COSMIC TRIFECTA ~ ANOTHER CEMETERY WALK ~ YAKIMA ARBORETUM ~ UPDATE ON THE PUZZLE ~ PARTING SHOT

COSMIC TRIFECTA

We had a very rare scientific event happen this morning, something that hasn't happened since 150 years ago. It has been called a "cosmic trifecta." We had a Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse. A "super moon" is when the moon is at its nearest point to the earth, which makes it appear larger than normal. A "blue moon" is when there are two full moons in one calendar month.  A "blood moon" is so named because of the red tinge caused by the earth's shadow moving across the moon during an eclipse. So this morning about 5:45, Linda came running into the bedroom saying, "You can see the moon, you can see the moon!" I got up (I was already awake thanks to Summer Girl) and threw on my coat and hat and headed out the front door. The moon was just peeking out of the clouds but we could see the earth's shadow across it. Linda had gone outside earlier to check and the clouds were completely covering the moon. Fortunately, she went outside a second time and that's when she came in to get me. I went back inside and got my camera and set it up on the driveway. This was my first time using my new camera to take night video and photos, so I wasn't sure if I'd get anything at all. I don't think I did too badly for my first time.

The video is rather grainy due to it being so dark outside. But I gave it a go anyway, and here's the result. The noise in the background is traffic.

Did it mention that it was 27 degrees outside at this time? My fingers were so cold I could barely work the camera. After we watched it for a while the clouds really moved in and covered it up. But it was so exciting! Last summer we saw a total eclipse of the sun and then this winter we saw one of the moon. How fortunate we were to have two astrological events within 6 months visible in our neck of the woods.

ANOTHER CEMETERY WALK

We so much enjoy our walks at the cemeteries. We have two that are right beside each other only a few blocks away from us. This gives us somewhere else to walk besides the park, just for a change of scenery. We walked down at Tahoma Cemetery again on Saturday, where I took the video and pictures below. On next week's blog, I will include a few pictures of our walk at Calvary Cemetery, the other one close to us. It is interesting to look closely at the grave markers to see what they reveal about the person buried there. Perhaps the most interesting one we have found so far was the grave for Walter J. Reed, a civil war hero. In case the writing on his marker is not readable, I asked Linda to read what was written on it. The video is in two parts.

Also on this walk Linda happened to find the grave I had been looking for, the one that I think sums it all up pretty well.

Luke obviously had a good sense of humor, as did this one below:

This person had a more philosophical outlook about the whole thing:

When walking around a cemetery you often come upon certain objects that have been left on a grave. Some of the objects are obviously to honor the person buried there, such as a heart or a flower or a picture. But more often than not the object leads to speculation as to its purpose. Who left the object on the grave? Did they know the person buried there? Is it a long, lost relative? What is the connection? No one knows except the person who left the object.

YAKIMA ARBORETUM

Since the weather has warmed up a bit lately we have been taking more walks. Last Thursday we took a walk at one of my favorite places, the Yakima Arboretum. They have a bird blind there that is absolutely wonderful for bird watching. There are a couple of metal trash cans full of seed for you to throw out for the birds and other critters. Next time we go I will take a picture of the actual bird blind so you can see what it looks like.

Of course when we do go there for a walk, there isn't much walking done for a while because I'm too enthralled by all the birds. We got a rare treat this time as we saw four or five Steller's Jays. These beautiful birds are not very common here in Yakima and I have usually only seen one at a time, and never up close before. I was stunned by how pretty the jay is as I had never noticed the different colors of blue.

Also at the blind was this cute little guy below, kicking around in the dirt to uncover some seed.

Birds are not the only animals you encounter at the blind. There were a couple of squirrels there as well, since they had gotten the memo about the free seed.

Everyone probably recognizes this little fellow below as there are seven different species of this bird throughout the United States. Here in Yakima we have the Black-Capped Chickadee. The other guy over towards the right is an Oregon Junco.

The walking path at the Arboretum is connected to Yakima Greenway, so while there we usually take a walk along part of the Greenway as well. I was hoping to maybe photograph an eagle on the Greenway since it runs parallel to the river, but we didn't see any this time. Maybe next time we will spot an eagle.

UPDATE ON THE PUZZLE

Linda and I have been diligently working on the puzzle in hopes that we would have it finished in time to make this week's blog. Alas, we haven't quite been able to get it all together but we are getting very close. Since no one was brave enough last week to guess as to the nature of the puzzle, I am posting another picture this week. Does anyone have a clue yet?

