Walks with Wren

As our pup grows up, she needs to run or swim every day to be happy and keep out of trouble. That means lots of outings for us, hiking through the hills of the gorge and walking the shoreline of the Columbia river. It's such a beautiful time of year to be out, and I'm enjoying these days with Wren.

Here, she's looking back at me while she contemplates what to do about this great blue heron. Spoiler alert: she chased it.

Mt Hood in the distance

Catching a walk between the showers

I'll end with a few photos of  our afternoon jumping in the leaves. We had one dry day, so we grabbed the rakes and got jumping. I wanted to take a "nice" fall photo of Ole, but he was in a silly mood and not cooperating with my plan. I was just about to give up when he went all supermodel on me. Whoa! Look at those cheekbones!

August days and nights

Our little guy turned SEVEN! this month and he celebrated with five good friends and a campout sleepover in the backyard--a first sleepover for everyone. Luckily, it was a smashing success and fun was had by all!

We played and ate and watched an outdoor movie (Transformers--ugh, that beast of a movie is 2 1/2 hours long!). The kids slept in the cool trampoline tent while adults camped out on the ground. 

Dads provide a wind block to light that candle.

Asleep by midnight

Morning smiles

Back in the garden, it's growing! It has been such a hot, dry summer that it has been a struggle to keep everything watered, but we try. I'm pinning all my hopes on a huge tomato harvest this year.

By far the tallest tomato plants I've grown!

It's going to be a great year for plums!

A peak inside the summer greenhouse

I love the tenacity of this akebia vine, always overreaching.

It's hard to make out what's going on here, but there are at least ten ripening cantaloupe hidden beneath these leaves.

Quick pre-breakfast harvest

And then there are the blackberries, so sweet and plentiful this summer. We found a primo picking spot and picked these seven pints in about ten minutes. One batch of jam canned so far.

Baaaa!

Fun up north

After a stressful spring spent staying close to home, we decided we needed some sort of summer vacation. So we packed up and took a road trip through northern Washington to celebrate the summer solstice and Alex's birthday.
Our first stop was Poulsbo, a Scandinavian village in the Puget Sound. We rented a cool old 50 foot sailboat for the night through airbnb. We didn't go sailing, but we did help the owner move the boat to a different dock. Here the owner Tami teaches Ole how to throw the rope from the bow to the dock.

We lounged on the boat, had dinner in a cute pub (with foosball!), and took a sunset walk down the shoreline.

In the morning, we expertly zipped onto the Kingston-Edmonds ferry, our car being the very last car allowed aboard. Up in Anacortes, our next ferry was delayed, and after groaning a bit, we took a little walking path and found this lovely beach to play on while we waited.

Ferries are the best way to travel! Just sit back and enjoy the view--it was all smooth sailing.

Okay, it's not the best photo, but that's a pod of orcas in the distance! "Hey," I said to no-one in particular, "there are some whale or dolphins or something swimming out there." The tourist boats quickly spotted them and zoomed in.

Our next stop was Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We stayed right in town in a top floor studio, but it felt so private, hidden down this lush brick path.

We toured the island, which was only ten or so miles wide, and stopped to skip rocks at this beautiful cove beach.

We visited Pelindaba Lavender farm.

Our favorite stop of the day was this amazing twenty acre sculpture park in Roche Harbor. 

Here's the Lime Kiln Point lighthouse. Inside we ran into a couple visiting from Stevenson, just down the road from us at home. It was surprisingly cold and windy out on the point, so we took in the view quickly.

We enjoyed a fancy birthday sushi dinner and checked out the San Juan Island brewery. Then it was back on the ferry and onward to Westport.

It was Pirate Days in Westport, so we went down to the port to do some people watching...oh my! I had no idea how many people are fully invested in pirate culture.

 Then it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and head back to reality.

It was so good to get away and see a new part of our beautiful state. Happy summer!