Traveling to the Ends of the Earth

Okay, well maybe not the very ends, but at least to northwest end of the continental USA! We took a road trip last weekend. We boarded an early morning ferry from Edmonds, Washington and jugged our way over to the Kingston dock. The sailing was just long enough for strong coffee and pastries to be consumed

Edmond's Ferry Terminal at low tide. See the ferry in the top left corner?

A hungry grey heron catches his breakfast.

 Julie Ann picks up a sleepy Dungeness crab. Mind those claws!

 A sunflower starfish craws beneath the pier.

 

Nudibranchs (sea slugs) were out in full force. We love these tiny little critters!

 A pod of sea life eggs. We aren't exactly sure what these are, maybe a dogfish shark?

We journeyed on to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. It was beautiful sunny day, in the nineties at our home, but in the low eighties near the water, perfect! We cruised around the suburb farmers' market finding delicious goat cheese rolled in white pepper and time, hard ginger apple cider, homemade crackers, cherry tomatoes, and lots of fruit. We had a delicious picnic lunch at one of the town parks.

Then we drove a very long and twisty road out to Neah Bay, Washington. Did I mention long? 

The distance didn't seem that great, but most of the curves were down in the 20-25 mph zone; 

so it took awhile! Here's what I thought of some of those hairpin turns!

But,

It was worth it!!!

We drove through Neah Bay and arrived at the trail head around 5:30pm.

David and Anni hiking the forest trail to the point.

Unusual trees lined the path as well as voracious mosquitoes. Apparently, they loved my blood the best!

Check out these photos of Cape Flattery, the NW tip of the continental USA

  There are lots of rock islands,

 trees at precarious angles,

water from aquamarine to deep blue,

 and huge sea caverns.

 Cape Flattery Light House.

 Sunset at the Cape.

 Heading back toward Port Angeles. A tired duo.

 Twilight on the Peninsula

 The moon over the water back at the Kingston ferry terminal. We caught the last boat back at 11:05pm. We all slept in the next day! 

All in all a most excellent family adventure to the end of the earth (or so it seemed).

The blog is back!

Julie Ann at the beginning of the 2012 garden season.

Well, it's about time! I know, I know, the blog has been missing in action. But, we do have a pile of good excuses. I've been really busy working on a new story. Ari and David are crazy with their college schedules, and Alex and Ari are in the full swing of summer vacation. Now, that my first draft is nearly complete, (thank all and everywhere), the blog is back!

Today was a busy one in the 2012 garden. I harvested a whole bucket worth of herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage, tarragon, oregano, three varieties of mint, chives, Italian parsley, and summer savory) to hang and dry. We also processed a full gallon jar of sweet melissa (lemon balm) for evening tea. Then it was time to transplant, 100 basil seedlings and a dozen Canterbury bell plants. Finally, I sowed a planter box full of lettuce seeds and potted pumpkins, sunflowers, and beans. Phew!

The 2012 garden is a big one! We just keep on expanding it. This year, we've had a bumper crop of all of our berries: strawberries, black currants, jostaberries, raspberries, Marionberries, Loganberries, blueberries, and we still have blackberries are yet to turn. We also have 29 tomato plants of various types, lemon, Persian, and English cucumbers, leeks, onions, chives, 5 varieties of lettuce, 2 types of corn, radishes, 3 types of carrots, Russian kale, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkins, mustard greens, lemon balm, 3 types of mint, 3 varieties of potato, rhubarb, garden and sugar peas, two types of thyme, rosemary, 3 types of sage, tarragon, Italian parsley, summer savory, tomatillos, lavender, 4 types of beans, two types of basil, eggplant, and a few I'm sure I've forgotten.

 This year, I decided to make the garden really beautiful by planting lots and lots of flowers throughout the garden. I added lots of our favorite varieties like snap dragons, lupines, pansies, calendula, nasturtium, daisies, and marigolds. As an added bonus, many of the flowers are either edible or protective or in some cases, both!

The chickens are still with us and casing lots of fun and shenanigans. They earn their keep with all the delicious brown eggs.  And also, by tracking down buglies in the garden patch. We love Henrietta and Claudette, except when they wake up early and cackle at 5 am.

In other news, we are all in a baking jag right now, largely to keep up with all the produce. Yesterday, I baked 3 dozen very, very berry muffins. Today, it was 4 loaves of apple pie bread and a dozen oregano rolls.

As a family, we trying to squeeze in 20 hikes over the summer. So far, we've done six. This past weekend,  we trekked around the Ballard Locks and botanical garden and also went out to Flaming Geyser State Parks. The geyser was more a flickering, than a flaming, but the scenery along the Green River Gorge was beautiful.

Until tomorrow, happy farming!