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl hasn't been up to much lately. She's been busy behaving herself for a change. She knows if she's a good girl she gets to play with Dot from time to time. She's usually more energetic than this going after Dot, but we have to give her some slack since she had just gotten up from a nap and was still a bit fuzzy.

That's all for this week, be sure to check back again next week for more from the Southerner in the Northwest (and Summer Girl).

TAHOMA CEMETERY UPDATE ~~ WALK AT WEST VALLEY PARK ~~ UPDATE ON PUZZLE ~~ RECIPE OF THE WEEK ~~ PARTING SHOT

TAHOMA CEMETERY UPDATE

Since we enjoyed our walk at Tahoma Cemetery so much, we went again last Saturday. I was still hoping to find the headstone that I really like, but I wasn't successful. However, I did want to take a picture of the headstone that is right beneath the big tree that was pictured in last week's blog.

Only 29 years old

I don't know if this young person was buried there when the tree was just planted, or if it was later. I tried to find some history on the cemetery but there just isn't much out there. However, this is one of the older markers in the cemetery because it was established just eight years earlier in 1867. There is a large part of this cemetery dedicated to veterans. A lot of those grave markers are some of the oldest ones in the cemetery.

Veteran section

While on our walk, we encountered our Canada Geese friends from last week's walk. They were still fussing at each other! The funny thing is that it was so chilly outside you could see this guy's breath each time he squawked.

We also ran into this guy foraging around in the leaves. He's a Black-Billed Magpie, a very striking bird that is quite prevalent around here. Most people do not like this bird as he is a scavenger, but I take the position that since he is a bird, I like him. When the sun hits the feathers of a Magpie just right, they are a beautiful blue and teal color. Unfortunately, the sun wasn't out when I took this video.

WALK AT WEST VALLEY PARK

We found another park near us and since we hadn't walked there before, we decided to check it out last week. The West Valley Park is somewhat small compared to some of the other parks, but they did have a paved walking trail, which is a good thing in inclement weather. We drove over to the park and took a walk on the short path. We did discover that when walking, as in life, you sometimes need to stray off the path to see some interesting things.

Paper Wasp nest

Some kind of seed pod

We didn't see any birds of note on our walk and I was desperate to get some pictures for the blog, so I decided to take an arty photo.

Arty Photo

UPDATE ON PUZZLE

We have made a good start on our latest puzzle endeavor, but it is proving to really be a challenge. That's okay, though, because we need challenges at this stage in life! We try to work on it every day or so, and sometimes we lose track of time and are back there for hours on end. I am including a picture of just part of what we have gotten put together so far. I want to keep the subject of the entire puzzle a surprise until we get it finished.

Just a part of the puzzle

One reason this puzzle is driving us so crazy is the way the pieces are shaped. We've done a lot of puzzles but I don't think I've ever seen one with such interesting shapes. It does have some of the "usual" puzzle shaped pieces, but there are some that are really different from the norm.

Typical puzzle pieces

Uniquely-shaped puzzle pieces

I will post updates on the puzzle as we get more of it finished. Anybody want to hazard a guess as to what the main subject is? Linda H., you are disqualified from making a guess since you already know.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:  LEMON BARS

Most of the time I prefer to do my baking from scratch, but every once in a while I will opt to use a boxed mix. I had been wanting to try this mix for a while and when I finally saw it in the grocery store, I snatched it up. This particular mix is from the Essential Goodness line of mixes from King Arthur Flour (click here to go to their website). If you read this blog on a regular basis you already know that this is my favorite baking website.

A great mix from a great company

Nothing could be easier than making this recipe. All you need in addition to the boxed mix is three eggs, a stick of butter and some water. That's all. Anybody can bake a delicious dessert using this  mix. So if you've been hesitating to get into baking, this would be a good place to start. Just look at this picture of the result!

Yum...are you hungry yet?

PARTING SHOT

I just went looking for Summer Girl to get her weekly picture for the blog. I found her curled up in her bed outside. I tried my best to get her to come out and pose pretty for all her fans, but she wasn't having it.

Summer Girl, teaching the class on "how to ignore someone"

That's all for this week, be sure to check back again next week to see what's happening!

PUZZLE SUCCESS ~~ WALK AT TAHOMA CEMETERY ~~ RECIPE OF THE WEEK: JANET'S RUSTIC HERB BREAD ~~ PARTING SHOT

PUZZLE SUCCESS

We finally finished the puzzle we've been working on since the day after Christmas. We finished it this past Sunday, so we worked on it for 20 days. As soon as we were done we both took a picture of it and then Linda started taking it apart so we could get started on a new one. Here is the finished puzzle.

