Bronicorns

A group of unicorns is called a 'blessing'.

Fall Dog On It

Well, Fall is in full effect here. 40s and 50s (F) and misty days are trying to erase the summer and my tan. So we took a trip over to Ontario for Niagara and a trip to the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River. It was a great time, and warmer than the Pacific Northwest at the time.
Captain Lance!

Congratulations ME! Now I can operate a boat with 15HP or greater in Washington State waters.
Salmon fishing time!
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/whenwhere/area_pugetsound.pdf
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/whenwhere/area.html


Update!
The salmon are visibly running through the Ballard Locks. Made a trip today and they are making their way through the fish ladder.

Oh and here's our canoe after a fishing trip with some hot air baloons in the background

Summer will be gone too soon

Well, I've really been enjoying the summertime here in the ol' Northwest. We recently picked up an Easy Rider canoe with some accessories, and a whole new world of activity is becoming evident to us. I knew we had a lot of rivers and sloughs, but I guess it never occurred to me how much more accessible they were than where I lived in Georgia.



Also, no mosquitos! I can't express how different it is to not be assaulted by mosquitos and humidity. I've found that there are a lot of reasons why folks in this part of the country love nature so much. It's not as cruel to basic activities as it is most elsewhere.

A quick Summer Summation:
Vancouver and Chilliwack, BC - by automobile
Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival - by automobile
Portland, OR - by train
Bainbridge island - by ferry/automobile
Solstice parade - by bus










Our vegetables:
Squash - Not gonna try again next year. Every year, powdery mildew decimates them
Green Beans - These did fantastic! We will definitely do them again next season
Raspberries and Strawberries - strangley not as many as last year. We jammed them again with an agave-sweetened freezer jam recipe
Hops - The rhyzomes I' planted from last year did not grow anything this year. I will start from scratch next season


In the works for the upcoming season(s):
Cabbage, Kale, Brussel Sprouts - First time, we'll see how these work for Fall and winter crops.

Early Spring

It looks like spring is here early! Frankly, I'm glad it's here at all.

My good friend Jeff and his incredible family came to visit the NorthWest, and while the weather wasn't particularly great for them, they got to see more things than I think most Seattleites see in their whole life.

Another good friend Matt came by and helped us do a lot of home improvement that I'm very proud of. Insulating and drywalling and graveling and digging can be kind of rough, but it's worth it to see it all done in the end.

And the sun is shining!

Thar be whales

It was great to get out to a warm climate this month. We are back from Hawaii and it was great as usual. The islands have so much to offer every time we visit. It's nice to get lost in the studying the culture, history, language, and geography of the islands and the people who live on them.

Oooh, and humpback whales loving and fighting!

Once more onto the beach

Took a working trip to Las Vegas and California a couple weeks ago. It gets pretty danged cold in those SE Oregon passes (-11 when we went through Deadman Pass), but Idaho is beautiful in the winter. In Las Vegas I finally found out what ol VJ Goat Boy has been up to:


Stopped by the beach in Carpinteria, CA




And when we got back, took a day to try snowboarding again. I didn't realize how close good slopes were to where we live.



I may have mentioned it before, but it's worth saying again. Las Vegas is worth the visit just for Tim Arnold's pinball hall of fame, which has the biggest collection of pinball and antique machines to play, that I know of. And I've done research on the matter.


At least 5 rows just like this



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