Up again in the wee hours, out with the first shuttle, and on the trail before dawn. Today we did three different hikes, with snacks and naps and a healthy serving (or five) of ice cream in between. Vanessa’s step-counter says we did more that 30,000 steps over more than 12 miles. Another fun day […]
Yesterday I met up with Vanessa in Las Vegas and drove to the tiny town of Springdale, Utah, which sits at the entrance to Zion national park. This morning we set our alarms for o-dark-middle-of-the-night so that we could be on the first shuttle into the park and among the first people to head into […]
Despite the chilly dampness of the last many months, the garden knows that we’re nearing solstice. The long days have coaxed the roses into their first flush of blooms. They’re so lovely. In the opposite corner the Mexican fleabane is as exuberant and joyful a ever, framing a wee pink dahlia. I just love those […]
It has been so chilly and wet in the Seattle area that it’s hard to believe we’ve almost reached the summer solstice and are about to turn the corner to shortening days. I really miss the warm springtime and early summer of other places I’ve lived. The risk of course is that if you wait […]
A few weeks ago I got a text from one of my Boise neighbors: a late spring snow storm had broken a bunch of limbs on the trees in my backyard—some of which appeared to be resting on the power lines running into the house. Fortunately the parents were able to go over and do […]
With all that’s been happening with construction inside the house, the yard has been sorely neglected. Spring snowstorms brought down big branches of the trees in back, and the front yard had achieved peak hay-field look. So this weekend’s project was to bring it al back from the brink of nature. I asked if I […]
At long last, things are moving again at the little house. Drywall and wall texture are now done and it’s starting to look like a real house again. Its exciting to envision the end result, and I’m obsessed with the arches. Oh and guess what: the house next door, which has a similar square footage […]
Twenty-four years after Heather and I donned the mortar board and crossed the stage, Heather’s eldest, Brynn, has now gone the same. She’s officially graduated and out into the world! And credit where credit is due: I went into the event dreading what would surely be a tedious slog as we worked through a list […]
The pink-and-white speckled roses have started to bloom. Seems earlier in the season than last year, and the other varieties are probably still about a month out from their first bloom cycle. But the bush looks healthy and the flowers are a nice colourful addition in the dreary Seattle spring weather.
Back in (what turned out to be the final days of) the before-times when I lived in London and seeing plays was normal, I saw James McAvoy play Cyrano de Bergerac in a new adaptation of the of the play. It was excellent; one of the best pieces of theatre I’ve seen. So when a […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 