The Hoh Rainforest was the surprise of our trip to Olympic National Park. I knew it would be amazing, of course, but I was really interested in the coastline and the mountains. But it ended up being the rainforest that drew us in for most of our ONP hikes; it was just so magical.
Steve and I both independently decided that we really, really wanted to hike to Sol Duc Falls – a relatively short hike, and mostly flat until the very end, but with major bang for the buck in terms of scenery payoff. That’s really the name of the game when hiking with kids – or our kids, at least – keep it short and pretty flat – so we’ve gotten good at finding the hikes that meet those criteria but also pack a punch and feel special.
As with all of the trails we experienced in Olympic, the pathways were groomed and easy to walk, and there was a riot of things to look at all around us.
From the very, very big – towering Sitka spruces…
To the tiny details of fruits and fungus.
We walked past a few streams that picked up power and energy as we got closer to our destination.
And finally (after only one detour to get lost briefly) we made it to the falls. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Roaring!
We were all impressed by the four side-by-side cascading falls and the powerful spray. So, so gorgeous!
Next week: wrapping up our time in Olympic with another waterfall, a lake, AND Hurricane Ridge all socked in with fog.
Early last fall, I bought a bag of mixed bulbs – white tulips and purple muscari, which look like such a beautiful combination – thinking Nugget and I could plant them together. Every weekend after that, we looked at each other and said, “We really need to plant those bulbs,” and then we went off and did other things. (Isn’t that the way of life?) Finally, a few weeks ago – just after Christmas, so hopefully not too late – we found ourselves with a free afternoon. Time to get these tubers in the ground.
(Don’t mind Nugget’s outfit. All his good clothes were packed. Also, he dressed himself.)
I told the little guy that we were going to plant the bulbs “Monty Don-style.” The gardening guru suggests tossing the bulbs haphazardly and planting them wherever they land, which seems like fun and pretty true to nature. So I told Nugget we’d throw the bulbs and he took me seriously – very seriously. Also, he can probably skip coach pitch and move right up to player pitch in Little League. That bulb went about fifty feet.
Moved on to more sedate underhand tossing, which worked a lot better.
I tossed some, too.
Nugget insisted on using my limited edition spade from the V&A Collection for Williams-Sonoma. I had to use his baby spade with a bunny-shaped handle. No matter, all the holes were dug, and all the bulbs were planted.
Now the question is: will anything grow? We had no idea what we were doing, really – so this spring we’ll find out if we planted deep enough, if the neighborhood critters dug everything up to feast, and if our weird Virginia winters (which are more hot-and-cold than a frat boy who is keeping his options open) will kill everything before they have a chance to bloom.
Gardening: hope springs eternal, so here’s hoping!
The Worshipful Lucia, the penultimate novel in the “Mapp and Lucia” series, finds Lucia facing down a fiftieth birthday and wondering what she is doing with her life. Yes, she’s the Queen – disputed, but Queen nonetheless – of Tilling society, and she has her books and her musical nights with her dear friend Georgie (usually, anyway; Georgie has vanished from Tilling’s sight and Lucia is vaguely concerned). But what legacy will she leave? Pondering these weighty matters, Lucia comes across an article about Dame Catherine Winterglass, who started investing at 45 (only five years younger than Lucia!) and died at 55, fabulously wealthy.
She let the paper drop, and fixed her gimlet eyes on the busy of Beethoven, for this conduced to concentration. She did not covet yachts and deer forests, but there were many things she would like to do for Tilling: a new organ was wanted at the church, a new operating theatre was wanted at the hospital and she herself wanted Mallards. She intended to pass the rest of her days here, and it would be wonderful to be a great benefactress to the town, a notable figure, a civic power and not only the Queen (she had no doubt about that) of its small social life. These benefactions and the ambitions for herself, which she had been unable to visualise before, outlined themselves with disctinctness and seemed wreathed together: the one twined round the other.
