Tag Archives: Washington State

Visiting an 800-Year-Old Friend

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Hike to the Pinnacle Peak Saddle

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We went up to Rainier yesterday to join family on a hike to the Pinnacle Peak Saddle. Along the way we met way cool people from all over the world; reminisced about other times we’ve hiked on this trail; saw butterflies flitting in the wildflowers, and came upon marmots, picas, and chipmunks.

We met Robert and Kathi, originally from Panama, and now living in Seattle. They told me they’d seen an animal that looked sort of like a badger. “Was it about this big?” I asked, and they nodded their heads. “You saw a marmot!” I told them. “Aren’t they cool?” They smiled and agreed and we talked for a bit about the hike and Rainier and… yeah, I brought Pop into the conversation, and told my new friends that Dad had guided me to the top of Rainier when I was younger.

A little later I met Tery, who works as a traveling nurse. We agreed that hikes in the mountains are a most wonderful escape from the stresses of “down below.”

We’d just about reached the point where the switchbacks begin, when a ranger volunteer came up the path from behind. It didn’t take me long to bring “Dee Molenaar” into the conversation. Stewart’s face lit up when he heard Dad’s name. He said Dad’s book, *The Challenge of Rainier* was his favorite climbing book, and he’d pretty much read them all. I love the connection Dad still brings me to mountain people, and I’m not going to apologize for using his name to meet cool new friends. I learned Stewart was originally from London, but he came to the States in 1979 and decided to make it his home.

We met a trio from the Philippines; a cheery family originally from Thailand, who now live in D.C.; and, at the top, we met a family from Provo, Utah – the patriarch originally grew up in the tri-cities area and likes to bring his family back periodically to share in the glories of Mount Rainier.

I talked with my brother and niece about my first climb of Pinnacle Peak when I was four-years-old. I remember being pretty tired on the hike part, but I also remember feeling energized when Dad and I reached the last climbing-scramble up to the top of the peak. I remember loving the climbing part. Later, when my brothers and I were teenagers, Dad took us all up together to the top of Pinnacle Peak. And when my oldest son was four, Dad guided Andrew and me up the peak. There are a lot of good memories in these hills.

I could feel Mom and Dad with me yesterday, and my sons. And Scotty actually WAS with me – we have a lot of memories together on this mountain. It was good to be making another one with him.

Thank You, Life, for All Good Things

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I felt impelled to get up to the boardwalk today and connect with “my people.” I’m so glad I listened to my intuition. Today’s sojourn to Bellingham brought pups, new friends, boats, and a way cool heron eating his breakfast in a tree.

As I drove up Chuckanut to Bellingham, I passed a young man walking along the side of the road with a bedroll. I debated stopping to offer him a ride, but, in the end, kept going. (He will enter into this post later.)

I drove to Boulevard Park and started my walk there. I hadn’t even reached the trail when I found my first new pup friend, little Stuart. Stuart is still a youngster, and is a little shy – but he gathered his courage and came up to me for a sniff and a pet. Stuart’s courage in approaching me, totally melted my heart.

When I passed over the first section of boardwalk, I glanced up at the tree where I sometimes see a heron perched, and saw something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: the heron was there, and he had his wings sort of tucked underneath him. A couple of other people stopped to watch with me – they were pretty fun. One of them imitated the heron with her arms and said the heron was doing yoga. I moved to the other side of the heron to get a better shot with my camera and saw that the heron’s gullet seemed to be moving something down it. The woman who’d imitated the heron said she’d seen it with a fish in its beak earlier, and we all guessed that we were watching the heron eat his breakfast.

Not long after my stop for the heron, I met pups, Buddy and Phoenix – I could tell they were good friends. We use the word “humanity” when we talk about kindness, but I’m thinking maybe we could also use the word “canineity.” These canine buddies moved along next to each other in sweet concord.

And then little Bella appeared. Her humans told me Bella was scared of the edges of the boardwalk, but she was very brave in approaching me and letting me give her a pet. Before I moved on, I saw Bella move past her fears, and peek over the edge of the boardwalk.

After my walk, I stopped into Wood’s for a lavender green iced tea. Jessi was there, stocking the shelves and tidying up, and she gave me a shout out when she saw me walk in. The woman in front of me in line had a beautiful tattoo on her arm – the face in her tattoo actually looked like her, I thought. I learned her name was Jess – and Jess graciously agreed to let me get a photo.

