The Floodgates

Its been several weeks now, but recently we had a flood here in Grays Harbor. It happened practically overnight, and caused a number of landslides, including one that closed the highway out of town. The rain the night before had not seemed any harder than usual! I actually didn't realize anything had happened until, after much grumbling about Mondays generally and 6 am in particular, I stepped out onto my porch. My car in the open garage had water up nearly to its bottom. The porch felt like a wooden raft afloat in a lake! That is when I noticed the several calls from work, removing the need to come in.

Since it was clearly too dangerous to come into work, the best thing to do was get outside, as soon as possible! The streets outside were lakes in some places rivers in others and sometimes practically as usual. Two steps in the same directing could plunge you into very different depths. Gulls were resting on the water where cars would normally dash past. 

We had a lot of fun exploring the suddenly bizarre landscape, but it was much less fun for many people. No one was hurt in the landslide that covered the highway, but houses in the next town over filled with water, or were covered in the backyards of houses further up the hills. 

This is the sidewalk in front of my house! It almost looks like a landscape from a plane.

The regular waterways were swollen too, and choked with debris from the flooding.

We walked up the closed off highway to see the landslide. Trees had crossed the four lanes and begun to slide down the hill into the park below. It was interesting and eerie to walk slowly somewhere you normally speed past, looking at things in detail.

This particular hill has had several slides over the years. It is called Think of Me Hill, and used to have many houses on its sides. A long time ago, in the nineteen forties I believe (but I have had difficulty finding information except from older folks who remember) there was a massive slide that destroyed a number of houses. Climbing up it away from the path you can find pottery and mason jars, tools and bricks partially unburied by yet more erosion. It makes me wonder what this place, which is never fully tamed by people, will look like in the future.

Morning Light

 We are sadly still a ways from spring. It is soon enough, at least here in the northwest, to start looking for signs though. Even the tiniest buds on trees are a cause for celebration! I've lived in places where natures state in winter was perhaps its most fascinating, and the weather not so terrible bundling up could not cure it.

 Here there are sunny bright winter days, but they are very far in between. Somehow the rain is much more disheartening than the snow ever was, at least for me. But there are only a few months left until spring, and little buds to look for.

 These photos are actually from April three years ago. They were lurking in the wrong folder on my computer and were quite enjoyable to find!

 They remind me of all the joys that are, and that are yet to come.

This Week

 Just a few shots of my favorite things from this crazy week! This is a particularly nice driftwood fort I found in Westport. Some locals work on these throughout the summer and make some wonderful ones. By spring the storms will have swept the beach clean again.

 Wandering downtown in the twilight, I stumbled on this. So many layers! A quite old advertisement, previous graffiti obscured by white paint, and the (very well done!) work of a more recent nature. That is one of the great things about good graffiti, the way it shakes up familiar places.

 Speaking of graffiti, a yellow brick road.

 Fall is a season with wonderful foraging, and we are hitting all our favorite spots. These plums involved some interesting climbing, a bonus.

 Cajeta, a delicious goats milk caramel from Las Mulitas Taqueria.

 We've been hunting abandoned places again. This abandoned mill is scattered across whats now forest. Bits of creosote litter the ground.

And lastly (and sadly) its almost the end of the abundant produce seasons, so I'm hoping to enjoy as much of that and sunlight as possible.

Have a wonderful day! 

Beach Break

 It has been a really heavy work week! It is not likely to slow down any time soon either. I do have the good fortune to work only a few minutes from the beach, and its lovely taking lunch breaks on occasion that look like this.

 We've also got a bit of debris from the tsunami in Japan washing up lately, which is fascinating and sad. What a journey this must have taken.

Here at Home

This weekend turned out to be a bit gray, perfect for staying in, baking and crafting. And taking pictures, naturally! Here are a few pictures I got of the house. It is still a work in progress, but I like it.

