Another epic weekend at the Washington Coast! We were spoiled with a hizzle in the Seabrook community. It was a little TOO nice with TOO many kids running around. I prefer my visits to the coast to have a bit of grit to ’em. But, having a hot tub to soak in post dig wasn’t so bad 🙂
We had two days of early morning digs, which many of us weren’t super happy about. But once we were up and on the beach, it wasn’t so bad. Plus, there was plenty of time for naps and such in the afternoon. The sun even made an appearance on Saturday and we lounged on the deck with snacks and drinks in hand. It sure was nice.
The season is coming to a close in May so it’s time to put the waders and guns away until the fall. Sigh. Onto camping season!
Oh man, Seattle has been mighty pretty lately and it’s only January February! We’ve been heading outside just about every weekend and it’s been SO freaking nice. Fresh air and pounding the pavement and/or trail sure does a mind and body good! Snapped these shots over in West Seattle the other weekend when we accidentally made ourselves walk 6 miles. Note to self: Salty’s is not anywhere near Alki Beach.
Now that we’re back to normal around here, it’s time to set some goals for 2015! Here’s what’s on the books for us:
Plan an epic trip to Eastern Europe AND spend the summer hiking in the PNW! We’re pulling the trigger and are planning a maj three week trip to Eastern Europe this fall, loosely following my pal Rick Steves suggested itinerary. Europe has always been on both of our bucket lists so the time is now. I’ve planned many a vacations, but this one is going to be a doozy! In the meantime, we are saving our pennies and dimes so there won’t be much travel in the coming months. I’ve been geeking out on the Washington Trails Association app recently and have found this new, intense love for hiking. I already have a bunch of hikes bookmarked for the coming months. We kicked off 2015 by tackling Wallace Falls. Zero snow up in the mountains means many trails and clear and ready to be hiked minus the summer crowds. Gotta love that! If you want to hit the trails with me, lemme know! I might start an email group for it 🙂
Learn how to make kombucha at home AND fried chicken. Kind of opposite ideas, I know. I’m totally addicted to that fizzy, yummy goodness but at $4 a pop, it’s getting kinda pricy. Time to brew that ‘ish at home! Looking for inspiration here, here and here. And I’ve actually never attempted fried chicken before, but always like a culinary challenge. I’ve been watching Chef & the Farmer on PBS (nerd alert.) and she made it in one of her episodes. It was an “ah ha!” moment for me and something I’m ready to try!
Continue to be a bad ass gardener AND join a local fruit CSA. You know me, come April, this blog will be all about gardening! I’m even honing my skillz by taking a permiculture class as well as an extensive 4 week gardener’s class through Seattle Tilth. So far, I’ve done fairly well by just winging it, but now I’m ready to take it to the next level. And although the yard is producing maj produce, our homegrown fruit is still lacking. Our poor lil apple orchard won’t be producing for years – sad face. There’s just not enough is ma yard to cover our fruit cravings so a CSA it is. Did you know that fruit only CSA’s even exsisted? I didn’t. Thinking we’ll go with this one. I can’t always make it to the farmer’s market so this will ensure weekly, local fruit.
So occasionally, I hunt. I feel like I need to say this in a whisper though, as guns and killing animals isn’t always stuff people around here like to hear about. As much as I appreciate the liberal vibes of our dear city, I still feel like there is stigma attached with doing what I occasionally do. I tend to keep it on the DL even though I want to shout from the rooftops that I am a responsible gun owner and always eat what I catch/dig/shoot. So please don’t judge 🙂
The 4am wake up call is probably my least favorite thing about hunting, but I admit there’s this pure sense of calm seeing the sun rise quietly over a corn field. It seems like these days we are out in nature less and less and trudging through the fields and getting knee deep in mud grounds me a bit. It’s an emotional, deep feeling being out there…waiting, watching. I find that I’m way more in tune with my surroundings after a hunt. For the next week, my senses are magnified x10 – it’s kind of a super natural feeling.
When you do take that animal’s life, it’s a powerful, powerful experience. Excitement and sadness hit you all at once. You are thrilled that your practice has paid off but mourn the loss of life. It’s something that I internally debate all of the time. I hate seeing an animal suffer right in front of me but know that deep down, that’s the right thing to do – to do it myself. If I choose to eat this way, I need to be part of the process as much as I can. So I do. I roll up my sleeves, get my hands dirty and field dress those ducks. All in a days work.
Gosh, it’s pretty around here in the springtime. Even with work crazy busy, I still try and get out for a few minutes every day to walk around the block, take in some fresh air and find views such as this!
