pacific northwest

Memorial

I wrote to an old blogger friend, commented on his last post from five years ago. He replied, Whatever was inside of me that compelled me to write died. It started to feel like a job. I’ve already got a… Read More ›

Sound check

Charlotte and me sitting in the Elks Lodge in Tacoma enjoying our drinks and the atmosphere when the heavy metal band starts up next door, their sound check. First the drummer, then the guitarist, and last the vocalist whose voice… Read More ›

The Breakfast Club

If you get to the park early enough there’s still an edge to the air and you can imagine some nocturnal creatures stirring in the dark. By late spring when the brush leafs out it starts to fill in the… Read More ›

In bloom

My energy levels seemed a bit manic so rather than reach for my phone first thing in the morning I tried sitting in the dark with no music, just the clocks, and Timmy. Timmy still tries to suckle in moments… Read More ›

Sun spots

I don’t think our shrubs like being pruned with a chainsaw. Some look traumatized. Years ago when our landscaping crew pruned they made everything look like lollipops. We’ve now grown out of that and I do it myself. After being… Read More ›

Lifetime value

Watched the Queen movie again with Charlotte and had a piece of my cheek removed by the doctor. Hoping it’s pre-cancerous (as opposed to cancerous) and will find out in a week. Not really worried about it but wondering should… Read More ›

Grays Harbor blues

I went back to La Push, my favorite coastal backpacking trek. The transition from the beach sounds of the tide to the overland trail, how the sound of the tide vanishes and is replaced by the quiet of the forest…. Read More ›

Going remote

All week with the deviled eggs. Dawn made too many for Easter brunch and now I eat about 11 a day (halves, not wholes). The morning moon thin as a sickle. I wonder if I’ll be able to see it… Read More ›

Burning man

Though it was early morning and a strange time to do it I lit a fire in the firepit with last night’s coals and the logs that were charred and dampened by the early morning rain. It could be hard… Read More ›

Common things

The gloves are still there, in the Honda’s hidden storage well beside the jumper cables. The gloves are leather and have a withered look, stiff and bent. They belonged to Dawn’s dad and I’ve kept them in the car since… Read More ›