Floating High
When you release your tie downs,
You will drift free,
Able to view the beauty of the world around you from any elevation.
Sunday was a beautiful day (although a wee hazy),
We enjoyed the beauty of the outdoors by working in the yard.
I looked up in the sky a little bit before sunset and saw three hot air baloons drifting gently on the evening breeze.
So I waited, and eventually this one drifted in front of Mount Baker.
It was such a beautiful scene!
They must have had a beautiful perspective from up there.
As this is posted we have already left on our roadtrip to the Southwest.
We will not be taking the laptop with us,
So I won’t be able to do blog posts with our photos until we get back from our journey in a month in a half or so.
I am looking forward to see what beautiful things we come across!
Wishing you all a wonderful autumn!
Getting in Shape with Nature
Today Angel (Above) and I went for a hike.
We went south, to the Chuckanuts, to hike the Pine and Cedar Lakes Trail.
This is a great trail for me to get back in shape on,
Its a steep climb up, and reminded me I have not been very active this winter.
Huff and Puff.
Our sun was shining today! Well at least this morning.
After a nice 2 mile climb up the steep old logging road,
We arrived at Cedar Lake.
I took this picture from in the shade, and spotted a bench basking in the sun on the other side of the lake.
We migrated to that bench, and I took a little cat nap basking in the sunshine.
My soul soaked up some much needed sunshine,
While Angel listened to the squirrels and other small wildlife scurrying around.
After my little rest, we climbed up a trail to a view point above the lake.
It looks out across some of our clearcut hills toward Mt. Baker and the Twin Sisters.
It almost looks like Mt. Baker is lounging across the foothills in this photo.
Basking in the sunshine.
Angel and I started back down, taking a hidden side trail back down to the main trail.
My legs felt like rubber on the steep downhill.
Tonight my body is happily tired!
A wonderful reminder to start getting in shape for the up coming hike.
Bernie went on a slightly different adventure today,
And got some amazing photos of his own.
Check them out Here
Light Shines Within
We took an evening walk.
Mount Baker was basking in the sunlight.
Even though it is only January,
It really did feel like spring today.
These pictures speak stronger and more beautifully than my words ever could,
About our lovely outing,
Soaking up the sunshine.
The park that we visited has a lovely fragrance garden.
This garden held a fragrant beauty for us to meet.
I recently learned that this is the blooming season for Witch Hazel.
A lovely surprise this time of year!
And today I learned,
It comes in red also.
Peaceful moments spent outdoors,
Soaking up natures essence.
Tonight my light shines within!
A Mountains Beauty
Today I am Thankful for Natures Amazing Beauty!
My day was filled with crisp winter Beauty.
Mt. Baker shining in the sunlight.
A Bald Eagle circled over me silently as I smiled and enjoyed its company.
Nature never ceases to Amaze me every Moment.
My Adventure – Part 1
This was the sunrise here the morning we left for Las Vegas. What a beautiful send off! I am not a morning person, so I don’t see a lot of sunrises, lol.
The convention that we were attending was at Ceasars Palace. We stayed at a different hotel about a (Las Vegas) block away. These are the statues that greet you when you first walk in Ceasars. All the details that they have put into this massive building is amazing. It is beyond imagination how much it cost to construct this monster of a resort. The whole place takes up a huge amount of land, and is a maze to get around.
This is an indoor cafe….. all the detailed painting, and statues. It amazes me.
One of the fun parts of one of the shopping areas there is the FAO Schwarz Trojan Horse. Only in a building of this size could something like this look at home. Its pretty neat. We went to the Forum shops at Ceasars also, very expensive over all, but kind of fun to look through. Things that I would not normally see shopping around here in Bellingham. I did find a Christmas gift for mom though.
One evening we made our way up to Fremont street to have dinner, do some shopping and experience the light show. For anyone that has not been to Las Vegas, this is a walking only street that has a huge lightshow built over it. It runs a couple blocks long, and every hour or so each night they put on this big show with music. We happened to be there for two shows, and each one was different. At the end of each show there was a Halloween bonus show. These two pictures are from one of the bonus shows at the end. Its a pretty amazing thing to watch. Nothing in Las Vegas is small.
Mom and I had a good time in Las Vegas. It is an interesting place to visit once in a while. I have to say it is not a place that I would really enjoy living in, or spending too much time at. But its always good to get a different perspective on life, and Las Vegas will do that for you for sure! It is entertaining in its own ways, if you have never been you might ponder doing it once as a once in a lifetime experience. It’s unique!
Enjoying the View
We should all take the time to slow down and enjoy the view. We are surrounded by beauty every moment, just take time to soak it in. What is beautiful around you right now? Right now I am enjoying the beauty of a warm fire in the woodstove on a chilly winter evening.
This picture of Harley enjoying the sunset was taken a couple of weeks ago on a beautiful late fall evening.
To enjoy other photos visit:
Skywatch Friday
This picture of Snow Geese and Mt. Baker was taken last winter on Fir Island. Its amazing the sheer numbers of Snow Geese that congregate in this area. When they are disturbed by something these huge groups of hundreds or thousands of birds will take off all at once. The energy they produce is awe-inspiring. I love sitting there watching their little personalities. They chat with each other, rest, graze, and explore.
To see more beautiful sky shots visit:
Refreshing Outing
Yesterdays’ outing was refreshing in many different ways. I was in need of an adventure away from the property, so we went to Hovander Park. It was wonderful to get out for a walk in the beautiful sunshine. The air was nice and crisp; winter has definitely arrived here in the northwest. We wandered around for a while and took some pictures, unfortunately there wasn’t too much in the way of wildlife for Bernie to get pictures of. Mount Baker was showing in full glory though, so we both snapped some shots of it. Bernie has some nice close up shots taken with his telephoto lens, and the above picture is one of mine.
As we were walking along, soaking in the sunshine I was filled with a great sense of gratitude for our beautiful lifestyle. We are able to go out and enjoy nature when ever we want to. We don’t have to request for days off from work, we don’t have to wait until the weekend. I am so grateful for the freedom to live how I want to! I am becoming better at being greatful on a daily basis for my life and the people around me. Its a simple practice of enjoying the little things on a daily basis, and eventually your day is just a long string of special moments.
I spent some time collecting rosehips along our walk. I really am not sure what I am going to do with them, but I have wanted to get out there and collect some. I will have to look up some different recipes online, and do something with them. This is one of my faults some times, I have a huge desire to go harvest something, and then once I do, I don’t always follow through with making something with it. I am trying to get better about that!
Hovander park is a nice local park that is an old homstead. There is a beautiful old red barn in great condition, and the old house is a museum now. They have done a great job with the grounds, and all sorts of events are held there all year long. Right next door is Tennant Lake, which has a great boardwalk winding along the edge of a pond. Currently the boardwalk is closed for duck hunting season, which is too bad, it would have been nice to go down there. I have always enjoyed the feel of these two parks.
In the morning before we left on our adventure we got some more siding put up on the pole building. That has been our ‘job’ the last couple of days, putting up siding. We are doing board and bat siding with the cedar that we just had milled. It looks really nice so far, even though we haven’t gotten too far. Once we get a little farther along I will have to post some pictures.
Scenic Sunday
When its clear around here my parents property has the most beautiful view of Mount Baker. When there are wisps of clouds, or big fluffy ones, we can have gorgeous sunsets. The sunset last night wasn’t too bad, but just before sunset was more stunning with the light on the mountain.
To see more beautiful scenic photos go to:
