October 2013November 2013 December 2013

11/29 - Seattle - City Views

We've been making a lot of short trips into Seattle. This was another overnight. We had some shopping to do before Thanksgiving, so we loaded up at Pike's Place Market and wandered the waterfront.

View of the harbor from Pike's Place Market

A little vegetable and herb garden at the market

The waterfront from Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle

The grain elevator, loading wheat for China

Look carefully between the bush and the pier and you'll see Mount Rainier, another northwest ghost mountain.

Pike's Place Market - pretty good for a handheld shot

The future as seen from 1963 - Cinerama and the Space Needle

Another shot of the Space Needle ...

... and the Seattle Science Center

Keywords: seattle, shopping, mount rainier

11/27 - More Signs of WInter

We were out at Barnes Creek to check out Marymere Falls. It was a cold day, and the sun was low. The falls weren't surrounded by frost the way they sometimes are in the winter, but there was frost on logs, on ferns and on the salal near the parking lot.

The unfrozen falls

Frost on logs

Frost on logs and the river bank

Frost on ferns

More frost on ferns

The frozen rain forest

Frost and the river

Frost near the parking lot

More frost

Frost on - well, we aren't sure

A dangerous stretch of route 101 - Here be black ice in winter.

Keywords: barnes creek, winter, marymere falls

11/24 - Along the Waterfront

We've been having some really clear air and good seeing lately. We took a short walk along the waterfront and had a great view of Mount Baker, ghostlike in the distance. It's a working waterfront with big ships, industrial ruins and a Coast Guard Station, but it can be quite pretty on some days.

You can see Mount Baker in the distance

Keywords: mount baker, port angeles

11/23 - The Trail Out of Whiskey Bend

It was a really bright day, not the best day to drive from the Elwha Ranger Station out to Whiskey Bend, especially now with the sun so low in the sky. Still, it wan't that bad a drive, and it was a wonderful hike we had. Most of the deciduous trees had lost their leaves, so the sun shone brightly through to the forest floor. Through the tree tops we could glimpse the snow covered mountains west of the river. The trail was hypnotic.

Michael's Cabin

Ferns on the forest floor

The hypnotic trail

An overlook

Snow covered mountains

More hypnotic trail

A ragged section

Keywords: elwha

11/20 - Butternut Squash Pizza

We often order the butternut squash and bacon pizza at Alder Wood Bistro in Sequim. This time we tried to make our own version, so we roasted up some butternut squash, pan fried some bacon, sauteed some mustard greens, soaked some dried porcini and grated some parmesan. Thats a bit of work for a topping, but that's what Kaleberg Kitchens is all about. It also isn't quite the Alder Wood recipe. The mustard greens were our own idea, and we use the Chez Panisse pizza recipe in a regular oven, not a wood fired one. Still, it was a really good pizza, especially the sauteed mustard greens.

Our version

Keywords: alder wood bistro, recipe, food, kale

11/11 - Seattle Conservatory

Whenever we climb up to Volunteer Park we make a point of checking out the conservatory.

Something like a pineapple

More exotics

Flowers

Fruits

Orchids

The reflecting pool at Volunteer Park

A community garden

Keywords: flowers, seattle

11/08 - Seattle Band Signs

We always love the ragged, colorful look of those Seattle band posters that plaster various light poles and the like. They're a real part of Seattle. We aren't big music people, but we can appreciate their energy and their testamony to the vibrancy of the local music scene. Of course, they can look a bit messy and cluttered, so we're sure that one day the gentrifiers and improvers are going to do something about them. Until then, we're going to enjoy them.





Keywords: seattle, art

October 2013November 2013 December 2013