Little Si View

You can also see lots and lots of trees.

Little Si

Today we hiked "Little Si", the shorter, easier companion hike to Mt. Si (or Big Si) that we first hiked on the Fourth of July. This was a great hike. A fun trail, cool terrain, just the right amount of challenge. The payoff at the summit was not nearly as great as Big Si in terms of the view because it's not 360 degrees and you can't see Mt. Ranier. What you can see is this (above) view of Big Si. We hiked to that top point triangle, so you can see how much further and harder it appears. We had our traditional second breakfast at the summit - ham sandwiches, fruit, and chocolate.

Fish for Dinner

I decided that I was feeling adventurous this weekend so this morning when we were planning the meals for the week I actually requested fish for tonight. I never eat fish. I have never liked it. But, over the years I have expanded my palate quite a bit and acquired many new tastes so I am willing to be open to the possibility that a taste for seafood will need to be actively acquired.

We are starting off fairly easily, a very mild cod cooked with onions, tomatoes, capers, olives, lemon, and fresh herbs. I didn't like it's texture when it first came out of the oven. It was like eating raw chicken - kind of slippery?! So J pan finished it for me to a more flaky texture. It was so mild that it almost tasted like nothing at all. As long as I put a caper or olive in every bite I was able to eat the whole thing.

Harvest

The very very last of the snow peas. And my first "big" tomato. I have been looking forward to this tomato for weeks. On the plant, there were two growing side by side, nestled into a little crook of tomato branches so we affectionately called them "the bull's balls". Too bad it wasn't very yummy tasting. It had a mealy texture which is very unappetizing in tomatoes. Now I feel bad because I don't really want to keep watering and tending the plant to keep growing large, beautiful, undelicious tomatoes.

A Good Sign

This morning, before my clients arrived for their session, I saw a tiny hummingbird. I never have my camera when they suddenly appear but this time, I did. Obviously, not with a 300mm lens on it, but at least I did have it. I snapped this while he perched on the tallest flower. I always think hummingbirds are a very very good sign. At the very least, I find them cheerful.

Roses II

These are the same roses from the other day. This time in the last little possible hint of evening light. This is almost straight out of camera and it saw the whole world as being rose-colored at that moment so who am I to argue? Simply beautiful.

Scouting II

The scouting trip continued to an often-maligned town nearby in the burbs of Seattle that had a very lovely little park along the Sammamish River. They've moved several old historic buildings like a pioneer cabin, the first one-room schoolhouse, and a farmhouse to the park so there are lots of good photo opportunities. It turned out to be a great day out in the sunshine with lots of things going my way.

Seeing

On the way back up the trail, though I was keeping a good pace, I suddenly spotted these amazing mushrooms all covered in dew. They grabbed my eye because it's been very dry and nothing in the entire forest was wet, except suddenly for these few mushrooms. When I looked closer, I noticed the tiniest slug I've ever seen. Ever. He's about the size of one of my fingertips. I am sure that most people would have breezed right passed these mushrooms and the snail but I spotted it immediately and was drawn closer. I take this as a very good sign that my eye is still working, that it's still sharp, that my mind is really taking in all the details of the world and processing them. I was able to really appreciate this small moment out of my day today and that happens so rarely. I was alone, outside, in a forest, the sun was shining, I was breathing hard and using my muscles, and I had a few moments to appreciate some dew and a tiny slug.

Scouting

I had to go on a scouting trip today to look for new locations to do portrait sesssions. I usully hate doing this, dread it, and put it off until the last possible moment. Today, however, turned out amazing! I went to a State Park that I saw listed on the map but had never heard of or been to. When I arrived, I found that it had the biggest most awesome playground I have ever seen (I really would have loved to give it a go if it weren't so crowded), a lovely orchard, and miles of hiking trails. They appeared to lead down to the lake but I had no idea how long or difficult they would be and if the lake would have a suitable payoff. Only one way to find out! And that's how I found myself hiking alone at midday on a Monday! One of the perks of the job, I suppose. :) The trails lead through a deep ravine that felt very far way from the city. And at the bottom there was a nice lake view and all of these trees that had fallen into the water to make cute little private cove type beaches between them. It would be lovely to spend a day there.

Roses

I haven't photographed the roses as much this year as last year. I haven't cut as many and brought them into the house either. I guess it's just another example of how when you see beauty over and over again you become desensitized to it. That being said, I did go out in very early morning light to photograph these beauties so I guess I am still seeing it. I liked the way the tight bud looked against the full bloom in the background.

Kitty

When I came home from some errands I was lazy and just dropped my shopping bag and my hoodie on the kitchen counter. When I came back a few minutes later, someone had turned my hoodie into a bed for napping.

