Tag Archives: community

Walking with Love

Posted on by
Reply

I had a kind of breakthrough for myself in the middle of the night – I can’t really explain what I experienced, but the short of it is that I had a conversation with Love that brought me a healing of terrible fear.

So anyway. When I left the house this morning I was floating on a cloud of Love. I had Mindy Jostyn’s CD in my car’s CD player, and her version of “I Walk with Love” came singing through the speakers –

“I walk with Love along the way,
And O, it is a holy day;
No more I suffer cruel fear,
I feel God’s presence with me here;
The joy that none can take away
Is mine; I walk with Love today.”

Every car I passed seemed to be moving with me on the cloud of Love. I could feel Love’s choreography as I moved down Burlington Blvd towards Fred Meyers – every light turned green as I approached it, every car moved at the same pace, in harmony.

I moved through Fred’s on my cloud – exchanging smiles with my fellow customers. I told the young man stocking shelves how much joy his purple mohawk brought me. He grinned and thanked me.

On my way home, I stopped at the Starbucks near Cook Road, to get myself a pumpkin spice latte. Starbucks was full of customers, and there was a long line to the drive-thru. The barista who came to the counter to help me looked like he needed a kind word and a good laugh. He went through his script – how can I help you? would you like whip with that? how’s your day going? I told him I was having a great day, and asked him how his day was going. He smiled and said they were pretty busy. He was tired. He asked me for my name. I leaned in and said, in a half-whisper, “Karen,” and waited to see his reaction. He quietly typed my name into his computer, and I thanked him for not laughing at my name. Which – as I’d hoped – got him to start laughing. When it came time to give him a tip, I told him I was giving him the biggest tip for not laughing, and he grinned and thanked me, and wished me a good day.

I went off to the side to await my latte.

A young woman entered the shop and started scanning the faces of the other customers. When she got to my face, she smiled. I smiled back, and she approached me. “Are you a mother?” she asked. I told her yes, I was. “My kids are outside in that car, and I need to use the restroom. Can you go outside and watch them while I use the restroom?” Being recognized as a mother – as someone who could be trusted with her children – was the highlight of my morning. I told the woman it would be my honor.

I went out and stood by her car. I gave a salute to one of the youngsters inside it, and she grinned back at me.

When the mother came out of the shop, she gave me a hug and thanked me. I thanked her for the priviledge of guarding her children.

And I drove with Love all the way home.

Visiting an 800-Year-Old Friend

Posted on by
Reply

August 20:
I drove out to Deception Pass today to see an 800-year-old friend. Just knowing my old tree-friend is still there, still making oxygen for us, still standing tall, gives me hope for our planet. It was good to see her again.

I met NEW friends while I was there, too – Bucky the pup approached me with a wagging tail and a sweet doggy smile; and I met Mike, who was there with his young family. When Mike and I got to chatting, I learned he, too, had climbed Rainier – and I, of course, had to show him Dad’s Wikipedia page, and tell him about the paintings Dad had painted on K2 at 25,000 feet, back in 1953. (I love how Pop is still connecting me to new friends.)

I explored the beach for a bit – found an agate glowing up at me from a bed of pebbles, and snapped pictures of birds and driftwood and other cool beach-stuff. After I left Deception Pass, I drove to my favorite bookshop in Oak Harbor, The Book Rack, and treated myself to a new murder mystery (*A Cute Little Murder*) and a cupcake and cookie from their bakery. I sat there at a high table for a bit, swinging my legs, and reading from my new book, and soaking in the magic I always find in a bookstore.

And now a poem.

This is one I wrote for my old tree-friend back in 2022.

Be a Tree

The son and I talked about the tree
on the drive home.
850 years it had lived on this planet!
It had been seeded in the late 1100’s –
around the time of Genghis Khan
and England’s King John,
before Mansua Musa or Marco Polo,
da Vinci or Michelangelo.
Before Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare,
Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mooji.
It rooted into the soil as a tender seedling
and grew during the Black Plague; grew
while the ash from Krakatoa blocked the sun;
and while factories sprouted up across
the northern hemisphere. It grew while
soldiers fought to end slavery; while
World War I and World War II raged
across Europe; while our planet warmed;
and while division and despair
made humans sometimes wonder
if our planet was beyond repair.
It grew.
Quietly, without fanfare or medals
or approval or star ratings –
it lived, created oxygen, and grew –
because that is what trees do.
And maybe when it was older and sturdy,
indigenous children played in its bends
and called it “friend.”
I like to think that’s true.

