kandas-adventures

Spring Break Staycation 2014 -- South edition

This time we headed South, toward Mt. Rainier

We went to Northwest Trek, a park featuring native northwest animals in realistic (but too small) habitats. We'd been there before, but Grammy wanted to go again.

 Bobcat stretching and rubbing its back.  We see them in our own neighborhood occasionally.

There are habitats you can walk around, and then there is the tram ride through the big area with a mixture of large animals roaming free.  Being a new bus driver, I was fascinated to watch the tram driver navigate the curving roads with the two trailer cars behind.  You really had to set up well for those turns!  

Sometimes the view from my school bus is like this, although it is deer instead of elk.  There are also areas in our district where people have goats that sometimes get out onto the roadway.

Little K had fun taking photos in her usual spot right by Grammy's side.

Well, Hello!

Some of the trails were steep and extra effort was needed to get Grammy up those hills.

After seeing all there was to see at the park we had a leisurely drive home.  We stopped often to view the mountain on this spectacularly sunny day.  

Little did I know that this would be the last road trip we'd take in this van...

So that wraps up our Spring Break Staycation.  Simple, but fun.

Spring Break Staycation 2014 -- North edition

One of the joys of being a school bus driver is having the same vacation schedule as my daughters. My mom wanted to travel somewhere, but I convinced her that daytrips would be just as satisfying.  Our first day trip was North, to Padilla Bay.
 

It is about an 80 minute drive from Seattle (if there is little traffic).

After lunch at a roadside cafe, we went to the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center, a little jewel on a quiet road along the coast.  It is a magnet for school groups and researchers, not so much tourists.

The interpretive center had displays and educational materials for all ages.  Here we are in the classroom geared toward preschool and early elementary students.

 Grammy scores 100%, which surprises no one!

The aquarium section featured only plants and marine animals that could be found across the road in the   estuary. 

Some of the colors were truly breathtaking.

Various crabs say "hello."

After we'd seen all there was to see in the interpretive center, we lounged around outside, enjoying the sunshine -- an unusual gift in April in the typically rainy Pacific Northwest!  The girls had fun making daisy chains.

On the rolling grounds of the interpretive center, with the bay in the background.

 

Back on the road, we continued north, then had a leisurely drive around Samish Island (more of a spit, as no bridge or ferry was needed to get there).

 

Samish Island has a mix of old fishing shacks and weekend cabins as well as newer mega-houses owned by tech millionaires.

Some of the cottages on Samish Island were adorable!

 

Of course a school bus driver always has eyes peeled for bus sheds, and there were some sweet ones along this rural road.

Wouldn't you love to wait for your school bus in this cute little house with a view of the water, islands, and massive container ships floating by?

It was a tidy little community, perhaps in part because they had these neat dog poop collection stops.

They are very well utilized, or else someone hasn't kept to the collection schedule, because the pail was overflowing.

A funny side note: We were headed south when Little K couldn't find her purse in the car.  Turns out she'd left it back at the interpretive center, so we went back, and there it was, on the grass where she left it.  About 3 miles down the road A realized she didn't have her sun hat.  I turned the van around and we headed back to the interpretive center yet again, and found her hat where she'd left it on a rock, less than 3 feet from where Little K's purse had just been.  Powers of observation were a little "off" today because we were in awe of all the spectacular scenery.

We drove back toward Seattle through the Skagit Valley, and since it was April, that meant Tulips!  

It was early enough in the Season that many Daffodil and Narcissus varieties were still in bloom, too.  We stopped by the demonstration gardens of some commercial growers to admire the flowers.

 

The ravenous slugs, deer, and rabbits in my neighborhood would never allow a display like this in my garden.  I used to try, but gave up after a couple years of having all the buds nipped off days before blooming.

Continuing south back toward Seattle, we discovered a new Botanical Garden under construction!  Note the glass sculptures mixed into the flower beds.

Grammy was too tired to get out of the car, so I moved the car to several spots where she could have a nice overlook while the girls and I explored.  This spot is above Daffodil Hill.

I love this old red farmhouse.

Little Sister Photobomb!

The gardens surround the Freeborn Lutheran Church, built in 1900.  We wandered the gardens and cemetery until sunset, then got back on the freeway to head home.  It had been a satisfying day of appreciating nature and architecture, discovering new things, and being together.  

 

Summer 2013 Recap

This post shows a few of the things we did before summer ended.

