Will Spring Ever Get Here??

We went in search of spring today.  Looking for those tangible signs that winter is behind us.  It snowed this morning. Hard for a while, but didn’t stick.  Late March and it’s snowing.  The tough thing is the snow in the mountains.  Like last year, the snows came heavy and late.   As a result, most of our alpine hikes weren’t available till August or later.  Growl. 

Jodi's sharp eye caught a river otter under the bridge, but I had the wrong lens on and couldn't get a clear shot.  It was in the middle of a meal.

We have some sort of turtle.  The shell is about the size of a dinner plate.

Wild flower first after winters ravage,

Deep in the forest, blooms skunk cabbage

Wrinkled noses react to its funk

Yellow veil smells like skunk

Spring is coming out of the fog

When cabbage blooms in the bog

Island wildlife and chores

I’m trying to get a good picture on each outing.  The above shot was this weekend’s highlight shot.

Good day on the island.  Took the 9am boat and didn’t really get started working until just after noon.  The first task was to burn some wood.   Dad just couldn’t get rid of scrap wood.  Every project he did resulted in some scrap pieces of wood.  While he did recycle and use some of it, his woodpile grew year by year.  I found the spare boom to my 1929 Dragon in the pile.  Quite rotted.  Also found a paddle that was in the latter stages of decomposition.  Also found not one, but 2 sign posts he had used in the past 50 years, one was nearly unrecognizable.  Lest I mislead anyone, the property is nearly pristine, his hoarding habits were confined to a few select things, but wood was one of them.

We had a good burn and Jodi raked and worked hard.  I kept on using the word ‘fun’ but it really was.  Good productive work.  We cleared wood from the side of the house and straightened the area between the workshop and sheds.  Mundane,  but there is satisfaction in cleaning and clearing. 

The 2^nd task was to rebuild part of the trail.  A step had become rotted and it was the worst step of the trail with the most rise.  So we re-engineered the step and put 2 steps in where there was one before.

During the few hours we worked there was a fair amount of wildlife.  Jodi and Rex spooked a deer that tore down to the beach.  A watchful couple of eagles surveyed their domain from above.

We also saw a family of river otters playing out in front.  The eagle saw them too and made a half hearted dive and bopped one of the otters on the head.

Between chores we had a pleasant romp on the beach.  Rex and Kuper loved it.  We did too.

In a sure fire sign that spring has begun, the first wildflower of the year, skunk cabbage, is starting to bloom (at least at sea level).

Cleaning windows and other chores rounded out the weekend.  Devin arrived with Kayla on Sunday and Devin helped with a number of chores as well.  Good productive weekend.

Rosario (continued)

Rosario is a nice blend of old and new.  Built by Robert Moran between 1906 and 1909, the mansion and the grounds are impressive.  I won’t repeat the whole story here, but he came to Seattle about 25 years after the landing at Alki and early during his career he was a ships engineer on a few of John Muir’s Alaska expeditions.  Whether that had any effect on him or not, I don’t know, but it’s easy to surmise that some of John Muirs respect for nature rubbed off on him.   The grounds are a mixture of respect for nature oddly combined with an industrialists iron will to impose order and built a lasting structure forever changing the landscape.   Opposing forces, but the combination works.

These two pictures were taken about 100 years apart.  Much of the grounds are still intact and even 100 years later, Moran would find much familiar with the resort.  

After breakfast, Jodi took Rex for a brief walk.

We were sad to leave, but the gravitational tug of obligations forced our departure.

One last shot of the mansion.

Altered as if from yesteryear.

We had some fun with Rex on the way back.

Moran was a photographer  and for some reason I tried to capture images of birds (they are harder to shoot than I thought!!) and general wildlife.

Yes, there really is a camel on San Juan.  Her name is Mona.  I don’t know if she’s got the mange or is molting.

Just as we arrived back at the house, there was a small deer in the yard.  We had a stare down before it bolted.

All in all a fun short cruise. 

ROSARIO

Last night the wind howled.  It shrieked.  It tore through the rigging and the sound permeated the hull.  The fenders creaked and groaned between the boat and the dock.  The lines tugged, the boat lurched at her moorings.  We bounced and rolled all night long.  Once in a while an especially vile gust would rise above the others.  A brief hail storm made a racket as well. 

In the morning Jodi walked Rex with the wind still blowing and no sooner than she got back and zipped up the boat the heavens opened with a slushy mixture of rain and snow.  It’s now coming down in sheets, blown nearly horizontally.

