Every year, Great Blue Herons nest at Commodore Park near the Hiram Chittenden Locks in Ballard, a suburb of Seattle. They build their nests in the treetops and it’s a pretty cool experience to visit this site, especially for a bird enthusiast.
This is one of my favorite photos; looking for a fresh salmon dinner.
A word of advice is to avoid the benches under these trees as they’re covered in heron poop.
These pics weren’t meant to be black and white but was late in the day and the sun was almost gone. As you can imagine, heron nests are huge.
Every year Trader Joe’s displays boxes and boxes of these beauties, ready to bring home and unfurl their sunny joy.
It only took a couple days and they’re in full, glorious display.
We had almost four more inches of rain! In Southern California! It’s unbelievable, but these yellow daffodils brighten my world. Even arranged in an old jam jar, they’re perfection.
He’s an amazing British actor, best known for his roles in The Killing Fields,A Room with a View, Warlock, Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena, and Leaving Las Vegas.
He went solo hiking on Mount Baldy In Southern California and was reported missing two months ago on January 13, 2023. Since his disappearance, all of our local mountains have had a record-breaking amount of snow.
His car was found in the parking lot, but no other signs of him. His outcome seems bleak.
This is a treacherous mountain to climb even with the best weather scenario. Others have gone missing, too. Some are found, some never are, nor are their remains located.
I haven’t heard any information about whether he was carrying a GPS location device or a satellite phone, and there hasn’t been an update about the search in quite a while.
I think it’s important to agree that no matter how experienced a hiker, one should never hike alone.
Years ago, my son and friend (both experienced hikers) were on the 10,000 foot Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs when there was a blizzard. They missed the last tram down because the winds were gusting to about eighty miles per hour. We were getting really freaked out because they hadn’t called at the agreed upon time. Just as we were about to contact all the officials, a park ranger called to let us know they made it to a ranger station and were OK. Whew! We were so worried!
Poor Julian Sands. Every time I see Mt. Baldy in the distance, I worry about him, too.
Two clouds (one that looks to me like a bunny) tethered to each other; my view from the front door. No rain today but it’s freezing in the shade and only slightly warmer in the weak winter sun.
☁️☁️☁️
It was the kind of March day when the sun shines hot, and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade. –Charles Dickens from Great Expectations
Wishing a very happy Woman’s Day to all strong, intelligent, talented, and simply wonderful women of this world!
International Women’s Day is a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
IWD began in New York City on March 8, 1857 when female textile workers marched in protest of unfair working conditions and unequal rights for women.
It was one of the first organized strikes by working women, during which they called for a shorter work day and decent wages.
Wearing purple on International Women’s Day dates back to 1900s. In 1908, the combination of purple, green, and white were selected to symbolize women’s equality from the Women’s Social and Political Union in the UK.
I share my world with coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, skunks, possums, lots of bunnies, even more rats, and an assortment of birds including scrub jays, mockingbirds, hummingbirds, hawks, egrets, and herons.
And owls.
Late at night I’m lucky to hear the hoots of a mating pair of Great Horned Owls in the tallest eucalyptus trees. It’s a soothing sound as I fall asleep, the hooting of owls in the distance.
Last night was different. I was awakened at 2:30 a.m. with the sound of that distinctive hoo-hoo-hoo only MUCH closer. Even through a closed window, it was LOUD, and so was the answering call.
This back and forth conversation didn’t stop for an hour and it was impossible to get back to sleep.
I learned that owls lay eggs in March, so maybe that’s what the chat was all about. My around the corner neighbor has an owl box, so that’s a logical thought.
Hopefully, they took turns hunting all the rats and mice around here, too.
Symbolically, hearing owls at night provides protective energy. The spiritual meaning of hearing an owl could be that it’s important to establish energetic boundaries.
Owls use their excellent hearing, keen eyesight, and silent wings to hunt and keep safe. So when our vision fails us in life, the owl’s call at night symbolizes protection and guidance. Hearing an owl at night can represent gaining a new direction in life.
Owls use their calls to claim their territory, to signal that there’s a predator nearby or to communicate with their partner.
The meaning of hearing two owls is related to spiritual enlightenment. An owl is the ultimate symbol of wisdom and maturity.
Two owls hooting is a sign that you’re in the middle of strong spiritual energies and you need to let them lead you into the changes your soul is going through.