Readers Paradise finished!

You're probably saying, "Wow, she doesn't even know how to hold her new camera straight!" I know it looks a bit crooked, but I was standing on a stool holding my camera up high so I could get it all in the frame and have a bird's-eye view of the puzzle. Remember people, I'm old! I probably shouldn't have been up on that stool in the first place, but hey, I risk life and limb for my peeps!

Here's our new puzzle we have started on. We can both tell that this one is going to be unusually hard. I can't divulge the name of it yet because I want it to be a surprise when we get it finished. I will post updates as we make progress.

Mystery puzzle

WALK AT TAHOMA CEMETERY

We've decided to dedicate each Thursday to walking at a venue other than Kissel Park, which is just down the street from our house. On my last post I talked about our walk at Randall Park. This past week we drove a few blocks over to Tahoma Cemetery and took an early-morning walk there. For those of you who don't already know, Tahoma is the Native American name for Mount Rainier and means "frozen water." We had to postpone our walk to Friday because it was raining on Thursday, and we were both glad we waited the extra day. This is how things looked when we arrived at the cemetery.

I like to ride my bike around this cemetery a lot in the summertime. It's quite big with lots of huge trees, which is always a plus in Yakima. There is a Native American saying that goes something like this: "To speak the name of the dead is to make them live again." So, as I ride my bike I like to read out loud some of the names on the headstones. These are people I don't even know, but I feel as if I should acknowledge them since I am riding my bike around in their final resting place. Some of the headstones are even a bit humorous, like this one below. There is one that is my personal favorite, but I couldn't find it on this walk. If I see it again and can get a picture of it, I will post it on the blog at that time.

Speaking of big trees, this is the biggest one in the cemetery. There is a very old grave right at the foot of it, with roots covering the edges of the gravestone. I wonder if this tree was planted when that person was buried? You can just barely see the gravestone beside Linda's left foot in the second picture below.

Big tree

Close up of same tree

One thing I like about walking in a cemetery is the quiet, especially early in the morning. There aren't many places you can go these days and be among the quiet. We did hear some birds, but that is a good thing, even if they did sound like they were having an argument!

Sometimes you happen upon strange things in a cemetery, images that may seem disturbing at first, but become comforting as you let your mind wander and create elaborate stories based upon those images.

Dead roses among the gravestones. A lost love, perhaps?

Someone left a hat, possibly a distant relative of the deceased?

The best thing about a walk in the cemetery is that there usually isn't anybody else there besides us...well, at least anybody else alive. Most of the time we see a lot of birds due to the big trees. I was especially excited that we saw this hawk perched atop one of those trees. I even managed to get a pretty good picture of him as he glowered at us!

Red-Tailed Hawk, perhaps?

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: JANET'S RUSTIC HERB BREAD

I always love making bread, as you probably know already. When I come across an especially good recipe, I like to share it. Recently I made this recipe below for Rustic Herb Bread and we both absolutely loved it. It's extremely easy to make, too. This recipe was posted on a Facebook blog called Janet's Appalachian Kitchen by Janet Crow (click here to go directly to Janet's Facebook page). All of her recipes are ones that have been handed down to her by family members, or recipes she has developed herself. Each recipe is accompanied by a related story, usually about her upbringing in the South. I highly recommend her Facebook blog for anyone who likes good down-home recipes. I asked her if I could share her recipe on my blog and she gave me permission, so here it is below.

Janet's Appalachian Kitchen Here it is...Rustic Herb Bread
1 C. warm tap water
1 T. yeast (I use saf-instant)
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 C. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried chives
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dill weed
vegetable oil

In a large bowl combine the water, yeast and sugar. Allow to proof for 5-6 minutes till it becomes foamy. Add in the flour, salt, chives, basil and dill. Using a wooden spoon, combine well (I used my hands with some flour on them to do this process). Lightly oil (using a paper towel) the bottom of an 8" iron skillet with some of the veg. oil. Form the dough into a ball and place in the center of the skillet. Lightly brush a little oil over the top of the dough and loosely cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm dark place to rise. Allow the dough to rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Place an oven proof bowl of water in the oven as it preheats to 375 degrees (the bowl of water remains in the oven while baking). Remove the plastic wrap from the bread and place the bread in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown on top and sound hollow when you tap the top.

Janet's Rustic Herb Bread

The picture above is my picture from the last time I made this bread. I have made this recipe using both all-purpose white flour and whole wheat flour. It came out great using either one. I didn't have any dried chives so I substituted onion flakes to make it a bit more savory. Like most really good recipes, this one is adaptable to your individual taste. If you have been wondering about making some homemade bread, this would be a good recipe to start with. It makes a small loaf, but is perfect for serving with something like pasta or chili. What are you waiting for, give it a try!

