Best Friends October 24, 2009

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday when mom and I were at the Pike Place Market, there was a man and his beloved bird performing on a corner. He said that he got him when he was a featherless baby and now he is 15 years old. I never did catch the mans name, but the birds name was Phinius (really not sure on the spelling there). This guy had taught his bird all kinds of great tricks, and had us all smiling. I just loved this first photo, cant you just see the love that this guy shares with his bird? And that piercing gaze in the second photo, he was looking right into my soul.

 

I wish I had been able to get some video of the act these two friends did. They both seemed to enjoy the attention, and even though Phinius was doing most of the work, you could tell he was so much happier than a bird that had to sit in a cage all day. I have seen birds that live in a cage plucking themselves bald out of stress and bordom. This bird was as healthy as you could ask for, nice feathers, good weight and a wise joyful expression. So lovely to see!

 

Having grown up with many animals, I love to see someone that is so loving, and having so much fun with their animal companion. Its such a special relationship to some people, and that is just wonderful! I have never understood how some people can honestly believed that animals do not have a soul, or are incapable of thinking, I suppose we all have a different perspective on the world…… Whats one of your favorite experiences with a beloved pet?

 

I am off to Las Vegas tomorrow, and then the Grand Canyon and Sedona, AZ. I hope to get many wonderful photos to share on here, and to remember my adventure. I am truely blessed to have great opportunities to go explore the world, and am endlessly grateful for them. I may not have internet access again until I get back in a week (at this time I do not  have a laptop or other mobile device to take with me). I hope all of you have a magical week! (Oh! And my last post was my 100th post! Does not seem like I have had that much to say….)

Next To The River October 16, 2009

 

 

Well I have been a little slow at posting, because I haven’t been doing hardly anything! There has been a lack of fresh energy for me to post about. But today Bernie, Angel and I went to the Nooksack River. It wasn’t a very long outing, but we all got to stretch our legs, and do something other than hang out around the house. The light was low, but I fiddled around with my camera a little. Bernie let me borrow his new lens, it really was nice, giving me a better quality photo. Unfortunatly I chopped the top of Bernie’s head off in the second photo, but I kept it because I loved his expression and Angels determination.

Now I can’t say we haven’t been doing anything. Bernie has been a saint helping my dad do some projects around the property, the place is looking good. I have been running around town here and there, one day even dropping off a couple job applications. I am slowly working toward the idea of getting a job. This is challenging for me, I am a bit of a free spirit, and don’t always enjoy having to live by a schedule….. But I am slowly getting closer to accepting it is a step I need to take at this point. The plan for this weekend? Going down to Olympia for my cousins wedding. He is only 20 years old! So young! Maybe I will get some fun pictures down there!

A Journey to San Juan Island October 9, 2009

 

 

On Tuesday Bernie and I took our guests, Lyndsay and Jordan out to San Juan Island. I had not been out there in years, and it was wonderful to re-visit and get to experience the beauty of this wonderful place. The day started with a Ferry ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor (ferry photo courtesy of Bernie). A ferry ride is something that everyone should do at least once in their life, it is just so much fun. This one is an hour long, and gives you a wonderful tour through the San Juan Islands (now to clear up any confusion, all the islands in this area is grouped under the name ‘the san juan islands’, but one of them is named San Juan Island….) There is a magical feeling of peace and adventure riding the ferry. They float you along the water, transporting you along the highway of the islands. The deck of the boat rumbling and vibrating under your feet as the massive engine pushes the mass of the boat loaded down with the weight of cars and passengers through the softly rippling waters. The weather could not have been better, it was a calm warm day. The waters stood almost completely still for us.

 

 

 

 

When we arrived at our destination we spent a bit of time exploring the town of Friday Harbor. We found a quaint little used book store, with shelves pouring out onto the floors and counters surrounding them. Lyndsay bought a little french childrens novel to practice her french, and I bought yet another cookbook to add to my never ending collection. After a tasty lunch at a restaurant with the best view of the harbor we set out in my (wonderfully cute!) car. The first stop was Cattle Point, a beautiful windswept point on the south end of the island. We frolicked and strolled along the beach.

 

 

 

 

Is he sticking his tongue out at me?

 

 

 

 

The Island is filled with great history and beautiful places. This lighthouse is located at Lime Kiln Point state park. Its on the side of the island that looks toward Vancouver Island (yes you can see canada from right there). Its a really deep channel that runs between San Juan Island and Vancouver Island, this creates a rich feeding ground. Often Orcas are spoted along this shore, unfortunatly they did not make a showing while we were visiting. I was really hoping that they would so that Lyndsay and Jordan would get the chance to see them. The park also has an old restored Lime Kiln. There are many great places to visit, two of them are American Camp (close to cattle point) and English Camp. These were occupied at the time when the border between America and Canada were being determined. They are both amazingly beautiful spots, and so vastly different! They are on opposite ends of the island, and have such a different feel from each other.

