Biking and Bussing

Yesterday I bussed into the city with my bike, where I met up with Cheryl at Gasworks park. We rode on the beautiful Burke-Gilman and Sammamish trails, from there to Redmond Town Center and back, a total of about 55 miles. Cheryl has just returned from a bike tour and I was really panting to keep up with her.

Cheryl offered to drive me back up to the ferry, but I wanted to do the environmentally responsible thing and take the bus back. After a 45 minute wait the bus finally arrived, I loaded my bike, and went to the front door, where the driver refused to let me board. The bus was FULL, and I do mean that every available place to sit or stand seemed to be occupied. Driver told me to try the back door, where I was just barely able to squeeze in. Apparently folks returning from a mixture of the Mariner's game, HempFest, and every other variety of summer festival imiginable.

The HempFest contingent made for a fairly mellow 20 minute ride. However, we got to the transfer station about 5 minutes too late for me to catch the bus to the ferry, so... another hour's wait, where I had a talk with a nice young gentleman returning from HempFest; he said it was elbow-to-elbow crowded and, of course, smokey.

Made the 10pm ferry with about 30 seconds to spare, home in time for about half a beer before collapsing into blissful sleep.

I do believe the middle weekend of August is the summer's pinnacle of outdoor festivals. This weekend is not only HempFest, but Bite of Edmonds, Fresh Paint, the Island County Fair, and I'm sure many others I'm too tired to even think about. Everyone's in a frenzy, trying to soak up the good weather and sunshine, as we all know it will be gone in a month. Already, although sunset isn't until 8:30, it's noticeably dusk-like by 7pm. Right now I'm about on the fence between "Oh, Summer, please don't go!" and "Enough with the sun already, bring on the rain so I can hibernate f0r awhile".

The End of an Era

My boss called me this morning to let me know that yesterday, the official announcement was made: The manufacturing area that I've worked in for the past 20 years will be shut down within a year.

It's not that we all didn't see this coming. We've been working with 20-year-old equipment for some time, with no hope of getting approved to upgrade. More and more stuff has been outsourced to China, and more and more of our staff has been cut. But still. I feel as if I've just been told an old, dear relative has only a year to live.

I officially retired more than a year ago, but I've been back working 2 days per week for the past 9 months, and really enjoying it. I've been working to upgrade the vast "data empire" I've developed over the past 15 years, to a more robust platform. Suddenly it all seems so pointless.

It's not at all that I'm worried about losing the job. I know I will get along OK, if on a somewhat tighter budget. But to see my work "family" broken up, my work "home" dismantled, all the stuff that we all worked together to develop, all just thrown out. It seems so wrong.

On a lighter note: Yesterday I had a bacon and tomato sandwich, with my own homegrown tomatoes! Man, they are tasty!

Rain at Last!

Finally our drought is over. A pleasant soft rain fell all night and into the morning,making for perfect sleeping weather... so pleasant that I was late for work this morning.

Saturday I Went hiking in the mountains with Kathy's group again, this time to Snow Lake, near Snoqualmie Pass. Unfortunately we could barely see the lake through the fog, but it was still a pleasant hike. On this hike and the previous one a few weeks ago, it seems like a good half of the hikers are ESL types. I heard varieties of eastern European (Russian? Serbian?), Indian (Hindi?) east Asian (Chinese?), and German. Amazing. Are these folks all tourists, or has Seattle really become that much of a melting pot?

Sunday, Lucie was kind enough to pick me up at the ferry, and off we went to the Everett Farmer's Market. I scored big, lugging home 20 pounds of kohrabi, pickling cukes, and tasty little donut peaches. Then managed to have enough energy left to paddle into the sunset again that night.

Today marks 9 years since I moved to the island! It was a very, very good move. I still love riding the ferry, and nearly everything else about my island home -- the lack of freeway noise, traffic jams, and crime; the deer in my yard; the eagles and ospreys and herons; walking on the beach, in the woods, or kayaking, whenever I want; using my high-beams when I drive home at night; not having street lights shine in my windows... Oh I could go on....

I am still happily TV-less, almost 2 months now. ANd since I've discovered that I can get most TV shows (maybe a day or two late) on the internet, on demand and with far less advertising, I'm thinking I may stay that way. As a plus, watching on my laptop with headphones is like having a big screen TV with surround sound!

Tomatoes

I have been harvesting cherry tomatoes for the past week or so, just a few each day. I keep meaning to take a picture, but so far none of them have avoided my mouth long enough to make it to the camera.

Found a very cool website that takes you, live, right to the middle of a seabird nesting colony in Alaska: http://watch.birds.cornell.edu/nestcams/camera/view?cameraID=C100080. Well, it's cool if you're a birdwatcher anyway.

Finally got around to uploading my golden sunset picture from a couple of days ago. The other is just a pretty on my bike route near home.

Ospreys and Gold

Last night after work I put the kayak in over at Maxwelton. Paddled for an hour or so through hypnotic, long, slow swells, with just enough chop to be fun. Right around sunset I watched an osprey hunting, and after several unsuccessful dives she finally left for home, carrying her bedtime snack. After the sun had set, the water turned such a brilliant gold that I had trouble getting myself to come ashore.

Just kickin' around the the island

Had a pleasant 35-mile ride back from Coupeville yesterday, after a couple of hours at the street fair. I guess I've become too jaded to enjoy the street fairs around here much; everything looks too familiar. The woman I bought a jacket from a few years ago, the painter that puts out the Whidbey calendars every year, the guy that paints stuff on copper, the musician that plays the wierd guitar-like thing called a "Chapman Stick", many people selling fused-glass jewelry. Don't get me wrong: they're all great, it's just that I've seen them all too many times and there seems to be nothing new.



Oh well, I had a nice visit with Gerry and bought a festival t-shirt, last year's, for half-price. We stopped at Miriam's for coffee, and then I headed back sout while Gerry went to visit relatives.



By the time I got to Greenbank I was hungry so stopped at Greenbank farm for an early dinner and a browse through the Rob Schouten gallery. This is an artist who's paintings I find quite fascinating. Many contain a sort of hidden mini-galaxy. Take a look

http://www.robschouten.net/open_edition.php



Today dawned bright and clear once again, so I decided to ride up to Freeland for my (sometimes) thrice-weekly visit to the gym. On the way home I detoured down to Sunlight Beach to scope out a possible kayak launch. I was really intending to go back with the kayak for sunset this evening, but just ran out of steam. Anyway, got in another 30 miles with about 1800 feet elevation gain.



Earlier this week I received my new Arkel front panniers (which so far I love!) and Adventure Cycling maps to get me from Fargo to Michigan next year. In June of 2010 I will be taking off from here and riding with Woman Tours as far as Fargo, and then self-contained (with possibly a friend or two) on to Michigan. Now that I have the maps..... How can I wait a whole 'nother year????

The Foghorns of August

I woke this morning to the late-summer sound of foghorns, right on schedule for the 1st of August. How I love lying in bed and listening to them! The different tones from different ships, listening to them move up and down the Sound. Then sitting on my deck and watching the fog roll across Cultus Bay. Once again, I am so grateful to live here.

An email from Washington State Ferries this morning says the Port Townsend ferry is closed until further notice due to "heavy groundswell conditions and zero visibility".

Pleasant temperatures have returned and the sun is out. I'm off to Coupeville this morning with Gerry, to visit the annual arts festival. Gerry will drive me and my bike up there and then I will ride home, 35 miles or so.