It’s a reminder to open your heart and embrace the changes.
Higher forces have recognized it, so they’re sending you owls, as a dose of additional energy to move forward.
Owls are always carriers of important messages. If you’re wondering what it means to hear two owls late at night, the answer lies in the way you observe things around yourself.
Owls want you to change your perspective about recent events and try to discover why they really happened. There’s a hidden message behind it and you need to discover it.
If you hear an owl hooting near your house and wonder: “What does it mean when an owl hoots outside your house?”, the answer will cheer you up: an owl outside your house is considered to be a signal of good luck.
Owls are observed as highly spiritual animals and their hooting can only bring positive vibes to you.
Although different cultures have different interpretations of owl symbolism, almost every culture treats owls as a symbol of good luck and prosperity. joyceelliot.com
I’m tired today, but always find joy and gratitude in my wild friends.
It’s almost time for the March full moon and the night sky is clear and bright.
A few days ago, we had a special weather alert telling us it actually might SNOW on the beach!
The temp dropped significantly. It had been raining off and on all day and I was SO hopeful, as excited as a first grader; sadly it didn’t snow here.
There were a few flakes several miles up the coast, and measurable snow just a bit inland, but nothing at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
While I waited in anticipation for SNOW, I looked off in the distance and snapped this photo from my deck.
The perspective is a bit skewed as the apartments aren’t that close. They’re more than a few blocks away and the mountains are further than they appear here, too, actually about fifty miles east. I think it’s because I used a different camera lens and setting.
If you ignore the ugly and invasive apartments defiling my view, I think that’s Palomar Mountain covered in snow. It could also be the Lagunas; regardless, they both received several feet of snow while we had more than four inches of rain.
As much as I love seashells, I love sea glass, too. Did you know it takes an ocean about thirty years to break down glass into these jewels?
The beaches in my area aren’t great for sea glass OR seashells, but we do have a lot of rocks, so I can always satisfy my obsession by picking up one special stone or a dozen sun-warmed rocky gems.
I’ve always wanted to visit Fort Bragg in Northern California but you’re not supposed to remove any glass from that beach, which would be so hard NOT to do.
Here are some other beaches that I’d love to visit and collect a treasure trove of sea glass:
Hanapepe Bay Glass Beach in Kauai.
Port Townsend Glass Beach, a two-hour ferry ride from Seattle.
Summerland Beach outside Santa Barbara.
Steklyashka Beach in Vladivostok, Russia is supposed to feature an amazing display of colorful glass, but I doubt I’ll ever get there. I found the photo on Pinterest, but I think that’s where it was taken.
Happy National Pancake Day! It’s not just Fat Tuesday; it’s the day to celebrate pancakes, too!
When the original Angel Boy was young, my pancakes were a source of extreme disappointment. They looked inviting on the outside, but the interior was often mushy and undercooked.
Finally, my son had such a fear of my pancakes that he refused to eat them. It was quite traumatic for him, and I can understand that. Poor guy.
Things have changed with the Angels.
I worked hard to perfect my pancake game and I can now proudly claim to make the BEST Buckwheat Pancakes in my little part of the world.
There’s something incredibly delicious about the addition of buckwheat flour that elevates these pancakes.
They are in such high demand that I often need to whip up two batches. I can’t flip them fast enough to toss them on the plates of those feral little creatures.
Past traumas have been healed; my grown up angel boy can put away a giant stack without being frightened that he’s going to bite into uncooked pancake batter.
I had to get a big griddle to handle the demand and it’s like a Grandma Diner.
“More pancakes, please!”
Two versions of my famous pancakes; it’s easy to make *vegan.
Best Buckwheat Pancakes Whisk together in bowl: 1 egg 1 cup milk/plant based etc. 2 TBS veg oil 1 TBS brown sugar or agave 1 tsp vanilla Add: 1/2 cup white or whole wheat flour 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
Mix just until moistened, batter should be lumpy. Don’t overmix. Let batter sit for a few minutes. Cook on hot oiled griddle until brown on both sides (and cooked all the way through haha.) Options: add cinnamon, chopped apples, sliced bananas, berries.
*To make it vegan, use only plant based milk, delete the egg, and add two teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar as the final ingredient.
Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud 