Spring in Seattle

Thank the gods it's Summer. It was a bit of a long, hard haul of a Spring. Now, with the Solstice officially here and gone, sunshine hope fills the air. Hope that some day soon I can put away my space heater. Hope that the water of Lake Washington will not make one's nipples fall off when taking a impromptu plunge. Hope that I can soon be backpacking in Chacos instead of snowshoes. So. Much. Hope.

I haven't posted much of late...probably because I am a bit embarrassed with how little I have to show for my Springtime accomplishments. Here are a few things that I have been passing the time doing, for those of you back home who are still interested.

1.) I planted a Garden.

Life is usually better when you can eat what you grow. I even spent all winter working on growing starters from seed. Then, I left for a long weekend, and they died. The nice thing about the northwest is that the climate is forgiving to those of us who have black thumbs.

Pak Choi taking over



Tomato Plants



2.) I built a Chicken Coop.

I also found out that I have no carpenter skillz. I was told a few times during this project that I would have "failed 8th grade shop class". The floor is crooked, the angle on my A-frame is not calculable by any geometric property, but it works quite well.

Bones of wood



Crooked-floor-cutting Badass



3.) I finally got chickens.

Not only do they lay eggs, they provide endless entertainment for guests. No jugglers or dancing is needed for summer parties, just a fire pit and a few chickens. And here are the ladies...

Baba Yaga, a large, mean, peck-holes-in-your-hands machine. Although frightening, she is not the sharpest tool in the shed. She is the only one that cannot figure out how to get out of the coop (with the door open).




Olivia Trashnasty (T-nast for short), a Sebright bantum, who can fly to the roof of the house in case of a raccoon attack. She is also, despite size, turning out to be the leader in this complex winged caste system.



The Chicken Formerly Known as Pixel, who also has a symbol for a name. She is the most friendly of the bunch, but the last to get perch rights and tasty snacks. She will also go after your uvula if you talk for too long with your mouth open. Who can blame her? That hangy-down thing in the back of your throat DOES look like a worm.



4.) I went on a few Mountain trips.

Olympics through the fog



Straight of Juan de Fuca



Shoveling Snow



5.) I began to learn to ski

I have no pictures from the attempts of this accomplishment. I was afraid of destroying my camera as I fell 2.4 billion times each run down the mountain. Next year I have decided to start early, and maybe get past thigh-burning snowplow turns. Because having something fun to do in the snow keeps you out of the winter/spring bell jar that much more.