Mid summer harvest

Who says organic gardening can't yield huge veggies :)

This should do it

The last of the vacation pictures. I know, I know. There have been too many. At least we didn't invite you over and make you sit through a 40 minute slide show.

Moclips, in all it's glory:


Drew and Silas, goofing around for the camera:

The stairs and beach at Seabrook. Seabrook is an odd place as it is a brand new town. The signs say "Seabrook: est. 2004." One doesn't think of entirely new towns popping up any more, but that's what Seabrook is: a new beach town. It's more than a little Mayberry. But honestly, it's exactly what the coast of Washington needs. It's pedestrian and bike friendly (you get a bike to use when you rent a beach house there), was planned sustainably, and incorporates green spaces as part of it's design. Most importantly, it's the only town in that area that isn't totally depressing.

And finally, I'll end with the quintisential vacation shot: Sunset over the ocean as viewed from our front porch.

The mist

Walking on these gigantic beaches in thick fog is a little bit spooky. As you head toward the ocean, you can't see the water, or hear it over the roar of the wind, for that matter. Walking on, you turn around and discover the land is no longer visible either.

Finally, the waves appear:

But for a while, there is only you, and the fog and the sand beneath your feet.

Rainbow at Moclips

(Hey there...I'm just going to post a few pics from our trip every couple of days. Here's the first set.)

This is the beach at Moclips, which is really a nothing little town, and more than a bit run-down (no offense, Moclips, but I think you know it's true). That first morning, like most of the time we were there, it was quite foggy. There was also the strangest rainbow that actually seemed like a hailo of white light devoid of color.
The beaches are huge! It was a great place for Silas to run, provided we stuck to the areas where cars aren't allowed (cars on the beach is still a new concept to me, and I doubt I'll ever get used to it).

When Silas saw the picture below, he said "There's my art!" Perhaps he has a future as an environmental artis.
More later...

We're back...

...from the beach. A gazillion more pictures that are sure to make the grandparents happy, coming soon...

Ready for go!

"Ready for go!" is a current Silasism. He might say, for instance: "I loaded the truck. It's ready for go!"

Well, today, we are getting "ready for go," and tomorrow we go! We'll spend a few days on the Washington coast and the weather is supposed to be great!

Oh, and as for the pics and video, well, like most little kids, Silas loves to drive. It's pretty hard to tear him away from the wheel of the car, and he's a big fan of the riding lawn mower too. I took the video on our way back from Seattle one day. That day, we missed the ferry by only one car! Since we had an hour of time to kill, I let Silas "drive" and took a video (actually, several videos, but this is the one that made the cut).

Rainy day entertainment

Just chillin' in our loft, making up songs on the guitar because...

...We're having our first rainy day in months. It's a nice change of pace, if you can believe it. It has been so dry lately. The hand-dug well in the greenhouse already dried up a week ago, which is really early.

Hopefully, we'll get our bout of rain over the next day or two and the weather will be sunny again by the time we arrive at the ocean on Wednesday :)

The 4th and beyond

The Island has a pretty big to-do on the 4th of July -- lots of food, booths, kids activities, music, etc. It's pretty much an all out festival, complete with a dunk tank, giant inflatable castles, and a parade which features a library staff book-cart drill team.

Silas got to blow bubbles:
He made a flag shaker at the Library's children's fair:

And most significantly, he got to ride a pony for the first time.! He played it pretty cool while he was riding, but he has mentioned it several times since, so I think he thoroughly enjoyed it. Now when we walk up the hill by our house to see the horses and he says "I ride them sometimes!" we can say, "that's true, Silas!" (sort of).When we arrived home from the events on the 4th, we found some balloons waiting for Silas on our front porch, courtesy of Patrick. That boy loves his balloons! They floated around the house for about 5 days and I was really surprised they hadn't deflated and sank to the floor. Unfortunately, a couple of days ago, Silas came running to me with tears in his eyes saying "I popped them away!" What he actually meant was that, despite our warnings, he'd brought them out onto the deck and let them go. I ran outside, but they were already at the treeline, and still rising. Bye-bye balloons. Thanks for staying as long as you did.
For those of you who don't know, I usually take a good chunk of my vacation time in July, so I'm off of work this month from July 2nd till the 27th. That means I've been doing lots of extra activities with Silas, like going to a children's play (the Emporer's New Clothes) last Tuesday, which was part of the library's summer reading program. Wednesday was our wedding anniversary and I wanted to go hiking, but it was quite overcast and rain threatened, so the three of us headed up to Port Townsend for the day instead and will save the hike for another time in the very near future. Last night, Patrick hung out with Silas so Drew and I could go out to dinner, which was lovely.

And that's pretty much the update. I am rarely on the computer and can't even remember when I last checked my email. It's been nice to take a break since I stare at a screen all week long when I'm working. But, I will try to post again sometime soon.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

July 09 book of the month

Introducing Planet Silas July 09 Book of the Month:

Boats by Byron Barton

This is, without a doubt, a Silas pick. I really had to make it a BOTM based on the frequency with which it has been requested over the past several months. If you are familiar with Byron Barton's books, you will know that he has a very distinct style that's pretty much perfect for a young lad of two. The pictures are simple but bold, and not one unnecessary word is used. The minimal text is quite easy for a toddler to memorize. Silas can pretty much read this one to us, though he prefers that we read it together as such:

"On the water, there is a..." and Silas will answer "rowboat!"
"Here comes a..." "Sailboat, sailing by!"

He quite surprised my friend one day with his naval know-how when we were walking by the docks and she pointed out the tugboats. I asked him what tugboats do and he replyed "they help the ship dock." I credit this book for that moment. Living where we do, we are surrounded by all of the kinds of boats featured in this book, from motor boats to fire boats, to ferryboats, to cruise ships. Silas, being in a stage where he obsesses over any kind of transportation device, could not help but be drawn to this title, and to have the boats that the book features appear in his real life has got to be exciting for him. I can only imagine. I do know that he talks about riding the ferryboat for days after we've taken it. He knows the fireboat is right next to Coleman Dock (where the ferryboat comes in) in Seattle and that fireboats "go to help somebody" by "putting out fires." Also, the wooden toy ferryboat I picked up at last year's Rotary Auction ($3.00!) that we squirrled away till recently is a huge hit. He loads up his cars and drives it to Seattle, unloads and loads it again and drives it back to Bainbridge Island. All of this imaginative play and knowledge started with this small, simple, wonderful book.

Before Grandma G headed home, we...

...Went to yet another cafe on the island.

...Gave Grandma G some pointers on the computer (apparently, Silas got a lesson too).

...Took the ferryboat over to Seattle, and...

...Went to the Seattle Aquarium! We all agreed that the Giant Pacific octopus, whose name is Olive Oil (Popeye was already released), was one of the highlights. When we asked Silas later in the day what his favorite thing at the aquarium was, he answered "The burrito!" Apparently, lunch made quite an impression on him.
It was a beautiful day! Here we are enjoying the waterfront from the Aquarium's observation deck (that's Bainbridge Island way in the distance).

Later that afternoon, we dropped Grandma G off at the train station and said our goodbyes.

We miss you, Grandma!