Yesterday I visited my wise friend, Charles.
He could tell I was scared about our world.
“Just be present,” he said. “Be a tree.”

-Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)

I Love Being a Tourist (and I don’t have to travel far to be one)

Posted on by
Reply

August 19:
I needed a walk, but when I headed up Chuckanut towards Bellingham I wasn’t exactly sure where that walk was going to be. And then I found myself turning into Larrabee State Park. I’ve done hikes to Clayton Beach and Fragrance Lake, but I don’t think I’ve visited the main part of the park for several years.

I decided to do some exploring. I found the old tunnel I remember (built in 1935), with the happy mural painted inside it. After I came out of the tunnel, I followed the trail to the left and walked out to some cool rock outcrops with views of the bay, and a memorial bench to Bruce Emery Sherlaw. (I just googled to find out more about Bruce and learned he was a writer, tap dancer, singer, teacher, actor, and taekwondo black belt! And he was only 22 when he passed!) https://www.legacy.com/…/name/bruce-sherlaw-obituary

Then I followed the trail back to where I’d started, and went down to the beach.

I loved the vibes down on the beach – there was a cheery dad skipping rocks on the water; children wading into the bay; young folks lounging in the sun; and smiling pups, drenched in saltwater. I leaned against a big log next to a vollyball net and just soaked in the ambiance.

There was a song playing in the background that I recognized as a blast from the past: “When everything’s meant to be broken/ I just want you to know who I am.” I moved under the vollyball net and to the other side, to ask about the song. I think the people playing the music thought, at first, I was there to complain about the volume or something, and were getting ready to apologize – but I laughed and told them I really liked that song, and thanked them for playing it. I asked them what it was and they told me “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. I nodded, remembering. I told them it was the perfect song – because that’s what we all want, right? For people to know who we are. I said it was making me a little teary, and they smiled at me in a kind way, understanding.

And then I moved beyond them and out to where the rocks jut out into the bay. I found a golden fly on the sandstone, the word “HOPE” written in the recess of a boulder, and, above me, sap sparkling on a tree. (I took pictures of all of that and put them in another post.) Magic everywhere!

And then I went back to the trail and hiked up to the place where the tree with the sparkling pitch jutted out over the water. I found a memorial bench to Dr. Robert F. Kaiser tucked into the side of the trail up there. (My googling tells me that Dr. Kaiser was a Bellingham ophthamologist, renowned in his field.)

I stood on the bluff for a while, looking out at the water, snapping photos, filling my soul with all the peace around me, before heading back to my car and home.

I love being a tourist, and I don’t have to travel far to be one.
(Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)

I Am Wealthy Beyond Imagining

Posted on by
2

I’ve known young William since 2016 when I stumbled upon a piece he’d written at Northwestern University, and was blown away by his intelligence and wit. And now here we are – ten years later – and today I finally got to meet William in the person!

William is extraordinary. This is not hyperbole. He actually is extraordinary. He’s kind and wise, and has a wonderful sense of humor. He’s a rocket scientist, a novelist, a cartographer, and he’s working on his second master’s degree – and he hasn’t even hit 30, yet!

This summer’s he’s been up here from his home base in California, doing an internship in the Seattle area. And today we met up for lunch at Tweets Cafe in the little foody town of Edison.

I got to introduce William to Mickey, who helped me when I found a turtle at Lake Padden, and who I later learned worked at Tweets. Mickey is AWESOME! We ordered our lunches – a half a roasted chicken for William, a quiche for me – and then sat out on the deck and talked and laughed like the old friends we are.

After lunch, I gave William a little tour of Edison and we bought treats at Breadfarm. Iris was manning the counter, and she was a hoot! She was very patient with me, and when I asked her if I could take her picture, she said she’d just go fetch our treats and then be back in a moment for her photo shoot.