Inspired by Dame Catherine, Lucia decides to play the stock market – and where Lucia leads, Tilling follows. Lucia quickly makes a bundle (mostly just by following her broker’s advice, although she allows Tilling to form the impression that she is a financial genius) and the ladies and gentlemen of Tilling quickly follow suit – except for Lucia’s archrival, Elizabeth Mapp, of course.
Elizabeth rose. Lucia’s lecture was quite intolerable. Evidently she was constituting herself a central bureau for the dispensing of financial instruction. So characteristic of her: she must boss and direct everybody. There had been her musical parties at which all of Tilling was expected to sit in a dim light and listen to her and Georgie play endless sonatas. There had been her gymnastic class, now happily defunct, for the preservation of suppleness and slimness in middle-age, and when the contract bridge came in she had offered to hold classes in that. True, she had been the first cause of the enrichment of them all by the purchase of Siriami, but no none could go on being grateful for ever, and Elizabeth’s notable independence of character revolted against the monstrous airs she exhibited, and inwardly she determined that she would do exactly the opposite of anything Lucia recommended.
I don’t need to tell you how it goes. Lucia (at her broker’s advice, but she conveniently leaves off that detail) sells off the first stock she purchased – the aforementioned Siriami – at a tidy profit. The rest of Tilling follows along, and makes money themselves. Only Elizabeth and her besotted new husband, Major Benjy Mapp-Flint, hang onto the stock and lose money – with the result that they can no longer afford to live at Mallards, and have to sell it, finally, to Lucia. As you can imagine, this is a singularly painful pill for Elizabeth to swallow.
Eventually, Lucia’s investing bender fizzles out, as most of her crazes do – leaving her significantly richer than she was (and she was already quite rich). She sets about spending her newfound wealth, not only on Mallards for herself, but on the organ and operating theatre she contemplated for Tilling – and other projects too. Elizabeth has decided that Benjy should have a position in Tilling befitting his status as her husband and persuades him to run for Town Council (with an eye to keeping rates low; this is before they sell Mallards to Lucia) but Benjy, unwilling to sacrifice his golf afternoons to an arduous campaign, convinces Elizabeth to run instead. Naturally, this means Lucia has to run too, and both suffer humiliating defeats. But one thing about Lucia: she is never down and out for long, and she quickly finagles her way into first an informal role in the municipal government, then is co-opted onto the Town Council, and ends the book triumphantly as Mayor-elect. Of course.
There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned, no-holds-barred Tilling social brawl to lift the spirits. Lucia and Elizabeth are both snobs – it’s true – and there’s a cathartic delight in watching them occasionally taken down a peg, but there’s just as much delight in watching them (especially the crafty Lucia) rise above and triumph in the end. Each has her moments of humbling, and each has her moments of victory. That’s the real joy of the Mapp and Lucia books; the two combatants are so evenly matched that no one ever stays on top for long, and the fun of watching the battles rage goes on. The books are witty, they are sparkling, and they are surprisingly touching.
As we were getting ready to leave the Hoh Rainforest, we ran into another hiker loitering outside of the visitors’ center. She told us that she had just come from the Sol Duc Salmon Cascades and the salmon were jumping. That was all we needed to hear to add a stop onto our return drive to Port Angeles.
Just off the main road through the rainforest is a quick little dirt trail down to a viewing platform over a roiling section of the Sol Duc River. Our new friend told us that there weren’t many salmon – maybe one leap every minute or so – but if we were patient, we’d see them.
And we did.
It was truly incredible. I was vaguely aware of the salmon run (I thought I’d seen the sign, but not really registered it, on our way into the rainforest) but never really thought I’d actually find myself leaning over a wooden railing, watching coho salmon fly through the air on their way up a waterfall.
I mean. Really.
It was definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
Next week: hiking to the spectacular Sol Duc Falls.
You didn’t think I’d forgotten, did you? How could I forget the silliest, most pointless, and maybe most fun post of the year? Because it absolutely makes total sense to give high school yearbook awards to the books I read over the course of a year.
Brainiest. She’d be devastated if she wasn’t valedictorian, so I have to give this year’s award to bookish, awkward, good-hearted Mary Bennet. Janice Hadlow gives Mary the happy ending I think we all rooted for, and it’s lovely to read.