The neighborhood church is still under construction, but they had a summer festival out in the parking lot.  The fire department came with a truck and "christened" the new building with so much water that the gutters couldn't contain it, and the kids ran to stand under the eaves as the water spilled down on them.

Great fun on a hot day! After spraying the building's roof, the firemen then directed the hose high over the parking lot and the kids ran through the water for another 10 minutes.  Both girls got soaked to the bone.

I took the girls to a series of outdoor lunch concerts (mostly jazz and acoustic) in our suburban downtown area.   Each concert was in the green space of a different office complex, mostly for the benefit of downtown office workers.

We ventured into the big city of Seattle to explore some new parks and playgrounds.  This one is in a sketchy area of the city that by night you wouldn't want to be in.  It is an oasis in an area overrun by poverty and crime.  There is a community center and beautiful ball fields and wonderful play equipment, and park staff running recreation programs in hopes of giving the local youth something to do and keep them out of gangs and crime.

We got together with my brother and sister in law, and niece and nephew.  After a picnic in a park Grammy pulled out these "disinfecting wipes" to wipe chocolate cake off the kids' faces, and I stopped her, pointing out the "not to be used on humans" warnings all over the package.  My brother and I are always after her for not reading labels (especially expiration dates), and we had fun teasing her about this, and of course the kids joined in with expressions of horror over her error.  My sister in law and I both had babywipes at the ready to clean up the kids.

I took my mom in for some surgery.  I'm spending more time with mom at medical appointments.  I'm grateful that I'm not working full time, and live close enough to be there when she needs me.  While we wait in various waiting rooms I watch so many elderly people arrive alone, coming by cab or medi-bus, and facing their medical challenges without support of a loved one.  

At the Humane Society I got to hear Jackson Galaxy (of the TV program "My Cat From Hell") speak about the unique needs of cats adopted from shelters, and how to ease the transition to a new home, and correct problem behaviors that might make a cat unadoptable.  I wish I had been video recording the talk because he said something by mistake that caused the audience to gasp and he went bright red with embarrassment.

He had been picking people from the audience and having them come up and demonstrate cat behavior, and the person from the audience would pretend to knead with their hands, hiss, arch their back, etc.  He wanted this woman to demonstrate cat greetings, and how a cat might approach their human.  He referred to a cat rubbing its head against your leg as "giving head," and then realized what he said!

My girls and the other kids in the audience didn't get the joke, and kept asking what was so funny.  I didn't explain.


Little K went off to Oregon with her best friend for 10 days, the longest she has been away from us.  We are very close with the parents (they are the ones that went to Sleeping Lady with us), so I had no qualms about letting Little K go with them.  

First they spent a few days in Portland (yes, they went to VooDoo Doughnuts), then camping near Joseph, Oregon, in the NE part of the state.  They rode horseback to their campsite in the mountains, went for some amazing hikes, and saw billions of stars at night.  I'm so grateful that Little K has a best friend she can create good memories with through travel.  The girls talk about when they are grown up, how they will travel the world together.  Not sure what the future holds, but they are off to a good start.

While Little K was away I took A to the grand opening of a new city park.  It used to be farm land, was parcelled off, and then the land was pieced together again over the years through acquisitions and donations.  Flat land like this is a rarity in our community, and is highly desirable for developers.  It is a miracle that it did not become paved over and covered with strip malls or multistory condos.  I am so proud of our civic leaders and the community members who made this park possible.

Little K came back from camping and summer officially ended with our annual neighborhood picnic on the driveway of the abandoned house.  We do one at the end of school to signal the start of summer, and one just before school starts at the end of August.

Sleeping Lady Summer 2013 with Friends

Do you see the sleeping lady?  Her profile, lying there facing upward toward the sky?  We finally heeded her siren call and returned to the Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort for some R&R.

We had been before, in winter, and in summer.  This time we were bringing our neighbors and good friends.

The girls were excited to be on the road after two years of talking about taking this trip together.

Never mind the fact that it was pouring rain.  We found a picnic shelter along the way and ate lunch, sharing the shelter briefly with a homeless man who was keeping warm over a fire he'd lit in the cooking area of the picnic shelter.  We offered him some food, but he already had a good supply, so he declined.  We did share conversation, though.

Going over Stevens Pass (Highway elevation 4,062' / 1,238 m) it was pretty much socked in with clouds and rain.  Roadwork was underway, most likely to prevent rockfall.  We weren't sure what we would find when we descended into the valley where the Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth awaited us.  There was a major wildfire burning 40 miles south of there, and depending on which way the wind was blowing, it could be very smoky.

