Fall has come to the mountains!

It was one of those Fall days where you look outside and the sun is shining bright on the trees and you think "what a beautiful day"... and then you hear something on the roof and think "is that rain?"... and look outside and it's hailing. Then the thunder and lightening come "BOOM"... and shake the house. Then the rain. Then you look outside again and it's sunny, as if nothing has happened.

That was our weird weather yesterday. It's part of the Fall unstable air and storm pattern we get in the Northwest during the Fall and Spring Seasons. It also brought this super cold air with it. Vil and I went for a walk after the storm last night. It was a gorgeous, chilly evening, with sun was out setting on Mt. Si. The trees were changinging and the air was cold, so I dug out my gloves and scarf. Turns out it was 42 degrees... brrrr. That's pretty cold for this time of year. The first snow of the year has hit the high hills further up the pass- check out the 3rd picture down.

Here are some shots from our day. Enjoy!

Summit Our "Big" Pup

It wasn't too long ago that we decided to add a dog to our family. I was doing a lot of solo hiking on my days off and wanted a trusty companion and loyal protector. We decided on a German Sheppard and ended up getting this little pup. He was such an irresitible little puppy!
He's all grown up now and will celebrate his 3rd birthday on November 11th. It's hard to imagine that much time has gone by since he was just a little pipsqueak.
This is one of my favorite pictures in the world. Vil captured this moment of the two of us checking out a lake up near Chinook Pass- near Mt. Rainier. We are sitting in this amazing field of flowers and both enjoying the day and view.
Summit's seen many "summits" and has become a handsome dog and wonderful friend.

Maya's Visit

Pictures from Leavenworth...
Vil and Summit were very patient while Maya and I enjoyed some shopping. They made lots of friends under the weeping birch tree in the town square.

Here we are at Lake Wenatchee. We had a nice drive out there and an enjoyable little lake walk. Summit was really excited about the native squirrels!

Vil's Mom came back out for a visit and for the wedding of some family friends, Kelly & Mark. We enjoyed her visit so much and really had a nice time in Leavenworth, where Kelly and Mark were married. She never fails to amaze us with her seemingly boundless energy and her zest for hard work. She got up every morning and stained and sanded a ton of stuff, including our stair railings, doors and lots of trim work. It would be late at night and I'd come home from a long day and she'd still be staining. Oh yeah, and did I mention that our laundry would be washed and folded, the floor vaccumed, dishes washed AND.. the dog walked? On top of that she is a wonderful friend and a lot of fun to hang out with. Needless to say, we always enjoy her visits and really miss her when she's gone. Here are some pictures from her stay.

While Maya was here the salmon came up Issaquah Creek to spawn. This is an amazing phenomenon- so many fish you could almost walk across their backs from one side to the other. This year they saw record numbers of fish- whew.. always a relief. We went a couple of times- the first time (a couple weeks ago) I took this video of this female salmon digging to cover her eggs. The biologist thought she most likely had already laid them in the stream bed and was continuing to move rocks on top of them. If she was digging to lay her eggs, you'd usually see her husband close by. Notice the white tail- it's lacking scales from all the digging. You can tell by this video that she's exhausted from the journey and the dig. She will continue to do this for days before she dies. Then in a few months, the eggs (usually 2500 fish) will hatch and return to the sea. Many of them won't make it, but those that do, will return to this very stream in a few years. When we went back one week ago, the salmon were so thick, it was hard to imagine this lone female getting this kind of space- they were fin to fin. Nature is awesome!

SO BUSY!

Where does time go? Between the house, a new position at work, travelling and day after day of daylight slipping away- there seems to be no blogging time. Where oh where are my priorities?

Anyway... stay tuned. Once the craziness slows down we will be back at'it. Can't wait to post some recent pictures too.

In the meantime... enjoy this quote. It made me and my wacky sense of humor just crack up...
"Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling? "

Traci and Mike came out to visit!

My sister Traci and her family came out for a visit from Houston. We had so much fun catching up with Mike and Traci and getting to know those darling little rascals, Justin and Jarin! Fishing, Beachcoming, Hiking and Paddling- could we fit anything else into 2 days? By the end of it all of us were all pretty tired, but had great pictures and great memories. It was nice to get to know our nephews better and get to play with them- they are absolutely the most darling little boys! Jarin is four and talks non-stop- he's a little precious...he giggles all the time and loves a snuggle. He's constantly looking up to his big "brover" and trying to be just like him. Justin is our little boyscout and loves the outdoors. He's a funny, well adjusted little guy and is at that age where everything is a discovery. He found a jelly fish on the beach and it was the highlight of his day.

Does anyone know of a pill that slows down the rate that kids grow up??

You HAVE to bark at elk...

6am ish, Summit asked to go outside. Vil got up and let him out. Next thing that happens- he's barking agressively. Hearing Summit bark agressively is pretty scary- it either means someone is outside and he's not happy or there is something else out there. A HUGE.. and I mean huge bull elk with a full rack was right outside our bedroom eating greens. He wasn't at all disturbed by Summit, and not only didn't move, but continued eating. After coaxing, Vil managed to get Summit inside and avoid disaster. Several of "the guys" were all hanging out at the house. Pretty cool that these elk are our neighbors...

Backpacking with Summit

Summit and I took a little backpacking trip this weekend, while Vil and his buddy worked on the deck. It was a nice break from the house building and a great weekend to enjoy the woods. The mountain blueberries/huckleberries were in prime condition and I nibbled all the way to camp and back. I also picked some to take home- YUM!