A line of classic cars came through town, and I managed to snap a quick picture of a golden beauty. And little Baker and Brody pups appeared, and I got a picture of them, too.

William followed me in my car, Rosalita Ipswich O’Molenovich, with his car, Trigger, and I brought him back home so’s Scotty could give him a tour of his orchard, and I could give him some of Dad’s old maps. (I remembered that William had created his own maps for his novels, and thought he might appreciate bringing home a couple of Dad’s maps.)

And then it was time for William and Trigger to move on to more adventures (this was the most north Trigger and William have ever been – but tomorrow they go to Canada where they will set a new record for themselves.)

This week has brought me so many lovely meetings with old friends – with my former student, Jamie; with my old friend, Deidre; with Freida, a friend I met 50 years ago, and hadn’t seen for 25 years; with the Kuykendalls, who brought me that post card from the 1975 K2 expedition with Pop’s K2 painting on the cover; and, today, with my old young friend, William. This week has been a healing week for me – full of laughter and people who inspire me.

I am grateful for all the good. I am wealthy beyond imagining in the things that really matter.

Annual Table Mountain Hike

Posted on by
Reply

When I drove up to Artist Point this morning, I’d been planning to do the Artist Point hike. But, once I got there, the Table Mountain hike called to me. It’s short – but it packs a punch. There’s a quick elevation gain (725 feet, according to the Washington Trail Association) up the side of a steep cliff, and there’s one place where hikers have to navigate a high step made for people with longer legs than me.

I try to do this hike every year, and I decided today was the day.

When I started out, the temperature was perfect – cool and breezey. I stopped every now and then to take pictures of Shuksan and butterflies, alpine flowers and the Bagley Lakes down below.

I managed to get myself over the high step by using a handhold I found in the cliff, and pretty quickly found myself at the top. I sat on a boulder and ate my trail mix and enjoyed the view.

On the way down, I kept thinking about that one place where I’d have to figure out how to get over that high step. In my experience, a rock scramble is always harder going down than going up. But here’s a cool thing – when I got to that spot on the trail, there were two young men – brothers – maneuvering around it as I got there. I was trying to figure out how to get out of their way, while they were trying to figure out how they could help me. The one brother said to the other: “She’s going to need to use that handhold.” And the other brother responded by giving me room to reach for it.

But, in the end, I found another way down. I said, “I think I’m just going to do this…” and I sat down on the step and lowered myself down. Easy!

When I turned the corner of the switchback, I saw a couple that I guessed were the parents of the young men. They confirmed this. Then I told them how kind their sons had been to me. I learned the family was visiting from Colorado and had never been to Mount Baker before. I told them that years ago I’d climbed a mountain in Colorado’s Collegiate Peaks called Mount Harvard, and they knew exactly what I was talking about. I pointed to Mount Baker and said I’d climbed that one, too – and now I look at it and think, “What was I thinking?!” Appu laughed and said, “You weren’t thinking and that is why you could do it!” The family was delightful. Appu kindly agreed to let me take her photo.

When I got off Table Mountain, I decided I wasn’t done with my hiking, yet, and drove on down to Heather Meadows to do a quick hike of the Fire and Ice Trail. And on THAT trail, I met more cool people! There were two couples – each with a toddler strapped to a parent’s front – and seeing the babies made me go right away to my grandma place. One of the little ones grinned at me from his pack and reached out to touch fingers. Awwww…

I told them it was so good to see them bringing their children into the mountains – away from screens – and they nodded and said, “Exactly!”

I don’t like posting pictures of children, but Sam and Addison, and Katie and Sean, agreed it would be fine for me to take a photo of them from the back. So there they are!

It was so good to be in the mountains again, my friends. The mountains are a healing place for me.

I Woke Up Lazy

Posted on by
Reply

I woke up this morning completely unmotivated. I had no goal I wanted to reach; felt no need to go anywhere; had nothing on my schedule. I woke up lazy.

I wandered downstairs, put a cup of milk for cocoa in the microwave, set it for a minute, and jogged four laps around our circular floorplan before it pinged. Put some yogurt, blueberries and granola together for breakfast.

Still no plans.