As we left the mountains the rain faded away and the terrain became dry and rocky.  Mossy cedar trees were replaced with long-needle pines.  When we arrived at the resort it took 2 carts to haul luggage for the 7 of us.  We'd brought a variety of shoes and outdoor clothing for all the activities we'd do, from hiking to horseback riding.  We also brought books and board games.

After checking into our cabins the girls were anxious to give our friends the tour.  We spent time in the game room...

The library...

And the exercise room.  The girls were enthralled with the exercise equipment.  We adults who log hours on such devices in an effort to stay in shape preferred to be outdoors, so we extracted the girls and continued on... 

Next stop, the garden!

The Sleeping Lady mountain looms over the garden.  We were lucky to find one of the gardeners working and spent awhile talking with him about what was growing.  

I could have listened to him talk all day, though I admit I also enjoyed just gazing at his gorgeous curly red hair and full beard.  

It took all my strength to keep from going over to him and running my fingers through his hair.  I had to settle for fondling herbs and plants with him instead.

Soon it was time for the much anticipated buffet dinner.  I had been raving to my friends for years about the food, and I think they agreed that it was spectacular.  I found it wasn't quite what it had been on previous visits (they were currently "between chefs") but it was still impressive.

Midway through our meal we had the fun of spotting Harriet Bullitt, owner and creator of the Sleeping Lady Resort.   She's a noted philanthropist and extremely wealthy, but also very down to earth.  We watched as the 89 year old crossed Icicle Creek on the chairlift that connects her log cabin on the other side (inaccessible to cars) to the resort.  She hopped off the lift and got into a decades-old rusty compact car and drove towards town.  This is a woman who could afford to be driven around by a chauffeur in a Rolls Royce, but instead she drives herself in an old beater car.  I have a lot of respect for her!

After dinner we headed for the "Ski Hill" where the Leavenworth Summer Theater presents "The Sound of Music."

A more picturesque setting could only be possible in the European Alps themselves.

After the show wrapped up at 10:30pm, the girls got to meet the cast.  Of course they wanted their picture taken with the children. I wish I could share some photos from the performance, but photography was not allowed.

The next morning we enjoyed a colorful breakfast.  I am a hearty eater, but times like this I wish I could fit in even more.  It all looked so good, I wanted to try a taste of everything.  I spent the longest time at the table, lingering over each bite.

After breakfast the girls and our friends drove to Wenatchee and went to Ohme Gardens, an alpine garden started in 1929 on a barren hillside by an optimistic young couple.  The gardens opened to the public in 1939 and are now owned and maintained by the county.

Looking south out over the valley you can see the haze from the wildfires.  I was grateful for blue skies and relatively clear air.  There have been years when the fires are much closer to town and it is dark during the day and people are advised to stay indoors.

On our way back to Leavenworth we stopped by a bakery named Anjou, after the succulent pear.

Outside the bakery, and in acres of fields surrounding it, Anjou pears were blushing in the sunshine.

Since I'd had such an enormous breakfast and wasn't hungry, I left the girls and my friends to enjoy their drinks and pastry while I explored the area on foot.

I loved this farm house, surrounded by pear orchards.

The hillsides were golden, and I was in awe.

Returning to the resort we found Daddy enjoying some popcorn and a good book.

He'd also spent some time reading in this chair, enjoying the sound of the creek below, until he was interrupted by someone yelling, "Hey-Ho!"  He looked up and there was Harriett Bullitt in her chairlift coming straight at him.  He dove out of the way as she sailed by.

The temperature was rising, so it was time to visit the rock pool.  Above you can see me decked out in my outdoor swimwear.  I have fair skin and the redhead gene, so I burn almost instantly in the sun, even through sunscreen.  After a few severe sunburns I finally got wise and started wearing a hat and rashguard, which is what I make my daughters wear most of the time at the beach and outdoor pools as well.

After a swim and shampoo for everyone, and hair braiding for the girls and me, we all headed to dinner.

Another delicious feast with our dear friends.

After dinner A and I went to another Leavenworth Summer Theater production (on a different outdoor stage).  A loves musicals, and I recently introduced her to the 1999 movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's  Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond.  We've been singing along to the soundtrack in our car for weeks.  When we found out Leavenworth Summer Theater was doing a production of Joseph, A insisted we go.  No one else was as enthusiastic, so she and I went together while the rest of our group stayed back at the resort and played board games.