 

 

 

 

Of course there was much picture taking the whole day.

 

 

 

 

The best part of all is that the ferry ride home was right at sunset, and although it had clouded up part way through the day, the clouds were well worth it at sunset. I have not altered this photo in any way, the sunset was so amazing. It really was a magical end to a great day. The next morning Lyndsay and Jordan boarded Amtrak for a train journey back to their home in Tennessee. I hope they enjoyed their visit to our little corner of the world. I had a wonderful time exploring places of old with a fresh perspective.

Friends and An Ancient Lesson October 6, 2009

 

We have a lovely couple visiting for a couple of days who we met on the Pacific Crest Trail this summer, Lyndsay and Jordan. They ended up finishing a couple weeks after us, and spent some time enjoying Canada. It’s great to get to spend a couple of days with them before they head back home to Tennessee. We actually met them somewhat early on in our pilgrimage this year, and actually last saw them in southern California. I had wondered about them many times along the trail, and did not hear how they were doing. I am glad we got in touch right at the end!

 

We had a lovely day today. It was relaxing, and we visited some beautiful places around Bellingham. I really liked this picture of them enjoying the views out toward the islands. Tomorrow we journey to the San Juan Islands. It should be a great outing, and I hope to get some nice pictures out there! We get to go on a Ferry ride, and thats always a great experience.

 

Tonight we all watched the movie Kung Fu Panda. Cute, as expected, but it also had a great message. I love the disney movies, because even though its usually a basic concept they are very profound if you take a moment to reflect on it. So I leave you with this thought:

 

 

There is no ‘hidden ingredient’ to transform us into something special,

We are special.

A New Adventure April 25, 2009

Well everyone, tomorrow a new adventure begins. We fly to San Diego to start the Pacific Crest Trail.

I will miss getting to interact with everyone in blog land.

I wish you all the best of summers!

I hope you have the most spectacular time doing what each of you love!

Thank you for all the kind thoughts and comments that you have all shared with me.

A Springtime Surprise April 24, 2009

Wednesday my lovely friends Christie and Jessica came over for the first time. I was giving them the grand tour of all the creatures here. We started out with Chickens and Chicks, then we moved through the Rabbits and Chinchillas. They both enjoyed getting to feel and hold the Chinchillas for the first time (their fur is really a magical thing to experience). Then I took them back outside, and was going to show them the cow herd, mostly because of our miniature black bull. I was pointing everyone out and paused, wait, there was an extra being out there. One of our girls had a calf! He was very literally brand new! Still wet, had not yet stood up. Very exciting.

 

 

This was a surprise for us, because we weren’t sure that our little bull had figured out his job….. We had never seen him accomplish the task before (mom says he must be a midnight lover). We had no clue that the girls were bred, just thought they were FAT. Now that she has had a calf, we can tell the other little girl is pregnant also, she will probably have hers in the next few days.

The two girls are not miniature cows, but mom bought the smallest girls she could find. They have stayed pretty small as they grew up. So their babies should be nice and small, because their dad is smaller than both of the girls.

It was a fun event for all of us. He is a really cute little calf. We decided his name should be panda, because his little face looks a bit like a panda with his black eye patches. I’m glad Christie and Jessica got to experience a bit of our “farm life”.

 

 

 

He has been figuring out how to use his legs and everything else. The photo above is Panda at one day old. We had to put him and his mom in a separate pen than the other cows, because they were being a little too curious of the new family member. They seem quite happy in their space, and he enjoys running around with his little tail up in the air. It will be fun when the other girl has her calf, and they are put in the same pen, the babies will be able to play together.

A birth can be even more exciting when you have no idea it is going to happen! It’s rather funny we didn’t catch onto any of the ’signs’, its just something we really didn’t expect.

So Welcome to the Farm Panda.

A Spring Time Giveaway! April 8, 2009

Giveaway Closed!

Thank you everyone for participating!

Chick Approved

 

Three Beak Rating

Well everyone, with fresh spring energy comes fun new things! I am hosting a giveaway for my dear friend Christie. She makes SPECTACULAR herbal body products at Birchwood Botanicals. I have a large collection of her items, and love using every one of them!!

Birchwood Botanicals carries a wide line of luxurious herbal body products. Christie lovingly grows a wide range of organic herbs and flowers that are hand harvested to use in her products.

