Nov. 1st++++Theme++++Doorways

Since the November theme is doorways and I am stuck at home with a broken car--I give you my front doorway. The latch is always open here so I suppose I will see you all sooner or later. MB

To view many different doorways from all around the world:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

OOoooOOooOoOOOoooOOOOOoOOOoooooo

May the ghoulies be with you!!! MB

The sun was trying

We have been having day after day of rain rain rain. Yesterday morning around 9AM this poor little sun was trying to come through the clouds during a break in the rain. Alas, to no avail----the rains returned and have not stopped.
And I am TRAPPED in my house with no car because the radiator blew up and that happened yesterday too. MB

If you would like to see more skies from around the world or participate go to www.skyley.blogspot.com---enjoy.

The ol' Punkin Patch

Schuh Farms has been around for a long time. First as pea farmers (a huge crop in the valley) and then different crops and now they grow corn and pumpkins and through-out the year they sell plants and veggies and local produce and the best milk and cream from a local creamery. Nowadays farmers have to diversify. Their Punkin Patch has been fun to go to for years




Ralph is a Patch inhabitant and feverishly mows the area so visitors can walk down the Punkin Path.


Oops, there were so happy to get married they did it twice. They are exhausted so they are sleeping.


Oh look! Is that MB? Whoa--look at those legs!!

Flying Big Birds

I like to watch the Snow Geese fly. They undulate across the sky like ribbons in the wind or they rise up as one and fill the sky.





Most Eagles I can get pretty close to and they won't fly away and this guy landed about 3 feet away from take-off. Look at the size of his wings.

Heron taking of from Swinomish Slough


Oops wrong kind of bird

The Eagles are back.

The Eagles winter every year in the valley and they are back. We have several resident Eagles and several nests I know of but the Big guys from up North are back. Today was one of those days when the wind blew and we had LOTS of rain. the the wind would blow all the clouds away and for a brief time the sun would be out and the sky would be blue---and yes Virginia, that is when I got this nice picture of the Eagle. And then the wind blew all the rain clouds back in. And I got wet. MB

Back to Blanchard Mt.

I remembered that the man who glided in the last post told me how to get to the top of Blanchard. So today I decided to take a run up there. Not the best day for taking pictures as it was gray, foggy, misty and windy. Stubborn me went anyway. It was pretty easy--a gravel road mostly and only nasty in a few spots. My trusty little car went up like a champ. And I did manage to get a few pictures.
Blanchard Mountain or Hill as it is posted has an elevation of 2300 feet. So I guess it is just a hill.

The view on the way up.


At the top looking down. Pretty huh.
The spot where the gliders take off
I can see where they land.




Looking out at the San Juan Islands. In the misty fog.

Jump off Blanchard Mountain

Down the hill from my house and going west and north across the Skagit Valley is Blanchard Mountain (actually a hill) a favorite jumping off place for hang gliders and such. This isn't me although I think it would be a fun thing to do. The fellow jumpng told me how to drive to the top so my next mission...................MB

The storm is over

It stormed and was rainy and windy all day long yesterday. About 5:30 as the sun was going down it broke out beneath the clouds. The bright clouds went skittering across the dark clouds as the sun was behind the trees. Taken from my deck.
Look Ma no rain. LOL MB

Our friend raf at Port townsend Daily Photo is in the hospital--please be thinking good thoughts. thanks

Hup 2,3,4

I thought these guys were on a mission. They were just marching along. I saw them while I was on my way to Camano Island which is connested to Stanwood by a bridge over Davis Slough and the Stillaguamish River. These are Canada Geese.

Views from Whidbey

As I mentioned in a previous post I was going to Whidbey to visit my Mother. My Mother is 93 and still a strong and vital woman. But she likes me to ferry her around. We did her grocery shopping and some banking, driving around looking at colorful trees etc. We stopped at the Beach Fire Grill at Holmes Harbor for lunch. This is the view from the dining room.
She has her house for sale and hopefully it will sell fast. She will move over to the mainland to be closer. We will wait and see what happens.

Morning views from my deck

Yesterday (Oct 20) was kind of pretty with the ground fog coming up through the trees. It turned out to be a fairly nice day---no fog up here. It was foggy past the trees as you can see or rather not see.

