Fragrance Lake

I'm behind in my blogging. My course books have arrived, so I'm trying to do some homework before my summer intensive classes in Michigan in July. However, I've been getting distracted by cute knitting projects!! These pictures are from last Sunday. After church, we went on a hike up to Fragrance Lake. Our international friend, Jeremy, will be going back to Hong Kong soon, and he really wanted to try fishing before going home. A lot of the prettier hikes still have snow or have avalanche warnings, so we stuck closer to home.

Ryan and Jeremy at the viewpoint

There were some huge cedars and pines along the way. The lake pictures are looking right and left from the top of the hike at Fragrance Lake. It's not really large, but it's a pleasant resting point, and the fish were jumping. Ryan was teaching Jeremy the tricks of the trade. We had to watch out when he (Jeremy) was casting!

The guys fished on the log while I sat and watched. I don't like to fish or hurt 'things'. I got a little hurt though when the careless person before us left a hook on the seat that I sat on!! At least it barely pricked my skin. I went over to Ryan and told him that I thought I had a hook in my rear and sure enough I did!

Ryan caught about 3 trout--nothing worth keeping though.

Rhody's at Larabee State Park

Friends and Fort Ebey

We were meeting our friends, Joel and Liz Harris (see link in my blog roll), for dinner on Sat. Since we don't get over to Whidbey Island often--where they live--Ryan and I took a pre-dinner walk around Fort Ebey in Coupeville. We didn't have much time, but it was a great day to see the mountains and get out none the less. For those not from around here, this is Deception Pass which you take to get over to the island.

I've been trying to get a good bald eagle shot for a long time, but they are usually flying when I see them and then they get too far away. We have a great zoom on our new camera. This guy was on the top of a tree in the top right picture, and I was able to get this close-up of him.

The view from Fort Ebey.

This guy kept trying to get the wind to pick him up. He was heading towards a drop off by the ocean. Yikes!

Joel and Liz with their little ones.

The view from base housing towards the base in Oak Harbor. Not bad to get nice housing and a great view!

The fuchsia glow at the end of the sunset.

Flamenco

On Friday, Skagit Valley College had a flamenco group from Seattle (Children of the Revolution) come up to give a free concert. Before the concert, each of the three members gave a free workshop. One was on beginning salsa, another was beginning flamenco (which I attended), and beginning classical guitar (which Ryan went to and was the only student). Their music is beautiful and it was fun to have a taste of Spain again.

Very fancy footwork. Listen and watch for when she uses only her heal and only the ball of her foot. Wow!

Castanets

Enjoying the Sun

Last Sunday after church, we went to Lake Padden to get outdoors while Ryan did homework. As you can see, he also sneaked in some more fishing while studying.

Afterwards, we took a quick walk around Whatcom Falls. We didn't actually make it to the main falls since we were in somewhat of a hurry to get back home. We still enjoyed what we did see.

I love the smell of spring flowers in the air!! We have some lilacs (as in this picture) on our kitchen table right now that I can smell as I type on the couch.

Samish Park Hike

I'm a little behind in blogging. We went out on a couple of walks/hikes this past weekend, enjoying the warm weather. These pictures are from a hike at Samish Park.

I was not going for style with my rolled up pants. It was warmer than expected up there, so this worked out well. I couldn't get a good picture of the cedar tree on the bottom left. I wanted to show the beautiful contrast of the neon green algae/fungus (I don't know the right term for it.) and the reddish-brown cedar bark.

I'm not doing a goofy wave. I was just moving my hand right as the picture was being taken. I still liked it enough not to retake it. : P

Ryan has been really busy this quarter with three math intensive courses. I, on the other hand, have been on a break from school (though not from work) since around mid-April. My courses will soon pick up again....as soon as my ordered textbooks arrive in the mail. I don't technically have any assignments due until I go to the college in Michigan in July, but I want to get as much done as possible ahead of time because otherwise, it's an excruciating two weeks of work. It will still be busy, but whatever I can get done before will help!

Right now, we have just less than 3 weeks left in this quarter. Then, we have about a week and a half break until the summer quarter starts...that is school for Ryan and work for me.

Happy Birthday Don!

Donnie turned 30 on May 15th. He had a BBQ at his house with family and friends. My sister-in-law, Mandy, had a picture from his 2nd birthday airbrushed onto his cake. That was back when he had curls.

Fishing and Critters

We've gone on a couple of walks/hikes in the past few days and have found some fun critters along the way. You'll notice the WA state animal in center and bottom left--the slug.

Tackle and a lake....Ryan's paradise.

I loved the colors in the fungus on the bottom left. The bottom right is a kind of orchid that grows in the Northwest called a Fairy Slipper.

This baby squirrel was the cutest thing on our hike!! It's amazing how fast these guys can move with those little legs. I didn't get it on video, but he ended up jumping on Ryan and running up his back and then down his leg. It's so funny how he kind of hops around.

Look Who's Sixty!!

Yesterday was a milestone birthday for my mom. She and I went to tea on Saturday, and then on Sunday we had a family dinner. My Uncle David did most of the 'Over the Hill' decorating.

Happy Birthday Mama! I think that she looks pretty darn good at 60! I hope I age that well too. So far I'm doing alright. Being short and having curly hair always makes me look younger than I am to most people.


Here are two of the chefs for the evening. The cat (Batman) kept trying to get the steaks and scallops.

Random

I took a Thai friend to the tulips and up to Mount Erie. It's such a beautiful view up there! I always take pictures even though I've been there many times. : )

Ryan took these pictures of our owl 'friend'. He was hiding outside our front door from the crows that were trying to get him. He kept trying to fly through the window, which wasn't working out so well.

The squirrels have been ravaging the feeder. I woke up the other morning and thought that this guy (yes, I'm sure it's a guy) was stuck. He was hanging on the clear, glass front part. It turned out that it was easier just to stay in there and eat upside down than to get a bite and come out to eat like they usually do before going back in for more. Check out the video below for a live version.