A wanted me to give her a special hair style for the occasion, so I did a quadruple braid for her.  She is wearing edelweiss hairpins sent to us by our friends in Switzerland.

We bought "rush" tickets the afternoon of the show, scoring center seats in the very front row that had been reserved for donors.

A in front of the stage during intermission.  The apple beside her on the stage had been tossed around among the actors and flew off the stage and landed at her feet.

After the show A stood patiently in line to greet the actors.  He wasn't Donny Osmond, but A thought he was a pretty handsome alternative.

The next morning after a hearty breakfast the girls and our friends hit the trail on horses.  My husband and I took a hike instead.  I like horses, but they don't like me.  The last time I was on a horse it rolled over on me, pinning my leg beneath its body.  My husband was nursing his new artificial knee so he wasn't going to get on a horse either.

The girls had a good time.  Later this summer Little K will go with our friends for 9 days to Oregon, where they hope ride horses into the mountains and camp beside a lake.  This was a chance to evaluate Little K's comfort with horses, and if such a trip was realistic for her.  She's a bit nervous about heights and falling, so this was a good test.  The smile on her face as she returned told me everything: she's ready!

After the trail ride and hike, we were all ready for a dip in the pool.  

Back at our cabin cluster the water play continued in the fountain.

Suddenly ravenous, we walked over in our robes and cover-ups to the cafe and bought a late lunch.  Well, not me.  I was saving my appetite for another big buffet dinner!

With one hour to go before dinner, and everyone out of their robes and dressed again, we spent more time in the game room.  While the girls played Pajaggle, which we'd brought from home, I read the coffee-table sized library book I'd brought along, "What I Eat" by one of my favorite photojournalists, Peter Menzel.  Seeing what people around the world eat made me appreciate the dinner I was about to enjoy even more!

There was time for one last card game, then it was time for dinner.

With so many delicious dinner entrees and sides it was hard to save room for dessert, but the girls managed to fit in a fresh Crème brûlée.  All the desserts came in bite-size servings, so of course I also had the chocolate mousse, lemon custard, and cheesecake.

After dinner we returned to the garden for some outdoor games.  The dads played horseshoes.

The girls played beach ball volleyball.  I always bring an inflatable beach ball when we travel, and it brings a lot of enjoyment for such a simple object.

We stayed out in the garden through a brilliant sunset, and played until it got too dark to see anymore. This was our final evening at Sleeping Lady and I was feeling melancholy already.  On our way back to the cabins we passed several deer and heard owls calling.

The next morning after a big breakfast and checking out from the resort, we visited the Bavarian-themed mini golf course on the edge of town.  The temperature rose quickly and the last few holes were miserable due to the heat.

Shortly after we finished and had driven a few miles down the road Little K realized that she had set her new prescription sunglasses down somewhere while golfing, and we hurriedly turned around and raced back to the mini-golf course.  We dashed through the entire course finding them sitting on a rock just before the last hole.  Thankfully no one had sat or stepped on them.

Back on the road we headed toward the mountain pass.  Dozens of bicyclists struggled uphill alongside the roadway doing some charity bike race.  As we reached the pass the traffic was at a standstill and police had closed the road.  We pulled off and decided it was a good time for our picnic lunch.  Daddy walked off to stretch his legs and the girls and I perched on the tailgate with our pastries pilfered from the breakfast buffet.  Suddenly there was a loud "whoop-whoop-whoop" sound.

Now we knew why the road was closed.  A rescue medic helicopter was coming in for a landing.

What I hadn't anticipated was the amount of sand and grit and dust that the helicopter would toss up at us.  I thought it was going to land on the closed, paved highway, but instead it appeared it was going to touch down directly next to us on the gravel parking area!  I pulled the tailgate down on us, but couldn't get us all inside in time, plus the side slider doors of the van had been left open.  We were literally sand-blasted, and I worried about the girls' new glasses being destroyed.  "Cover your faces," I yelled above the roar, but of course everyone was curious and wanted to look instead.  The chopper came very close to landing, then lifted off and circled around twice more before finally touching down.  When the dust settled I discovered our van was filled with a think layer of grit.  Our hair, clothes, skin were covered as well.

I wasn't the only one taking a photo... this State Patrol officer was recording the scene on his cell phone.