I started working on my word puzzles, and, while I was doing that, a notification popped up that my friend, Diane Sue, was going to have her monthly zoom women’s gathering – a safe community she’s created for women to share what’s going on in their lives and support each other. I’ve been very sporadic about joining in these meetings, but today I felt guided to click on the zoom link, and pretty soon found myself surrounded by a group of dynamic, powerful, inspiring women from across the US, and from as far away as the UK and Australia. Love knows no boundaries.

Diane always ends these meetings with a breakaway session where we pair up with a partner and talk one-on-one about ideas that she gives us to work on. I’ve never stayed long enough at the meetings I’ve attended to do the breakaway thing – I’ve always felt weirdly shy about that. But today I gathered up my courage and stayed on. I was really hoping I’d get paired up with a woman named Lori who’d talked about listening to the voice that gives her guidance and direction. I could relate to that. But there were 12 of us, and the pairing is done randomly by computer, so the odds were I’d end up with another partner. And that would be okay, too. All these women are wise and kind.

But guess what?! Lori and I got paired up! And Lori said she’d been really hoping to be paired up with me! And later, Diane told us she’d almost stepped in to pair us up, but had decided to let the computer do its random thing. Cosmic, what?!

The zoom meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and I came away from it with hope for our world.

And then I closed my eyes, and let my thoughts drift, and when I opened them I had it in my noggin that I needed to take a bike ride to Edison and see what magic I could find there – I ALWAYS find magic in Edison.

So I rode my bike into the foody town, bought some chocolate treats from Dawn at Breadfarm to share with Scott, snapped a picture of a sweet pup named Seena who came out from under a bench to say hi, and then wandered down to Tweets Cafe. I knew I’d find new friends there – Tweets has that kind of magic.

And as soon as I stepped into the cafe, I felt part of a community.

There was a couple sitting at a table carving away at what looked like a whole roasted chicken – I think my mouth literally dropped open. “Wow!” I said. The couple looked up at me and started laughing. And then an amazing-looking salad was added to their table – and I had to apologize to the couple for staring, but… holy shamoley! They were both laughing with me then – and the woman, who introduced herself as Monse, said she understood, and graciously agreed to let me take a photo of her (you can see the salad, but the chicken was gone by this point). And THEN a little pup I hadn’t even known was there, suddenly appeared from under the table to say hi, and I snapped little Rina’s picture, too.

By the time I was done taking pictures of my new friends, a young woman had gotten into the line ahead of me, but when she realized what I’d been doing, Anna quickly stepped aside and let me back in my place. Soon after, all my coffee cards (and there are a lot of them) fell out of my wallet and onto the floor, and now the man in front of me in line stooped down to help me pick them up. I thanked him, and turned around to thank Anna again for letting me back in line. “People really take care of each other here, don’t they?” I said. And Anna smiled and nodded and agreed.

When it was my turn to give my order, I ordered an iced mocha and the peach pie with whipped cream that I’d seen the man in front of me walk away with. I asked Anna if I could snap her photo, and she agreed and asked me if I was a blogger. I said yes, and this is when the cheery young woman at the counter got a big smile on her face and said, “You’re Karen! You’re the one who found the turtle on the path at Lake Padden! Do you remember me? I’m Mickey!” And of course I remembered Mickey! We’d taken pictures of each other holding the turtle I’d found on a gravel trail at Lake Padden at the beginning of June. The other servers gathered around Mickey while she told them about the turtle, and, of course, I snapped their photo. I am incorrigible.

I wasn’t in Edison more than half an hour, and look at all the kind people and new friends I met!

I’m so glad the Cosmos led me to click on that zoom link this morning, and I’m so glad the Cosmos led me to get on my bike.

It has been a good day.

Celebrating the Opposite of Bustle

Posted on by
Reply

Do you ever have one of those days where you want to be around people, but you don’t necessarily feel you have the energy to engage with people? That’s how I woke up this morning. I wanted a quiet day among people, exchanging smiles, but I wasn’t feeling up to big conversation. I was feeling in need of whatever is the opposite of “bustle.”

And the Cosmos gave me exactly what I needed today.

I started out at Fred Meyer’s. I got there pretty early, and there weren’t a lot of people there, yet. I moved through the store at a leisurely pace, exchanging smiles now and then, and enjoying the quiet. It was lovely.

