Mount St. Helens ~ 32 years later.

These photos were taken last Summer and it seemed a fitting post for today.

"32 years ago today at 8:32 am Mount St. Helens blew her top in a climatic fashion spewing ash worldwide with a blast heard as far away as Canada with such force that 200 square miles of forest was flattened. A cubic mile of the volcano's top was gone - equal to 1000 pounds of ash for every man woman and child in the world today!" Mount St. Helens FB page.

The day before the eruption.

Photo from U.S. Geological Survey via AP, May 17, 1980

After


This is a great video.

The visitor center at Mount St. Helens is wonderful, the view of the crater is amazing and the educational guides, interactive displays and incredible video of that powerful blast will leave you in awe of Mother Nature.
This volcano is still very active and you can see the new dome that is forming in the center of the crater.  The visitor center is roughly 5 1/2 miles from the crater.



Thanks to my friend, Rachel for this pic!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Edmonds Low Tide

We have been so fortunate this week with incredibly low tides for many days in a row.  On this day I ventured to Brackett's Landing which is located just a few feet North of the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry Terminal.  The water's edge seemed so far away,  it was as if someone had just pulled the plug out from the bottom of Puget Sound and let the water drain.


My last post on the low tide was in Richmond Beach, a little further South of Brackett's Landing and it was interesting how the low tide in Edmonds revealed a completely different tidal landscape..


The Starfish or Seastars that call these waters home are so beautiful and so different; red, purple, brown, periwinkle, and bright orange. 


Everywhere we looked was something new, something different.


I had never actually seen live Sea Urchins and these vibrant ones hanging from the rocks of the breakwater looked like something straight out of "Avatar".


The iconic Edmonds-Kingston Ferry looked so low in the shallow water. 


And this sign to the Underwater Park served as a measuring stick with the barnacles proving where the tide level normally resides.



Another habitat full of colorful sea life was underneath the ferry dock.


I think my favorite are the purple Starfish, their color is just so beautiful.
 
The tide flat on South side of the ferry terminal was so vast and calming and I could have stayed here all day, or at least until the waters of Puget Sound ushered me back out.


Wishing you all a lovely day!

Weekend Coffee Ritual.

The weekend always goes by way to fast. After our low tide excursion, we joined friends for a Cinco de Mayo lunch, and ended the night with a movie and popcorn.

Sunday we woke to the sounds of two very active woodpeckers in the greenbelt behnd our home.  The sun was pouring in the bedroom window, exposing the lack of windex in our home, and Bailley was curled up on the sunniest spot on the bed. 

I knew Clyde would be up to make coffee soon and I decided to pull out an old mini donut baking pan burried in the drawer under the stove.

 

I usually make muffins or scones but today was a baked mini donut day.    Baked donuts are a hybrid of a muffin and a donut.  I used this recipe and they turned out pretty cute.
 


I have decided mini baked donuts are best enjoyed with hot coffee, sitting in the sun.



We love morning coffee outside in the sunshine, what's your morning coffee ritual?

Low Tide

Today we decided to take in the minus low tide and see what lives beneath the chilly waters of Puget Sound.
We were invited to the private beaches of Richmond Beach and while the beach was quiet with just a few other beach combers, there was plenty of action going on.


We were not the only ones anxious to see what would be uncovered when the tide went out.


This very old abandoned sewer pipe provides a tucked away habitat for some seeking shade and an area worthy of searching for a mid morning snack for others.


And once we found the sea life it seemed to just expoded everywhere we looked.  Colorful Starfish, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Gooey Duck holes, crabs, small eels, and tiny fish.  It was beautiful.


Check out this big guy, and a foot print all too close, we had to be super careful where we stepped.

Yup, that's 20 legs!

This crab seemed a bit crabby we were checking him out.


The beach was full of beautiful shells too. 


And a happy little violet starfish, who was so pretty, on a bed of emerald green sea grass; soaking up the vitamin D while the tide was out.


A parade of tiny crab, including an albino, they just scattered when we lifted a big barnacle covered rock. 


The water was also in full swing with lots of boats, I like this shot with the Olympic Mountains in the background.


.......and this colorful container ship heading to Seattle.

 
Check out all the craggy, mossy steps in front of each home.

And when the tide returned, the sightseers departed,  this show was over for the moment. 

One final,  "vintage" shot with the Edmonds-Kingston ferries passing in the distance.


I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.
xoxo

6 Random Things.

Just a few things I'm loving this week.

My new square brownie pan ~ it just makes the perfect brownie proportion, with just the right amount of chewy edges to soft center. Yum!  My friends are enjoying this too!

This beautiful suitcase that I'm coveting, that is totally over the top. Oh how fun would this be to travel with this?

This new Summer lipstick. Described as a sheer grape that when applied has a beautiful sheen and looks like you've just enjoyed a grape popsicle.




This perfume, who knew? 

This new movie, was so good and I am recommending it to everyone.

This rainbow inspired hotel in Palm Springs looks so funky and fabulous.

Enjoying your day today.

 

Spring Color ~ Volume 2 of 2

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival ~

Just a few steps from the sunny sea of yellow daffodils you can almost hear the tulips whispering, "I see your sunny blooms and raise you all the colors in the rainbow."



The fields are well planned out and are always in a state of bud, bloom and harvest.  This ever-blooming concept brings over one million visitors to the small farm town of Mount Vernon, Washington during the month of April to take in the colorful show.







I love the peppermint twist tulips in the lower right of the photo below.



This farm had a big sign that said, "I hope you have a great time tip toeing through our beautiful tulips."









We watched as they picked this field.  They "snap" the tulips off the stems, bundle them, stack them in these totes and then they are ready for sale.

I really like cut flowers but to see them in all their brilliance, still rooted in the Earth, in such a vast display is truly amazing.

I highly recommend a visit to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival if you live in Washington.  If you don't live here you can order fresh cut flowers or bulbs from the farm featured in this post here.

I'll leave you with a quote that is near and dear to my heart.  My Dad has this quote on a beautiful sign in his garden, and it seems fitting for this post.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
Dorothy Frances Gurney