Bike

Mt. Baker reappears afters weeks of obscuration. I saw it tonight. And the day was wonderful with clearing and plentiful sun in the afternoon.

A day spent at a conference for a local group called Sustainable Connections. Bellingham is at the forefront of many green technological advancements, and this group is offers many facets of support to local businesses - both mom-and-pops and larger industries. I also heard a wonderful and powerful speaker named Sharif Abdullah, a very positive voice to hear in these turbulent times. I saw him speak last night too at another function with a group with which I'm more active. I also saw him a few months back and he is one of the most powerful people that I've ever met.

Gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow, for a beautiful day in the high seventies. Tomorrow is Bike to Work and School Day. Fortunately, some friends are helping me do the bulk of lugging the stuff (like refreshments and schwag) to a station at one of the local elementary schools. And he has a trailer. Pictures tomorrow.

Later

This is a very busy week with Bike to Work and School Day, a conference this morning (which I am running late for), business meetings, and the requisite down time to relax in the evenings and not be bothered by the nuisance of computers.

Gotta run. More later.

Late

So much for writing earlier. Someday soon. But what started as a morning meeting at 8:15am ended with not returning home well after six. And a day of caffeine and little food. Until tonight. My housemate and I went to BGO and broke the cardinal rule of shopping while hungry and went a little overboard on the chocolate.

No more to write. A heavy drizzle all day with low clouds that hugged the hills around Bellingham. Although I tire of the rain, it is indeed beautiful and ethereal. Some day we may see sun. This weekend I have been told?

And the picture was taken last night somewhere between my home and the Meridian Haggen.

Chowder

Here is a random picture taken on a random street on the Lettered Streets neighborhood of Bellingham. Some of my fondest memories of biking in Bellingham are on this grid of streets on very flat terrain past little houses with lots of friendly neighbors. Actually, maybe this picture isn't so random, as I am glad I got the sweet c.1971 VW Westfalia in great shape in the picture. I took this picture today on my way to a friend's place - a fisherman turned businessman here in Bellingham that made a killer clam chowder from all sorts of clams that he caught just recently. And with fresh herbs picked from his garden. Sheer heaven.

And I think that they would wince at this statement, but even many of the conservative businesspeople in Bellingham are quite aware and earthy.

I need to get sleep, as I noticed dark circles under my eyes. I think a motorbike trip to Victoria B.C. might be in the works in the near future too. Victoria is actually south of Bellingham, and the ferry is less than an hour away.

Magic

"I want to disturb my neighbour,
'Cause I'm feelin' so right;
I want to turn up my disco,
Blow them to full watts tonight"
- Bob Marley

Well I didn't turn the music up too loud today, but having a stereo that offered fine acoustics prompted me to listen to the loud sound of my coming of age, including some Steely Dan, Grover Washington (Mr. Magic was the first song that I decided years ago that I wanted to listen to really loud whenever I picked up a decent stereo - and today I did), Bob James and, of course, some reggae.

A nice Sunday - some work, some leisure, and fine food throughout the day. Sunday mornings are usually pancakes from scratch (today with strawberries), with a more creative medley in the afternoon. It's amazing how experimenting with different spices can make for some pleasant surprises. Today, the magic was in the ginger and tomatoes.

Oh, and here is the picture of the back yard. Small, yet it is a start at 400 square feet. And I forgot about the beauty of the petals from the apple and crabapple tree flowers that were scattered all about last night on the ride home after the driving rain. Very pretty and magical looking as they covered the ground.

Mulch

Here is a picture what sheet mulching looks like. You lay down three layers of cardboard and mulch on top. Ideally you add some compost underneath, along with anything else that might add nutrients to the soil. This is not my yard, but one from the bike tour a few months back. I, with the help of a friend, laid cardboard down on a 20'x20' section and took two pick-up truck loads of mulch - basically stuff that Whatcom County dumps in a pile for people like me to use on their yard for landscaping.

But roughly one eighth of the yard is now no longer (grass). This will take about a year to break down into soil, but I can still plant some bushes and trees. Hope to have a picture tomorrow, it's just that I forgot to charge the batteries for the camera. And fortunately it poured for a few hours tonight and saturated the newly laid mulching.

But it is late. I biked home just at the end of the storm (around midnight), but a beautiful tail wind of about twelve knots (which happened to equal my cycling speed) made it feel like there was no breeze on my face.

It looks like work travel plans may take me to the Golden State in a few weeks. Personally, I'd rather stay in Bellingham, but the time has come to take to the highway. Much is afoot in the business facet of my life.

Stereo

So I recently acquired a stereo that a friend gave me in exchange for some work performed. It was exactly what I was looking for: an analog receiver (late seventies Techiniques vintage), some old (but excellent sounding) Boston Acoustic speakers and a turntable. And a CD player too. I haven't had a stereo to call my own since the eighties. So this will be a summer of loud Van Halen albums - a good band to listen to in the sun and warmth.

But today was a day of work, and off to a work send-off for someone moving to Portland to launch another facility there. It's at Boundary Bay, always a fun place to go to in nice weather (as today is).

Gotta run.

Oh, and above is a picture of the Roeder Home, oddly enough a family with roots in Vermillion, Ohio - the next town over from where I used to sail on Lake Erie. (Actually, I dug up a picture of me and a friend in Vermillion from years back - to the right). But the Roeder Home is considered a mansion in Bellingham. Funny how everything around here in nature is so grand and magnificant, yet the homes (well the older ones, at least) are modest, functional and small.