Cocktail at Ocho

We had a few drinks and tapas at the delicious Ocho where all the outdoor chairs are dangerously wobbly. But when it came time to really eat we headed across the street to La Isla for to-die-for Caribbean food.

Heidi

This is the first time I have ever met a long-time friend of Michelle, Heidi. She is up from L.A. visiting. She was kind enough to completely ignore me as I photographed her perusing the cocktail menu at Ocho. It was like I had been photographing her for years and she knew not to change what she was doing just because I brought up a camera a foot or so from her face across a very small table. I love the results and wish I could get everyone to be this comfortable in front of my camera.

Blue

Out with T&M and M's friend Heidi tonight. We wandered the neighborhood in search of drinks or food with less than a 2 hour wait. On the way, I made M stop in front of a newly painted cinder block wall to have her portrait taken. It came out just the way I saw it in my mind, except that I wish I had my stool to stand on so that I was just a bit taller.

Dishes for One

I always find the dishes extraordinarily beautiful when J is out of town and I photograph them very often. The look so clean, simple, uncluttered. It's how I wish my kitchen looked and felt every day. But, I'd rather have a messy kitchen and J home 99% of the time.

Lick

Technically, this photograph is terrible. But I couldn't resist it, can you? He's a good kitty.

Checkered

A classic red and white checkered tablecloth. Nothing says summer more than that! Eating outdoors two nights in a row is a record since we moved to Seattle. This was either my Grandmother's or my Great-Grandmother's tablecloth, either way making it really really old. This is the first time I've ever used it after bring it and a yellow one home from my mom's house in April. J and I had a date night tonight, eating outdoors, checkered tablecloth, a candle, some wine and no doubt some good food but I can't remember what it was. We actually talked, late into the evening, until the light began to fade. It was really wonderful but I can barely remember what we spoke about now. I should post these journal entries fresh when I can still remember things.  At least the pictures always evoke the feelings of a time and place, even if I can't recall the exact details.

An Evening

I loved all these photographs together so I thought they should be posted that way. Apparently I was seeing a lot of color this evening. There was definitely some magic light going on. Cocktails, steaks, magic light, eating outdoors...that's a pretty great evening. I loved how the still life of the cocktail ingredients had all the colors, red, yellow, blue, green and yellow. The steaks, well, they're filet mignon. Of course. We always have filet mignon at our dinners. Actually, they were mislabeled at the grocery store as cheap pork and we got a really good deal. The cashier noticed the error and honored the price anyways so it's not exactly like we stole them.  I still feel a little guilty about it though.  There's a bendy self-portrait in the door knob, and finally my chives in the garden. My herb garden is full of green.

Trivial Pursuit

We've only played the game once or twice since we came back from Hawaii and I found this version at the Value Village for $1.99 with all the pieces and even the instructions. I think, lifetime, this has to be my all-time favorite game. We used to play it even when I was a kid and couldn't hope to know very many of the answers. I can't remember if my parents had any "house rules" or not. We have one. You can get up to three questions asked on a turn if the question/answer combo is something so irrelevant now that no one under the age of 55 would know it. It's not for simple guessing questions like "How many wings does a fly have?" or anything like "Which countries were our allies during WWII?". It's for questions like, "Who is Howdy Doody's brother?" (it's Double Doody). Of course it's a bit subjective but when you turn the card over and it says something like "Mitchell Brown" (DUH) it's a safe bet that you weren't supposed to know it. We've been having fun playing, as long as we don't do it too often. The wine helps too. Tonight I won two games in a row. The first one was a record short 1 hour.

Tomatoes

Our first of the small "cherry" type tomatoes are ripening. I read somewhere that you should pick them a bit early and let them ripen all the way at room temperature indoors. This one though is bright bright red and was ready to be eaten, which it was, seconds after this photograph was taken. It was so delicious. It's been kind of hard to savor (or be impressed) by our home grown veggies this year when they come in one or two at a time. I mean, one strawberry just doesn't really satisfy a craving. So I am hoping that the tomatoes will eventually be ready to harvest a number of them at the same time and say, put them in a salad.

Bonus points if you can spot my scar, my favorite scar I should say.

Today's Harvest

Seven sugar snap peas. I think that might just about do it for my peas this year. Very tasty though. Next year I am planting 7 times as many peas and building them a very tall trellis.

Raindrops on Roses

The roses were so beautiful this morning after a very light rain fell that I had just had to photograph them. I stood on a ladder shooting for nearly an hour, mesmerized by the water droplets.

Secret Bunny

I've been exploring Discovery Park lately and there are all kinds of secret bunnies there. This one was clever enough to hide under the bench in the rain.

