Pictures of Fall 2017: October-December

 Last of the strawberries in early October. Can you spot the frog?? He blends into the strawberry plant very well... look in the middle of the picture

 Colonial Peak (left) and Pyramid Peak (right) with the Thunder Creek flowing into Diablo Lake, about 1500 feet elevation (west side of Cascades)

 Same day (October 14) but further east and 4500 feet... at Washington Pass (east side of Cascades)

 Liberty Bell.... we went to see the larches and their changing leaves. So awesome!

M & D at Rainy Lake... more larches on the glacial shelf along the mountainside behind us :)

No trip to the east side is complete without ordering a Cinnamon Twisp

 Jake came to visit in early October

 Breaking through the corn maze

 Fiona cat found the baby seat!

 First snow of the season -- November 3rd. But it melted a day or two later

 Annual desert trip, towards the end of October... here is me leading a group down the Bright Angel trail at Grand Canyon. My dad took the picture from a vantage point along the rim

Funny coincidence that Dad and I were both in the Grand Canyon at the same day at the same time!

 A couple of days later... Bryce Canyon. It is never a bad day in Bryce.

 Peeking down Wall Street trail

In Zion... from the top of the first set of switchbacks on Angel's Landing trail

 Hooray--- it's Chanukah time :)  Latkes are sooo good.

 Celebrating the first night

 Two sweet cats :)

 Early December sun. Wood shed is only a quarter full. We'll see how this winter goes with our wood stove and how much we burn through. I've got some more to chop but maybe I'll save it the work until spring. And will focus on getting more wood earlier next year so it can have time to dry.

 Small seasonal creek/drainage ditch is starting to fill up

A look at many of the tree plantings in the clearing

 Dec 19... torrential rain... like 24-hours straight of cold, huge rain. It flooded everything. This event allowed me to study the water ways in the backyard and to follow the natural drainages. Though I got very cold and very wet, I learned more in 10 minutes about how water in the backyard SHOULD flow... and so I have taken the first steps in digging out an old path. Water has memory and I watched her remember the way. The first test will be this weekend, as we are expecting rain for the next three days

 I'd never seen water here before. Look back two pictures to see this area dry!

 Even the neighbour's yard hosted a small rivulet

 The tiny ditch at the mailbox has NEVER filled up before... it was full after a couple of hours.

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Hooray. It is the beginning of 2018. We are past the darkest day of the year and looking forward to the light. Our baby is on the way and expected to join us in early February. Tomorrow, Mom flies into Bellingham and this weekend we'll be having a baby shower. 

今年もよろしくお願いします。

Backyard transformation

Certainly a long process to rehabilitate land that has been overrun but just beginning the project has enlivened me! Macheted a whole bunch of blackberry in Feb... some is growing back, but more of the big brambles are down, raked into piles, and ready for burning. Kevin came by some weeks back and we burned quite a bit of material. And now it is all clear for the native plant re-habitat-ing that is happening!

We planted 10 Oceanspray, 10 Red-flowering Currant, some Western Hemlock and Redcedar trees as well. More piled are raked and ready for burning and so on. But we have 10 Vine Maple in the ground too, and an established Salmonberry and Twinberry already leafing out and doing great work. We acquired (for free) Oregon Grape, more Salmonberry, Ninebark, and Indian Plum as well with the hopes of getting some more of those too!

Feels good to work the land... not for the pioneer spirit of making a life for the homestead and the human family, but for the restoring the Land: Rufous hummingbirds who are mating, the frogs who are eating the mosquitoes (who bit me up this evening!), cleaner waterways, and the various other inhabitants of the 1/4 acre.

 The front side yard need a lot of work... maybe next year.

 So many plants planted. So much blackberry (and roots!) removed.

 Baby Western Redcedar is shorter than my boot :)

 Ready for rehabilitation!

Cleared out patch for Vine Maple to hopefully take hold.

After a year inside, I would like to return outside

So I have been slowly chopping away at the blackberry in the back yard. The hope is to restore this habitat with a healthier balance of plants that grow here, hold the soil, and that nourish the birds and other mammal visitors through the yard.