I’d been keeping my eyes on a schooner in the bay – I love schooners! – watching for it to unfurl its sails. Just before I left, I saw that it had its sails fully unfurled and snapped some quick pictures.

I loaded my tea, camera, knapsack, and self into my car and headed for Chuckanut. Just after I’d passed the place where people park to go to Teddy Bear Cove, I came upon the young man with the bedroll again. He looked really tired. I’m guessing he’d hiked three or four miles since I’d last seen him.

Once again, I debated stopping to offer him a ride, and, once again, I kept going. I drove four or five miles past him, before I pulled off into a parking lot and stopped my car. The thought that came to me was, “That young man is someone’s son.” And then, “I hope someone would stop for my sons if they needed a ride.” And then suddenly, in my mind, that young man wasn’t just someone’s son, he was my own. I mean. He wasn’t REALLY my own, but he felt like my own son in that moment. I decided to turn around and, if I found him, I’d offer him some apple juice and snack bars I keep in my car for people who might need that. I wasn’t sure, yet, if I’d feel comfortable offering him a ride. I’d save that decision for after I met him.

I drove back along Chuckanut, looking for him, and finally spotted him. I found a place to pull over, rolled down my window, and asked him if he’d like some juice. He nodded his head and crossed the street to me and said, “That’d be great. Thank you.” He had beautiful blue eyes, and there was kindness in them. My mother’s heart reached out to him, and I asked him if I could give him a ride. He said that would be good – told me he was headed for the downtown.

So I moved things around in my car – apologized to him for the mess – and made room for him. He got in, and I headed for Waypoint Park near the bike course. I learned my new friend’s name was Logan, that he’d started his journey in Colorado, and that he’d grown up in Bellingham. He had people there who were expecting him.

When we got to Waypoint Park, I parked and got out of the car to say good bye. “Are you going to be alright?” I asked, and he nodded and smiled. Then he reached out an arm for a hug. Every mother will understand what that meant to me.

Thank you, Life, for all good things – for puppies and herons, schooners on the bay, and kind people.

I Needed an Adventure

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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!

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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…

Apple Blossoms, Birdsong, Raspberry Pie, a Baby, AND Live Music!

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I rode my bike to the post office to mail off a card to a friend whose husband has just passed, and then went on into Edison to stop by and see another friend, Maggie, who’d recently lost HER husband. Even though Maggie and I live just a bike ride away from each other, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. It was good to connect with her again. We hugged, and Maggie invited me into her house for a quick chat. I love Maggie’s home – as she said, it has “ambiance.” It’s one of those houses that’s probably 100 years old, full of history and cool side rooms.

As Maggie and I talked, her cat wound through my legs and then hopped up on Maggie’s lap and curled into a ball. Maggie has a bird feeder hanging from an apple tree outside her window, and I watched goldfinches, red-winged blackbirds, and red-hooded house finches flitting around in the apple tree. Every now and then a bird would stop and peer in the window, and it looked to me like the birds were asking to be fed. Maggie laughed and said she has to fill that feeder up daily to keep those birds happy.

After I left Maggie, I saw that Tweets Cafe was open. I decided to park my bike in front of it and get myself a treat.

A customer in front of me had ordered a raspberry pie with cream, and, once I saw that, I knew what I was going to get.

I took my pie out to a picnic table in the little green between Tweets and the Mariposa Restaurant. Oh, my friends, it was so peaceful there. I sat on the bench and listened to the birdsong and watched the sparrows hopping around in the apple blossoms above me.

Pretty soon a little family came out to the green – mama, papa, and four-month-old baby. I learned that Louie’s parents – Ali and Stephen – had come down from Bellingham, and that they were both nurses at Saint Joe’s. They let me touch Louie’s hand and he wrapped his little fingers around my finger. Awww…

Apple blossoms, birdsong, raspberry pie, AND a baby! Life does not get much better than that.

As I was leaving Tweets, I saw that a duo of musicians had set themselves in front of the restaurant and were playing a lively tune with a fiddle and guitar. I found myself grinning. Apple blossoms, birdsong, raspberry pie, a baby, AND live music!

I left the duo a tip in their hat, and then got back on my bike for the ride home – feeling refreshed and soul-filled from my excursion into town.

Edit: David Holzemer on violin/fiddle. Still hoping to learn who’s on guitar.

Here’s a link to the video I took of the musicians outside of Tweets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuFLuYnpjNE