I was up at 5 A.M. this morning.
By 6 A.M., I was cataloguing the Daytrips I’d made Solo Lobo;
by the time I got to the last Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge walk of 2021,
around 9 A.M., I was in the mood to drive there and stretch my legs a bit 😉
So, I did 😊
There was a lull in the rainfall – and because I have a cold
sore on my lip, I didn’t want to be around people: the Wildlife Refuge Trail
was perfect for a house escape.
I’ve always had cold sores on my lip – same place, all my
life. They usually appear sporadically in the winter time and disappear completely
in the Spring: sometimes a stressful situation will cause them to show up; but
I haven’t had one in years. Until now. These past 9 days, there’s been a
lot going on, and though none of it personally applies to me – it does
apply to the lives of five of my friends, thereby applying to my life,
indirectly. Hence the lip blister.
Cold sores are reported to be contagious, but Bob never
got one … and we kissed. A lot; we were married for 44 years, and Bob never
suffered a lip blister – or any other type of blister (me neither; only on
my lip, right side). Stacey never got one either – if she ever gets one
now, it’s not my fault. I was extra careful when I could feel a blister building
up to a full-fledged appearance: I carefully hugged Bob and Stacey, but
never kissed them until it disappeared. And I applied a liquid Campho-Phenique
to the blister, which burned like hell, until the gelled stuff came along: it smells
the same, but doesn’t make my lips sting, or my eyes water. I am thankful.
But people are weird about lip blisters, and I didn’t want to
feel like a leper today – so, to Skamokawa, I went 😊
I topped the gas tank off before I got out of Dodge, and
noticed that there had been a 51-cent price hike since I topped the tank off on
May 4th: The Highlander has barely left the carport this month
due to all the rainfall.
Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge from Heron Pointe; 25 mins.
A 51-cent price hike; right on schedule: the political games never end – they just take a 6 month hiatus >:-P
Steamboat Slough White Tail Trail Hike: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/steamboat-slough-and-white-tail-trail-loop
Driving to the Trailhead, I was happy to note that the
dangerously leaning tree hovering over Steamboat Slough Road, has been removed;
thank God. That thing scared me every time I drove under it to get to the
trailhead; I kept expecting it to fall all the way over and crush the
Highlander, and me. I’m glad it has been removed.
Leaning tree; August 14th, 2021. Gone, today.
When I stepped out of the Highlander, the first thing I
noticed was a striking red clover patch just to the side of the trail entrance –
I learned today that the Name of this trail I’ve been walking solo lobo for
at least 2 years on a fairly regular basis, is called White Tail Trail.
I’ve been calling it The Center Trail; but that’s misleading because a Center
Trail Road already exists with that name.
I stand corrected, and I will used the correct Name from now
on 😊
A patch of brilliant red clover.
Tommy James & The Shondells – ‘Crimson and Clover’ song
The pink clover is the red clover at maturity.
It made me smile, remembering my niece telling me during a
phone conversation, “You and Uncle Bob always liked that
Crimson and Clover Song, didn’t you, Aunt Val?”
Yes, we did 😊
The song fit our young life, our lifelong passion, and our
marital bliss.
Bob and me; 1976 – married 20 months & rolling in clover.
I was the only person on the trail today – I usually am, but
sometimes an occasional bicyclist will breeze past me, and motorists will drive
the main road that is still intact to fish off Hornstra’s Beach (Hornstra
was a farmer that owned this piece of land before the State forced him to sell
to make way for the Refuge; he was paid a pittance for his property – including
the beachfront that carries his Name).
I thought long and hard about that when I saw the scattered
feathers on the trail. There was a large red fox colony on Hornstra’s property –
when the school bus would drive past, they would come out of their dens and
watch it lumber down the roadway. They were so cute. I hope some escape the
hunt to eradicate them. And if they are still around, I hope they stay hidden
😉
Purple wild vetch.
Natural dried Teasel heads - very hard & prickly Teasel:
Online pic of teasel head.
Teasel; flowering.