I am off to spend the day with my Mother on Whidbey Island. She has her home for sale and hopefully it goes fast. She needs to move to the mainland to be closer.
MB

Cool sunset

Monday night's sunset was glorious, spectacular--and yet very low key--I just couldn't save it for friday --well I took a zillion pics anyway. Ain't she purty. MB

Boats of Bellingham Bay

Bellingham Bay is one of the best places to visit and walk about. Something always going on. Boats and more boats of course.
It was windy and stormy but a neat day on the water.

BTW: I have tried all night to post this---blogger would not let me upload any pics until now. GRRRRRR!!!

My two goaties.

Stanley and Snowflake are Pygora Goats. Pygoras are fiber goats. They are a cross between an Angora and a pygmy goat. They are cute, smart and very funny.

The case of the missing feet

Down by the beach on Thursday I took a picture of this gull. Well I cut his feet off in the shot so I decided to zoom in on his feet..........I am still laughing.


These are just the funniest feet I have ever seen. I can't stop giggling!!

Washington State Ferries

The Washington State Ferry Service is the largest in the United States and 3rd largest in the world. All ferries not only hold cars and truck but walk on passengers, motorcycles and bicycles.
There are 14 different classes of ferries and these are just 3 different classes.

This is the Spokane on the Edmonds-Kingston run. It is in the Jumbo class and holds 206 cars. Itook these pictures of the Spokane Thursday evening. I like the night shot.


This is the Cathlamet on the Mukilteo to Clinton (Whidbey Island) run. this is the ferry I take when I go visit my Mother in Langley. It holds 110 cars.



This is the Steilacoom on the Keystone (Whidbey Island) to Port townsend run. this ferry holds 54 cars and lots of passengers. Sometimes it is cancelled if there is an extremely low tide. It's a tricky run.
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Views from a ferry boat

Tuesday I went to visit my Mother on Whidbey Island. I took the Ferry named Cathlament from Mukilteo and crossed over and landed at Clinton, Whidbey Island and she lives about 8 minutes away in the little artsy town called Langley by the Sea.

1. Mukilteo Lighthouse
2. Look at the row of Gull on the pilings
3. and a bunch of Cormorants
4. This big freighter on it's way to Seattle passed right in front of us. It is
huge.
5. Ant there it goes on down to Seattle. Honk Honk!!

Kayak anyone?

Have you ever been kayaking? I haven't and I don't really know if I want to. I have been canoeing and that is fun---but a kayak???
Here at Bowman Beach you can kayak and even take lessons. Here are the kayaks--ready?

Views from Samish Island

I thought I would take a little run down to the Valley to look for the Snow Geese again. Yep, they were there again so I went on across the valley to Padilla Bay and around Samish Island.
Samish Island is a small island that has been turned into a peninsula by a system of dikes created in the early 20th century. Along with Guemes Island, Samish Island is considered part of the Inner San Juan Islands. The island is mostly residential with 300 homes and a few businesses and cottage industries. The Island is pristine with breathtaking beauty.
I took these pics from the island. The bear is decorated every month and the little stone cottage is my favorite house. I wish it were mine. The view on the island is gorgeous no matter which way you look. This view is out across Padilla Bay.

They're Ba-ack!

The Snow Geese leave their Spring and Summer homes in the Arctic Tundra, Greenland and Siberia and feed their way down North America. In this flyway they arrive in the Skagit Valley in October to winter over until March (that's when the farmers hope they leave). They feed on harvested farmland. In March or April they wing their way back to the Arctic Tundra to breed in May and raise their families.

I had been thinking about the Snow Geese and knew it was time to check out Fir Island, in Skagit Valley, where they usually stay. The earliest I have seen them was last year on Oct. 8th and now today Oct. 11th. Always quite a sight and in the next month their numbers will increase. Last year they estimated 90,000 to 100,000. The Trumpter Swan and Eagles and other raptors, from the North, will be arriving soon. My camera will be ready!! MB

Random shots on the way to Mt. Baker

Another gorgeous look at part of the Cascades through the valley going up to Baker.


A pretty section of the Nooksack river on the way to Baker.

These beautiful Ravens are at the White Salmon Ski Area at Mt. Baker.--No snow--YET!!