PARTING SHOT

The entire time I have been working on my blog Summer Girl has been here in the office with me, hard at work guarding our puzzle. I feel so safe!

Asleep on the job

That's all for this week, check back again next week for more exciting adventures in the land of no-snow!  (We've only had a couple of inches so far, and it's been gone for a while now).

A DIFFERENT WALK ~ THE LAST JEDI ~ DEHYDRATING DIVAS ~ FOR THE BIRDS ~ FIRST THE FIRE, THEN THE FLOOD ~ PARTING SHOT

A DIFFERENT WALK

Linda and I live near a very nice park, Emil Kissel Park, which we walk to almost every day. It is just a few blocks up to the park, then we walk around the paved pathway, and then back home. All told, the entire walk is about a mile. But we do like to change it up every now and then just to keep things interesting. So we decided to drive to Randall Park on January 4th and take our walk there. I had been anxious to get out with my camera and get some pictures of something other than sparrows and finches. Randall Park is not very far from us but it would be quite a walk for us to get there, so we always drive over and then walk the pathway around the park. This park is bigger than the one near our home, and it has a pond. We all know what a pond means...ducks and other assorted water fowl! Here is what greeted us upon our arrival at the park.

The ducks are quite friendly, mainly because they think we are going to feed them something. When they found out we had nothing to offer, they proceeded to ignore us. There are usually a few geese of various species in among the ducks. The temperature was in the low 30's that morning, so it was quite cold. The pond was frozen over in most places, so the ducks were gathered on one side.

A couple of the ducks actually posed for me.

Say "cheese"

There is a song I like by Leonard Cohen, the Canadian poet and singer who died almost a year ago. The song is called "Anthem," and the chorus goes like this:

"Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering 

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in." 

I don't know how this crack got in the pond at Randall Park, but I think that particular quotation fits this picture perfectly.

Letting in the light

The days have been pretty dreary around here since before Christmas. We've had a couple of days where the sun has come out for a while, but not enough to my liking. It was dark the day we walked at Randall Park, but the sun did try its best to poke through the clouds. It almost did at one point.

Just a glimmer

The thing about walking in Yakima in the winter is that you really have to bundle up, so it takes some commitment on your part to even consider a walk. I usually wear my snow pants over my jogging pants, a long-sleeved undershirt, a t-shirt, a fleece jacket, a parka-jacket, a scarf and knit hat, socks and boots. By the time I get all this on, I feel like I can barely move!

All suited up!

THE LAST JEDI

Linda and I usually go to the movies only about once or twice each year. There has to be something really good playing for us to decide to leave our comfy home and brave the cold (inside the theater). I don't care if it's summer or winter, movie theaters are always cold. And then, too, there's the sound level. I swear they have upped the volume in recent years so that it is almost unbearable. But, since the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, was playing, we couldn't say "no." Our usual tactic is to go to a matinee that gets out right around suppertime, and then we go to Chipotle Mexican Grill for a burrito to split for supper (with chips and corn salsa, of course!). We did just that last week and we are so glad that we went because this was one of the best Star Wars movies yet. And that is saying a lot. If you like Star Wars (and who doesn't?), I urge you to go see it...if for nothing else than to see the performance by Carrie Fisher. It was a fitting last movie for our Princess.

A movie & dinner

DEHYDRATING DIVAS

I belong to many "groups" on Facebook, most of them cooking related. As you know, my latest craze is dehydrating, so I joined the Dehydrating Divas & Dudes group. There is one lady in the group who drives a custom-built long-haul truck with her husband. She calls herself the Truck-Driving Dehydrating Diva, or TDDD for short. This gal has her dehydrator going in the truck while she's driving! It is so much fun to see what's she is dehydrating and where they are traveling. She's very innovative with her dehydrating. She has even inspired me to try dehydrating a few things other than the usual zucchini or apple chips. This past week I dehydrated salsa (from a jar) to make salsa chips, and also chickpeas to make a crunchy chickpea snack. I am happy to report that both endeavors were successful and I now have some healthy snacks.

Salsa on top, chickpeas on bottom

The finished product...the salsa chips were HOT!

FOR THE BIRDS

We did some re-arranging of the furniture in our living room this past week so I could move an ottoman over to the front window to watch the birds. It's almost like having a bird blind because I can sit in there and watch them and they don't see me if I don't make any sudden movements. This is also a great place to take pictures of them at the feeders. Although it is a real challenge to get good bird pictures when it's so dark outside (those little buggers won't stay still), I have managed to get a few decent shots, such as this one showing these birds all queued up for their turn at the feeder.

