Kildeer
Swallow
Blackbird
Anyone out there know what kind of duck this is?
We also saw many prairie dogs.
They were so fast and it seemed like they were stealing from each other’s nests.
Hope you see some sunshine today. We have had periods of rain with a few sun breaks.
We took this walk on the Rotary trail on Saturday the 9th of May.
Yesterday I was sitting reading blogs and visiting Pom Pom’s Ponderings and she said ” I’ve decided to walk more and do it in the morning before it gets too warm. ” I left a comment about the fact that I should be walking but was sitting and then low and behold, I got up, put on my walking shoes and made it around my circuit before the rains came! I’ve been talking and talking about making exercise more of a daily thing. I was happy to have gotten off my duff and here’s some things that I saw.
Look at all these ducks in this neighbor’s back yard! I’m glad they haven’t chosen my yard for squatting!
Across the path they squat regularly at this home, too.
My route is not long. I read recently that walking just 25 minutes a day will add 14 years to your heart life. Or something like that. My walk around the bend and up the hill and along the busy road and down the steep descent to home takes me about 30 minutes. Of course it take a little longer if I stop and smell the roses take the photos!
On the home stretch I enjoyed this view of “this old house” through a couple of our neighbor’s landscaping.
It really has come a long way these last few years. A new roof and new siding really make a difference. We hired a company to do the roof but Dear did all the siding himself. He’s a keeper! Our house is the oldest house in the neighborhood by many years!
That huge maple behind our house and in another neighbor’s yard will keep us busy this fall raking leaves! We talked to the neighbor about getting an Arborist out to check the tree to see what it’s condition is. We wouldn’t want it coming down on our house or anyone’s house for that matter. Our recent wind storm is what motivated us to ask.
This new hydrangea I planted this year is still pink and getting it’s fallish tint. I’m curious to see if it will come up pink next year or if it will change to blue or purple like our other hydrangea did in our soil.
I’m headed up to get my walking shoes on again and see if I can beat the rain. We are moving right along through September. What’s new in your neck of the woods?
My walks on the trail give me some great photo opportunities. Today I’m sharing some reflections that my lens captured.
Linking to Weekend Reflections.
All of these photos were taken in Washington State on and around Lake Washington.
Water reflected on duck and duck reflected in the water.
I’m happy to be headed into a weekend with my sore throat and coughing spells gone. Woohoo! Apart from the rain and wind it should be a quiet weekend at this old house. It’s good to have those every once in a while. How’s your weekend looking?
I’m joining Weekend Reflections with these photos I took along Lake Washington in Washington State.
This past Tuesday I met up with my Senior group to walk the Burke Gilman Trail along Lake Washington. It was a beautiful sunny morning. We spotted two eagles that I’ll post later.
I’m headed into a busier than usual weekend with a birthday dinner for our son and big game. If you don’t know yet the whole state of Washington is rallying around the Seattle Seahawks as they play the Greenbay Packers on Sunday. You can’t go anywhere in this state without spotting someone sporting their Seahawks gear. Our 8 A.M. church service on Sunday will be fuller than usual so people can be home in time to prepare for the game. I’m more of a soccer fan than a football fan but I’ll join in the fun and “root root root for the home team”.
On Sunday afternoon of day 5 of the New Year Dear pipes up and says, “do you want to go out and take a walk?” I said, “let’s go while it’s still light and dry.”
The morning started in the 20’s and there was lots of frosty ice on the deck, roofs, lawn, and sidewalks so we bundled up before we headed out.
Not too much excitement here in the neighborhood to report but here are some things I took photos of…
Little varmints have been busy in the neighborhood. They sure were digging in a straight line!
She did not fly south and she was squawking up a storm upon our approach. She was perched on the roof of an out building.
By the time we got way up this hill I was breathing quite heavily and used the excuse to stop and take a photo of where we had come from and the view from the top to catch my breath. Those mountains are in the Cascade Mountain range.
The trees are in full winter mode. This weeping willow has so much character.
We got home as the sun was setting and casting a wonderful glow onto the maple in our neighbor’s yard.
We really need to make walking a habit for this new year. We used to walk more regularly but have fallen way out of the habit. Do you walk regularly?
(I stayed up way too late watching the season 4 opening of Downton Abbey. I’m still hooked and very tired.)
