Housiversery
First off, however, an observation/question. I seem to be getting one or more spam comments every day on old LJ posts and, frankly, I am getting tired of it. I figure I can disable commenting to non-LJ accounts or I can start f'locking every post but it's not like I have so huge a readership that I like to block the one or two non-LJ friends who actually read my scintillating posts. So perhaps this is one of those pathetic "comment if you want me to continue sharing my life here" posts for, if I'm truly writing this for myself, I may as well lock it up and spare myself the onerous effort of deleting spammy comments. If, however, there are those who enjoy reading about what birds I've seen or what the latest is with the water heater then please speak up! God knows I am so slothful I'll probably not start locking posts regardless but it'd be nice to know.
Onto our Feature Presentation!
It was two years ago today that I got the keys to the house and Eli and I met here after work just because we could. I brought Doritos and sparkling and, after opening the doors, we sat on the porch having a drink out of the plastic glasses I bought at Safeway. Then Eli took a painter's tool to the windows to open a few of them while I ripped out ancient wall-to-wall carpet with my bare hands. To mark the anniversary today we took the day off and, well, went to the beach.
It took us two and half hours to get to Alki because it seems I can't resist any wooded path that I happen to encounter. We ended up traipsing across what claimed to be a "Duwamish Head greenspace/future park" which featured, I fear, a bit of poison oak and which led us, after a muddy fifteen minutes, back to the Alki Mail and Dispatch which we'd been at an hour earlier. The future park was interesting, however; there's an old brick something in the middle of the green space--about seven feet high, maybe a yard across and, as I say, old mossy brick. We theorized it was on old sewer entry since there were other, shorter mounds, mostly covered in ivy, with man-hole covers atop them. Other theories, explanations welcome.
After that we set out once more resolutely toward the beach but, partway down a narrow one-lane road, we came across a second mysterious unsigned green space that seemed *certain* to lead to the beach. This one featured a wide and graveled path and we met two men walking their dogs and there were many fine wild lupines on the hillsides. Eventually, however, the path turned grassy, then narrow, then very close to the bluff, then muddy and very close to the bluff, then muddy and steep. At one point we were most relieved to find a rope hanging down the trail. Eli went up far enough to grab it and toss it to me. We both gave it a good yank to make sure it was somehow secured and then used it as protection against falling. It turned out to be tied into an old tree trunk. (This is the second time we've encountered such a fixed rope in the last month or so; the previous one was on the hillside between the beach and the Yaquina Bay (not Head) lighthouse. I love that such things exist, even as I find their existence baffling.) The trail become more and more notional as we continued and eventually we found ourselves much relieved to be climbing over someone's pile of yard clippings and onto the pavement of a deadend. The woman who was backing her car out from her driveway was most surprised to see two seemingly respectable and yet somewhat filthy middle-aged people appear out of nowhere in her rearview mirror. We walked along the road for a quarter of a mile to find ourselves at the Hamilton Viewpoint. We admitted defeat at that point and walked down to catch the water taxi shuttle to Alki.
We had a fine walk along the beach, the cold salt water washing away some of the insults to my feet (did I mention I was wearing sandals and a sundress?). Then we came home and had Doritos and champagne on the front porch, after which Eli made and installed a screen for the kitchen window while I ripped out some morning glory and Ballard flowers from around some roses and then went to work on some blackberry and ivy along the side of the house. It was swell.
Birds
Steller's jay
northern flicker
house sparrows
house finches
American goldfinches
black-capped chickadees
Bewick's wren
starlings
gulls
crows
pigeons
So not very birdy, really.
Book
The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (page 300)
Onto our Feature Presentation!
It was two years ago today that I got the keys to the house and Eli and I met here after work just because we could. I brought Doritos and sparkling and, after opening the doors, we sat on the porch having a drink out of the plastic glasses I bought at Safeway. Then Eli took a painter's tool to the windows to open a few of them while I ripped out ancient wall-to-wall carpet with my bare hands. To mark the anniversary today we took the day off and, well, went to the beach.
It took us two and half hours to get to Alki because it seems I can't resist any wooded path that I happen to encounter. We ended up traipsing across what claimed to be a "Duwamish Head greenspace/future park" which featured, I fear, a bit of poison oak and which led us, after a muddy fifteen minutes, back to the Alki Mail and Dispatch which we'd been at an hour earlier. The future park was interesting, however; there's an old brick something in the middle of the green space--about seven feet high, maybe a yard across and, as I say, old mossy brick. We theorized it was on old sewer entry since there were other, shorter mounds, mostly covered in ivy, with man-hole covers atop them. Other theories, explanations welcome.
After that we set out once more resolutely toward the beach but, partway down a narrow one-lane road, we came across a second mysterious unsigned green space that seemed *certain* to lead to the beach. This one featured a wide and graveled path and we met two men walking their dogs and there were many fine wild lupines on the hillsides. Eventually, however, the path turned grassy, then narrow, then very close to the bluff, then muddy and very close to the bluff, then muddy and steep. At one point we were most relieved to find a rope hanging down the trail. Eli went up far enough to grab it and toss it to me. We both gave it a good yank to make sure it was somehow secured and then used it as protection against falling. It turned out to be tied into an old tree trunk. (This is the second time we've encountered such a fixed rope in the last month or so; the previous one was on the hillside between the beach and the Yaquina Bay (not Head) lighthouse. I love that such things exist, even as I find their existence baffling.) The trail become more and more notional as we continued and eventually we found ourselves much relieved to be climbing over someone's pile of yard clippings and onto the pavement of a deadend. The woman who was backing her car out from her driveway was most surprised to see two seemingly respectable and yet somewhat filthy middle-aged people appear out of nowhere in her rearview mirror. We walked along the road for a quarter of a mile to find ourselves at the Hamilton Viewpoint. We admitted defeat at that point and walked down to catch the water taxi shuttle to Alki.
We had a fine walk along the beach, the cold salt water washing away some of the insults to my feet (did I mention I was wearing sandals and a sundress?). Then we came home and had Doritos and champagne on the front porch, after which Eli made and installed a screen for the kitchen window while I ripped out some morning glory and Ballard flowers from around some roses and then went to work on some blackberry and ivy along the side of the house. It was swell.
Birds
Steller's jay
northern flicker
house sparrows
house finches
American goldfinches
black-capped chickadees
Bewick's wren
starlings
gulls
crows
pigeons
So not very birdy, really.
Book
The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (page 300)