The boat is warm and cozy, but it’s wild outside.  Time to catch up on some reading….

The weather partially cleared enough to take a short hike.  Cascade Lake is just above Rosario and offers a nice chance to stretch the legs.  Rex enjoyed a good and it offered a chance to snap a few pictures.  After the hike we had a nice Thai soup, a nap, then a dip in the hot tub.  One could get used to this. 

Rosario is seemingly on the uptick.  The effort to restore the property and expand the resort offering is visible.   Maybe we’ll visit in the summer, but certainly return again and again in the off season.  The ambience is tough to beat.  A stately mansion, pretty good restaurant, nice hot tub and workout facility with hiking nearby.  Perfect. 

On Again, Off Again

The original plan was to help mom unwinterize the house and head out on the boat for a mid winter cruise.



We headed up I-5 in snow showers, caught the same ferry as mom and settled in on the ferry marking our Oscar ballots in preparation for small impromptu Oscar party later that evening. We thought it might help ease the transition back to empty house – the ever present reminder that Dad wasn’t there.



Arrival at the house was uneventful and in short order the water system was charged and all systems restored after a months absence.



Jodi made a great sausage pasta dinner and we watched the Oscar's unfold. Collectively we turned out to be lousy at Oscar predictions. While mom and Jodi nailed the best picture category I eked out the win with the most right (or least wrong) guesses.



Sunday night the wind howled. Straight out of the northeast, the house was slammed by 30 knot winds with higher gusts. None of us slept very well, but the Monday morning sunrise was more peaceful.

Monday was a bittersweet day. It would have been Dads 84th birthday. We had a couple of cinnamon rolls (his favorite) in his honor.



Shortly after breakfast we decided to climb Young's Hill and give the dogs and ourselves a brief workout. Mom was game and charged up the hill without complaint. Not bad for a woman who next year will turn 80.

Predictably Kuper and Rex immensely enjoyed the outing.

All morning we had been texting back and forth with Tom and Tessa. We were going to cruise with them, but the weather forecast was dim and getting dimmer. Strong winter gales were forecasted to sweep through the area. The National Weather Service had dire “GALE WARNINGS” in big red font. Tom and Tessa informed us that they were bailing and wouldn’t be coming up. Jodi and I formulated a ‘plan B’, but then to our surprise they again revised their plans and undaunted and they caught a ferry off Bainbridge and headed north.



Jodi, mom and I had a pleasant dinner at the Cask and Schooner while Tom and Tessa uncovered a couple of unpleasant surprises as the splashed their boat in Anacortes. Their fresh water system had a cracked filter, but they surmounted their problems and steamed towards Rosario under starry skies. We'd join them in the morning, using a forecasted gap between weather systems.



We’d have to get an early start to get to Rosario and secure the boat prior to the wind arriving.



We left a little later than I had planned and the winds arrived a little earlier than anticipated. We took some spray over the bow in San Juan Channel with the wind blowing 20 to 25 knots. The windshield wipers did a good job smearing the seawater across the windshield (gotta replace the things). Once in the lee of Lopez Island things were civil until we approached Rosario. By that time we were running with the wind at about 7 knots. The wind, blowing from astern, was showing 23 knots on the anemometer. 23 knots plus 7 equals a 30 knot winds right on the stern as we headed towards the small set of docks. As we approached Rosario the seas began to build and we began to surf down the front of 4 foot waves. This was going to be interesting. We surfed into Rosario’s small moorage, most of which is tucked behind a small breakwater. The end docks were largely unprotected, bouncing wildly with the waves. Jodi had all fenders down and the lines ready. We skidded CAMBRIA into a tight 90 degree port turn to squeeze behind the docks. 30 knots of wind now on the beam pushing us towards the rocks. More power then another 90 degree turn to align with the finger pier. Tom and Tessa were there to catch the lines. I squared the boat up and then it was up to the line handlers to complete the landing. It turned out just fine, but ‘exciting’ isn’t the word you want to use when you land a 16 ton boat.



Once landed we again checked out the grounds around Rosario. Looks like major improvements are being made – lots of construction and they are redoing the swimming pool.



Jodi and I opted for a hike up to Cascade lake the joined Tom and Tessa in the hot tub. Appetizers followed on Docktails then Jodi made a terrific Pasta dish on Cambria.