Dreams

This morning, I won an 8-mile trail-running race (6:31-minute miles, mind you), clearly beating an ex-from-nearly-10-years-ago's time. The trail was bright green, wet, and hilly. The organizers of the event forgot to record my time, but it was okay, because my ex saw that I had beat him and that's all that mattered. Then, I hopped on a small sailboat to circumnavigate a small, snowy volcanic cone south of Mt. Rainier. This small volcano usually had water in its crater [I had seen it from above before], but today it was cold and full of snow. After drifting past half of it, I straightened the sailboat's wheel, steering straight towards one of southern Norway's fjords.

As I drifted further and further into the fjord, the waterway narrowed and oak trees squeezed in on either side; it was very dark, but peaceful. Upon arrival to a dock, I wasn't sure how to actually stop [the boat], and two friendly men helped tie the lines. Then one of them asked me for a favor, and me, unsure if I could actually understand what he was going to say [in Norwegian], smiled and tried to listen very carefully:

"Will you make sure somebody read's our wills when we die?"

I said hurriedly, "Oh, yes! Yes! Of course!" [I didn't want to let them down due to a language barrier]

Realizing that I could understand every single word [of Norwegian], and how somber a topic they had brought up, I was a little confused. I responded as if they had asked me for a cup of tea.

"Sorry...," I said slowly, "I didn't mean to say yes so fast. I hope you live for a very long time!"

They laughed and went back to their business [wood-working?]. I wasn't sure if I had offended them or not. I guess not.

When I turned around back to the boat, I went below. It was warm and cozy inside. Lanterns were lit and maps were folded over a table. Not sure why I was there or what I should do next, I decided to see if I could "unpark" the boat and head out of the fjord. It was a little embarrassing, you see, because I was bumping into everything [gently] and paddling with my hands and legs to steer the boat. I did manage to get it out of the fjord,... eventually, and with an audience trying not to stare.

While I was exiting, I found what appeared to be a black power switch on the side and worked out how to turn on the boat's engine. Steering became immensely easier! But I also had more speed. I could go forward, neutral, and backward, just like the bass-fishing boat on Grand Lake. I headed back towards the small, snowy volcanic cone.

It was autumn and the sun was beginning to set. Dark, navy blues and pale yellows striped the sea and sky; there was no wind. The small, snowy volcanic cone was a magnificent white. I'm not sure where Mt. Rainier went. I turned the boat around to go back into the fjord. I wanted to try parking the boat again [with an engine] and sell runny honey to anyone who wanted it, because time was now going backwards, and it was mid-afternoon.

I eased alongside the wooden, water-laden dock nervously. Now there were three people working on the dock; a woman and the same two men. But it had worked, the boat was parked and I required no assistance from the three locals. I went below [the boat] to retrieve the honey. I found three square, glass jars, turning one over in my hand and watching the honey settle.

Then:

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNK 


I woke up.


...thanks for coughing into my ear this morning, dear.

The Perfect Work Sunday

This is one of those perfect Sundays to get work done at home. Outside is entirely socked in with fog, and it smells like the ocean... 

Low tide.

Extremely odd for Seattle, and one wouldn't expect this to come in through the fog, but a real-live storm system is approaching! I think I may get to see lightning and hear thunder in 30 minutes (I rarely hear thunder more than a handful of times each year). 

The first of a few systems approaching for today.

What pairs with these conditions? Well, I can't decide. Either wild rice casserole with freshly foraged mushrooms (cremini, chanterelle...) or lasagne (bison, anyone?), finishing it off with honey & rose tapioca pudding for dessert. 

Yes, today's a great Sunday for working at home... 

The Mighty Forager

Last weekend my plans to climb Mt. Ruth were spoiled by much-needed rain. To boost our moral, we went mushrooming instead. It was my very first time, and a 13.4 lb (~6.08 kg) success!

We found "Chicken of the Woods," (not to be confused with a ptarmigan), some type of puffball, and a big, brown mushroom. Fortunately for me, my friends knew what these mushrooms were and whether or not they were edible. We made a delicious pot pie with the chickens, and another pie full of rhubarb, peaches, and blueberries.

Ptarmigans Chicken of the Woods that tasted like chicken on the left, some type of puffballs that tasted nutty in the middle, and a big brown mushroom that we didn't eat on the right.  

The following day I gathered ~1 kg of blackberries at Magnuson Park (I'm still not sure what I'll do with these... morning smoothie?), and made the ultimate bloody mary from heirloom tomatoes in the garden:  http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/yellow-tomato-bloody-mary-recipe.html

I suggest upping the tomatoes, or reducing the champagne vinegar.

The week prior, I climbed Mt. Washington in the Olympics, picking blueberries and huckleberries along the way and eating a fresh Rosa Hale peach at the summit:

Mt. Washington in the Olympics. 

This is my stomach's favorite time of year, (don't tell Christmas that).

In the City

Sometimes I like to pretend that we don't live in a city, but instead, on a hill in the middle of the forest surrounded by beautiful, jagged peaks. See Example 1.1.

Example 1.1| Towards Sunset Hill, Seattle.

But, we do live in the city, and though there seems to be three main parties of opinion about city living (love it, hate it, indifferent), my feelings swing through the first two like a pendulum.

Cities are fantastic.

• Population density is high. There are many wonderful people to meet and talk to. There's some diversity. 
• Food. I can acquire a plethora of obscure spices, mixtures, and extracts from faraway lands, and do successfully tasty food experiments at home. 
• Coffee, separate from food, is a magical thing in this city. You can find every flavor imaginable, or even obtain unroasted beans to roast to one's desire. 
• Music! Art! Shows! Movies! It's all happening right now! There's always something going on! Must do something!
• Short distances. I can hop on a bus, bike, or car, and access everything I need in a 2-mile radius. 

