Category: Washington

Snow Lust

~ Crystle ~ 10 Comments

Nighttime Snowfall

I don’t care that it only snowed two inches, and that the snow has already melted away. My upbringing in Bakersfield, CA has left me eternally deprived of this wintry white stuff; that’s probably why anytime it sleets or snows, I clap with glee while repeatedly asking anyone around me if they’ve noticed it’s snowing.  Needless to say, I was outside taking photos from the moment the puffy, sluggish flakes fell from the sky over our neighborhood in the suburbs of Olympia, WA to the moment it all melted away.

Snowy EvergreensSnowRabbit TracksNeighborhood Snow Snowy Trail

Now that this beautiful scenery has returned to it’s normal, wet, evergreen status, I’m back inside, tapping my fingers in anticipation of another brief snow storm (which is tentatively scheduled in our 10-day forecast). If snow doesn’t show around Puget Sound again this year, then that’s fine too. This is all I need to sate my snow-lust until next year when the Army sends us to Alaska for a three year assignment.

Please remind me of this day of snow-day-giddiness when I’m stuck indoors in Fairbanks, Alaska for four months while the extreme winter weather rages on outside. Future me will need the perspective, I’m sure.

Snowy Evergreens Snow in Washington

Patterns and Predictability

~ Crystle ~ 61 Comments

Growing up in Bakersfield, CA means I’m well conditioned to brutally hot summers and cool foggy winters: those are pretty much the only two seasons we saw down there, and they were painfully redundant.

Two hour fog delays were common anytime visibility dropped in the valley from the phenomena, which made it a welcome happenstance for city kids, and probably a nuisance for adults who didn’t get to share in the weather delay. This was our weather ‘thing’ and we were all used to it.

Nowadays, I realize that I can no longer be comfortable in weather patterns like I was in California. And gone are the days where I could mark the passage of time by distinct periods of fall, winter, spring and summer like I did while living in Oklahoma.

My one surety is knowing I’ll be nomadic for the foreseeable future while my husband serves our country. Did I mention we’re heading to Alaska next October?  We are, and that assignment has me both excited and terrified at the prospect of extreme Alaskan weather patterns as we build a life for our young family on the Last Frontier.

Those thoughts have been heavy on my mind lately, so to be greeted by that old familiar Bakersfield-type fog over our new neighborhood was comforting. After filling out my absentee ballot and handing it off to my diligent husband to fax off, I took a stroll on the William B. Ives trail just a few hundred yards from our front door.

I wanted to walk in the foggy woods because I wasn’t sure when I’d have the chance to do so again. Bakersfield fog hangs around awhile, but Puget Sound Fog? I have no idea. During my stroll, low fog hugged the tall evergreens as I walked slowly below. I caught glimpses of mushroom clusters and thick hanging moss that made me wonder what life will bring in Alaska, and beyond.

No matter what, one more year in Washington means I’ll have plenty of time to travel to the nooks and crannies that I’ve yet to visit around here, and I’ll have ample time to plan and dream about our future three year stint in Alaska with our upcoming bundle of joy, Margot.

Washington’s Wild Blackberries

~ Crystle ~ 7 Comments

I’m still learning a thing or two about our new stomping grounds in the Pacific Northwest. Just yesterday I ran across a humorous article on NPR that highlighted the joys of wild blackberries to the local newcomer. You Can Never Have Too Many Blackberries by Deena Prichep was absolutely spot on. Longtime locals learn the loathe the thorny ‘weed’ bushes while newcomers recoil at the prospect of cutting them back since they, ahem, give you berries.

 A month or so ago we noticed young berries growing in an uncultivated lot nearby. Over the next couple of weeks the fruity nubs of the prickly bushes ripened into a seemingly infinite supply of supple blackberries. We have been taking  full advantage of the free supply.

Tonight we went out on our second berry picking adventure. Our previous collection of berries went to my first canning venture where I made a delicious batch of Wild Blackberry Jam. We gathered as many blackberries as we could, unsure of exactly what five cups looked like, visually. After that experience, it was pretty clear that once you’ve got a colander full of blackberries and arm striped with scratches, you’ve got supply enough for a big batch of Blackberry Jam.

 Of the eight jars  of Jam made, we’ve finished nearly two and were all too happy to send four jars off to family in Oklahoma City.

Deena found some unique recipes calling for blackberries. Unfortunately, during this first trimester of pregnancy I’ve been an incredibly picky eater.  The nearly constant nausea has me wincing at the foods I used to love, and merely thinking of vegetables and international foods makes my stomach turn. I won’t be able to try any of the blackberry recipes that Deena recommends in the near future, but we plan on freezing up an extra supply so I can try them when I get to feeling better.

Until then, I’ll be chowing down on peanut butter and wild blackberry jam sandwiches.