Category: Washington Sabbatical

Tuesday Escape to Deception Pass

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Tuesday Escape to Deception Pass
Photography, Washington Sabbatical

Deception Pass-001

It seems like it’s been raining ever since we got back from South Carolina. There may be an occasional break, but for the most part it’s been gray, dark, and downright gloomy. On this particular Tuesday rain and clouds were still in the weather, but for some reason the sun decided it needed to break through. Laura declared that we were both suffering from cabin fever and kicked me out of the house with my camera while she did some Furman work. I wasn’t sure where I was going when I set out, but I wound up at Deception Pass.

Read More “Tuesday Escape to Deception Pass” »

Joining the Illuminati of Mount Vernon

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Joining the Illuminati of Mount Vernon
Washington Sabbatical

Mount Vernon Illuminight-75

The Illuminati – the “Enlightened Ones”. It may be an overused plot point for adventure novels and conspiracy theories, but the general idea of gaining enlightenment isn’t that bad. In this case it was literal enlightenment, a means to dispel the gloom of the long winter nights of the Pacific Northwest. With that in mind I joined other light-deprived citizens for the 4th Annual Mount Vernon Illuminight Walk.

Read More “Joining the Illuminati of Mount Vernon” »

Bellingham Folk Festival

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Bellingham Folk Festival
Music, Washington Sabbatical

Bellingham Folk Festival-24

It’s been a solid week of music. We had our Bring Your Own Guitar session on Wednesday at Empire Ale in Mount Vernon, followed by the Bellingham Folk Festival this past weekend. I had a great time learning new things and meeting other musicians in the area. There were even a few connections with folks from back home. That’s quite a bit for one post, but I’ll try to wrap it all up here.

Read More “Bellingham Folk Festival” »

Eagle Hunting

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Eagle Hunting
Washington Sabbatical

Eagles in Skagit Valley-014

In an earlier post I mentioned that Laura and I had travelled up river for the Skagit Eagle Festival, only to find that most of the eagles were right here around our little island. This past week while Laura was working on her sabbatical material she sent me catch some “action shots” of our local eagles. Later she joined me for a couple of other excursions out with binoculars and long lenses.

Read More “Eagle Hunting” »

More Scottish Music at Littlefield

Posted on By Tom No Comments on More Scottish Music at Littlefield
Music, Washington Sabbatical

Scottish Music Session at Littlefield Center

We made it back to Washington after the holidays and I dived right into the music scene. The Sunday after we returned there was a Scottish music session at Littlefield Celtic Center, followed by a practice session Monday afternoon. Since other musicians had been encouraging me to attend one of the practice sessions (and I’m still not sure how to take that) I decided to go to Monday’s session as well.

Read More “More Scottish Music at Littlefield” »

Back on the Island and Post-Holidays Wrap-Up

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Back on the Island and Post-Holidays Wrap-Up
Miscellaneous, Washington Sabbatical

This blog post has no photos. That in and of itself should highlight the unusualness of the past few weeks. Our holiday trip back to South Carolina was..strange, and our return to Samish Island only heightened the limbo-like quality of the past few weeks. I’m sure that will change as we get back into a routine. Until then, here’s a photo-less recap recent happenings.

Read More “Back on the Island and Post-Holidays Wrap-Up” »

Random Skagit, Volume 2

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Random Skagit, Volume 2
Photography, Washington Sabbatical

Trumpeter Swans-012

Laura had to head back to South Carolina just as the weather was improving here. Over the week or so that she was gone I took the opportunity to head out and get some photos. I couldn’t do much because of my foot, but I could drive around to interesting places to shoot sunrises, sunsets, and lots and lots of birds. Here are some of the random shots from those excursions.

Read More “Random Skagit, Volume 2” »