’m back in town we still get together to walk it. The two of them walk it when I’m away. It’s so lush and green in the Spring and Summer! This last Saturday we walked our typical 15,000 steps! On Wednesday of last week after the “stepping on the scale” incident I walked part of the trail starting at Bothell Landing and I clocked 7282 steps. These photos are from that day.

 

LOOK! I even found the MAGIC PORTAL to get to Hogwarts from the Pacific Northwest!

 

On Thursday for my motivation to walk I headed to Juanita Bay in Kirkland, Washington. There’s a wonderful park next to the bay with boardwalks that go out into the marshes and wetlands.

 

I saw this young Blue Heron.

 

Lots of Woodland Ducks. It was so exciting when I looked straight down from a spot on the boardwalk and saw this mama duck with her ducklings just below me.

 

Then I spotted these turtles!

 

This beautiful Dragonfly stayed around long enough for me to zoom in and get a shot.

 

When Dear gets here I think we’ll have to do this walk again together.

 

You can see why it was easy to get in 8694 steps checking out the wonder of this spot. The beauty that the Lord has created for us to enjoy and praise Him for is all around us. I hope to always have eyes that see it and a tongue that gives Him praise for it.

On Friday I went to Bellevue and I already posted about that day and those steps! So for my first 5 days back with renewed inspiration to walk my average steps were 9286. My Saturday walks with the girls really pushes up my average.

I hope to keep walking this week. Have a wonderful week and remember your Creator, the God who made all things beautiful for us to enjoy…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

Our Quick Trip Home

I’m back at the Condo in Southern California after a quick weekend to my home in Seattle. I’m sharing some photos of my walks around the yard while I was there and a couple from my typical outings when I’m home in Washington.

 

The Planters are filling in. The Azaleas are at the end of their pretty blooms. The Camellias are at an in-between stage. I chopped off their tops so I hope I didn’t kill them. We’ll see. My two lavender plants are getting ready to show off. They sure smelled good when I was weeding around them.

 

Azaleas, Lavender, I can’t tell you what the center plant is *but two of my lovely commenters say Corral Bells, yippee, and my Lenten Rose that has gotten quite hardy!

 

Rosemary, pears, ferns, hydrangea, little blueberry buds, wild rose, stuff in pots, my pear tree, and another photo of my blueberry bush.

 

The wonderful Washington State Flower the Rhododendron. I have 4 bushes that are in the need of some serious pruning to make them even hardier than they are. Just so you all know, everything I’ve shown you grows by the Grace of God. I do not want to pretend that I’m a gardener. I truly appreciate gardeners and praise God each year when these plants bloom again despite my neglect.

 

While I was home I had a quick walk with my Washington Walking buddies, Jody and Jan. The Burke Gilman trail is amazing in the Springtime.

 

Lilac bush/tree along the trail. Lilacs bloom everywhere here. I’d love a lilac tree in my yard.

 

Before we headed to the airport to fly back to California on Monday, I made a quick trip to my favorite thrift store in Washington State, Goodwill, not to be mistaken for California Goodwill’s. I found this pretty hand painted tea pot and creamer from Japan. (no sugar bowl to match)

 

But I picked up this cute little glass sugar bowl to compensate!

Greeting and Farewell ~ Quote from Anne of the Island  by L.M. Montgomery

“Anne dressed in the cheerless grey dawn, for an early start was necessary to catch the boat train; she struggled against the tears that would well up in her eyes in spite of herself. She was leaving the home that was so dear to her, and something told her that she was leaving it for ever, save as a holiday refuge. Things would never be the same again; coming back for vacations would not be living there. And oh, how dear and beloved everything was – that little white porch room, sacred to the dreams of girlhood, the old Snow Queen at the window, the brook in the hollow, the Dryad’s Bubble, the Haunted Wood, and Lovers’ Lane – all the thousand and one dear spots where memories of the old years bided. Could she ever be really happy anywhere else?”

Well just so y’all know I’m not quite as sentimental as Anne is. I can be happy somewhere else and I do think that I will return to this home sometime in the future but there’s always a little sadness when I arrive home and then when I have to leave again. And until I can return “my heart will keep on singing” and I will choose to find joy each day I’m away.

I’ll be posting more photos from the Japanese Gardens we visited tomorrow. In the meantime I hope you find joy today.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

ABC Wednesday ~ N is for…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

N is for Nests

The Great Blue Herons and their Nests in Kenmore, Washington.

 

A colony of nesting great blue herons is known as a “heronry”. When I was in Washington State over Easter I was able to get some photos of this “heronry” in Kenmore, behind the Kenmore Park n Ride.

 

When my friend Jody and I were walking on the Burke-Gilman trail one day we were approached by some bird-watchers who were looking for this heronry. I was able to direct them to where it was. It re-sparked my interest and I made it a point to take some photos the next day. When I used to pick up Dear from the Kenmore Park in Ride years ago I remembered being in such awe over this nesting area and the acitivity from these great big birds. It was wonderful to watch them fly around the nests and light onto one. This would be a great field-trip and lesson for any homeschoolers in the area.

The Great Blue Heron belongs to a large family that includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. This world-wide family has about 60 species. The Great White Heron of Florida is a local color variation of the Great Blue and belongs to the same species.

The Great Blue Heron’s long legs allow it to hunt in deeper water than most other herons and egrets.

this photo is from Seattle.gov

Herons have special patches of powder down feathers, which they rake with a foot, causing the powder to fall on fish it has caught. The powder causes the fish slime and oil to clump up so that the herons then can simply brush it off with a foot. Herons also rub the powder especially on the underside of their bodies to repel swamp slime and oils.

The Great Blue Heron can swallow a fish many times wider than its narrow neck.

Herons look for food anytime there is enough light. Studies suggest that cloudy weather is ideal for the birds to look for fish. Herons don’t just eat fish, however. They eat a wide variety of prey, including frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, and small birds.

In catching fish, the Great Blue Heron grabs smaller fish between the two mandibles of its bill; with a quick strike it stabs the larger fish.

In the Pacific Northwest, eelgrass beds are important foraging sites for the Great Blue Heron.

Herons nest in colonies. One of the largest colonies in Washington is located in Renton; last year there were approximately 135 active nests there.

For more ABC Wednesday posts head over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s