With the promise of one nice day in the whole week, our quandary is whether to work in the garden or get out and about. The garden is waking up, but the soil is still pretty cold for planting much. Still, there's plenty to be done, and much is of the backbreaking variety. But the wild woods call, and the garden will wait. Awe lies in store.
Washington state
Beyond Mud To Open Waters
I never tire of crossing over the Columbia River into Washington. It has everything: a bridge, a river, another state, and another point of view. I hear constant birdsong during my four hour hike at Steigerwald Refuge. My troubles dissapate, and float away with the river.
Washington On Your Side
Washington in February may have been a misguided vacation plan. Sub-freezing temps, every layer of clothing I own, more miles of walking and more sitting in the car than is good for me - I kept hearing Little Feat's Old Folks Boogie: "And you know, that you're over the hill, when your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill."
Cranes’ Landing and Fog
We went for another glimpse of Sandhill Cranes, but everything was submerged in an opaque fog, and we could have been anywhere.... I listened intently for that bugling call, or the cry of the geese. Apparitions rose from the fog as I peered around, and my ears strained to hear
Bird Brain
The vast grassland stretched out into a perfect spring day. An eagle soared, a heron and egret fished. I needed nothing else from the world for just that moment.
Island Life
Islands are wonderfully limiting. You're set apart, the surrounding water cutting you off from much of the world, leaving you access only to what's immediately available.
Another State
An afternoon hike in Lacamas Park turns into a hike into history, ecology, botany and more. The retired life!
Steigerwald Lake, North of the Columbia
I hiked along the Columbia River on the Washington side for a northern perspective, and new (to me) viewpoint. It always feels good to flip your view in some way. It was in fact quite different than my Oregon hikes along the Columbia Gorge, where the trails take you along steep, dramatic, thickly forested trails … Continue reading Steigerwald Lake, North of the Columbia
Rivers and Roads PDX 