After the chopper landed an ambulance pulled up to it and loaded an injured hiker.  We were sure it would be a cyclist from the event.  I felt bad for all the cyclists that were peddling by as the chopper circled three times, landed, and took off.  They had nowhere to go to protect their heavy-breathing lungs from the onslaught of debris kicked up by the chopper's blades.

Our last stop on the way home was at the Wayside Chapel, a tiny church rest stop that I remember visiting when I was a child.  The chapel began in 1960 in hopes of witnessing to visitors heading to the 1962 World’s Fair being held in Seattle.  Through the years it has been repeatedly vandalized, burned down, and defecated in, but faithful volunteers restore it each time.

I was happy that it was in relatively good condition on our visit, and that I was able to relive one of my childhood memories with my girls.

Back we go, following a logging truck, toward home.  It was a wonderful summer vacation with friends.

If you'd like to read about our previous summer visit to Sleeping Lady and Leavenworth exactly 2 years ago, click here. 

Summer Bounty

For mid-sommer my husband enjoys making Grav-Lax out of wild Alaskan salmon.  It takes 3 days of salting, chilling, and pressing.

I love being able to fill my plate with greens harvested directly from the garden.

My stepdaughter is at the far right, home for a visit.  We love having her home because she is a "foodie" and we have spectacular meals in her honor.

Buffets are my favorite way to serve a meal.  Each person can take exactly what appeals to them, try a bite of something new, and load up on their favorites.

July is raspberry season in the Pacific Northwest, and this was an especially good year.

We made jam and froze them whole for use throughout the winter.  During the school year when I pack the girls' lunches I toss a few frozen berries into their yogurt, which we buy in giant tubs and portion into small reusable containers.

Late July and most of August is blueberry season.

Our favorite farm in the shadow of the mountain didn't disappoint.  We made pies, muffins, jam, and froze them whole.

My neighbor Al stopped by with a plate of fresh figs for me.  He is so proud of his trees, which he propigates and has filled his entire yard with.  He gave me an offshoot which I have in a giant pot for now, but my tree produces only about a dozen figs since it is still young.  Al, however, is inundated with hundreds of these luscious fruits, which all ripen over a 10 day period and are too juicy to dry or preserve.  Few of the neighbors like figs, but I love them, and he and I can enthuse over their virtues for hours.  On my evening walks I pass his house and he's up his ladder picking, and as soon as he sees me he rushes over with handfuls of fruit, and we stand there on the sidewalk gorging ourselves, seeds and juice dripping down our chins, both of us making orgasmic moaning sounds over how delicious they are.  We provide great fodder for the neighborhood gossip mill!

Good food in the garden means lots of animal visitors.  There was speculation over what animal left this giant poop near my raspberry plants which had recently been stripped bare.  Was it a deer, or was it a black bear?  It came from an herbavore since it didn't stink and no flies were interested in it.  I posted the photo to my Master Naturalist group, and also asked a few of our local park rangers, and the consensus was about 50-50 deer-bear.

 OK, I just realized what a weird post this is.  Lots of photos of food, and then a photo of poop to end it.  Sorry!

Sewage Treatment Plant Summer Camp!

What kid wouldn't want to go to camp at a sewage treatment plant?

Well, maybe this kid.  But, since her best friend was going, and this was Little K's last opportunity to attend daycamp (next year she'll be "too old"), she consented.  Of course she had a wonderful time!

We had visited Brightwater before, and their state of the art education facility and partnership with Islandwood Environmental Education Center promised a good time for campers, even if it was located within a sewage treatment plant.

They spent most of the week outdoors learning about wildlife, but plenty of time was devoted to the water treatment plant, too.  In addition to a full tour, they got to spend a lot of time with the exhibits in the education center.

Visuals and hands-on activities are the best teaching tools.

The camp "counselors" were all advanced graduates in education and environmental sciences.  Their passion was obvious and their enthusiasm contagious.

It was a day camp, and each day we watched another swallow jump from the nest near the education building door.  Sadly, on the last day, the final hatchling had waited too long, and was abandoned by the parents who had moved on to the field with the older siblings.  The kids were all traumatized to see the dead baby bird below the nest, but it was a true lesson in nature.

While Little K and her best friend were mucking about at camp, my daughter A and I did some "mommy-daughter" things.  We looked looked at antique stores.  We did some back-to-school shopping at thrift stores.  We took long walks and talked.

 
We went out for brunch at an impossible-to-get-into bakery cafe where even on a Tuesday the wait for a table was 90 minutes (on weekends the wait can be 4 hours or more). 

