On Friday the 13th of February, our family hiked in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Now that might not sound so far-fetched to some of you, but to those of us who frequent these parts, beginning a hike at 3000+ feet elevation in mid-February is highly unusual! During normal February’s, we would snow-shoe …
Years ago and miles away when I was a young girl and my daddy was a pastor, he was invited to join other clergymen in our community and meet the founder of “Each one, Teach one.” Daddy wisely brought me along. What this man shared, I do not remember. I do remember sitting on a folding …
As morning fog spread a wet blanket over the city, just one faint light penetrates the soft gray. When the sun begins its ascent over my neighborhood, defiant pink fluffs appear in the southeast sky and the clouds overhead shimmer like organdy. The fog, like waves ebbs and flows throughout the morning. Once the mountain appear for …
I never met Jerry Olmstead, yet he powerfully impacted my life. Let me explain. I enjoy walking and photographing and visiting gardens. One of my favorite gardens has become the landscaping at Everett Community College. I know. Seems like a strange garden to fall in love with, doesn’t it? Its an academic setting after all. …
Teetering on the edge of a gloomy Northwest December day, my thoughts turn to November on the Big Island. It’s the day after Veteran’s Day in Hawaii. The Engineer and I are capturing one more 82 degree day of leisurely island roaming. Heading out of Keouhou Bay, we turn right. If we keep going, we will …
Today I found myself laughing. You know that throw your head back kind of laugh that issues forth from deep within. I think it might have been a prayer. Or it might have been sheer relief. I don’t know. I just know that in the last eighteen hours I have had conversations with three amazing …
Several times a day I pass across the stone patio on my way between street and front door. Sometimes I am aware of the beauty that surrounds me in the bobbing heads of blossoms. Other times I don’t even notice the gentle sway of fairy wands responding to the breezes upswept off Puget Sound. I am …
This year on my self-taught photographic journey, summer flowers beg portraiture. In photographing them, I am learning that flowers are not like high school seniors or brides coming for a formal setting. Brides and seniors wash up first and remember to apply some mascara. Not flowers. They come just as they are. With the naked eye, …
Last night the love of my life brought home yellow roses. The first roses he ever sent were yellow. I was in heaven. We exchanged vows amidst the bicentennial hoopla of 1976! Today I do the math and check the calendar. On the 17th I will have completed 38 rich years with this gentleman who …
You really ought to get out of the city and spend an Independence Day in a tiny hamlet somewhere on the backside of America. The fireworks still pop, sizzle, bang and blow in such a provincial setting while the crowds are much less of a hassle. In fact, we drove right into the heart of …