Happy Ostara!

Spring has finally sprung and we got a small dose of much needed and much appreciated sun.
Here's the weather on my birthday:

Yep, snow! And it snowed a little everyday for the next 8 days, as well as lots of rain, sleet, hail, and more rain. Then the wind came in and blew the living daylights out of everything not well secured, and it was cold. So you see, we deserved some sun.

How did we spend our first day of spring? We all went for a walk in the sun. Then, we planted of course! Anni and I started tomatoes, peppers, radishes, peas, beans, corn, cilantro, basil, eggplant, zucchini, sage, and pumpkins from seeds. We are already harvesting some over wintered chives and rosemary. Tomorrow, we're cleaning out the greenhouse. I love gardening season!

Signs of spring

Blossoms

and lots of green leaves!

February Update

 Well, it's February, and we're having lots of fun as always. Here's Anni showing her unique fashion sense with goggles and a tea cozy hat. The rest of the family thinks she get this from me. Hmm, perhaps they have a point. I did go dancing in a cupid costume this week, complete with wings, toga, bow and arrows.

We had almost a week of lovely weather after our snow went away. We all headed out for hikes along our local trails. Some of even got a freckle or two. Then winter came back.

 We continue to get our CSA farm boxes. Here are two latest with lots of lovely organic fruits and veggies (and fungi). Today we had a homey day. I made a big pot of chicken veggie soup and 16 lingonberry whole wheat sandwich rolls for lunches next week. Then, Anni helped bake rainbow cupcakes for tonight's dessert while I made broccoli beef, rice, and a garden salad with oranges and toasted almonds. It was delish!

We hope you all had a very happy Valentines Day. We celebrated all week. After all, love need more than a single day of celebration. We had chocolates, costumes, roses, a special family dinner, cards, and last night, David went out to listen to music. I danced, he watched (and shook his head, and maybe even laughed).

In other news, Ari sent off her first story to an Anthology of horror stories. Keep your fingers crossed for her. Alex has started his second semester at the high school IB program. He's taking the advanced art class for his elective. I love his tree drawings. Anni is beginning to think about what she want to plant in her green house. David is taking a class in art and power tools. He's going to make a yoga bench for Anni. I'm having lots of fun getting ready for my upcoming writing retreat. I've also been thinking about my garden for the upcoming growing season. I can hardly wait to go dig in the dirt!

Our 6th Day of Snow in the Seattle Area!

 January is the month I teach Anni about winter weather. I think we may have tempted the weather fates. They blew a cold front that's been drifting snow down since last Saturday.

 Anni's winter art.

 Snowmen rule the bulletin board.

 And they're taking over the mantel.

 Snowflakes hanging midair between the learning center and the dining room.

 We braved outside to feed the chickens.

 They were hungry and so not amused by the snow.

 A rhody in winter white.

 Barkley, have you been eating the snow again?

 Snowflake sugar cookies.

 No two are exactly alike.

 Is it nature or the unsteady hand of the decorator?

The flowerpot snowman standing guard over the garden. "Back you snow goblins!"

 A ginormous icicle handing right over the center of our front door, ready to nail the unexpected.

 Is this the rare Northwest tree squid?

 Nope, just a frozen wind chime anchored by an aggressive grape vine.

The official family snow-o-meter.

We've enjoyed our winter respite, but seriously Weather Fates, enough! My farm box is coming tomorrow and I don't want to have to sled seven miles to pick it up!

Lot of New Year Fun!

Happy New Year Everybody! Can you believe it's 2012 already?

We celebrated the turning of the year by all going out for a family dinner to our favorite local seafood restaurant for appetizers, dessert, and drinks. It was delish.

On January 8th, we celebrated Elvis's Birthday by playing music, watching Jail House Rock, and baking Hunkka Love Chunk cookies. The next day, I went out dancing in my blue suede boots and my mini dress. And to complete the Elvis trifecta, I went with a group of fellow writers out to see the Northwest Elvis impersonators' competition at the EMP last night. There were a whole lot of Elvi. It was fun!

Chicken Coop in the snow.

Greenhouse under a blanket of white.
David and Alex spent yesterday morning, planting nearly 700 trees along a stream bank as part of a restoration project. During that time, it rained, hailed, sleeted, and snowed. They looked like drown rats upon their return.

View out our front window this morning.

Anni having a ride.

Ari helping to bring back the groceries.
Today, the snow came down! We had a good three inches up on our hill. Anni enjoyed a ride on the sled before Alex, Ari, and I swiped it to go to the grocery store. It was a 4 mile round trip, lots of healthy exercise!

A tree in flocked splendor.

A cold day in the neighborhood; just right for soup, sandwiches, and fresh baked cookies.