Monday, November 30, 2020

Let me cheer you up!

This is one of the strangest Thanksgiving many of us have spent in our lives, don't you think? We usually get together with family and friends and have a huge party - but not this year.

This year, our dear friend and her daughter came to feast with us, since they are in our "family pod". We haven't seen very many people since the pandemic hit, but we do spend time with a few select "family of choice" folks.

I think this Thanksgiving was one my favorites ever, because it was quiet and sweet, with lots of nature.

I would love to take you by the hand and show you what we encountered on our walks in this beautiful area we moved to.

This barn is not on our property, but we look at it every day out of our back door. Isn't she gorgeous?

 

It can get super windy here, which I love. The bird life is INSANE. The Skagit Valley is famous for its bird watching opportunities, and with that, also hunting. When we walk, we hear lots of shots from hunters shooting ducks and geese.

Good thing they can't shoot swans, eagles and herons, because I love them.

 


In the afternoon, we went for a walk to Padilla Shore Trail, an area I adore because the view is gorgeous, the wind can be vicious (which I love), and wildife watching is a treat.

We "ran" into playful otters, lots of eagles, herons, an owl and hundreds of other birds. My naturalist-nerd friend was in heaven, and our girls got their feet wet.






 

The next day, we hiked to Samish Overlook. This is a spot we see from our kitchen and dining room windows, and it's also a place that holds incredible significance for me.

It's the place my host family took me when I came to the United States from Germany for the first time. It was 1992, and I was an Au Pair for a doctor's family. On the first weekend in America, they took me hiking, and I watched hang glider pilots launch themselves off the mountain.

Little 20-year old me was awe struck by this adventurous sport, and I struck up a halting conversation with the daring hang glider pilots. My English wasn't very good back then, but I must have been charming enough to have one of them offer to take me on a tandem flight the next weekend.

Of course I took him up on this, and my life was changed forever! I spent the next two years training to be a hang glider pilot. (I never did a solo flight. It's a long story which I might tell one day).

Anyway, when my friend and I went hiking on Thanksgiving weekend, we ran into a guy I used to fly with and now had switched to para gliders. Fun memories!








I hope you liked our little walk just now and felt yourself inspired and your spirits lifted by the pictures. Nothing like a little natural beauty to cheer you up, eh?

How was your Thanksgiving?


20 comments:

  1. Thank you Corina! That was really great.

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  2. Hi Corina
    I love, love, love the Padilla bay trail. I just live up the street from the north end of the trail. Not sure why I haven't been on it for a while. It certainly isn't for lack of time!
    Missed going to my sister this Thanksgiving, but we did video conference.
    Love your pictures.

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    Replies
    1. Awwww, lucky you! So you must be close to Bayview then! Go walk! And if you see me and my two pups on the trail, stop me so I can say Hi!

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  3. Had a wonderful day with my Granddaughter and her Stepfather. She’s a beautiful girl and he has given her someone to look up to. My daughter was a very lucky woman.

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  4. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures. You go to so many great places. Do you have a post listing some of the places you go for walks and easy hikes? I live near Concrete and will add Padilla Shore Trail for a nice winter walk.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, definitely add that walk! Larrabee State Park is great for walks, as is Bayview State Park. And of course the Interurban trail!

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  5. Love your adventurous nature. The BARN! I have seen barns like that on "You live in what?" TV show. They become the most wonderful places to live. Of course the restoration cost in way above my pay grade.

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    Replies
    1. That barn is gorgeous! It's old, too. It's not ours, but belongs to the neighbor who farms there.

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  6. Hi Corina, Wow! You were a hang glider?! Awesome. I love Padilla Bay Trail and walk it at least a couple times a month. Yesterday we were out there as the sun was beginning to set. So lovely. Thank you for lifting spirits. Brenda

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    Replies
    1. Brenda, next time, maybe we'll run into each other! Definitely stop me and introduce yourself!

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  7. We live in our trailer full time now. We sold our house because my husband could not stand to work at Tractor Supply anymore to pay the mortgage. Now we are traveling around staying at BLM and Forest Service campsites because they are within our budget of $20 a day. We are looking for cheap land where we can build our dream hut. My husband hates cold so maybe in the mountains of Texas. I hate hot weather. Aren't we a pair!? I'm glad you loved this Thanksgiving. We were a bit lonely but it won't always be this way as long as we stay healthy. Love and peace to you and your family. Oh, PS I was married to a hang glider pilot for 20 years. I took lessons but decided my danger of choice was riding horses close to the ground!

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    Replies
    1. Wow! Your live has changed a lot, too, hasn't it? In some ways, traveling around the country in a trailer sounds like my ultimate dream! Sounds like you guys are self sufficient in there. Do you have solar panels or a generator?

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  8. Such beautiful photos! Thank you for these mood lifters.

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  9. Thank you for sharing Corina! Spirits definitely need to be lifted and you're good at that. ❤

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  10. Thank You for sharing your beautiful natural surrounding and the virtual walk in the wildness, hope to travel to that area someday. Happy Holidays!

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