Playing the waiting game

FIRST THE FIRE, THEN THE FLOOD

Once again this past week we have been on pins and needles about the situation down in Carpinteria, California, where Linda's dad lives. You may have heard on the news that there was a devastating flood in the fire-ravaged hills that were burned by the Thomas Fire just last month. Fortunately I can report that dad's house has been spared again, although they did have to evacuate as a precaution. There was some flooding in areas around dad's house, but not nearly as drastic as in the neighboring city of Montecito. The rains were much heavier there, just 14 miles down the road from dad's. Houses were washed off the foundations and huge boulders came down from the hills. Interstate highway 101 was closed down from Carpinteria through Montecito and Santa Barbara because in some places, the water and mud were completely covering up the road. If you didn't know better, you would think that it was a lake instead of a highway. Below is a picture of the computer screen that Linda took this morning as she was watching the coverage by KEYT Newschannel 3 in Santa Barbara. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this flood.

News from California

PARTING SHOT

In addition to everything else that has happened the past week, we are still working on the puzzle...when we can get to it.

Thanks for stopping by, check back in next week for more news!

WELCOMING IN ANOTHER YEAR ~~ THE SNOW SITUATION ~~ FOR THE BIRDS ~~ CLEARING THE AIR ~~ PARTING SHOT

WELCOMING IN ANOTHER YEAR

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year's Day. We played it pretty low-key at our house, as usual, working on our current jigsaw puzzle and playing with my new camera. I am still a very long way from proficient with this camera, but I am making progress. I feel like I need to go back to school to learn how to use it. This is what happens when you have spent the last 10 years using a camera that was very much automatic. When you get a camera that enables you to have some control using manual functions, you have to learn all over again exactly how everything is inter-connected. Suffice it to say that I am still learning. And we are still working on the puzzle.

The puzzle on the day after Christmas

The puzzle as it is now

THE SNOW SITUATION

We did get a little bit of snow that made it possible for us to have a White Christmas, but since then we have only had a rain/ice mix on a couple of days. This is a far cry from what we had last year at this time.

Our spruce tree last year at this time

Our spruce tree now

As a result of the rain/ice mix, our driveway, which is in deep shade all day, is a solid sheet of ice. This makes for precarious walks out to the road, which is completely clear. We gingerly take each step, trying to find a spot that still has somewhat crunchy snow instead of slippery ice. If it ever warms up enough to melt the ice a bit, Linda and I have vowed to get out there and shovel it away. But until then we have to take it easy.

Our icy driveway

FOR THE BIRDS

All this melted snow has made the scenery around here pretty boring. The ground is a mixture of mud and snow/melted ice. Plus we have had a couple of weeks where the sun has only peeked out once or twice, and then not for long. All of this makes it hard for me to get some good pictures. We have been keeping our bird feeder full of seeds, but the dark, dreary days do not lend themselves to getting good pictures. However, I have managed to get a few good shots that I can share with you.

Male House Finch

Eurasian Collared Dove in tree behind our house

Close-up of male House Sparrow

I saw this little guy below hopping around underneath the feeder in the remnants of snow. I try to identify birds correctly, but with sparrows it is quite a challenge. However, I believe this one is a Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow

When I ventured outside earlier today to take a picture of the driveway, I was surprised to hear the birds in the barberry bush beside the driveway chirping their little heads off. They love to get in this huge bush and survey the bird feeders. The bush is so big and dense that they are assured to be protected from predators, like hawks...or Summer Girl. Be sure to have your sound on for this.

CLEARING THE AIR

One of the neatest presents I got this year for Christmas came from my sister. It's an essential oil diffuser. This one has a light with really pretty colors that you either leave solid or set to change colors every few seconds. She also sent us a box with a nice assortment of essential oils. Just 2-4 drops are all you need to put in. So far we have used the Lemongrass scent, which is very soothing. You can determine how strong the scent is by the number of drops you put into the diffuser. If you are interested, you can check it out on Amazon by clicking here. If you watch the video below very closely, you can see the mist coming out of the top.

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl enjoyed her holidays and now has gotten back into the groove of just being a cat. Her new favorite thing is to join us in the office while we are working on the jigsaw puzzle. We have to keep an eye on her, though, because she likes to walk on top of the puzzle. If there are any pieces missing, we will know where they went!

"Are you accusing me of something?"

That's all for now, see you next week for more news from the Yakkie City!