The camp was a bit far from home for a daycamp, but I was convinced it was worth the drive.  No other program of its caliber existed closer to home.  I felt a bit guilty burning up all that gas driving 45 minutes to an hour each way, given that it was an environmental camp and the kids were learning all about pollution, waste reduction, and how to conserve.  At least we were a carpool!

It is sad to think that day camp is over for my girls.  There just aren't many options for daycamp once a child turns 13 or enters middle school.  We looked into the few offerings for A (who is 13) but they all involved trips to paintball and laser tag facilities, or competitive sports she doesn't care to participate in.  Sleepover camp is not an option for A due to her medical condition, but K can do them, so maybe that is what will happen next year.  Or more than likely, we won't be able to afford camp at all, and we'll just have to enjoy each others' company!

Glorifying Big-Ag through Entertainment

From the title of this post you might have a clue about my feelings on this tourist stop.  I went in with an open mind, but left on the verge of converting to Veganism.  How different this place is from Trader's Point Creamery, which we visited earlier in the week!

Fair Oaks Farms "Adventure Center" is set up at the junction of I-65 and SR 14 in northwestern Indiana as a tourist attraction.  Families, school and church groups, and tourists are drawn in and catered to.

We had planned in advance to stop here, and our timing meant we'd have lunch here.  Although I had a cooler in the car full of the usual picnic fare (yogurt, fruit, cheese, bread, cut veggies, etc) we couldn't resist the hot soup and crispy grilled cheese sandwiches along with all the sweet tea we could drink.  Given the constant stream of people passing through, we weren't alone in opening our wallets and turning over a giant chunk of change for lunch.

After lunch we headed to the "Adventure Center," which cost $20.00 for adults, $18.00 for seniors, and $14.00 for kids.  Yikes.  This better be good...

First we went through a giant building built to look like a barn from the outside, but was a hands-on education center inside.  We watched a film touting the wonders of modern farming.  We looked at displays, and above, the girls quizzed themselves on cow facts.

Modern farming means feeding animals waste product that is not intended as food.  Corn is a major crop in the US, and what better way to dispose of all the stalks and cobs than grind it up and make cows eat it?  Disregard the fact that cow guts are designed for digesting grass.

Corn Silage (ground up stalks and cobs) is not the only waste product modern cows are forced to eat.  They are also fed kernel corn, soybean, and citrus!  Have you ever seen a cow eat a grapefruit?  Neither have I, but it is mixed into their "Cow Chow" and they have no choice when they are hungry and not a blade of grass is available to them.

Thousands of cows kept in close quarters and fed an unnatural diet of materials they can't easily digest generates a lot of poop.  But guess what?  Science has a use for all that poop!  Anaerobic digesters convert the poop into biogas and fertilizer, so it's all good!

The girls are about to begin a timed exercise to place vacuum milkers on model cow teats.  Oh the thrill!

A cow carousel delights the youngest ones (and two older girls who still like little kid rides).

Now we are heading over to the "Birthing Barn," where cows in the late stage of labor are paraded out and people watch from stadium seating as the cows push their calves into the world.  Between 80 and 100 calves are born each day, so there is always a show.

Onlookers are instructed to be quiet, but the chatter is constant, and squirrely kids distract the mother cows.  You can tell the cows are stressed as they look around at the people watching them.

A farm employee sits with her needlework and occasionally tells the crowd of people to quiet down.

If there is a problem the employee leaves her perch, dons a pair of gloves, and goes in to assist.  Calves are usually born front feet first, followed by the head and rest of the body.

Mother cow greets her new baby, who will soon be taken from her.  Cows are attentive, loving mothers who mourn the loss of their calves deeply, but all this is ignored in the interest of milk production.

The new calf never gets a chance to suckle on her mother.  Bottle feeding is begun immediately, and this is how the calf will be fed until it is put onto "calf chow."

After an initial bottle feeding on stage the calf is picked up and carried to the "nursery." The exhuasted mother is led off stage and another laboring cow is brought out for the show.  Note the tabby cat asleep in the straw with the calves.

 

Now it is time to board the "cow bus" and see how mother and calf live their separate lives.

We drive away from the "Adventure Center" to a milking farm down the road.

Here's that yummy corn silage, which ferments under cover, supposedly aiding digestibility.

Here are more ingredients for "Cow Chow."  Different ingredients are mixed together by front loader, and dumped on the ground in the cow barns...

Now we're driving through the cow barns.

