An Extended Vacation

After our son and his family left we still had five days of vacation left - so we went exploring. Just before the kids arrived from West Virginia Don had been in the hospital for five days with mysterious symptoms - by the time the vacation started the doctors had diagnosed the problem and he was doing so much better - but doctor's orders were to take at least 3 weeks off work - and who is going to argue with that.

He was feeling great once again and we decided on some day trips to finish up the vacation time.

 A ride to Skagit Valley took us past the raspberry harvesting machine

 The machine has slowly rotating "fingers" near the front that gently shake the ripe berries from the vines

 They come up over the conveyor belt and one picker takes out the bad ones and any leaves that might be in with the berries

We always like to stop and thank the workers for the berries they provide.  They work hard - often in hot sun or pouring rain.  They travel miles to get to the harvests , live in small cramped quarters, and do jobs that no one else will do. Thank you again!!!

 With sunshine on vacation we had many occasions to see Mt. Baker.  Love the view through the ripe heads of the Canary Grass. It grows up to five or 6 feet tall along the roads and in the untended fields.  The ripe seed heads are a favorite with Goldfinches - the Washington State Bird - which are often called wild canaries - hence the name of the grass.

 On this day trip we drove through LaConner - a small town south of here.  There are many charming homes and this blue one caught our attention.  It reminds us a lot of the farm house we lived in, in Blue Lake, CA.  We painted our house these same colors - it had been hot pink and burgundy.  What were they thinking????

 A pond in a local community has a fountain that they turn on in the summer

 Looks like it might be fun to row out there and cool off

 Along a road we saw this Cairn. There are now international competitions in Cairn building and though they are no longer necessary to finding our way, they do add interest.  One should be cautious about building Cairns - don't destroy nature just to move stones out of their natural resting place. There are instances in National Parks where so many Cairns are built in an area that the natural beauty is destroyed. Please be sensitive to your surroundings.

 Pretty roses - always a summer favorite