Walks in Maltby Park with Juno

Juno loves that her 'dog-dad' is now retired, and he's been spoiling her lately by taking her on a number of walks each day, including three or four trips to Maltby Park during the week. Baseball and soccer are now over, and the park is quiet and deserted. Juno can find 10,000 sniffs in a single trip with her 200 million olfactories! It's a doggie paradise!

We stopped here under the horse chestnut tree to enjoy the lovely leaves and pause for a moment to savor the Slow Life here in Maltby.

Snow Geese in Skagit County

Snow Geese have begun returning to their wintering grounds in the Skagit Valley, mostly near Fir Island, after having completed their summer breeding on the Russian island of Wrangel. Snow Geese are a North American species, with both lesser (western), and Greater (eastern) subspecies, all of which breed in various parts of the Arctic Tundra. They will continue to arrive for a couple of months, and stay until about March.

They are an incredible sight, and estimates put their number at around 70,000. Here's a shot I took today as they made themselves at home in the Skagit farmland.

Lunch at the Calico Cupboard

We ate at the Calico Cupboard in LaConner today--it had been completely remodeled inside, and a fresh, clean new look and new menu greeted us. We started out with Tropical Iced Tea and Ginger Peach Tea, and then ordered a scramble and a turkey pot pie. The pot pie had crisp, perfect crust, and a savory filling. Just the type of spices to get me in the mood for Thanksgiving!

The pies have a long history in America. An early recipe by Mrs. E.A. Howland appears in The New England Economical Housekeeper and Family Receipt Book published in 1845:
"Pot Pie or Soup: Scraps and crumbs of meat make a very good dinner, when made into soup. Put all your crumbs of meat into the dinner-pot. Slice in two onions, a carrot; put in a little salt and pepper, and water enough to cover it; then cover it with a crust, made with cream tartar... Stew it one hour and a half, or two hours. A flour thickening should be put in five minutes before you take it up. You may bake your potatoes, or slice them, and cooke them with the meat."

November Weather in La Conner

Here is a shot of the town of LaConner that truly captures it's flavor--sun interspersed with dark clouds, quaint shops along the banks of the Swinomish Channel, small-town charm, and great shops and restaurants.

A Trip to LaConner, Washington

We took advantage of the sunny November day, and drove to LaConner today with Juno in the back seat. It was a great trip, and this little town of less than 900 inhabitants figures largely in our lives, with many wonderful memories of trips throughout the years.

La Conner was first settled in May 1867 by Alonzo Low, and was then known by its post office name, Swinomish. In 1869, J.S. Conner bought the settlement's trading post, and in 1870 had the name changed to honor his wife, Louisa Ann Conner (the French-appearing "La", representing her first- and middle-initials, stuck, and the town was forever after known as La Conner.

Here is a lovely shot of the Channel Bridge, which goes over to the Swinomish Indian reservation.

A World of Leaves

The leaves didn't turn very red this year, but the yellow color looks wonderful spread out over the front lawn and the gravel road out front. The trees are almost bare, so we will make one more foray outside this weekend to rake the leaves and use them for compost, mulch for the rose beds, and to line the walkways in my garden between the raised beds. Soon, the world will be stripped of adornment, and the bare outlines of trees and plants will remind us that winter, the season of rest and restoration, will soon be here.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Do you ever feel alone in the world, or at least different? My Halloween pumpkin is definitely a non-conformist, but he is not too happy about it now that Halloween is over. I'll go out today and let him know all the great ones in the world started out as completely unique beings, and that he is truly destined for greatness!