Take me out to the ball game

With the Seattle Mariners on the verge of sweeping the Boston Red Sox an outing to Bobby Morris Field in Seattle's Cal Anderson Park seemed like the thing to do on a sunny spring day.


A women's soft ball game was worth checking out - and it was scary how good the lineups were.










Thank God for baseball. This time each year, every single day until early fall, it's restorative to just let this slice of Americana - forget about the rest - work its magic.

Today the M's are champs, a little blonde throwing some heat, and Case and I are just kicking back and soaking it up.

Perennial debuts

The first tulip to debut in the front yard

This week has really been the week for tulips to be showing up in yards everywhere. It's almost like you could watch the stems breaking ground. They're even plentiful on the trails all around the southside.

Of course, the wild cross-pollination and color schemes didn't seem to impress our trailblazer in the least.

Brand new favorite toy

You just never know. Sometimes a new raggedy, floppy stuffed toy is right on the money for making the A list of favorite toys...at least for today. 

Thanks Erin.

Hilltop vista

An unexpectedly sunny day presented us with an opportunity to take in the sights from another vantage point, the Western Washington University's Sehome Hill Arboretum.

Of course Casey discovered routes to the top not tried before today's outing. Conserving energy is not his forte.

After criss-crossing the park we were rewarded with a panorama of Bellingham and the coastline from an 80 foot lookout tower.  But from the look of our Pathfinder, he was less impressed with the view than the opportunity for a much-needed break.

Let sleeping dogs lie

Looks are deceiving. We know it's getting late and it's been a long day, but our guy here is always on Border Collie alert. Really. 

Unless he caves to the easy chair.

Wings 2011

Before the rains came the neighborhood was treated to an airshow that lasted for at least five or ten minutes over the cul de sac before the participants moved on. Three large squawking raptors, excuting maneuvers that we had pegged as part of a hawk courtship and mating ritual. 

Once we had a chance to take a look at the photos we found that we had witnessed a classic dogfight for territory and survival over the neighborhood - a bald eagle in a dogfight with two red-tailed hawks after picking the wrong nest to raid. 

First bumblebee of the season

We couldn't help but notice this healthy forager today, sampling  early blooms.

It's unlikely it ventured out of hibernation, but its hummingbird size was attention grabbing. Before long we'll be able to hear the buzzing of this guy's numerous colony co-workers from the front porch. 

It'll be nice to see them work their magic, again.

Morning ritual

On Stella's tight schedule, she still makes time to take care of herself. And a therapeutic catnap in a sunbeam, of course, goes with the territory. 

Trickster

Pulling all the stops for a chew stick. Such control, such concentration.

Watchers

Not exactly watchers of the skies.

Just one watcher to another. And all in an afternoon for Stella, from the safety of her window sill.


 

Robins though, you just can't be too careful. You gotta keep an eye on 'em.

What's the holdup?

This time of year, these kind of days, Casey just wants to overcome some inertia. And, in Border Collie fashion, will not be ignored. Today he's using the timeworn combo of eyeing and guilting us into putting down the coffee mugs and going outside.

Less is more

For Stella, like most of us, it's sometimes just a matter of changing perspective, to get the best out of life. Simplicity. In this case, curling up in a section of a cardboard box, stuffed with tissue and scrap paper, just happens to be one of her favorite spots for an evening nap.

And we don't have the heart to replace or recycle it.

 

Late night snack

When it comes to a late night snack, Casey is sold on popcorn. From the sound and aroma of the first kernels popping, to the last handful, the kid pulls out all the stops, working us for a morsel. And who can blame him for wanting his share anyway? 
 

How long, do you suppose, will Casey just leave the popcorn be, by our command?  No idea really, he's just such a good boy to leave the tempting popped kernels alone...besides he knows we'll give in to him sooner rather than later. 

Won't be long now

Check out the cherry trees. It won't be long now...a week or two? And the front yard will be adorned with a carpet of cherry blossoms.   

In the meantime, check out the Frisbee poise and stop-action without a pink obstruction to visibility. Victoria can really put some air under those discs when she wants to. The slobber is the only thing standing in the way of her becoming a first-stringer.

Hard day's night

After a hard day of working his keepers for those extra Frisbee tosses, one more neighborhood outing, and leading the way during a jog, at 10 pm it's lights out.

Now Stella, she's just recharging for late night crazies - or whatever it is she does while we're stacking zzz's. And she's got "checking out" down to a science.

Uphill in a backyard wilderness

The uphill trail to Fragrance Lake, through a cathedral of cedar and Douglas fir in the Chuckanut Mountains, provides enough diversions to keep any herding dog's interests piqued, from switchback to switchback.



The .9 mile hike must have turned into three miles up and three miles down for "Mr. Economy of Steps". It didn't seem to slow him down though, but I gotta believe he's going to turn in early tonight.

Well worth the climb, the view of Samish Bay and the San Juans is a keeper, and the hook for for a return trip. Casey might even get the hang of conserving energy.

600' overlook view enroute to Fragrance Lake

The little embryo that could

This has to be our photo of the week. This head turner, a decades old cedar tree firmly anchored on and around a sandstone boulder in the Chuckanut Mountains south of Bellingham on the Fragrance Lake Trail, pretty much proves that almost anything will grow - practically anywhere - in Whatcom County.

This had to have been one impressive seedling a hundred years or so ago. Sprouting from moss or lichen, who knows? Certainly tenacious.

There falls no shadow where there is no sun

With two rain-free days in a row, we're working on a streak for sure. With a second day of sunshine, under partly cloudy skies, our Northwest hues and tints seem to just leap out of the woods - and we no longer take even our shadows for granted.

Now, before Bellinghamsters start to sound greedy - for a string of sunny days to maybe get us through the weekend - let's start working on some temperatures to match Nature's razzle-dazzle.