Ruins

In a previous post I talked about exploring abandoned places. This week we've come across another fascinating example, sitting at the edge of Grays Harbor in Aberdeen, Washington. Reached, as is often the case, through what looked at the start like a deer trail, it opens to a wide clearing in the trees. 

Spread out inside it are bricks, hundreds of bricks, maybe more. Some still bearing the name of their maker. I wonder how long ago it was standing. When was it built? Men once lay each of these bricks down on its bed of mortar. Someone made even the bricks. In our age of centenarians, have men lived to build, then witness the final deterioration of their work? 

 Because of the objects we found in the ruins, I believe this to be a house, but I can't be sure. We found a purse, and this hammer, which was slightly amusing in all this destruction.

 Sadly we also found syringes and caps scattered around, and other evidence of squatting. This is infuriating, as children would love this place. What kid doesn't love finding places like this for forts? The unfairness of a child contracting illness from being poked is extreme, not to mention the dangers if someone is there.

There are individuals locally who go to sites like these with the correct equipment to remove all the dangerous materials. This is a very noble and a worthwhile endeavor to my mind. Even with the disturbing aspects, this is one of my favorite abandoned places.

On our way in we spotted this hair brained contraption, a piece of wheel barrow that had been ineffectually tied to a chunk of shopping cart. Ahh, modern anthropology.

If you would like to see more pictures, you can find them here, including a few in color! 

The Old and The New

I'm sorting my bead collection, so that I can make some new pieces for a farmers market! There are beads here I have had for more than a decade and forgotten about. Something about the beautiful colors, the feel of the beads and the act of bringing order to all this loveliness is very relaxing. 

There are pieces of former favorite necklaces, homemade beads, beads salvaged from terrible thrift store necklaces (some of the best). My mind is buzzing with ideas! When I am in a creative rut, sorting things this way seems to help dislodge me. New combinations suggest themselves, and even new beads to create.

I've also been whipping up a few of these daisy chain necklaces for entertainment. I'd love to make a handful that coordinate, to wear at once for a big impact or separately to be more subtle. 

These vintage beauties were my Great Grandmothers, and I've been meaning to re string them for years. A few pearls seem like they would make a nice addition. A few old projects I may have to revisit were even mixed into the chaos!

Hope you have a marvelous day!

P.S. What do you like to do when you are stuck creatively? 

Secret Gardens

Sometimes its nice to disappear. More accurately perhaps, to make all else disappear. Responsibilities, communication, the myriad human noises aimed at us and occurring around us. On nice days my boyfriend and I like to set off exploring on foot. We have found many beautiful trails and abandoned places this way!

When we moved recently I was sad to say goodbye to our old haunts, abandoned mills and empty yacht husks snaked with blackberries, beaches where you could climb over jungle gyms of driftwood to gaze at blue ocean waves. They aren't so far I can never go, but are no longer close enough to wander to.

Since coming to this new location, which is surrounded by more businesses than homes, we've found new retreats. My favorite is actually reached by cutting through the drive thrus of several fast food places in the busiest part of town! Past the abandoned floors (painted red!) of an old house mostly covered by flowers this time of year, is a little opening under the trees with the remains of a tree fort. To its side lays a narrow trail twisting steeply upward. It goes up and up and up with the view growing ever lovelier, and peaks with a view of the harbor and great spanning bridge.

That is not however the best part. Farther past this wide logging roads begin, and even more trails branch out from them. Here you can hear no cars, no human noise at all! The forests are flickering lights and shadows, softly creaking trees. And in the golden sunlit clearings acres of foxgloves grow in shades from white and yellow to violet and hot pink, deep amethyst. They sway gently waist high, tangled some places with other wildflowers in every color.

We have the most wonderful conversations out here. They are much like what our feet are doing, wandering easily to new and beautiful places. Many years before dating we were friends, and these conversations are a large part of how i fell in love with Chris! 

I'm so excited to have someplace like this, which we don't even need a car to reach! I hope we find many more lovely places in our time here.

For those living in Grays Harbor County, all this loveliness is past the bluff.