If you have gifts that you need to get for a lovely lady in your life, whether it is for Mothers day, a birthday or any special occasion; any of the Birchwood Botanicals products would bring a huge smile to their face (followed with many ooohs, ahhhs, mmmmms, and THANK YOU!). These products are not only wonderful for the women in your lives, there are many of the products that men would love to use also.

The body butters come in a wide range of to die for scents. Made with Shae Butter they are wonderfully rich and moisturizing, and feel great to put on. When I spend a little too much time out in the garden without gloves on, and then come inside with dry rough skin. After washing the dirt from my hands I put some of this wonderful body butter, and my hands feel so wonderful!

The Avacado Foot Balm make your feet feel so wonderful. After a long day on your feet come home, soak them and then relax and massage your feet with this great balm. Feel the tension melting away.

These are just a couple of her many wonderful products. Visit Birchwood Botanicals website and read about everything else Christie has to offer.

Christie has given me a spectacular package to give away to one lucky winner! The items that will be won are in the above photos. Three bars of soap (tuberose, sandalwood vanilla, white tea ginger), a White Tea Ginger body butter, and Avacado foot balm (a total value of $39) (Chicks not included).

There are multiple chances for entries in this giveaway.

1) Visit Birchwood Botanicals  here and come back here to tell me what your favorite item is. (1 entry)

2) Go here and leave a comment in the form, telling Christie what your favorite part of her web page is. Be sure to come back here and let me know you have done this. (1 entry)

3) Buy an item(s) from Birchwood Botanicals, come back here and leave 3 seperate comments telling me what item(s) you bought. (3 entries)

This contest is open to everyone. Please be sure to include your e-mail with your entry, so that I am able to contact the winner. If you do not follow the three criteria listed above I will have to delete your entry. The drawing will be closed at midnight on Wednesday, April 15th. I will pick the winner using random.org. I will notify the winner by e-mail, if I do not get a response by midnight on Friday, April 17th I will randomly select a new winner. Good luck! And thank you for participating in my giveaway.

A Weekend Full Of Spring April 5, 2009

 My Dad and I outside of the Farmers Market

This weekend finally felt like spring. We had REAL spring weather. Today it made it up to 68 degrees, wow!! And the energy felt like spring also. We got to do some fresh, new things. Saturday started out with my parents and I going to a  local car auction. It is a once monthly thing, and there are some great deals sometimes.

My car is on its last legs, so I am looking around for some new possibilities. Unfortunatly I have little money to invest in a new car, so I am looking for the best deals out there. I had my eye on a couple of the cars, but they ended up going for a little more than what I could afford. I think they were still a very good deal, but just not for me. I will most likely go again when we get back from our hike.

And then we went to opening day of the Bellingham Farmers Market. I LOVE farmers markets, as I have said many times before, so it was really nice to go and enjoy it again. Bernie did not have interest in the auction, so he met us at the farmers market. I got to visit with some people I know that are vendors there. Christie my good friend that I work for some times was selling her body products, and doing very well.

 

Bernie and I went to visit Heather, the lady that made my purse (which you can see by going here) . She is such a sweet and loving soul, she always gives me a great big hug when I see her, and I barely know her! I can tell she is someone I would really enjoy getting to know more. We told her we are getting ready to hike the PCT, and she was very excited for us. Its always been a dream of hers to hike the PCT. She told us to chose one of her little pouches to carry with us on the trail, to put our things in. So sweet and generous! This is the one I chose, her new peacock design. It will be cherished, and well used!

 

We have a hen hatching out chicks. What we have been doing with the chicks from the last hen and this hen is to take most of the chicks away as they hatch and raise them in the trough with the chicks that we bought. Then the last couple of chicks to hatch (they hatch over a few day period) we leave with the mother. We have been doing this because in the past when we have let the hens raise all of their chicks, things go well for about a day if we are lucky. Then a chick dissapears here, and then there, and over the next couple of weeks we whittle our way down to one or two chicks. So instead of loosing those ones, we are simply raising them ourselves, and letting the moms handle the number they seem to be able to keep track of. It works really well!

 

This lovely trio is the chicks that I pulled out of the nest today to join our growing group in the chick trough. They are sooooo sweet! I had them out in the lawn, featuring as models for an upcoming post. These are some of the behind the scenes photos of them snuggling with me in between takes. They really thought I was their mother. They were sticking close to me, and I could tap my finger around in the grass and dirt and they would run over to see what little snacks I had found for them. My family was making fun of me (in good nature of course) of my love for chickens. I am a bit lost on chickens….. oh well. How could you not love that?

 

It was a very lovely weekend all said and done. Productive and full of fresh spring energy.