Lots of color in the trees and the red color on the meadow is Wild Blueberries.

Darn blogger!!!

I have tried almost all night to upload some more Mt. Baker pictures and blogger just says "NO". So I have the next best thing.
I took this shot of Mt. Rainier last night just before sunset. It is rather blurry but then again it was so far away. I wasn't right there like I was with Mt. Baker. LOL MB

Mt. Shuksun, Picture Lake and Sky Watch

Continuing wednesdays roadtrip to Mt. Baker, one of the best photo ops is Mt. shuksun and Picture lake. Mt. shuksun all 9,127 ft is one of the photographed Mts. in the Cascade Range of Washington. Here she is reflected in Picture Lake with a beautiful blue sky background. But Look! what is zooming up from behind. Oops!! Modern day jet. I thought it looked kinda neat. Maybe I should call this 'streaking vapor trails'. MB

this beautiful area is about 2 1/2 hours from my house. I love it.

to see more skys from around the world or to participate go to www.skyley.blogspot.com

Nooksack Falls

well this summer has been very hot and very dry for this part of the country. We recently had some snow up in the mountains but not really enough to generate any water in the rivers. Today (Wednesday) I went up to Mt. baker to take a close look. I stopped at Nooksack Falls. It was beautiful as always but very low. The top 3 pics were from today and the bottom 2 in August of last year. Even though last years was a summer shot look at the difference in the volumn of water.

More FFF---Taylor Shell Fish Farm

I also went to Taylor Shellfish farm on Samish Bay. It is a neat place down inthe mud. They are famous for their Oysters. I also bought some fresh caught local King Salmon.
Welcome to the great Pacific Northwest and Taylor Shellfish Farms. The Taylor family has been growing shellfish in the bays and inlets of Puget Sound for over 100 years. Our farms are in some of the most beautiful and pristine tidelands in the world. The clean, clear waters of the Sound provide the environment for growing some of the most bountiful and flavorful shellfish harvests to be found anywhere.

More Festitval of Family Farms

The second farm I visited on sunday was Eagle Haven Winery also in Sedro-Woolley. Took a tour of the orchards(apples and grapes)and then on to apple and wine tasting. they grow 60 varieties of apples and several type of grapes. They make Red wines, white wines and fruit wines.
Eagle Haven Winery is located in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountain Range in Skagit County of Washington State where fertile soils and mountain streams combine to create a very rich agricultural region. Join these qualities with a unique climate and you get a feeling that the grapes grown on site for the wines are special.

Festival of Family Farms

This past week-end was 'The Festival of Family Farms' in Skagit County. It honors local family farms and educates all of us how buying local helps and healthens both the farmer and the consumer.

I visited a few on Sunday. This one is a beautiful farm nestled in the foothill in Sedro Woolley. Hemlock Highland is a business of naturally raised beef owned and operated by John and Joan Bates.

Also A pic of beautiful Mt. Baker overlooking the valley on the way to Sedro-Woolley.




The Scottish Pipers welcoming us to the scottish Highlanders Farm.
Pics of several Scottish Highland cattle.

Rainbow Bridge

La Conner's Rainbow bridge connects La Conner to Fidalgo Island which includes, the gated Shelter Bay Community, the Swinomish reservation, and the city of Anacortes.

La Conner is a sweet little town to visit. Very touristy and about 40 minutes from my house. A nice stop on the way to Anacortes, Deception Pass and/or Whidbey Island.

Hardy Cyclamen for Floral Friday

My Hardy Cyclamen are coming up in my woodland garden. I have a little slope I wanted to plant the Hardies--which I did--hoping they would naturalize---and they are, but the dogs like to play in one area so.......
But these guys keep on keeping on. They have beautiful foliage which comes up after the flowers fade away.
These are not the florist Cyclamen you find in the grocery store or florist shop but a special small variety.

To see more floral beauties or to participate go to --
http://floralfriday.blogspot.com/

One for Skywatch---2 extras

This is what today looked like and probably tomorrow and the next several days too. The rains have come to this side of the mountains. See that hill on the top right side---I live up in there somewhere. MB

If you would like to see more skies from around the world or would like to participate go to http://skyley.blogspot.com and enjoy!!






The original pic of the previous post. and another odd one.