Peace on earth

The kids are gone, the last Christmas tune has played until next year, and the only sound in the living room is the fireplace trying to compete with our central heating as outside temperatures are hovering just above 30°.  And the kid? Just who can begrudge him a little holiday downtime?   Almost hate to disturb him, but he's got to go outside.

Yule pose

Merry Christmas !

All that glitters

Not exactly a Currier and Ives scene but a seasonal expection on the interurban nonetheless. Each year someone or some people drape this lonely little fir with the trappings of Christmas - OK, a minimalist effort, on the same bend in the trail, but now a holiday tradition.   

 

   

Break in the action

Between record-breaking downpours Bellinghamsters are teased with breaks in the action that motivate most to bundle up and get outside.  Today was just just one of those occasions, so Casey and I went out for a aerobic, quick-paced stroll by the bay.  I think we actually worked up a sweat.

  

Can you tell that the kid actually welcomed this breather on the way back to Fairhaven? 

Long day's birthday night

When we do a birthday up, well, OK, hardly anyone takes notice, but we at least made sure Case's day was special.  What really helped was the rain let up some, and we at least had time to take the kid for a stroll and run in Fairhaven, his favorite part of town.  A liberal treat policy all day long and a visit from one of his favorite guys, our oldest son Joe, and his girl friend Pavlina in the afternoon pretty much finished him off. He's practically apoplectic around him.  It won't be long and the farm boy will head back to his kennel, with or without his night owl guardians.

Slacking off as a proofreader

After a round of indoor ball, Casey has obviously given up on his proofreading responsibilities too.  At least he's not trying to nudge my hands away from the keyboard today. He can push multitasking to new limits, but that's the Border Collie in him.

At least he's leaving the Frisbee alone.

Quilt project

Casey with Vic's new quilt project

On the verge of a thaw

Things look a lot worse than they are, even as hoary and frigid as yesterday OK, maybe so, but there's a thaw in the air. 

In the meantime, mornings verily glisten.

An outing with Jack Frost

After a week of high temperatures pushing 30 degrees, with lows near 20, Casey and I set off for a hike in the woods at the first signs of a thaw - a fleeting hour or two of mid-thirties before dusk, but at least frostbite wasn't going to be an issue.




The big visual payoff today for everyone with the same idea was the floral backdrop of glistening ice that accentuated most trails near Whatcom Falls Park. And if I'd had more than 1%'s worth of battery left on my phone I'd have had more images to display, but you get the idea.

The kids know their place, all weekend long

With all-day, blustery, sub-zero "feels like" temperatures making today a mainly "indoor day" these two siblings of different species capped it off by spooning, enveloped in the radiant heat of the fireplace. 

Uh oh

The kid immediately jumped up on the couch when he thought he saw Vic go for his eye medicine in the kitchen. Just look at that Border Collie intensity.

And now, when he hears, "Hey, boy, do ya want a goodie?"

Such transparent relief. He cracks me up.

First light

                   OK, Casey. You're right. The sun's out, let's get a move on. 
                                                               You do know it's colder than all get out, right?

Mr. Relaxation

How's this for a photo op!

Couch crashing

 

Most nights Casey knows that you want nothing more than to be sidetracked from meaningless emailing and blog posting, and he can go to extremes to make sure you get the message. And you know, he's usually right.

Before the storm

It looks like Casey sensed a storm coming here, and he would have nailed it. An hour after this photo was shot the rain and gusty, sometimes gale force winds have been non-stop. It was so peaceful, almost Thoreau-like, before the bluster moved in.

Sunday funny

Received this via email today, and even though it looks familiar, it's a smile that's so worth sharing...for sure.
 

Not a Halloween goblin in sight

The weekend got off to a great start on Friday in Fairhaven. Just a few hours before the streets were eventually flooded with trick or treaters, the sky was still sodden and gray after days of nonstop rain.

With  the boardwalk from Taylor Dock to Boulevard Park virtually deserted, excursions obviously called on account of weather, the boardwalk was all ours. So Casey was able to get in a little unprecedented off leash time, with no creature, masked or otherwise, encountered the whole way. How often does that happen??

Our nightly, welcome, distraction

Transitioning through fall and into winter, especially in the Pacific Northwest, daylight becomes a premium and you gotta improvise, if you're a lively, energetic, workaholic like Casey. (OK, two out of three's not bad.) So every night - early, late, doesn't matter - the kid sees no reason why you wouldn't want to have a catch. Just forget the movie your streaming, or put down the book, maybe close the laptop, and submit. It's a small price to pay for having that smiley face around each day.

Turnabout

Stella takes a back seat to no one when it comes to conserving energy.

And a rainy day has nothing to do with it.

Chillin'

Casey, just chillin' on a rainy day. The kid has no problem with having no herding commitments this time of year...or ever actually. He's always got Stella if he gets that sort of urge.

Going out in style

Each fall our sweet gum tree morphs into a display of crimsons and gold that rivals all of it's neighborhood competition. This year our backyard beauty did not disappoint and will be a standout for another week or so, just long enough for the hummingbirds to acclimate to perches being stripped clean.

First fall mosaic

Today was a real fall classic with a cascade of gold and burnt crimson around every bend in the Whatcom Fall interurban trail, as if autumn came crashing down on Bellingham's Indian Summer overnight.



Crunching through drifts of mostly dead maple and alder is once again an off-trail diversion for both Casey and me, but in a matter of just a few days, even the shoulders of our pathways will be ankle deep in seasonal debris. 

I'll give you ten minutes, or whatever it takes, to stop that

Ready to turn in for the night? You bet, but not before our kid gets a head-rub. He's shameless when it comes to a late night, midday, early morning...whenever...massage. Just have your way with him.

Vic and Casey

A border collie on the border for climate action

Casey and Gene at Peace Arch Park, Blaine, WA

Hundreds of people from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border - including Casey and his Veterans For Peace dad - converged at Peace Arch Park in Blaine, Washington for an international climate change rally on Saturday.

 

Several members of the VFP-111 chapter joined hundreds of environmentalists, First Nations, and scientists that had arrived at the park from all over the Northwest to protest coal, oil and liquefied natural gas projects happening in B.C. and Washington State that they say are fueling climate change. The VFP campaign points to the US military as the largest fossil-fuel polluter in the world.

The rally came on the eve of the People's Climate March in New York City, said to be the largest climate action rally in history. Veteran For Peace members from many other cities in the United States are joining activists from around the world, including London, Paris, Rio and Vancouver, demanding environmental justice and alternative energy on this largest climate change day of action in decades.

Steller wake-up calls

Careful what you start. A cast of Steller's Jays have been raising a ruckus every day in our backyard, shortly after sunup, ever since we started setting out a handful of peanuts in the morning and early evening. And if you think REM sleep is even remotely possible once these black-capped, pushy characters start scolding us if we're late with their rations, think again. Jay squawks are unmistakable, and right on schedule.

They're still favorites of ours but it does seem they're getting a little demanding. Casey loves to wait them out though, practically daring them to leave their fence top vantage points, which they do in seconds in synchronized swoops. Just put your camera down or turn your head, and you'll barely get to snap a photo.  

 

These jay aerobatics are almost anticlimactic, but Casey enjoys their antics, and they don't mind his ringside seat at all.

Hyflite smile

Looks who's all smiles, ever since his new Jawz Hyperflite "puncture resistant" (that's a joke) Frisbee arrived at our house.