Posted again

Fencepost

This is a re-post of another of my favorite shots. To me it represents our rural life, the history that comes with it, and the mossy damp of Washington.

And here’s an admission: I haven’t gotten out much lately with my camera. The weather’s been snotty when I’ve had time. And there’s been the stuff of life. Like a new internet service provider, a big deal in our household. “Slow” barely described our previous service…and it was getting slower. Then there’s a cascade of impacts from that. A new email address and a big network that uses it. And a whole bunch of other stuff. No complaints here. But not a lot of extra time, either.

I’ll get back outside with my camera for more new shots…very soon. Do stay tuned!

Summer dreams and winter mania

Mystery Bay boat

Here’s another favorite shot from 2014, taken at Mystery Bay on Marrowstone Island. The view here is sublime and is especially nice to see since it’s on the way to a great place to camp, Fort Flagler State Park. It’s about an hour’s drive from Sequim.

A pier not far from this spot is the location of an annual polar bear plunge on January 1st. Crazy people Intrepids hurl themselves into local waters for reasons that elude me, especially when the ambient air temperature is in the mid-20s.

It isn’t lemonade

Preserved lemons

In a comment yesterday Kibi waxed poetic on the joys of preserved lemons. It just so happened that I’d started this jar of preserved lemons the night before. Last night I topped off the juice and it’s on its way to total deliciousness.

I couldn’t find an online link to it but if you can put your hands on the current January 2015 issue of Sunset magazine there is a simple recipe for preserved lemons. I’ll be deploying an accompanying recipe that’s next to it, chicken with preserved Meyer lemons and olives, as soon as this batch is ready for prime time. And if you can’t find Sunset and want the recipes, leave a comment. I’m sure I can help out.

When life gives you lemons

Marmalade

We had three Meyer lemon trees at various homes in California and now that I have time to cook I’ve found myself missing them. A friend in California owns a small grove of Meyer lemons. This year he shared some of his bounty with us.

If you haven’t had Meyer lemons, they’re a treat. They’re juicier and sweeter than standard supermarket issue and have thinner peels. And they make outstanding marmalade. Here is last weekend’s effort, the first time I’ve canned in many years. Next up: preserved lemons.

Thank you, Welton!

The river is wide

Dungeness River

It started raining early Sunday evening and as far as I can tell it didn’t stop much overnight. Our rain gauge recorded nearly 1.5 inches in 17 hours. I took these shots of the Dungeness River about four hours after the rain stopped. The river was much higher than usual. And it usually looks less like a roiling mud pie.

Dungeness River 2

Lots of young trees and shrubs growing close along the river shores were up to their necks in the flow.

The snow pack in the Olympic Mountains is less than optimum and the freezing elevation was lowered in this latest storm. I’m afraid some of our snow pack became part of this river flow. The mountains have been hidden behind clouds so we haven’t had a look at the snow caps.