ran away from my garden

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:16 pm

Been doing that a bit, lately. Running away from home, I mean. More fun than scraping paint off the house (which I really need to get after). DH had a trade-off day yesterday so we ran away to one of our local beaches, at Tolmie park. Good heavens, the name actually made it into Wikipedia. Do some folks just have too much time on their hands or how does that work? Anyway...
It was supposed to be blazing hot, and when we got home the news said it was. But not at this little bit of seashore (It actually faces onto Puget sound). A soft overcast kept a gauzy screen overhead, creating a filtered and comparatively cool sunshine.
We started out with a hike, only a couple of miles or so. The thick, fern-studded woods were laced with tiny-wild-blackberry vines. My hands were perfectly purple before long, as were DD's chin and one cheek. We don't want her to get the idea that it's ok to pick and eat things in the wild, so I fill my hands with whatever is good and let her choose what she wants from there. Saves quite a bit of worry! The berries that lie in pools of sunshine were fat and sweet. The ones in the shade, well, not so much. But they were all good. The wild huckleberries are ripe too, but we left them for the chipmunks. DH and DD were sitting on a bench while I raided a patch of vines when my back was literally brushed by birdwing, and a pileated woodpecker landed on a stump directly behind my D's! DH scrambled to get the camera setup (our point-and-click is hopelessly broken, and neither of us is very fast yet with the SLR camera). The woodpecker headed off into the trees, alas. But it did make me look up, and realize that some of the trees we were passing were actually Madrona, evidenced by the orange wood exposed up where the sun hit and peeled the outer bark.
At the end of our hike we had a picnic on the beach then spent the rest of the afternoon sketching and playing in the water. This beach is Loaded with sand dollars- they are actually purple and fuzzy when they are still alive. Lots of little crabs, too, little fish, and at one point DH spooked up a tiny flounder that proceeded to smack right into my leg, poor little guy! Added a few shells to my stash on the back porch, waiting for me to sketch them. Well it's jolly hot in here so I'll go do that!

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gardengater wrote on Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:04 am:

That sounds like a wonderful day Critterpainter and delicious. Those days away from home can be rejuvenating, esp. in the woods. Thanks for the description - it was almost like being there.

kuntrygal wrote on Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:31 am:

Mary, it sounds like you had a great day.It is nice to get away from the regular hum-drum. You described it so vividly. Thanks for sharing your day!

tschnath wrote on Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:53 am:

Sounds like my kind of day. Oh how I wish you had captured that piliated though. I've seen one once myself, and what a site they are. Thanks for taking us along with you. It was refreshing...

glendann wrote on Fri Aug 08, 2008 3:16 am:

That sounds like so much fun CritterPainter.I'm green with envy of ya'll.A picnic even out there.Its been years since I went on one.

dooley wrote on Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:48 pm:

Our friends from down in the valley came up last week for Dan's wedding. He said he was coming back with a bottle of water, a peanut butter sandwich and a chair and sit for about 10 years, just listening to the quiet. Sometimes a day out is just what you need. dooley