Straight through, actually.  The area where the cows stand is lined with sand, which is scooped away daily and replaced with fresh sand.  The sand is "washed" free of poop and debris, and reused.

Here are the baby girl calves, each in her own cell with plastic "house" and buckets of water and calf chow.  At this age they should still be suckling on their mothers, frolicking and running, and cuddling up to mom's warm body at night.  Mother cow would groom them with her tongue, but instead they are caked in their own excrement as their movement is restricted and they are fattened up for breeding.  Male calves have been sold for veal slaughter.

Witnessing this sight, which is common across large American farms, made me want to throw up.  My girls were visibly shaken by the cruelty.  I suppose most of the other people on the bus tour with us looked and just saw "dumb animals," but I knew better.

After our drive through the barns we are taken to view the milking carousel.  Grammy takes the elevator and everyone else takes the stairs.  

From above we look down on the operation.  Cows step on and as the carousel slowly turns they are emptied of milk before stepping off after making one revolution.  A digital readout shows how many gallons have been collected, and when the appropriate number is reached, the suckers automatically drop off.  If the cow kicked off the suckers (which is common, and you can see their discomfort as they twitch and rub their hind leg against their udder in an effort to remove them), then they are hooked up and sent around again.

The cows used to be milked twice a day, but then it was discovered they would produce more milk (always the goal!) if milked 3 times daily, so that is the new schedule.

It's supposed to be a clean operation, but it doesn't look so good to me.  Thank goodness for pasteurization to kill all the fecal bacteria that is surely mixed in.

After the milking farm tour we returned to the Adventure Center in a foul mood.  Instead of getting in the car and driving away, I encouraged the girls to run and clear their minds.  They went through a "string cheese maze."

We watched little boys have fun driving motorized tractors.

I toured the demonstration garden.

The girls jumped until they could barely breathe from laughing.

When we hit the road again we talked about what we had seen.  How it compared to the grassfed farm we'd seen last week in Zionsville.  Economy of scale is not always best.  It is better to pay a little more to support a small farm which treats their cows humanely.

It was a very educational experience for us, but I bet the impressions it made on us, despite all the cheery displays and upbeat narration, wasn't quite what the farm had planned on.

 

Canoe Training

For part of my Master Naturalist training with the city I learned to lead canoe trips.  Two park rangers and three lifeguards ran us through the paces.

On our first training day it was too windy to go out on the lake, so the rangers sat in a boat on the dock and demonstrated as best they could, while also going over the safety points.  We also had to take an online paddlesport safety certification course prior to going out on the water.

In the afternoon we gathered at the city pool to do our rescue training.  I was really nervous about the flipping, scared I'd hit my head on the side of the canoe as it flipped and be knocked out, causing a big scene.  Hey, it wasn't like I didn't want those hot young lifeguards and park rangers coming to my rescue, I just didn't want to be embarrassed. 

When it was time to practice flipping I knew that standing on the edge of the pool waiting my turn would just get me more and more nervous, so I was the first one to volunteer for a flipping.  I was given the choice to jump away from the canoe as it flipped, or tuck my head in and wind up stuck underneath the canoe.  I was scared of both options but ended up opting for the most scary to prove to myself I could do it: I tucked in and went under.  

I thought I was prepared, but the force of the flip sent water up my nose.  Finding myself alone with my head in the empty space under the overturned canoe was eerie.  What now?  A lifeguard swam under and joined me, coaching me in grabbing the sides of the canoe, and pushing myself under and out.  It was important not to attempt to flip the canoe when emerging from beneath it because a vacuum seal had been created which would have made it difficult, as well as the fact that it was heavy and likely to slip and hit me on the head (my worst fear!).

 

Bodies trapped beneath an overturned canoe.

Once people were clear of the overturned canoe, another canoe could come and right it.  That's me flipping an overturned canoe.  It was a bit wobbly but an otherwise simple endeavor.

OK, I faced my fears and learned proper technique, I think I'm ready!

The next weekend the weather was much improved: 70 degrees and sunny!  The water was calm, the conditions were perfect.  I've been canoeing about a dozen times in my life but it turned out I was a little rusty.  I started out in the back, the steering position, and within the first few strokes I splashed my partner with my sloppy paddling.  Thankfully she was raised on a lake and an expert paddler who kindly educated me in my errors.  She was also very forgiving of the soaking I gave her!

Rafting up to listen to the ranger at an interpretive stop.  

