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For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: segue.

My daughter and I hiked at Deception Pass yesterday. We went up Goose Rock. Neither of us had hiked it before and the views were fabulous. I only had my cell phone.

My van is dead, cracked head block, so now I want to move the tow to my scion. Then I can tow the little Panda Minimum trailer. It is becoming clear that we all need to reduce airplane travel as part of our carbon footprint, so I will explore my Washington State Parks.

Have a very happy New Year’s Eve: and be careful out there.

Mundane Monday #191: reflection

For Mundane Monday #191, well, it’s New Year’s Eve: so my theme is reflection.

What are you reflecting on this New Year’s Eve? What photographs have you taken this year that reflect what you love, what you value, what you learned? Or just have a reflection?

Link by message or to this post and I will list them next week. Happy New Year!

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Last weeks prompt was nature’s patterns. Everyone was busy! Hopefully with family or friends or both, and hooray for that!

Late entry: klallendorfer with a lovely reflection on the end of the year and resolutions.

ski trip

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: dirt.

What worries a skier about the opening photograph?

Yesterday the introverted thinker and I went water skiing. On Mount Baker. It rained the whole time. Cold! And the introverted thinker’s knee hurt. We bagged it once I had ice puddles in my ski boots and could squeeze a stream out of my ski gloves.

On the very first lift ride, I realized that my wrist pocket was unzipped. Cash was still in there but the car key wasn’t. We skied down and I checked each place I’d been. No key. We got back on the lift and watched. There were a lot of small black specks. We discussed how much fun it would be to wait for AAA on the top of the mountain.

We skied down, going very slowly right under the lift.

FOUND IT!

Whew. After that neither of us whined. We skied until we were soaked. Her knee was being uncooperative and she was skiing warily. I couldn’t wear goggles because then my glasses fogged too much. Neither of us could see much through the rain. We went up a higher lift and then it was heavy wet slushy snowing. Then we really couldn’t see. Both nearly crashed skiing by proprioception, when a dip was invisible. I stopped at a sign and then fell backwards, visual cues just weren’t working for balance. Unhurt.

And what does this have to do with dirt? I started skiing at age 9 on the east coast, in upstate New York. We would go from Johnson City and meet my uncle and cousins at the small Labrador Mountain ski area. It was a family area. The snow was often awful. We skiied on ice, slush and dirt. Patches of dirt would show through and we learned to avoid them and avoid the rocks. The first time I skiied powder in Colorado I was mystified: I didn’t know how to ski it. But slush on top of hardpacked moguls? No problem.

So skiing Baker put me back to my tweens. The conditions were so familiar. My body was so comfortable with really crappy snow. The ungroomed parts had so much water on top that skis practically stopped. If I had been dressed in foul weather gear I could have skied most of the day.

But soaking wet is another matter. We turned in the skis and ate a late lunch. Happily used the car key to get dry clothes. Changed and drove back to Bellingham. We had a fabulous dinner looking out over the bay with a wonderful sunset.

Bellingham Bay with yellow, orange, pink and blue sunset over islands.
dinner and a sunset

Blessings all.

Mundane Monday #190: nature’s patterns

For Mundane Monday #190, my theme is: nature’s patterns.

Today is not mundane for many people. Thanks to all the people who keep working through the holidays: to fly people home, to help them in hospitals, police and fire people and the government workers who are working even if their paycheck is seriously delayed.

Even though we went to a mall yesterday, as we went in to one store we stopped and took pictures of the sky! The clouds were in undulating waves, all lined up. I want to be outside every day, where my heart expands and is filled with joy. May you have that feeling as well today.

Which of nature’s patterns makes you reach for a camera and what are your trying to capture? Link or message and I will list them next week.

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For Mundane Monday #189, the theme was branches.

klallendorfer makes a move with wordpress editing and galleries. She is so brave trying all the new things!

brown water

For Wordless Wednesday. (But sort of wordy!)

We hiked part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal yesterday. It has rained tons in the last week, so the Potomac River is really really high and fast. The Billy Goat Trail is blocked off by the park service, partly flooded and not safe. My daughter pointed out how different the color of the fast river is than our Salish Sound.

It was a gorgeous day, sun, not very warm, birds, tow path and wild rushing river.

halcyon light

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: halcyon.

Are our memories accurate or do they fool us? Halcyon memories. I really like this photograph but it fools us a bit…. I am zoomed in very far trying to capture the sun breaking through the clouds. The picture is much more dramatic then where I was really standing. I can fool myself….