Category Archives: forest

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Staircase bridge

A much more comfortable bridge on the Staircase hike than the log in a previous post. The water is high and fast and pale magical green.

I can’t find a source for this: “The older I get, the more I learn, which bridges to cross and which to burn.”

Doesn’t seem wise to burn bridges when rivers are flooding. But the bridge could wash out anyhow and then I would need to wait or go another way or build a new one.

 

 

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Crossing

This is the Staircase hike on Monday. It was not slick enough to make me turn back, but if the water had been higher or there had not been a railing, I would have turned back. I thought about rising water on that hike.

And the same day, I received a county email that an 18 year old slipped crossing a creek and was swept away.

Love to his friends and family and I am so sorry.

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Jungle

This is for photrablogger’s Mundane Monday #45.

I just found this picture, taken in early 2015…. I fantasize about a small greenhouse built around a hot tub and full of hothouse plants, or cool northwestern northwestern plants,  mostly orchids and mosses. My own private jungle…..

I want to go visit our local rainforest soon: the Hoh Rainforest….

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nurturance 3

Another tree picture from a recent walk in the woods. It’s the water that the moss is holding that fascinates me. I feel nurtured, too, by the complexity of just this one tree trunk, picture of bark and moss and the complexity of the color and pattern. People are just as complicated. I remind myself that we underestimate complexity all the time and that nature is far far more complex than our understanding.

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nurturance 2

This is for photrablogger’s Mundane Monday Challenge #42. In contrast to the beautiful pattern repeat in his photograph, with a person made structure, I choose this photo, from yesterday. In the Pacific Northwest, we are in the cold wet season: but the moss loves it. And the tree is alive and seems to welcome this water loving, water holding friend….

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Armour Suit III

My trial run for this vacation is swimming 400 yards. The swim is slow but fine. However, at 4:30 am I start having vertigo and throwing up. Have to cancel clinic. Lasts about 4 hours. Not reassuring for our Christmas plans.

My daughter has her wisdom teeth out on Monday before Christmas, so is instructed to not exercise heavily for five days. I got dry sockets and was sick as snot in college, but mine were much more impacted. She does fine, stops the hydrocodone in 24 hours, and drops to a 200mg ibuprofen three times a day by Christmas. On with the ski plans!

We head for a family resort on the east side. Up to to slopes on a hotel ski bus the first day, renting skis. For the first time ever, my goal is to ski gently. I have been skiing since age 9, but have not skied in five years and had two major bouts with strep A that affect my muscles. The second time my fast twitch muscles didn’t work for ten months. The first goal was to survive and the second is will I get my muscles back?

I rent downhill skis. Last time I skied telemark, but they don’t have any to rent, and anyhow, tele is harder. In college I had 190cm dead straight Heads for downhill, so now they rent me 163cm skis. We ride the lift up. 20 degrees at the top, an inch of new snow on groomed slopes and gorgeous. And… I can ski.

I am trying NOT to engage the armour suit. My massage person thinks that’s what made me sick swimming, reengaging it and just trashing my muscles. He’s right, I think. I just swam the way I always have, but slowly. My goal down the hill is NOT to fall into old patterns. I ski gently, let the skis do much of the work, carving swoopy turns. Every so often I get quickly and feel the suit kicking in and I back off. I drag my right pole for balance when I am tired.

My daughter asks for pointers on our third or fourth run. She has not skied for five years either. She is doing the work and I show her how to finish a turn using the curve of the ski. Finishing the turn lets her slow down, so she gets the swoopy feel in the turn but doesn’t lose control. On the lift we watch people. Nearly everyone drops their hands. Try turning your lower body with your arms dropped behind. Doesn’t work. Hands and shoulders down the hill and let the lower body do the turning….

I can ski! I ski with my toes lifted, not curled and gripping the ground. It changes my balance and I have to pay attention not to engage the suit. By 11 I want food and on the chair at 2 I am on my last run: I can feel the cold through my coat. We have a few more days, save energy. Also my right shin is informing me that I’ve bruised the crap out of it…

And the next day! Bruised shin, but more skiing, still gently. Now I have hope that I will get muscles back! Hooray for hope! Hooray for skiing toes up! Hooray for skiing without armour!