Best Looking. It’s unfair to have so many good-looking people in one family, but the Mitford sisters have to take this one. I know Diana was viewed as the most conventionally beautiful, but I can’t really get away from her politics. Nancy was a beauty, but Deborah Devonshire, the youngest of the family who eclipsed them all by becoming a Duchess, is just gorgeous.
Best Friends. You have to be really good friends to go into business together, especially a business you know nothing about (like running a small hotel!) and come out of it still friends – Verily Anderson and her wartime partner-in-crime, Julie, have what it takes. At least when it comes to friendship. They suck as hoteliers.
Class Clown.Nancy Mitford will always take class clown. She’s the kind of clown, though, that will make you snicker while also wondering, a little uncomfortably, if she’s laughing at you.
Biggest Jock. It’s a group award this year, and it goes to all the women who make their way down an overgrown path to swim at the Hampshire Ladies Pond – especially those intrepid souls who dive in all year round.
Teacher’s Pet. Who wouldn’t want to be Madge Bettany’s pet? Well – her sister, Jo Bettany, would rather forge her own path at the school that Madge founds in the Austrian Tyrol.
Biggest Nerd.Inspector Alan Grant isn’t usually a nerd, but when he’s laid up in hospital, recovering from a leg injury (sustained while chasing a criminal, so add that to the not-nerdy side of his ledger) he dives way deep into solving the historical mystery did Richard III murder the Princes in the Tower, and if not, whodunit? It doesn’t get much nerdier than a British Library-powered obsession with a three-hundred-year-old cold case.
Most Creative. Every so often you come across a project that really knocks your socks off, and Amber Share‘s tour de force through the U.S. National Parks, as experienced by their “least impressed visitors,” is that. So creative, and such a complete delight.
Most Opinionated. If you have a question – or a topic of conversation – or just a random thought… Mr. Mulliner has words for you, lots and lots and lots of words, and a story about one of his relatives to make his point clear. Sit down. He’s telling a story.
Most Likely to End Up in Hollywood. A windswept Scottish island, a terrifying peat bog, and a high fashion wedding collide in a totally gripping, completely wild story that is just screaming to be made into a movie. Will I see The Guest List if it ever does hit theatres? Probably not – too scary.
Biggest Rebel. When your fiance is arrested for murder, you’re supposed to sit quietly and wait for him to be vindicated according to the normal workings of the law. Right? Not according to Emily Trefusis, and thank goodness, because she is the only person in The Sittaford Mystery with any sense at all. And she has enough sense not to depend on social institutions to clear her beloved’s name. That’s being a rebel with a very good cause.
Biggest Loner. If you can be alone in the middle of a loud, raucous family and a bunch of rowdy neighbors, Gerry Durrell is – but he has his menagerie of animals, so he’s good.
Prom King. There was a contingent that tried to stuff the ballot box as a joke this year and throw this vote to Captain Ahab, but fortunately they were caught and foiled and the right man won. Jean-Benoit Aubery, better known as “the Frenchman” (swoon, ladies) is clearly the only choice for 2021’s prom king. That is – if he shows up. It’s 50-50, because social events aren’t exactly his thing. But then he might come to claim his crown just to bother the jocks.
Prom Queen. There’s no one like Lily Bart for sheer audacious vivacity, and that’s really what we need in a prom queen. Where did she get her dress? Wouldn’t you like to know.
Cutest Couple. I’ve been shipping Queen Beatrice and Teddy since American Royals, and in Majesty what was supposed to be a marriage of convenience deepens into something more real. Did I enjoy the romance I predicted way too much? Yes, yes I did.
Most Likely to Succeed. It’s gotta be the first woman to hold national office! Kamala Harris shares her incredible life story and it’s wonderful – I saved it to read during Inauguration Week.
What high school yearbook awards would you give to your 2021 reads?