Model

I have a shoot tomorrow photographing two grown women for their headshots (don't ask, it was a favor for a friend). Since I haven't done anything like that in forever I made J come out and model for me. We walked around getting rained on while I looked for scenic parts of the neighborhood to use for backdrops. At the end, we returned home and I noticed that there was particularly lovely soft diffuse light in our carport of all places. I made J pose and I put the back wall out of focus and I think it really looks like a soft daylight studio shot. I can make a studio out of my carport! This was a revelation. Also a good reminder that I really know what I'm doing. I can take a good portrait almost anywhere.

West Tiger 3

Another weekend hike, this time up West Tiger 3 which is probably the closest real hike to the city of Seattle. People go there because it's close and steep...but it's not particularly scenic. These first two photos make it look a lot better than it is. It is pretty much up for 3 miles to reach the unspectacular summit (bottom photo) and then 3 miles down. I don't think I'd feel the need to do it again unless I was training for something. Otherwise I'd rather drive a little further for a really great hike.

Cherries

Our cherries are finally ripening and today I climbed the tree (which was not easy or particularly safe) and we were able to pick about 4 pounds. We made a small amount into cherry cobbler and froze the rest for now.
 
We also made lasagna from scratch and watched Harry Potter.

Veggie Harvest

This time, a vegetable harvest! 6 carrots, 3 sugar snap peas, and one unripe tomato that broke off of the plant. This highlighted for me the difficulty of actually growing enough food to feed people. I would have to plant 10 times more just to feed the two of us. I also learned that carrots are difficult to harvest all the way to the ends. They really want to stay in the dirt and they break off and make me go fishing for the end with my bare hands in the earth.

Rainbow

Today I separated an egg yolk from the white for the very first time, I made my own homemade mayonnaise for the very first time, I turned half of that mayonnaise into an aioli for the very first time, and made a tuna-artichoke-caper-aioli topping for our bruschetta (amazing!). After dinner I had a craving for chocolate ice cream so we walked to Walter's, or should I say we were led to Walter's by the most amazing rainbow! It's very silly to get excited about a rainbow but they really do make me happier, especially when they come without any rain like this one did.

Harvest

So far, the strawberry harvest has been at a rate of one every couple of days. But they are getting bigger and better tasting than the first one. And the plants are sending out runners in all directions. What am I supposed to do with all those runners? Can you cut them and plant them elsewhere? These are things I do not know.

Morning Glories

We came home from our hike to find these Morning Glories blooming for the very first time. Last year, I had some old Morning Glory seeds from the $1 bin at Target and I planted them around our carport since it would be a good place for plants to vine. Nothing happened and I forgot about them. Today, when I saw these....are they the ones I planted or were they there before we moved in? Is it possible I just didn't see them last year? Anyways, I am claiming them as mine and very pleased to see them.

Wallace Falls

If you know me and J at all, you'll know we were dying to push on to the Upper Falls because 1) we are not the kind of people who will bow out of something early for any reason and 2) we were promised it was the most lonely! Since we are new to hiking in Washington State, we are still translating guide book vocabulary into meaningful knowledge. Like, what does "crowded" mean? And what does "Casual hikers need not apply." mean? Anyways, we hiked to the top (it was harder than the previous sections but totally fine, in fact we shared the top with children and grandmas) but found it...get this...extremely crowded!?! The hell?! I was promised a lonely waterfall because people are too lazy to hike to the top!!! Anyways, aside from that, we found a free rock/log to sit on to eat our picnic without a view and waited for people to thin out so we could go take a look. Please note the frickin' waterfall rainbow in the lower left corner! Overall, it was a great great hike that almost any fit person could just jump in and do without too much trouble.

Wallace Falls

They are cleverly named Lower Falls, Middle Falls, and Upper Falls and the guidebooks promise something like "Lower Falls is the most scenic, Middle Falls is the most spectacular, and Upper Falls the most lonely. The first three images here are from Lower Falls. You get a very nice view of where you're headed (the huge waterfall in the distance) but you have to duck down an unmarked but legal path staircase to see the true Lower Falls which is ridiculous...splashing into a beautiful blue green pool. Since people are lazy and no one took the extra 25 feet of stairway down, we had it all to ourselves. The last image is from Middle Falls so I guess they think that's the most spectacular of the views.

Wallace Falls

J and I have been going hiking lately. A weekend, get up early morning, and head out about an hour drive from Seattle (in any direction, really) to go be (not alone) in nature. This weekend I picked Wallace Falls which is up north and east a bit. It was one of those hikes that's like seriously crazy-talk awesome. Everything was beautiful, the trail was great and not too hard, and it was just like, "Um, yeah, this is good."  It starts out following a nice little rushing river, which is the only noise you can really hear.  Then it gets steeper and moves on to the waterfalls that have made it so popular.  There are really 9 waterfalls over a half mile of river but from the point of view of the hike, there are three major ones that are your destinations.