WE MISSED YOU GUYS!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Freezing in Seattle
The last week has been inordinately cold (it was record cold a couple of days -- 17 degrees) in western Washington. The cold has been accompanied by beautiful clear bluebird skies that we have very much enjoyed. It has also changed the look of our landscape just a little.
Most of the water feature Rosie had built into our hill has frozen. It is beautiful as you can see below.
However the cold brought an unpleasant surprise this afternoon when a pipe in our garage burst after being frozen. Fortunately, it did not do any serious damage.
Most of the water feature Rosie had built into our hill has frozen. It is beautiful as you can see below.
However the cold brought an unpleasant surprise this afternoon when a pipe in our garage burst after being frozen. Fortunately, it did not do any serious damage.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Snowshoeing in the Cascades on a Glorious Day
The last few days have been very cold (high temperatures around 32 and lows in the teens) for Seattle, but they have also been cloudless and gorgeous, which is rare this time of year. I will take the cold to see the sun during the winter.
Today my friend, Kim Judd, and I braved the cold and went snowshoeing. We drove to Crystal Mountain ski resort, which is about 40 minutes from our house. While we have no snow in Enumclaw, Crystal has been open for skiing for a month. When we got there the temperature was fourteen degrees. Our route took us up 2,300 feet so the temperature at the summit of the peak we climbed was in single digits. But I did not get cold and it is not because I dressed warmly. In fact, on the ascent I had only a long sleeve shirt on -- no gloves and no hat most of the way. We were ascending rapidly and that generates a lot of heat.
We climbed a peak northwest of the ski resort and once we got above tree level the views were fabulous. Here are some photos:
Here is Kim making a sharp ascent. This was hard work on snowshoes.
In this picture you can see Rainier rising well above the ski trail of Crystal Mountain.
Looking east of Rainier we had a great view of Mount Adams and its surrounding mountains.
At the summit this little bird flew up and seemed to enjoy the view as much as we did. What was he doing at that elevation in the middle of winter?
At the top of a good climb
As we got close to our starting point, the sun was setting and the rich golden glow from the evening sunset cast a magical light on everything around us.
It was a wonderful day in the amazingly beautiful Cascades. I wish you could have joined us.
Today my friend, Kim Judd, and I braved the cold and went snowshoeing. We drove to Crystal Mountain ski resort, which is about 40 minutes from our house. While we have no snow in Enumclaw, Crystal has been open for skiing for a month. When we got there the temperature was fourteen degrees. Our route took us up 2,300 feet so the temperature at the summit of the peak we climbed was in single digits. But I did not get cold and it is not because I dressed warmly. In fact, on the ascent I had only a long sleeve shirt on -- no gloves and no hat most of the way. We were ascending rapidly and that generates a lot of heat.
We climbed a peak northwest of the ski resort and once we got above tree level the views were fabulous. Here are some photos:
Here is Kim making a sharp ascent. This was hard work on snowshoes.
In this picture you can see Rainier rising well above the ski trail of Crystal Mountain.
Looking east of Rainier we had a great view of Mount Adams and its surrounding mountains.
At the summit this little bird flew up and seemed to enjoy the view as much as we did. What was he doing at that elevation in the middle of winter?
At the top of a good climb
As we got close to our starting point, the sun was setting and the rich golden glow from the evening sunset cast a magical light on everything around us.It was a wonderful day in the amazingly beautiful Cascades. I wish you could have joined us.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Hanover, MA
Xavier and I made a stop in our little town of Hanover, MA on our way back from Cape Cod this past weekend. We found Brewster Lane, Center School, the Library everything. Santa was even coming to town.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Winter at Our Logan Canyon Cabin
We had a delightful time last week at our cabin in Logan Canyon. While it was a bit cold, the solitude and quiet beauty were wonderful. There were only a few inches of snow on the ground but it was enough to give a feel for what it will look like after a big snowstorm. There are endless places to snowshoe and cross country ski right outside our door. After last week I am convinced the cabin will be even better in winter than it is in the summer. I'm very glad we went to the additional expense and effort to make it a full four season place.
Each morning I watched the sunrise on the mountain across the canyon valley through the soaring front room windows. The golden hues of the first sunlight were striking on the rugged mountainside.
One of the projects Rosie and I took on was decorating/personalizing the master bedroom upstairs. I wanted to use some of my favorite photos of the family on our adventures over the last few years enlarged ot 11 X 14. Below are two of the walls.
Rosie and I look forward to a time when we can have the whole family there in the height of the winter season.
Each morning I watched the sunrise on the mountain across the canyon valley through the soaring front room windows. The golden hues of the first sunlight were striking on the rugged mountainside.
One of the projects Rosie and I took on was decorating/personalizing the master bedroom upstairs. I wanted to use some of my favorite photos of the family on our adventures over the last few years enlarged ot 11 X 14. Below are two of the walls.
Rosie and I look forward to a time when we can have the whole family there in the height of the winter season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)