Then I drove into Mount Vernon to run an errand and get in a walk along the river. I probably got there before 9:00 and most of the businesses were still closed, and the streets were quiet. Perfect! As I came to the Ristretto coffee shop, I found myself turning in for a coffee. I found a quiet table in the corner, and sipped my coffee and enjoyed the sounds of the quiet conversations going on around me.

A man came in with a Mariners cap and as I passed him to exit the shop, I said, “Go Mariners!” and then we both smiled and kind of grimaced at the same time at the thought of our poor Mariners. We talked about the Mariners for a while – their ups and downs, defeats and victories – and then our conversation moved on to other things.

I learned that Jim was a pastor in town, and he learned that I was “Karen” – which, as I’d hoped, got a healthy laugh out of him. We learned we both have Dutch in our backgrounds – his antecedents had come from the northern part of the Netherlands, my dad’s parents had come from near Amsterdam. I told Jim about dad’s mountaineering background, and he told me about his friend who does mountain rescue work in Nepal. He learned I was a retired teacher – had taught in Burlington for years, and ended my career at Emerson, the old alternative high school in Mount Vernon. Jim told me that his church is actually where the alternative high school had originally been housed years ago.

I told him I’d retired from Emerson the summer before the pandemic hit, and Emerson had closed for good not long after that. My dad, I told him, had died at the age of 101, the day before the first reported case of COVID in the States – the first case being reported in Snohomish. Jim nodded his head, and said he’d actually had a friend in health care who had been part of the health care team for that first COVID patient.

We talked about how the pandemic had changed teaching and education. I told him that my friends who were working in education during that time told me not to go back to teaching right then, and Jim told me one of his relatives had started her first teaching job just a few weeks before the pandemic hit. It was a pretty crazy time for her.

And during this conversation with Jim, there was laughter and empathy and connection. There was a feeling of community. There was no bustle, no high-energy exchange, no expectations or obligations or responsibility to “fix” anything. Jim was the exactly right person for me to meet today.

After I left Ristretto, I went up to the river for a walk, and to see what there was to see up there: I snapped a photo of the bridge enclosed in a pink cocoon as repairs are made on it; I met a rescue pup named Gooper; I stopped to wave a worker in a golf cart to pass by me, and he smiled a friendly smile and thanked me; I saw about a dozen bicyclists parked at the revetment – it looked like they were getting ready for an adventure; and the flags were full-blown in a gusty wind. I sat at a table with my coffee, and turned my face into the wind, and enjoyed my solitude.

I had a lovely morning.

So Many Wonderful People to Meet! (And I Met A Lot of Them in LA Last Weekend)

Posted on by
Reply

So many wonderful people to meet in the world – and I met a whole lot of them on my weekend trip to LA!

There was Heath who was sleeping on this way cool Inflatable bed in one of the waiting areas at Sea-Tac. When he woke up, he told us he’d bought his bed to use for the work he does on the north slope of Alaska. When he deflated it – and he did that really quickly – it fit into this tiny bag that he stuffed in his backpack.

Not long after Heath left to board his flight home to Boise, we met Aubrey, who was flying with her mom, dad, brother, and younger sisters to LA. Aubrey and I talked a bit about our travels and I learned that she’d gone to the Philippines on a mission with the LDS church when she was out of high school. I told Aubrey that, as a teacher, some of my favorite students had been LDS because they were always polite and respectful, and were able to share what they believed without being argumentative. I admitted that I’d guessed they were an LDS family and had assumed they’d be taking the flight to Boise. Aubrey and her family nodded their heads and laughed at this, and Aubrey’s mom said they did indeed use to live in Idaho.

The day after I landed at LAX, my daughter-in-law, Christina, brought me to the annual Swirl Surfskater fest in Venice Beach, founded by women to cultivate community through skateboarding. It was so fun! There were free things and special deals and friendly people and PUPS! I was in Karen-heaven.

Christina introduced me to her friend, Gonzo, who has a shop that sells jewelry made by women in his home country of Kenya. (I bought two pairs of earrings because I could not choose just one.) Gonzo is one of those people who just radiates pure love. I felt an immediate connection to him. When we parted we both simultaneously put our hands over our hearts in recognition of kindred spirits.

