Bird Connect Seattle

 

A Song Sparrow, a morning outing with Bird Connect Seattle.

We joined our second bird outing with Bird Connect Seattle this morning. Conditions were not ideal between the noise of the highway construction underway and a typical wet Seattle morning. We did however manage to id another new bird for my list, the Spotted Towhee, I also got more insight with the difference between the two Kinglets and Fred got this nice photo of a Song Sparrow.

Seen on our walk along Portage Bay, Seattle
It is a fine way to describe Seattle.

Big and small circles, a Monkey Puzzle hunt

Being away from home for long blocks of time requires a slightly different way of travel. And I think about my days as 'big circle' or 'small circle'. 

Big is where we boldly venture out, explore and take in the place we find ourself. Small is needed to regroup, gather myself together, do some laundry, some admin, blog, sort photos, cook, read, knit, research, spend time with the family... The small circle days we find ourselves walking around the neighbourhood, looking at the different styles of homes here in suburban Seattle, having a coffee, provisioning for a meal and these last fews days I have been on a hunt for the Monkey Puzzle.

Taha Ebrahimi's illustrated walking guide to street trees in Seattle got me going on my small circle day today. The rather amusing part is that the Monkey Puzzle tree mentioned in the book is a rather poor specimen and I then noticed them much closer to home, in fact over the road!

Now to fetch the little ones, take Kirstie to swimming and James to his soccer social, dinner, reading and then bedtime. 
 

Araucaria Araucana, an evergreen conifer from Chile with an interesting story and a rather bizarre look.
The sharp triangular leaves that shape the upturned spiny branches are fascinating as are the upright cones. The tree also has a perfectly rounded crown.

Extract from Street Trees of Seattle by Taha Ebrahimi. 

And Bryant is our neighbourhood, hence the search for a monkey puzzle.

Purple in Downtown Seattle, twinkling lights, a tower of wine and an indulgent menu.

Table for 4 please. Hadfield and Kersten party at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Downtown Seattle. 

The bubbles, an Italian Sparkling Contratto Alta Langa, to start the evening celebrating Shawni's 40th birthday. Our starters with the bubbles were the Dungeness Crab Cakes, Spicy Prawns, Oysters and Baked Brie. 

And the Oregon Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley with the deep rich flavours of Duck Cassoulet, Squid Ink Linguine, Braised Short Rib Pappardelle and for Shawni, a first, Pan Seared Steelhead.

Dessert, a vast bowl of Vanilla Creme Brûlée. My only 'complaint' no Italian espresso only American drip coffee which was a pass.

 

And Shawni turns 40, looking back through photos!

Shawni has started to get happy birthday messages from New Zealand, so she is 40 already in parts of the world. Here we celebrate tomorrow.

I have been looking through photos remembering these past 40 years! Shawni was a remarkable baby, a joyful young girl, a feisty teenager, a fascinating young adult, a smart career woman, a much loved wife and a dedicated, loving mother. We have watched her grow and flourish and have participated in her life with so much love and pleasure. Fred and I  appreciate being here in Seattle to be part of this special milestone.

Happy birthday Shawni, we love you Mom and Dad.

The early years, having a brother to pest and play with, moving to France and already travelling the world, starting nursery and primary school in Norwood, lots of special times with family and friends.

And the years pass, onto St Mary's for high school and to the University of Cape Town, always a dedicated clever student, sport, skydiving, career kicks off, loads of focus on family and friends and of course, meeting Craig at EY in Johannesburg.

A career move to Nassau and a wedding in the Bahamas.
Magical on all levels.
 

And the joy of her own little family with Craig, James our first grandson in 2016 and Kirstie our only little girl in 2019.
The careers that evolve and take shape, they work hard, they live life to the full, they love to travel and care deeply about their friends and family.

 

Books and Coffee, Capital Hill, Seattle

 

 Seattle's independent bookstore.

Our Sunday morning was the wonderful combination of coffee and books. Buying coffee, drinking coffee, browsing books and buying books. For me, a completely wonderful combination. On my to do list was picking up the new Louise Penny novel, The Grey Wolf, which was launched on the 29th October.

Our next stop was Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the vibey Capital Hill neighbourhood. The space is dramatic in its scale and show cases the art, science and the theatre of roasting coffee. Heaving with Sunday brunching and lunching, we tasted the special Xmas roast, watched the coffee roasting process happening and enjoyed connecting with the myth of this coffee company. Some of our Starbucks coffee experiences in the Seattle suburbs have been below par but the Reserve is excellent.

Impressive Xmas decor at Starbucks Reserve.

I will return to pick up the Starbucks Reserve Christmas for under our tree. The beans come from their farm in Costa Rica, combined with beans from Sumatra and from Indonesia, after that intro we were sold!

Magnificent Western Red Cedar

Fall is not just about the beauty of the turning leaves, Seattle has magnificent evergreen trees and I am particularly taken with this giant conifer tree on our pavement. The Western Red Cedar is native to the Pacific Northwest and can live up to 1000 years. Also on our pavement is a rather hostile holly with its spikey leaves which are tricky to rake and pick up!

Our home for our 3 months in Seattle with the family. 

 

Seattle has a thing about crows.

American Crow

As we have flocks of Rock Pigeons in South Africa, here in Seattle it is the American Crow that dominates the skyline and the bird sounds. As winter approaches the crows gather at dusk in huge numbers to move to their resting grounds and this in itself is a Seattle attraction.

