She's baaack

Look who's back. It may not be obvious from this photo - and it's not Casey with his new Frisbee - but if we zoom in and up...that's right...our weed-wacked clematus is back in full bloom. Last year we thought she was a goner http://caseysworlds.blogspot.com/2011/06/careless-casualty.html, but today we were more than pleasantly surprised. Ain't life grand.

  

Nectar feed

Almost as impressive as this year's bloom of frontyard rhodies are the nonstop foraging bumblebees gorging themselves in the berms - barely taking notice of the amateur photographer hovering a respectable distance nearby. 

Of course these buzzing workaholics are well aware of their small windows of opportunity for loading up on nectar and pollen from rhododendrums, which seem to begin their downhill slides by the time we decide we can't get enough of them.

Working the room

Friends and dinner guests Michael and Candace were just plain easy tonight when it came to dolling out ear and back rubs, but why would Casey stop there when half the couch is available.

So is there a problem?

The kid definitely knows a soft touch - and a dog person -when his sees one, especially when he comes with an empty lap, so why shouldn't he just make himself totally comfortable.

Showtime

Once again it's showtime on Taylor Dock, and with a backdrop of fiery virga and an accompanying score of dueling gulls and tidal rhythms, it's Bellingham Bay's twilight curtain call.

The promise of "sailor's delight" weather over a long holiday weekend to usher in an early summer brought out a respectable crowd of gawkers tonight.

Most everyone wanted to catch this week's big finish. 

Bumper crop

Surprisingly, in just the last week or so, the blackberry gauntlet along the Whatcom Falls Trail has been making up for lost time and 2012 looks like a bumper crop.

The county's most prolific species of wild berry is blooming right on schedule for a change. Come August local berry pickers will be braving thorn scratches, along with stained fingers and tee shirts, to fill whatever containers are handy for pies and jam.

What makes this particular stretch of Bellingham so special is that it has always seemed to have more than enough sweet stuff to go around for every variety of hoarder.

Montana clematis

This year must be the year that our Montana clematis will be holding its own among the backyard fauna. Everything just seems to be coming together this spring for this picky vine, and apparently it's staked its claim on the side fence.

A little privacy here, how 'bout it

Couldn't help but notice that something or someone in the front yard caught Casey's attention. And this time I got the shots.

We just didn't realize this sequence was going to be such an invasion of privacy, not to mention jeopardize our PG rating.  

But these two were so preoccupied that they couldn't have cared less.

In a few weeks the front yard clover crop will no doubt be under control.

But Casey, on the other hand, will just have to learn a little self-restraint. It's not like he'd ever come close to catching up with these guys...not even when they're in the throes of passion. 

This shirt

Now why do you suppose this is one of Victoria's favorite tee shirts? Easily almost twenty years old, but just look at the these faces. The Border Collie puppy is the hook though.

No silver buttons, but plenty of memories.

Can't help but think of the Mary Chapin Carpenter standard This Shirt practically everytime we pull it out of the dryer or drawer. Vic and I had the pleasure last week of listening to Mary sing it at an accoustic performance downtown at the Mt Baker Theatre. Take a listen yourself and see if you can stave off the goosebumps.

All in a row after row

Chestnut Street, Bellingham, Washington in primetime, lined with, what else, white and red horse chestnut trees. These particular varieties range from thirty to a majestic fifty or so feet on an avenues all around town, some over 100 years old. But this stretch of road contains the real money shots, easily measuring up to the more famous picture postcard displays in nearby Victoria BC.

 

 

  

7-years-old and in its prime

This white lilac is really worthy of doubletakes this year, having taken full advantage of our April downpours and now we think unrivaled in the neighborhood.

Today the lighting couldn't have been more synchronized with peak bloom, striking the perfect, though transient spring chord.

  

Yeah, but can they catch a Frisbee...in the dark

I ask you...

...how can this be sleep-inducing or even close to comfortable?

This Ethan Allen Traditional Classic chair - with the wooden arms - has always been Casey's fave for nighttime naps. Go figure. 

Payback to twists and turns

It's great to see another winter survivor, the potted wisteria, doing so well. All of Victoria's repotting and reshaping, transplanting and twisting, and look what's sporting a corsage of blossoms today.

Fear of Dogs

had less to do
with any harm
they might inflict
than with the sad
look in their eyes
expressing a need
for love he felt
he couldn't meet.
And so he looked
away from them.

He was too busy
for such obligations,
waiting instead
for angels to speak,
looking up at heaven
with an expression
they couldn't help
responding to,
try as they might
to avoid his gaze.

"Rilke's Fear of Dogs" by Jeffrey Harrison, from Feeding the Fire

Terminus

Today was one of those days made for just standing outside and staring, clear as a friggin' bell and 75 degrees. And a great place to soak it all in was the end of Whatcom Creek Trail, three miles as the trail winds, through Bellingham to the other side of town at Whatcom Falls.

This stretch of the waterway cuts through the center of town, siphons off hatchery salmon runs - chinook and coho mainly, some trout - and eventually slides by Maritime Hertitage Park before escaping into Puget Sound.

The trail abounds with one of the most diverse selection of greenery in the county - Douglas Fir, aspen, dogwood, fireweed, cattails, cedar - and for our excursion, mostly free of city soundtracks even this late in the afternoon.

Rushing water, quaking leaves, and the usual choral accompaniment of seagulls and crows only competing briefly with a distant Amtrak, but even that was a welcome, jazzy little interlude.  

Tomorrow, more of the same weather conditions are on tap for Mother's Day, and for early May might be pushing our luck. But who could be more deserving, I ask you?  Let's just hope there's no payback this coming July.

Mama knows just what to do

Showtime

Voilà. Open the front door, before the morning coffee has stopped brewing, and there he is - our brazen bunny sampling the clover - just out of reach of the even the most agile, quick-footed Bordie.

Sorry Case. Keep dreamin'.

You're just going to have to be satisfied with the front row seat.

Occasional light blossom showers

Under a high overcast, with occasional gusty winds, the neighborhood spring blossoms were being shed in short order, with multicolored pastel throws on every block.

At our house the theme is pink and the rabbits are going to have to root through cherry blooms in the morning.
  

He was just here

It's usually first things first each morning early when Casey goes after a rabbit that's a regular at the front yard clover buffet. Right now he has no idea that the bunny disappeared in the berm right behind him. Hey...he's a herding dog OK.

Rallying for the Planet

More than 450 people, under the banners of several local anti-coal groups, marched from City Hall to Maritime Heritage Park at noon on Saturday. This rally was organized by local 350.org activists and sponsored by 20 local organizations and businesses including Casey's favorite, Veterans For Peace Chapter 111. If you look real close in this Where's Waldo photo you'll see our guy in the front row, on the far right, posing with Vic. In fact Border Collies were well-represented - there are two more on the left. 

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/05/05/2510865/protesters-turn-out-in-hundreds.html#storylink=cpy

Different strokes

This little guy doesn't seems to be forgetting that he's a woodpecker.

The streetlight pole seems to hold some attraction though and he's been at this for awhile, so who are we to say.