Out on the beach, a woman was selling colorful bags of fruit. I was impressed by how she was transporting them – on top of her head! – and asked her if I could take her picture, before buying a bag of mangos from her. It was a HUGE bag! I ended up going around, asking random people if they’d like a piece of mango – the young woman sitting on the bench behind me, the young man sitting on the other side of the bench (they both said “Yes, thank you!”), a group of motorcyclists, who smiled and declined. Giving away mango bits is a good way to meet strangers.

There was Seamus pup with a pink mohawk, and Buttons and Brooklyn pups with very chic pompoms on their heads; there were beautiful people handing out free things – Odalis, Charlotte, Tatum, and Niora; and Riley, who was creating discounted tattoos at the tattoo booth; and there was this wonderful family – Nasim, Esme, and Linus – selling “LIVE A LOT” caps designed by the youngster of the family, Linus. (I bought a red cap with cheery yellow letters.)

We ate at some very cool eateries while we were there, and were served by some amazing folks at the Cafe Gratitude, and the Buena Vida Tea Bar and Garden.

We visited the Vietnamese Market in Westminster on Saturday night, where I ordered a boba drink from Jing, and snapped a photo of some cool shoes being worn by Matthew.

When we got to LAX for our return trip, I needed to get some beverage in me – I was really thirsty. I went to the Peet’s Coffee shop where I saw a green drink being made by the barista. At that moment, Jose came up to claim the drink – he was bringing it to a coworker – and I asked him what the drink was. Jose told me it was a matcha tea and that nobody made a better one that his friend, the barista, Dylon. Dylon guided me through the process of ordering a matcha – what kind of milk? sweetened or unsweetened? Dylon told me some people really like matcha and some people really don’t – and then he waited to see my reaction. It was really good! “You did good, bud,” I told him, and he grinned.

I went to get pizza at the pizza shop next door, and Elena – who was very kind – was sorry to tell me they were all out of pizza, but she pointed me in the direction of another pizza shop. When I got to the Wolfgang Puck pizza place, a woman stopped me to ask about my amber necklace, and then I remarked on her necklace – which she told me actually has a little light inside it. I love meeting fellow rock-lovers, and Batman let me take a picture of all her rock jewelry.

We’d gotten to LAX a few hours early, and, in the waiting area for our plane, I saw a flight attendant standing there and asked her if she was going to be the flight attendant for our flight out. She grinned and said she was! I told her I’d never seen a flight attendant waiting in the waiting area before, and it was cool to actually meet the flight attendant for our flight before we got on board. She laughed and said she’d arrived early and that’s why she was there – and noted that I’d arrived early, too. We introduced ourselves – she introduced herself as “Michelle” and I introduced myself as “Karen, because you’ve got to have at least one Karen on your flight, and I’m yours.” She laughed and agreed it was important to have a Karen on board. Later on, when we were in-flight, Michelle and I waved at each other and she introduced me to the other flight attendant as her friend, Karen. I told the other attendant that Michelle and I were old friends now, and Michelle nodded in agreement.

I Needed an Adventure

Posted on by
1

When I woke up this morning, I felt myself going to that dark place – that place of fears and worries and dread.

I needed to get out of the house and go for a walk and smile at people. I needed an adventure.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend I’d met in the Seeing Bellingham group – a friend I’d never actually met in the person – invited me to join her and her friends for coffee at the Way Cafe in Birch Bay. Julie told me that they meet every Thursday morning there. She invited me again a couple days ago. I was kind of nervous about sitting around a table with people I’d never actually met – but, this morning when I started going to the dark place, I realized a drive to Birch Bay and joining Julie and her friends was exactly what I needed.

So I googled and made a list of directions for myself – exit here, turn right there, take another right here, and then a left – and I set out for the Way Cafe.

Oh, my friends! It was so fun meeting these women this morning! Tricia and Nancy, Jean and Julie and Carol, were welcoming and wonderful. I needed the laughter I found with my new friends, and I soaked up their kindness.

