After 64 days of sea-borne accommodation, with 'tout de confort', being back on land comes as a slight shock. But, after being deprived of the pleasure of being surrounded by earthbound greenery, even the undesirables in the form of 'invasive species' look pretty good.
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| Himalayian blackberries?? |
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| Tent caterpillars - they have a bonanza this year, and have erected their fuzzy tents by the thousands. Nothing eats them, birds wrinkle their beaks at the mere sight of them. |
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| Whatever this is, it is so small, that one can hardly detect it in the underbrush... |
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| Wild Lilies of the Valley - beautiful fragrance combined with very modest looks |
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| No, not dew drops, but perpetual North West Pacific Rain drops.... |
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And the bane of all proud owners of a pristine lawn...you will be digging out the fruits of this seed pod next year!
On a more mundane note, Millennium Dragon, my little sailboat, has vacated her spot in dry storage, where she has rested for the last few months. Accessible only with my 'personalized' staircase, provided by the boat yard for my vertigo ridden pleasure. Instead of awaiting me at the top of these stairs, she was back in her intended medium - the salty sea.
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| The staircase to heaven.... |
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| Gone from the yard.... |
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| ...and back on the service dock, ready to be taken home |
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| Clean bottom, new sacrificial zincs, all ship shape, freshly painted mast...ready to roll |
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| ..and roll we did, taking advantage of a weather window without North Pacific Rain and miserable squalls. Puttering along at a nice clip, engine just-a-humming, and the little wind there was: RIGHT ON THE NOSE. Ergo, no sailing today... |
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| There we are, the little triangle bottom centre, mid morning, chugging along at 4.8 knots against the current in Samson Narrows....must be the newly refinished and painted smooth bottom! Just slithering through... |