Up and Down Weather March 9, 2009

Our weather has been a bit up and down lately. I know its all part of the shift between winter and spring, but it keep catching me off guard. Perhaps a bit of the reason is because of our month spent down in California. We were immersed in the begining of spring while we were down there, flowers were starting to pop out all over the place.

We drove back up to Washington the end of February, the day after we got back it snowed about 4 to 5 inches. It took it a few days to slowly melt off, but since then we have been in a cycle of rain and sun, a little more rain than sun. But it has been getting a bit warmer, we even had a couple flowers pop up in the yard. I was getting all excited about spring, and then it surprises me again!

I woke up to snow this morning…… It’s a swift reminder that we aren’t quite out of winter yet, and probably to get me to enjoy what winter has to offer. This morning it was slightly challenging to want to go out and do chores, but once I got out there, moving around it was just fine. I moved a little faster than I might usually, getting things set up for the cold windy weather. The chickens however thought that the weather was less than desireable to come out in, and requested that I close their door as I left. So I did.

I came back inside and finished working on a shopping bag I started the other day. It is the same style and fabric as the bag I gave away during the bloggy giveaway. It felt good to get  it finished. I am not always the best at finishing a project I start, something I have been working on. By finishing a project, I clear space in my mind to start on something new and fresh.

This afternoon the sun slowly burned off the clouds that had been spitting snow all morning long. With the strong energy of the sun, the snow slowly began its surender. As if the snow knew it has few opportunities left this season, in this area. We gave the chickens a second chance at the out and about thing for the day, and the sun made the snow much more appealing aparently. This is one of my new favorite chickies. She was hatched out by incubator last September, so she is still rather young. She is a silkie cochin cross, so she has those big brown eyes from the silkie, and the cute bowling ball shape from the cochin. I really should come up with some cute name for her, any ideas?

After following the chickens around with a camera for a few minutes, Bernie and I decided to go for an outing. We headed to Hovander Park for a walk/jog along the river. It really was a beautiful day, the chill air was extremely refreshing. We are trying to get out most days to get exercise in my quest for getting in shape for the hike. Again this includes the mental aspect. And so today along our walk, we spent some good time coming up with mantras and intentions for me to practice for getting rid of the tensions in my body.

“If a man’s mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure”

~Buddha

Return to Semiahmoo March 7, 2009

Yesterday we spent the afternoon on Semiahmoo Spit. We had a beautiful sunny day here, and it was so nice to get out and enjoy it.  Semiahmoo is a nice place to go to enjoy wildlife and scenery. Bernie had an enjoyable time taking pictures of the many different birds.

Our first stop was on the pier next to the resort. Its a good spot to get out closer to the sea birds. They have a few benches along this area, I found one in the sun, and sat down to enjoy a book I brought along. A couple moments later Bernie told me to come look at something, and there swimming along the survace of the water was 3 flounder type fish. We had never seen them near the surface like that, it was fun to watch them swim/glide. And then one of them did a series of underwater loops, and they all dove. Another fun observation to add to this lifes experiences. I got to enjoy a little bit of my book as Bernie took pictures.

I have started re-reading “Mending the past and healing the future with soul retrieval”. This is a very good book for helping us to find and release old wounds and thought patterns that are detrimental to us in our lives now. I have been thinking of reading it again for a few years now, and just have not gotten to it, so now I will. The author, Alberto Villoldo, spent over 25 years studying with the Amazon and Inka shamans. He created the Four Winds Society, at which he trains people in the practice of energy medicine and soul retrieval. www.thefourwinds.com

We then decided to go for a walk along the spit. We started down the east side of the spit. They have worked on the trail/park since the last time I was there, putting in a couple of structures, a few benches, paving more of the trail, and some free viewing scopes. Canada is on the other side of the bay, so with one of these viewing scopes you can see people walking along the beach up in Whiterock Canada.

The tide was out quite a ways, and along one of the rocky beaches the sea gulls were pulling up clams, and then they would fly up in the air and drop them on the rocks to break them open. They were pretty good at this game. Bernie got some fun poses as they were taking off, hovering and diving (he posted a couple on his blog http://northwestnaturalmoments.blogspot.com/ ).  As we continued on we had an enjoyable walk, stopping now and then as Bernies new camera got to click away.

In two different places I left a couple felted acorns, with a little note, for anyone to find and enjoy. I hope they brought a smile to someones day. As we were about to leave the light got quite nice shinning through and under the clouds. I took a few photos, but they were nothing compared to how briliant the sky got on our drive home. Unfortunatly there was no longer a nice background to take the photos then.