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Magical Maidenhair (and Miscellany)
These maidenhair fern photos were taken at Westcave Preserve back in March. I still haven’t finished out the photos from that day, but slowly I want to work back to doing that. I find myself feeling like I am on top of the pile again, not suffocating below it, but then I find something else thrown on top and there I am again trying to get up to breathe. While going through my old ‘writing desk’ (which turned into an art desk at one point) I found a journal, one that was surprisingly not tattered and beaten up, but still rigid and pretty with its seashell adorned cover. Inside was…
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Hoh River Elk
According to the rangers in the park office, this herd often visits this area just down the river from the campground. We spotted them after finishing a short hike and planning a quick drive up the road to ‘see what we can see’. We saw the elk! First we saw the cars—and a ‘herd’ of cars is a good sign something is nearby, so we peered over the edge into the river and then pulled over so we could get a closer look.
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A Batty Surprise
On our way to the Hoh Rainforest we quickly stopped in at a general store before we entered the park. We bought some sodas and walked outside to look at the display case to see what was posted. I looked down and saw what I thought was a bat. I looked closer, yeaahhhhh, looked like a bat. I squinched my eyes together to determine if it was fake and determined that it was breathing—nope, very real! We asked the girl working the counter if she knew it was there but this seemed to be a surprise to her. It’s not every day you get to see a bat up close…
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The Pacific | II
+We didn’t spend enough time at the beach, maybe an hour. This area deserves to be explored more. I could poke in all of the tidepools and search the surf for marine mammals. We watched something poke its head up out of the water a few times. Sealion? Seal? +I’m going to have to start making photo books out of our photos because I’m going to want to come back and drool at an ocean I don’t get to look at often….ok rarely! “Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” -Rachel Carson
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A Bit of Art Tucked Away
Last week I was attempting to organize our office and started pilfering through my desk. Inside I found all sorts of goodies along with this little pastel. It needs a touch up, signing and spray. I’m not sure why I left it in my desk for 2.5 years instead of packing it, but my guess is that my portfolio was already packed in the POD when I found it in my desk in Florida. So there it stayed. I guess I will display it in my studio, but I’m contemplating making prints to sell of some of the pieces I’ve done over the years. Just seeing this little piece reminds…
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The Pacific | I
+I think the photos speak for themselves. +No matter how long away from the ocean, no matter how much I think that I’m ok with just being a land lover (lubber!), the ocean always tells me otherwise when it slaps me in the face with a bit of salty air. +Tidepools, tidepools…tidepools. *sigh* “One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, ‘What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?’” -Rachel Carson
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My Favorite Cute Kids
Back in July my mom, brother, sister in law, niece and nephew came down for the weekend to help us unpack. I went almost the whole weekend without taking my camera out but I managed to pull it out when the kids were playing upstairs in our the large room we’re going to call the entertainment room. Right now it is lined with boxes of items to sort through for Goodwill. Turns out the boxes are just as entertaining as any toy from the toy store! My brother’s mini-me. Annnnnd we’re falling over…. Running circles is also very entertaining to four year olds….and wears the 32 year old out just…
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Little Lovelies
It’s been awhile since the boys have shown up on the blog. July and early August was hectic with both of them as they battled some kind of intestinal infection for several weeks. Samson, who at his chunkiest was 14-15lbs got down to 7lbs and I could feel the bones in his tail. It was not good.. Needless to say I fed him whatever he wanted to eat and now he’s in love with as much tuna as I can give him. And would you believe he’s picky about what kind of tuna it is, too? Cats! (FYI if you are going to give tuna to cats look to give…
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The Magic of the Ancients
As we approached the outer reaches of Olympic National Park we suddenly saw a sign for the worlds largest sitka spruce tree. Being big/ancient tree lovers, we made a quick detour down a side road to find the worlds largest spruce tree. This was a very short walk from the car, I believe around a quarter mile one way. We quickly learned that there are many giants on the Olympic peninsula, however we didn’t have the time to devote to visiting all of them. Having seen several large and old trees it is hard not to pass them up, particularly because you never know when they will be gone. What…
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Pike Place Market | Seattle
+Going to Pike Place Market was on my list of things to do in Seattle. I had no idea that the flagship Starbucks was located right there at the market—but I should have known, Pike Place Roast! We did not go in the store as the line was long and I’d already had coffee at the hotel that morning. +Honestly, the market itself was a tad disappointing. It felt more like a spiced up flea market than what I was envisioning and the farmers/craft market on San Juan Island a week later was much better. We came there expecting a bit more art than was exhibited, hoping to purchase something…