As for the negative, I'll leave that list vacant. How about enjoying the next photo instead? 

The Olympic Mountains: Mt. Constance (named after George
Davidson's sweetheart's sister) in the background. 

U.S. National Places

It's been at least 31,536,000 seconds since I last posted, and a lot of life happenings have happened. What's motivated me to post is to share some of the beautiful locations that I've been so fortunate to be able to visit. What all of these have in common is that they are U.S. National Parks or U.S. National Monuments. They were created "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."

All of the hard work that those incredibly insightful souls did in the 1800's and 1900's has paid off, and continues to pay off. Grandparents, sisters, brothers, senile parents, uncles, aunts, friends, strangers, and communities continually visit the parks and see nature at its finest. Nature wouldn't be so fine if it hadn't been pushed into conservation and protection. Not to go too deeply into a pessimistic thread, but this act of conserving and protecting such beautiful places, and its rewards, will only become more valuable in time. I sure hope that they last beyond generations that I'll count in my lifetime, because there is nothing quite like the rejuvenation of a breath-taking landscape, or encountering wildlife where it's truly wild. Enjoy.

Capital Reef National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Everglades National Park

Denali National Park

Everglades National Park

Dinosaur National Monument

Glacier Bay National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Glacier Bay National Park

Everglades National Park

Glacier Bay National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park

Great Basin National Park

Glacier Bay National Park

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

 

Katmai National Park

John Day National Monument

Capital Reef National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Everglades National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Grand Teton National Park

Denali National Park

Capital Reef National Park

Grand Teton National Park

Summer's over?

Apparently classes start tomorrow, which explains the madness getting from point A to point B in town. That means summer is officially over! Though the sunny weather likes to stick around this time of year in Seattle, making it my favorite hiking season by far. Ripe blueberries and huckleberries, yellow-to-red leaves everywhere, yes please.

I've gone out of my comfort zone this summer and climbed two big peaks, Granite Mountain in Montana (its highest peak), and Mount Stuart in the Cascades (7th highest in WA). Both had class 4-5 rock which means that ropes were duly appreciated (or desperately yearned for). There was plenty of exposure which made both climbs entirely beautiful and sometimes terrifying.

Here are some nice photos from Granite (not mine):
http://xpda.com/mountains/granite/

And here's a photo of Stuart (not mine):
http://peakery.com/static/images/items/main/mount-stuart.jpg.910x580_q85_crop-top.jpg


Both were absolutely thrilling, and luckily I had a fantastic group to go with on both trips that helped immensely during the toughest bits. We got to see Yellowstone, too, and discovered that it takes forever to drive through there at night due to bison disappearing and reappearing all over the roads. Wouldn't recommend it, though I would highly recommend visiting the park during daylight hours.

In other news, grad school is still plodding along. I've stopped taking a picture a day after missing a week of photos (flu + food poisoning did me in), and I'm still working on finishing a classic book for each month. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a quick read with its southern dialect.

Today might be a garden makeover day in time for the autumn crops: bok choy, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, onions, leeks, and kale.

Ski season isn't that far away already. What happened to summer?

Old photo of the day: Fires near Wenatchee

Picture a Day

Taking at least one photo a day has its challenges. Despite ending up with lots of feet photos taken at 11:59 p.m. (nearly forgetting to take a photo for the day), I'm still satisfied with my new year's resolution to take one photo a day. What if my feet got chopped off tomorrow? Thank goodness I have proof that I once had feet.

I'd recommend this goal for anyone. It's enriching.

Here are some photo highlights:




Cornices from Big Snow Mountain.


Some very cool flowers.


Caterpillars which are fed to poison dart frogs.


Succulents around our climbing spot on Mt. Erie.


Sailing in Puget Sound.


Interesting people in Seattle.


Palouse Falls.

100 Degree Change (it's less impressive when it's Fahrenheit)

There's nothing quite like spending a day in the sunshine, digging around in your own garden in flipflops, taking the time to simply smell the flowers without your snot freezing.

Bliss.

Going from -55 F windchill to 55 F spring weather has made me value warmth. Pure warmth.


------- Barrow -------

I perused the magazine aisles at the Anchorage airport on my way to Barrow. I found their Sports/Fitness section lacking.


Unbeknownst to me, my flight was supposed to stop at Deadhorse on its way to Barrow. I was confused when we landed. You see, Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay) is windy and cold... it was at this point, when the flight attendants opened the doors to let passengers off/on, that I became worried about my feet (in tennis shoes) getting cold. They were numb in <5 minutes while I sat on the "warm" plane.


Barrow has creative dumpsters, painted up by the local children and families. This is one of the more interesting ones to me.


One of the first mornings in Barrow. It's usually gorgeous.



Then I finished 3 weeks of fieldwork and came home to this:
------- Spring in Seattle --------


Spinach


Carrots


Broccoli


Onions



That's all for now.
Love,
Melinda

Barrowing Around

Yikes, I forgot I had this thing.

Update: In Barrow, Alaska, doing anything and everything that is hopefully useful and relevant to some Arctic research. It's cold. I'm getting better at driving a snow machine. I can sweat at -54 F wind chill. I have to look south if I want to see the aurora. Ice crystals grow on my eyelashes when I don't wear goggles. Arctic foxes like to pee on our instruments. I've found two restaurants that serve sushi. Pop (soda) is cheaper than water.

Here are some pics.








Love,
Melinda