Springing into adventure

Daffodils flaunt their gold in the Skagit Valley, as snow still frosts the Cascade foothills.

WELCOME TO SPRING in the Pacific Northwest. We islanders are thankful that winter is past, the winds have calmed and the daffodils and wild currant are in bloom. Time to get out the rake and broom and spruce things up on my rock.

Galley Cat and I celebrated the season with a road trip to see old friends in Port Orchard and Olympia this week. We caught the height of the daffodil bloom in the commercial fields of the Skagit Valley, and enjoyed some pristine days of sunshine and temperatures flirting with 70 degrees.

Friends Dave and Jill Kern, formerly of Vancouver, where Dave and I worked together at The Columbian newspaper, welcomed us to their home south of Port Orchard. They treated me to beautiful walks at Manchester State Park, not far from their home, and Theler Wetlands nature preserve, at Belfair on the southern end of Hood Canal. We gawked at fabulous views of the snowy Olympic Mountains like I haven’t seen since my family lived in Bremerton at the turn of the century. (Sounds weird to say that, but those of you who remember Y2K know what I mean.)

A highlight, too, was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a community potluck near their home at the Olalla Community Club, a classic old fraternal hall dating to about 1906. We feasted on Irish stew, scrumptious soda bread and green Jell-o salad, among other tasty dishes brought by neighbors, and enjoyed Irish tunes and dancing by a group called Magical Strings, working their magic on a gorgeous hand-crafted Celtic harp, hammered dulcimer, button accordion, concertina, fiddle and more. Best St. Patrick’s Day bash I remember in a long time.

Mount Rainier and Budd Inlet at sunrise, as seen from the Farbers’ front deck.

Daniel and Jean Farber welcomed us to their place in Olympia, where we got to enjoy sunrises and sunsets with a glorious view of Mount Rainier and Budd Inlet. Daniel, whom I’ve known since high school and was best man when Barbara and I married, took me on two glorious hikes: McLane Creek Nature Trail, and the trail to the Eld Inlet beach at The Evergreen State College, where we earned bachelor degrees together in the late 1970s. The Farbers and I ate salmon, played games and generally celebrated life.

Galley and I are back at Nuthatch Cabin now, readying for a weekend visit by daughter Lillian and her partner, Chris, which is always a treat. So it’s time for me to get the place looking its best. Happy springtime!