Health Benefits of Teasel:
Red-headed-pearl type grassy lower along the trail ...
Lilac& White lupine.
Bicolor blue Lupine in forefront, yellow Scotch Bloom, & purple lupine in background.
Lupine with lilac and pink blossoms.
Trail kill ...
Out-going geese; flew right over my head; they fly FAST!
In-coming geese - again, flew right over my head; I must have been standing on the goose runway. LOL
Geese in forefront - Mallard in the background.
The greedy Columbia River is still eroding the riverfront acreage.
Even though I walk the trail solo lobo now, I remember Bob
walking it with me in 2017. Bob’s presence will always be with me. No matter
what I do, or where I go: 44 years is a long time to share a life
together. We did e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. together. It is impossible to separate
the past from the present – it dovetails: its dovetailing is carrying me into
the future with confidence.
Bob in January 2017; we had no idea he'd be in Heaven by January 2019.
Birdsong was all around me.
It was soothing.
It’s been a week; soothing is necessary.
Yellow flag lilies peeking out through the marshy tangle of swamp grasses & driftwoods.
An Egret on the mud flats.
St. John's Wort; another patch of yellow ... it sure brightens up the gray day.
A bit of raindrops; between a misting and an actual raining.
Had to escape the coop; hopefully the stress blister will settle down and go away.
The death hit hard. There was no sign at all that the Grim Reaper was hanging around Linda, waiting to pounce.
Turning the car towards home, I decided to take the Brook’s
Road - a jump road - that exits the Refuge land. I was hoping I could get all the way
through without any handicapping snafu’s 😉
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the road has been tended
to – not perfectly, but enough that it was no longer a hazardous minefield.
Joy and jubilation! Last time I drove it, it was a mine field of
deep potholes, blacktop worn away to the gravel road foundation, and grass
growing up through the road cracks that whisked along the car’s undercarriage: it
was more a goat trail, than the road it used to be: but, it’s a passable
road again, now 😊
Brooks Slough Road has been tended to. YAY!
I crossed over Ocean Beach Highway onto Risk Road, intending
to merge with the Elochoman Road which would take me over Beaver Creek Road –
depositing me onto Ocean Beach Highway again further up the road towards home.
Plus, it’s a nice country drive 😉
But, Risk Road was closed! I hailed some locals and asked, “What
gives with the road closure?” I was told there’s a project underway: no
elaboration … I found the explanation later on at home – online.
This side road looped me right back to the Game Refuge Entrance.
Closures for the Ferry & for Risk Road: https://www.waheagle.com/story/2022/05/05/news/closures-ahead-for-ferry-risk-road/20778.html
When I got back home, I saw that the herb transplants I’d
ordered finally arrived. I was glad … but I was also peeved; I have been
home for weeks – and the one day I finally decide to break out of Dodge, Territorial
Seeds decides to engage with UPS! Thank God they hadn’t been lifted by light
fingers while I was gone. Because candy scott (the Park manager, here)
does not do her job efficiently (like background checks, as she’s supposed
to do for those wishing to live here), there has been an increase in
thefts by bold thieves that troll carports where cars are missing, to lift and
make away with anything and everything not nailed down (including cars –
in broad daylight).
French Tarragon - VERY pungent and can cause my lungs to seize up; but I like the flavor in meals
My fuchsia bloomed! I hope it thrives & over-winters excellently.
The Park, once a nice little neighborhood (That’s why we
moved here in 2017: before candy became ‘manager’ and half the Park packed up
and fled), is filling up with questionable characters – the main one being
the current “Park Manager”. Murder and mayhem: that is candy’s MO.
I did not want to dwell on candy’s ineptitude. Dwelling on
her rotten character and her slipshod way of doing business, would only lead to
why I am now a widow ☹ I did not want to dwell on thoughts concerning candy scott.
Instead, I redirected my thoughts, and got busy busting my
ass. Literally 😊
10-minute Core Workout for Seniors: Blast Away Belly Fat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gBaZupuqwc)
..JPG)
.jpg)
