Mt. Pilchuck

July 08.08
After a leisurely morning and a rather tough time finding a parking space at the 65th park and ride, unlike a winter Saturday morning start, I met up with fall_line for an adventure on Mt. Pilchuck. Oh, the joys of having the summer off!

In the trail head parking lot we met up with group of hikers and discussed appropriate footwear while strapping on the boots and skis, and saw them again, when they exclaimed that the "footprints just ran out. I thought this was a well-established trail!" Indeed, this well traveled trail is still holding snow well. So much so, it looked like we would skin early on and donned the skins. Our footwear friend passed us, smiling, "I guess you found your snow early." We rounded the bend and... skis back on the pack.

We booted up following intermittent orange flagging until we couldn't find them anymore, traversed over to gain a great view of the lower lake which remains 4/5 frozen, and there the bush-whacking began. We love those veggie belays and newfound teamwork and serious humor! We swam our way out of the brush back up to the snow, for a lunchtime shady snack. We continued on firm grade snow, slushy above the final saddle as a bevy of summer clad teens in Vans and gym shorts passed us coming off the summit nearly jumping down in Johnny Mosley style leaps.

To say the least, duck-billed boots and skis scraping over large granite boulders (a chance to practice basic rock skills and fancy footwork) made for a clean finish to the look out. This was Emily's first experience with the stunning 360 degree views from this vantage that included Seattle's Columbia tower, Rainer, Shucksan, Baker, and Puget Sound.

We grabbed a couple of photos and a quick snack before heading down the boulders to the saddle where we stripped skins, strapped on skis and leashes (from the gong show of a start--gotta love the repair kit!). Shaded sun cup city made for graceful turns and much easier route finding on our way down, nearly 1/3 of the time to make the climb. Black flies and gnats were so bad that I nearly tossed my cookies upon inhaling one! The marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage are blooming in the wet marshes with frogs calling telling us the way out of the squelchy exit to the car.

Another great day in our backyard! WOO HOO!
more photos

Drive through

life's been moving pretty fast.
i haven't had much time to write, although I've had plenty more interesting to write about than...
my bike through the drive through at Starbucks yesterday.

well that's it.

I rode the bike through a drive through at Starbucks.
Had a hunkering to do that.
Stick my foot out on the curb,
lean over to the black box crackling with teen voices
and order, no not coffee,
and no, not tea,
but a little scone,
to keep me fueled for a few more miles
pedaling and enjoying downtown.

is there such thing as "eat and ride"?

Freedom of the Hills

Thank you MLK, Jr for fighting for freedom. I took my day off in your honor to celebrate the freedom of the hills in the back country of Mt. Baker, towards Coleman Pinnacle.
For the trip report---- For the photos

Film, Music, and Literature Influences of 2007

This is my chance to offer up suggestions for your expanding cultural savvy.
These are my, somewhat overlapping, highlights from 2007.

Film: While very different, these two top my list this year for story telling, each in their own way.
ONCE
Into the Wild

Music:
Swell Season (and music from the movie ONCE)
Jose Gonzales, In our Nature
Mike Doughty, Golden Delicious
Fiest, The Reminder
Block Ice and Propane, cello music by photographer Lee Freidlander's son, Erik
The Project, Winter in June (video of a Mingus tune!)
Turkish clarinetist, Selim Sesler, from the German movie Crossing the Bridge. Watch him play!
Iron and Wine, The Shepherds Dog

Influential writers:
Orhan Pamuk
Diane Ackerman, her new book The Zoo Keepers Wife
Michael Pollan
Richard Louv, check out the Children and Nature Network

10.19 Birth

I rode in on the lingering breathy kiss of a wind storm. Morning sun climbed out above the cloudy covers, giving garden trees a rainbow of red, orange, yellow, and late-lying green waves with the warm light. We were born today in a children's garden, full of seeds like the pumpkin we discovered there among the bent sunflowers.

The light was fleeting. Rains came quickly. Drops of sweetness secretly gathered, and when the bell rang, they sang to me as I blushed. Maybe rain is a teen-ager—shifting intensity throughout the day, stomping on the ceiling, hailing attention from even the most focused, and fading as it breaks. At one point, I shivered just looking out the streaked window.

A mixed bag blossomed as I zipped into my hatches to saddle up. Sun burst on the west; skies tumbled on the east. In the crossroads I pushed off with rainbows in my head, heart, and horizon. I was thwaped alive, smiling. Soon, like any good storm, there were blue skies, Magritte clouds, and still puddles.

under an orange sky

One of the joys of riding my bike to work so early in the morning is the sunrise. Not just viewing it from a window, but being in it--waking and breathing with it, becoming colored and growing warm. Today the sky was ablaze, fire orange, pumpkin-gut gorgeous. The Cascades, a serrated knife, carved a seasonal jack-o-lantern out of the last few spooky rainy days. What a treat!

Curiosity strikes again

True, it has been too long since I've added a post to this blog. But once, seven years ago, I committed to recording the life of a dear friend as a mama. When her daughter speaks words of inquiry or wisdom, I swore I'd write them down. So last night, the six year old calls me up. "Didi, since you are a science teacher, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Can you separate gas?"

"Yes."

"How?"

and I launch into a kid friendly explanation of helium party balloons and density as a characteristic property of matter, which my 6th grade students will learn this very week. I continue on about the mixture of air around us, including oxygen we breathe.

"We also breathe in carbon dioxide," she chuckles.

"What's so funny?" I wonder.

"Carbon dioxide." She repeats. "Such a hard word to say!"

"Beautiful." Simply beautiful.