In the slough.  Up ahead are the downtown skyscrapers.  What a treasure to have such natural beauty within city limits.

Out on the lake the ranger talks to us about previous years "incidents" including unruly passengers, misbehaving children, and a family with two toddlers that flipped and needed rescue.  We were also warned about drunken speedboaters who like to kick up a wake and harass paddlers in an attempt to flip them.

 

I'm going out of my comfort zone on this, but I hope I'll be a good guide.  My first trip with the paying public is coming up soon.  Wish me luck!

Green Elephant Plant Swap

I was mucking about in the garden, removing maple leaf mulch and checking for the emergence of bulbs and perennials, when I noticed my raspberry canes seemed to have decreased in number from when I put them to bed last fall.  Turns out my husband had tried to be "helpful" and cut them back to the ground, not realizing that the variety we have produces fruit on the 2nd year floricanes, not the new growth primocanes.   This meant no raspberries this coming summer unless I got more canes.  Thankfully the Green Elephant Plant Swap was coming up.

This year I brought strawberry runners, bucket loads of mature sage, bird feeders, and blue columbine.  Although it's a "swap," and trading and bartering is suggested, most people, including me, just lay everything out for the taking, and leave to walk around to see all the other offerings.  I think there is no score-keeping over who brings vs takes.  Some people with no plants to give were walking around with plates of cookies and muffins to share.  Others were downsizing and wanted nothing in return, just hoping all their plants would be taken and they wouldn't have to haul any of it back home.   It was a generous atmosphere of sharing, asking planting advice of each other, and comparing tales of challenges with voracious slugs and pesky rabbits.

 

Because it was early spring and this was an informal exchange, pots were optional, and most plants were offered bare-root, pulled from the ground just hours before.

I came looking for raspberries, and I scored two, but also went home with a few of these prickly marionberry canes.

The girls were excited to see Chinese Lantern up for grabs, so we took a few roots and we'll see how they do for us.

Some people couldn't stay, or didn't want to do any trading, so they dropped their plants in an area marked "Free Stuff."  Really, everything at the event was free or trade, and no money was to be exchanged.

 

It was a successful visit to the Green Elephant Plant Swap for us.  We went home with raspberries, marionberries, ornamental grasses, ferns, forget-me-nots, Chinese lantern, various seeds, and four fresh chicken eggs!

 

Pond Boats -- An Expensive Hobby

Ever since Little K got a Playmobil set with a child and a pond boat, she's wanted her own model boat.  Lucky for us, the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle has a pond just for this purpose, and according to their website, every weekend they rent out boats for people to try.  Before investing in a pond boat I wanted Little K to try it first.  My hope was that she would satisfy her curiosity and move on to something else.

 

When we arrived that chilly first Saturday in January, the Pond was filled with boats, but it was a private club having a regatta.  When we inquired at the Center for Wooden Boats, they admitted that their website was not up to date, and that the pond boating that was supposed to happen from 11am - 2pm each weekend was no longer happening, at least not until April.  Little K was bitterly disappointed, and I gave them an earful for stating on their website that it happened EVERY weekend, year-round.  They gave us a coupon to come back another time and rent one of their real boats for an hour, which helped perk up Little K.

We went back to the pond to watch the competition.  We tried to make conversation with a few of the boaters, but it quickly became clear that they were in the midst of a very competitive race and were not in the mood for chatting.  My dad got a business card from one of them, but that was it.

Some of the pond boaters had waterproof "muffs" in which to operate their remote controls.  The boats don't have engines, they have remote controlled gears attached to rigging that pulls the sails in different directions to catch the wind.  The boats are about 30" long and 5 feet tall factoring in mast and keel.  Most pondboaters lovingly build their own boat, which takes about 50 hours using specialized tools, and several hundred dollars worth of materials.  Too get an idea for how intense this process is, you can look at this.

The boats had to follow a timed course around buoys, and scores were posted on a whiteboard.

The pond boaters were all white men, middle age to elderly.

Every once and awhile the wind whipped up and boats tipped wildly, sometimes colliding with others.

The ducks seemed unfazed by the activity in what they thought was their pond.

Little K never got her hands on a remote control and didn't experience pond boating they way we'd hoped.  We'll be back in April in hopes of participating in the hands-on sailing demonstration, assuming the Center for Wooden Boats actually starts it up again.  I have mixed feelings about Little K taking this up as a hobby.  It will be expensive, so she'll need to be really committed to it, so it will probably be something we make her use her own money toward.