Last Days of March

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

With inner clocks that sense

Every additional minute

As it is added to hours of sun

And not because it makes them warm

But because it is all that they know to do

They bloom.

The way I always thought it should be…

March 27, 2016 Shirleyjdietz3 Comments

Rain on the window, gray in the sky, blossoms on the trees

Seattle in early spring is the way I imagined it before I had ever been here. Today was cool (50’s ) and rainy, clouds rolling through. Everything green is glowing, in contrast to the grays and browns of wet rocks and trees. I am usually here during the one week in summer when there is a heat wave, so this sweet chill is a treat for me. I am prepared for this visit with my sweatshirt hoodies and scarves, and of course my walking shoes.

I took my friend Charlie the dog for a walk on one of our favorite routes from last summer. I couldn’t stop looking at all the things that were visible through trees that hadn’t leafed out yet. Surprisingly, there are a lot of houses hanging precariously on the sides of the ravine above the park’s lower trail. I did not know they were so close. In spite of the cold, there are flowers coming out all over, and they are different from the ones in the summer or fall. And the lush moss grows everywhere.

We walked up to the top of the ridge over Alki Beach (what a workout, gasp..) and I was glad to be here, grateful to be seeing it all. I couldn’t help wishing that my friend Karyn who followed my stories last summer was still here to read again. I was grateful that it was a day when resurrection, physical resurrection, was on my mind. As unexplainable as it sounds to modern ears, a man came back to life never to die again. Because he did this miraculous thing, Karyn will too. This is not a hard thing for me to believe, because I see life coming out of what looks dead all around me. It’s right there in front of us, if we have eyes to see and hearts willing to consider.

Thanking Jesus for doing what he did – the first of many.

Another Seattle Adventure

July 16, 2015July 7, 2020 ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

On the 4th of July this year, we (Mom #1 and Daughter #1) searched out a hike near Seattle just to get out of town and into nature. Some friends, another mother and daughter team, who lived in the area we visited went with us. We stopped to pick them up on the way. The destination was Twin Falls State Park. It is east of Seattle on I-90 and we probably did an hour of driving to get there, some of it through forests (beautiful!) and some of it on freeways through traffic (um… not so beautiful). There was not a lot of parking room at the trail head but we got there early enough to find a spot. My daughter had to buy a day pass with a tag for the car.

This is a forest, so there are a lot of trees, naturally.

And it's a mountain, so the direction is basically up.

We headed out along the trail up the river. Mom #2 was already ahead of us and had taken off her shoes to go wading, and it did look inviting. We continued up the trail and came across a beautiful pool which looked even more inviting, so Mom #2 decided to stay and swim. She had been up the trail before and was determined to spend time in the water.

Could you not have told us this before we got way up here...? Thank you for the exercise.

Switchbacks and rock outcroppings, old growth trees and ferns made the trail interesting enough, but when we finally got waaaaay up there we came across this fine sign. Oh great.

So down we trekked to the pool where Mom #2 was still swimming, and this time really swimming not just wading. What a beautiful spot! Daughter #1 was tempted to try wading but not really wanting to get her clothes wet. There were a couple dramatic moments there until she got safely in to a good wading spot. Others were climbing a large rock above the pool and doing some jumps – more drama there.

I’ve since learned there is an alternate trail to the falls and I’m thinking that calls for another trip. We drove to the closest town, a nice little village with several shops and eateries, and had lunch before heading back to Seattle.