When our time together came to an end, I decided I wasn’t done, yet, and headed up to Blaine with L&L Bakery macarons on my mind. I love the L&L Bakery! Lili, the owner, was there today, and it was so good to see her again. Lili radiates kindness and good will and makes the world a better place. She and her staff also make really good baked goods. I snagged myself a couple of macarons, wished Lili a good day, and headed down to Marine Park.

When I got to the park, I could see workers setting up fences around the perimeter in preparation for the “Scottish Gathering” Blaine is hosting this weekend. Liam and Joe let me snap their picture as they helped set up the fences. (When I introduced myself to them, Liam said his mom is named “Karen,” too – which brought me a smile. Karens rock!)

I walked on down to the pier and took some photos of Semiahmoo across the water to the west, and Canada across the water to the north. An AmTrak train came through Blaine, and I watched it make its progress past the Peace Arch and on into Canada. I wished everyone on board happy adventures.

I had happy adventures myself today. I’m so glad I talked myself out of the house, and up to Birch Bay and Blaine today.

Turtle Magic!

Posted on by
Reply

I followed my nose and ended up at Lake Padden today. On my walk around the lake I stopped to sit on Wendell Holboy’s bench. I feel connected to Wendell and his bench – his wife, Noemi, had been one of my mom’s friends in the last years of her life, and his granddaughter, Emily, had been one of my 8th graders. I always smile when I see his name on the plaque by the bench, and think of Mom and Noemi and Emily.

As I was sitting there, this sweet little family passed by – Papa, Mama, infant in a stroller, a toddler on a balance bike, and a smiling pup. The toddler fell off his bike just behind me, and I could hear his parents talking with him – turning his fall into a game. I loved their approach – and I told them that. The little boy got a big smile on his face and started scooting his bike to me – he recognized right away that I was a friend. He footed his bike right up next to me and gave me a big grin. My grandma heart melted.

I learned his name was Max, his parents were named Thomas and V, his four-week-old baby sister was named Phoebe, and the smiling pup was named Potter. I saw that V had a climbing rope attaching her to Potter, and asked her if she was a climber. I learned that both she and her husband were climbers, and that she’d climbed Washington’s “five peaks.” I told her I’d climbed Rainier, Baker, Adams, and Hood with my dad when I was younger, and we talked about climbing for a bit.

Thomas and V gave me permission to take photos of their family, but the one that I think works best here is one of their family from the back – Max toodling along on his balance bike.

There’s this place between the two docks on the east side of the lake where I’ve sometimes been able to spot turtles lined up on a log. I remember my surprise the first time I spotted those turtles maybe a decade ago – I’d never seen turtles in the wild before. I don’t think I saw turtles on the log last summer, though, and when I didn’t see them today, I felt my heart sink. Maybe, I thought, turtles don’t live at Lake Padden anymore.

I was almost back to my car when I saw a big brown lump ahead of me in the middle of the trail. At first I thought it was a turtle, but then I laughed at myself: “Karen, you’ve got turtles on your mind.” But as I got closer and I saw a head sticking out of the brown lump, I realized it WAS a turtle!

I didn’t think the middle of the trail was a very good place for the little guy to have placed himself, so I picked him up and told him I was taking him to a better place. As I walked him back to the spot where I’d seen turtles before, I passed the sweet family I’d met earlier, and little Max reached out and touched the turtle’s shell, a look of wonder on his face. Mickey saw the turtle and started grinning – she and I took turns taking photos of each other with the turtle. Chuck passed by with his pup, Bella, and got that same look of wonder that Mickey and Max had gotten when they saw the turtle. I put the turtle down on the shore next to the water, and, after a few minutes – when he felt safe – his legs poked out of the shell, and he darted into the water too fast for me to snap a picture. MAGIC!

On the way back to my car, I passed Alaena with her paddleboard – I told her that I needed to try that someday, and she got a big smile on her face, and told me I absolutely SHOULD try it! She said it was totally worth the 100 bucks for the paddleboard, and graciously agreed to let me take a photo of her posing with it.

Blue dragonflies flitted around in the bushes and landed on the trail in front of me; and a family of ducks swam around near the reeds – mama, papa, and two fluffy ducklings. Awww…