I has been watching crows from the kitchen window and the crow-filled sky is certainly Hitchcockian, a 'murder of crows' and all the other associations. This is a clever bird, well adapted to urban life and seemingly very happy in Seattle.
 

Discovery Park, a morning along the shore of the Puget Sound.

Picture perfect weather, a morning walking along rocky and sandy beaches and up flights of stairs into the mixed woodlands of Discovery Park north of Seattle. 

The pleasure of the crisp sea air, the clear views across to the Olympic Mountains and looking for the wintering birds in these diversity of habitats made a wonderful outing today. We even had Mount Rainier in our sight. 

Grebes, mergansers and scoters out the sea, ducks in the fresh water habitat and the excitement of a new bird in the woodland, a Bewick Wren!

Walking along the trail with the Puget Sound in view, almost had to pinch myself appreciating that I am in this beautiful part of the world. 

West Point Lighthouse constructed in 1881, with its stunning setting on the Puget Sound, is still an active aid to navigation on the Sound. 

 

The trail through the mixed coniferous-deciduous forest of the Pacific Northwest.

American Wigeon in the freshwater area of the park.

Detail of the ubiquitous snowberry which is a North American shrub of the honeysuckle family.

Fred managed to get this shot of the Bewick Wren, I was so impressed as it flits and moves rapidly through the scrub.
Another new bird for our USA checklist.

The Glasshouse at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle

"Glasshouses come in many beautiful sizes and shapes and are some of the most incredible buildings in the world. When you walk through them, you feel peaceful and inspired" Chihuly
So true, an inspirational space and a gift to spend a few minutes reflecting on its unique shape and this installation, one of the largest of its kind in the world.
Looking out into the garden the glass tree stands proud against the city skyline.

 

Perfect fall colouring of the Chihuly glass tree, set on a raised mound of purple mondo grass.

Beauty of colour and form at the Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle

 

"Winter Briliance"

'Ice is one of my favourite materials to work with because of the way it interacts with light, it inspired me to create the icicle form' Dale Chihuly

This piece commissioned by Barneys New York in 2015 for their holiday winter display on Madison Avenue.

The contract with the Macchia Series it breathtaking.
These huge billowing bowls are riot of blazing colour .

Incredible detail and contract between the inside and outside of the Macchia bowls.

"Mille Fiori" inspiration from his mother's garden.
The black perplex surface reflects these remarkable forms and colour.

One of the Float Boot installations. These spherical forms are playful and joyful.

Chihuly glass ceilings, from Las Vegas to Seattle

 

"Persian Ceiling", lit from above the glass creations rest on a flat glass pane, it's an immersive experience in colour and shape at the Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle.

A decade ago I was enthralled by the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. It is a visual extravaganza and the hand blown glass installation in the lobby is completely exquisite. I took it all in but I must admit did not focus on the artist! So imagine my surprise when I connected the dots during our visit to this gem in Seattle, the Chihuly Garden and Glass. How I love that life continues to surprise and delight me.

Our photo from a decade ago in the Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel lobby.
The exquisite real flowers and artist Dale Chihuly's hand blown glass installation of over 2000 flowers called Fiori di Como. His interpretation of Italian flowers in the Spring. 

A weekend in nature

The weather does dictate what sort of activities to plan here in Seattle and the fall is certainly variable but this weekend was a pleasure to be out in nature.

We started by watching the chum salmon run along Piper's Creek. They come down from Alaskan waters into the Puget Sound and some make their way along the narrow waters of this creek. It's remarkable to be able to experience the salmon moving up into their imprinted breeding ground and it's the determination of the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project that makes it possible.

The stream trail passes by huge beaver dams, called lodges I believe- no glimpse of a beaver though- and we walked out onto the gravel beach along the Puget Sound. It is the Sound that defines the geography of Seattle and also its beauty. The scenery is magnificent and at one point the clouds cleared and we had views of the snow-capped Olympic Mountains which are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula here in the Pacific Northwest.

Family on the Puget Sound

Chum Salmon along Pipers Creek.

Fred did metaphorically roll his eyes when I suggested an early Sunday morning bird outing to the Washington Park Arboretum. To his credit though he got warmly dressed and picked up his camera. It's a decade since we were last in the USA when we spent 3 months visiting all the National and State Parks along the West Coast. So its exciting to get to reconnect with the birds here in Seattle - Fred has ordered me a book on the birds of Seattle and the Puget Sound, there is nothing I love more than listing!

And, a Fox Sparrow was added my global life list!  

Handsome male Hooded Merganser on Duck Bay

Birding with the Bird Connect Seattle group at the Washington Park Arboretum
American Wigeon, male Junco and a pair of Green-winged Teals

The Gadwall with its crossed feathers, black rump and frantic paddling action - wonderful to watch

The male Gadwall, with its subtle colouring, our new duck for our USA bird checklist

 

Halloween in Seattle

 

This is me at the end of Halloween! So many pumpkins and skeletons. 

Kids ready for 'trick or treat'.  
Early in the week joined the family for a Halloween event at the school. On the day the neighbourhood closed off a few roads and it was mayhem as kids ran around in the cold and damp early evening. Braziers were lit, smoke pumped out of houses, and ghoulish sounds were the norm. We ambled up and down the street, lost the kids in a creepy tunnel and headed home for tea!

Some houses were subtle, a pumpkin or two and others - well....

The most remarkable collections of pumpkins seen on one of our walks around the neighbourhood.