Busy days

Glacier Lilies 

Busy days are here for sure and there is much to share!  I'm in the process of writing a Day Hiking guide for the Goat Rocks/Mt. Adams area and have been swimming in maps and working feverishly to identify the hikes that must be included.  There are so many wonderful places to spend time in Washington, it almost makes you dizzy!  Between writing up the proposal and working on pieces for Washington Trails, I've been remarkable busy.

This past week, I started my big hiking adventures which led me away from home for several days to hike, document, photograph and journal each location.  Because snow is still clinging to the Cascades, I've been visiting lowland hikes and eastern areas of the State, which will be included.  Each day when I head out, I feel so blessed with good health and a happy heart.  The places I visit are remarkable and it seems at the end of each night, when I talk to V, my words are almost the same "you should have seen it..." followed by a story sharing my awe of the flora, fauna and vistas.  Like people, each trail is unique, has it's own feel and has something interesting to share.

This week I was in bird nerd heaven!  For the third time in my life, I encountered Mountain Bluebirds.  I was also introduced to a Chukar (very odd prairie chicken of sorts), orioles, fly catchers, quail, chats, swallows and various types of swifts.  Beyond that I had some one way conversations with elk, big-horn sheep, a mountain goat, lizards, a tree frog, 3 bull snakes and countless encounters with rattlesnakes.  I wasn't fond of the snakes, but the others were just friends in different skin.  Our new little travel trailer provided a fantastic 'home away from home', and allowed me to download photos and GPS coordinates at the end of each day, and stay up late documenting my adventures.  This is the start of what will be a summer of accomplishing over 125 hikes before the snow falls next Autumn.  By the end of it, I expect to be in good shape, and have lots more stories to share.  I uploaded a few pictures from this past week HERE.

In other news, V has been working his tail feathers off and we both live for the weekends where we get housework done and catch up.  The Swainson's Thrushes have arrived for the summer and their song, found HERE is the soundtrack I look forward to each year at this time.  To unwind, we sit out in our gazebo surrounded by heaters listening to the birds sing and relaxing as the sun goes down.  I live for summer and am so happy that we've been given an early sample of what's to come, after two years of wet springs.

Happy Memorial Day!