Mama Duck and her 9 little ducklings came to visit. I’m always surprised when I see them for the first time in Spring.
We had a short stretch of dryness yesterday and I mowed part of the lawn and did some weeding before the rains rolled in again. Hopefully we’ll get another dry patch so I can finish the rest of the lawn. This part where the ducks are nibbling seed that has fallen from the bird feeder above has not been mowed yet. I’m happy they can glean the fallen seeds.
Today my kids are picking me up for another Sounders Soccer game. We hope they win for a change. I think the team and fans are ready for a lift!
What does your Saturday hold for you?
This mama duck is really excited that papa duck flies over the skies of Washington today on his way to SeaTac airport. Because he was in Europe we didn’t have the daily phone call opportunities that make being apart from each other easier. So much news to share, mostly good but some sad news, too. He gets home a little before noon on Wednesday.
Maybe he’ll have a window seat and get to see our dramatic Washington volcanoes from the plane…
I mowed the weeds yesterday and used the mower as a vacuum for the leaves that have fallen. Maybe I’ll put something in the crockpot so things smell good when Dear arrives. It’s good that he’ll have Thursday off so he can work on that jet lag that always accompanies such a long trip through several time zones. What does your Wednesday hold?
I’ll be seeing my mama and pops and 6 of their ducklings this weekend. There will probably be a lot of quacking going on. Some of us are at the waddling stage, too. But back to mama duck and her ducklings…
They decided they wanted to eat the bird seed that falls from the bird feeder while I was mowing close by. I left them in peace and mowed another section of the yard until they were done. We think this is the mama duck that visits us every year. This is the first year she’s waddled about our yard with ducklings. We think her eggs got eaten last year.
Things are busy around here as we get ready for a couple of events. Tomorrow we have a dinner here for our end of session celebration with our small group. Then bright and early dark and early on Friday Dear is dropping me off at the airport. I’m flying to Southern California for our nephews wedding in a barn. Makes me think about one of my father’s favorite things to say when we’d leave a door open “Were you born in a barn?” Now Levi and Kristin can say they were married in a barn. Maybe they should have their first babe in a barn. (I digress again) Dear will be joining me later in SoCal. We’re excited that Josh and Laura and Katie will be joining us, too. It’s been a couple months since we’ve seen Katie and we’re looking forward to spending some time with her.
What’s new in your neck of the woods?
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just a I am; thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
It’s Friday and time to consider the week gone by and highlight my favorite things. Please visit our gracious hostess Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in.
I’m beginning to wonder if life will ever be normal around here. What is normal? Maybe the word I’m looking for is routine. Other then Dear going to work Monday through Friday nothing is routine here yet. Seems like each week there is some major event that is different then the last weeks major event. Hmmm…maybe this is my new routine.
But onward and upward to my favorites.
1. Being done done done with our garage sale is definitely one of my favorites. Sighs with relief. I’ve enjoyed having cash in my wallet from the sale and paying for stuff with it instead of pulling out a card.
2. Enjoying time and food with loved ones on Memorial Day was good. The sun even broke through the clouds and Dear was able to barbecue on the deck!
3. In my yard…. Seeing my first ever Peony almost opening up. I really should plant more and if I don’t kill this one off I will. See that nutty duck on our barn/shop roof. He really keeps us entertained around here, too. And no Mr. and Mrs. Duck did not listen to me and they are still leaving squishy deposits on my deck!!
4. Yesterday was another dry day here in Western Washington so I stopped at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens and saw some pretty plants blooming. I really enjoy Dogwoods. That very round purple bloom caught my eye but I was too focused on photographing that I didn’t think to ask what the name of it is. Duh!
5. My last favorite this week is my new view from my computer desk. When we re-decorated our spare room the desk had to go up against this window so I now have this view instead of a view of the wall. I really like it. One of the nicest things about it is that birds come to visit this plant throughout the day and I’ve even had a hummingbird come late each afternoon for a visit. So far it’s been too quick for me to catch a photo. Yesterday I took the screen off the window and washed it inside and out so my view would be nicer. I only fell off the ladder once while washing the outside of the window. Tip: Do not put one of the ladder legs on top of a sink hole!!
So what has your week been like? Are things routine where you live or is life crazy?
Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 