05.31.08
Olympic Game Farm
We spent a very strange and delightful hour driving through the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim this morning.
We bought three bags of bread along with our admission. The prairie dogs, our first encounter, were pretty nonplussed by the bread we chucked at them. They certainly didn’t run up to the minivan, mouths smacking in animalistic anticipation…
Look at these yaks! They were amazingly unafraid of the cars. They’ll lumber right up to the open windows and nose in for some of that bread. Yes, children, your mother who was fawning over the baby yak was startled out of her skin by the big huffing one who snuck up on her.
The park is set up for maximum ease of use and a fair amount of exposure to the animals–you drive around on paths through the fields and rangeland, encountering the animals as you go.
A buffalo in his wallow.
A grizzly bear. They can’t come up to the vehicles; they’re restrained by electric fencing. But they’re very adept at putting a paw through the fence to retrieve not-quite-far-enough-bread thrown by little children.
Zebras like fingers, in addition to bread, we were told. This produced much squealing and squirming over seats when we neared the zebras.
Fallow Deer, more like Follow Deer, as in we were worried about their wee little feet getting run over, they trailed us so closely when we’d given them their share of the bread.
After A. had thrown the last of the loaves, he said, “I never knew all these animals could eat bread.” Me neither, but we enjoyed it. I hope they did.
05.26.08
In praise of artisanal ice cream
The last time I visited Mora, I’d had a hearty dinner and the weather was dicey.
Go hungry on a hot day and singing angels appear as they hand you your cone. My coconut ice cream was by far the best I’ve ever had, creamy and chock full of fresh coconut. B’s chai ice cream was perfectly spicy and sweet, and best of all for him, they make gluten-free waffle cones!
K. got strawberry and A. got raspberry ice cream–both of them tasting just like fresh berries and cream. Soft frozen, atop a cone. I didn’t taste the rest of the kids’; they were busy talking to a couple of dog owners who’d brought their animals along to Mora. These weren’t ordinary dogs; they were puppies in training to be guide dogs, and the owners/trainers were quite friendly and told the kids all about training the dogs.
Meanwhile, I kicked back on a sunny bench and licked my platonic ideal of an ice cream cone and savored the moment.
05.24.08
From mushrooms to marshmallows
Look what our Canuck friends brought us, fresh from the organic farm:
We grilled some for dinner tonight, and after the 9 of us ate, there’s still a ton left. Mushrooms for every meal! Hmmm. Omelets, quiche, salad, spaghetti….such pleasant brainstorming.
Low tide today drew us to the seashore again. With a superabundance of energetic kids and sunshine, there’s no place better than the beach. Here are some of our finds:
After dinner, the marshmallows were simply begging to be taken out and roasted, so we very kindly obliged.
You know it’s a full day when the kids need 2 full scrub-downs within 8 hours. Or when you’ve sat down with the latest New Yorker 4 different times and never made it past a page turn. 
05.22.08
Heliotropic
Nasturtium seedlings on the windowsill, a blaze of evening light in the living room. It’s in our nature: we turn toward the sun.
05.21.08
And she’s off!
K. embarked this morning on a 3-day, 2-night Outdoor Education adventure with the rest of the 4th graders. The Ordway gym this morning was a swarming hive of industrious, excited bees.
Overheard from the happy hubub:
“organized disaster”
“where’s my lunch?”
“Holy cow, that’s heavy!”
“are we ready?”
05.16.08
Bike to School Day
It was a great success, judging by the numbers of fellow cyclists and bikes in the bike rack at Ordway! S. bit the dust going around the roundabout, but the drivers were wary and watchful and several people called out to ask if she was okay.
She was, tough kid! K. has developed a lot of stamina; she pedaled almost all the way up High School Road without stopping. And A. did great on the trail-a-bike, despite being fearful at first. It’s a big shift for him to go from the completely passive bike trailer to the tandem, where he has to hang on, pedal, and do his bit to keep balanced.
Later in the day, A. and I walked back to help with Ordway Gives Back day. Bright, sunny, and hot! Tonight, surveying the damage, we range from sun-kissed to downright sun-scorched. Time to keep the sunblock handy.
Cello lesson #17
My lesson with C.F. was encouraging yesterday; sometimes I just have to consider my lessons with him as intensive practice. Whether I’m ready to acquire new skills or really need to go over and over certain passages, I count the hour well spent if I’ve been making music.
Oh, and I wanted to show you what happens when you don’t practice enough:
I think the spider web doesn’t show up, but boy, this little guy was trying to weave a fast one on me!
05.12.08
The Secret Garden
I took the girls to BPA’s current musical The Secret Garden yesterday for Mother’s Day. It’s a beautiful production with a very talented local cast. The set was inspired by the Little & Lewis gardens here on B.I. Which reminds me, I’ve got to go see their gardens!
05.10.08
A few restaurant reviews
The Treehouse Cafe in its lovely location next to the Lynwood Theater is one of my favorite places. They serve a really good Cobb salad with bleu cheese dressing; unless you like lox in thick-cut hunks, stay away from the bagel and lox sandwich. (Maybe they thought extra lox is a good idea, Seattle and all?)
We tried San Carlos on Friday (when they’re open for lunch), and they served superb grilled halibut tacos, the best B’s ever had. My order was quite good too, a really satisfying grilled veggie quesadilla with goat cheese. We’ll be back for sure.
Last weekend we took the kids to eat at Aladdin’s Palace in Silverdale. It’s mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine, so I loved just the idea of it. We ordered the appetizer platter, which included pita bread, hummus, baba ganoush, spiced cauliflower, tabbouleh, stuffed grape leaves, and falafel. S. got an order of soup (lentil and fava bean, I think), and we all shared an order of chicken shish kebab.
The fact that we were sharing everything isn’t because their portions are too big, it’s that everything was so incredibly good (and oh yeah, the kids had eaten a lot of candy at a party earlier). The host was really attentive and wanted to know if everything was perfect — I felt a little as if I were a guest at someone’s home. That’s a good thing. On the way out, their Lebanese chef heard B. speaking French, so he and B. conversed a little in their second tongues. As for my tongue, it’s been happy for days. I can’t wait to go back!
St. Barnabas
When they’re not in my garden or snacking on my buds, I’m quite fond of the island deer. We came upon two fawns while we were walking on the back pathway of St. Barnabas church yesterday, as they were thoughtfully trimming the weeds around a stop sign.
Speaking of St. Barnabas, we attended a remarkable organ and trumpet concert there last night. The church itself is like a little Gothic gem, with its polished gleaming wood and red brick interior contrasting with the blue coolness of the stained glass windows.
One of the side windows was open during the first half of the concert, and one of my favorite moments was hearing the birds chirping in the gardens during Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor — an unorchestrated and utopian touch.
Mel Butler was the organist and Robert Gale was the trumpeter, (such an appropriate last name, don’t you think?) and together they performed beautifully.