Happy Monday, friends! So we’ve cleared the midpoint of winter, but the groundhog saw his shadow and we’re in for another six weeks. Well – I can’t be too sad about that, because I’m loving this season; skiing weekends with my little adventure buddy have given me a whole new lease on winter. We had another, and he is making such amazing progress. On Saturday we drove up to Liberty Mountain in Pennsylvania again (at about an hour and twenty minutes from us, it’s the closest ski area to where we live). We bypassed the magic carpet and got right on the bunny lift chair, and he did so well that after two runs he told me he felt ready to level up to the main mountain and tackle some green circle runs. (For my non-skiing friends, ski runs are graded by difficulty – green circle is the easiest; blue square is an intermediate run; black diamond is advanced; some mountains have double and triple black diamonds.) I thought another couple of runs on the bunny slope might have been helpful, but he insisted he wanted to try the main mountain, and it struck me that the slight level up in difficulty would be balanced out by fewer out of control beginners. So over we went to the main slopes and hit up three different green circle trails! (One out of control beginner did plow into me, but I don’t go over easily. Glad it was me that got run into, and not Nugget.) Super, super proud of this kid for trying something new and a little scary, pushing past the nerves, and persevering. He’s the best!
Sunday was another quiet one. The normal dash to swim lessons and soccer, a long neighborhood walk, Olympics coverage. I read one of Peanut’s books, that she pressed on me (more below) and really enjoyed it. Nugget and I planted our Aerogarden, a Christmas gift from Nana (thanks, Nana!). Olympics coverage to finish the weekend out.
Also, I want to let y’all know some blog business. I’m going to skip Monday reading posts for the next few weeks; there will still be posts on Mondays but they’ll be other topics. I’m behind on content and need to catch up, and I just have a lot going on and need to pre-schedule posts for a bit. Back to regularly scheduled Monday content on February 28, and I hope you like mixing it up in the meantime.
Reading. It was a busy week of work and errands last week, so reading was a bit lighter. I spent most of the week over the last two novels in the “Mapp and Lucia” series – The Worshipful Lucia and Trouble for Lucia. Both are on my Classics Club Challenge list, so full reviews coming soon. On Sunday afternoon, I blazed through Yummy: A History of Desserts, which is – wait for it – Peanut’s book! I gave it to her for Christmas (it’s a nonfiction graphic novel style tour through the history of popular desserts, so scratches several of her itches at once) and she kept insisting I would like it and should read it. So I picked it up and it was a total delight! Bookish mom achievement unlocked. Ended Sunday evening with The Dud Avocado, which seemed like a good choice for February as it’s all about an American expat’s exploits in Paris of the 1950s. Really enjoying it so far, but I’m only about fifty pages in.
Watching. The Olympics (and I know, there’s a cloud, but I want to support the athletes and I have loved the Olympics since I was a little girl). We had a little watch party on Saturday night with our dinner in the family room (a major treat for the kids, since we usually don’t allow them to take food out of the kitchen) and I’ve been watching the coverage after they go to bed. Aside from Olympics coverage, Steve and I watched the first episode of Mapp and Lucia with Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor. I LOVED it and Steve even enjoyed it. A miracle!
Listening. I thought I’d be able to tell you I was finished with The Man in the Brown Suit on Audible, but not yet. I’m close, though. The problem is it’s far from Christie’s best – even in the thriller genre, which isn’t her wheelhouse, Passenger to Frankfurt was much better – and I’m having to force myself to listen, rather.
Making. The usual, mostly – work product and family dinners. That’s the round of life. I also made some plans and some purchases for an upcoming adventure, about which more soon.
Moving. Finally, a week in which I can tell you I got some strength training in! I fired up the dusty Peloton app and tried out a full body strength program I hadn’t yet done, and was sore the next day (good soreness). Yay! Other than that, the usual walking, running, and skiing with the little guy.
Blogging. Back to books on Wednesday – the last of my three-part New Year’s reading retrospective, and then we can leave 2021 in the rearview mirror. And a really neat travel experience to share for Friday! Check in with me then.
Loving. Those of you who don’t ski will glaze over, but those of you who do will certainly agree with me that the worst part of skiing (or snowboarding, for that matter) is carrying all of your gear from the car to the lodge. Nugget and I have been trying to use the car as our base lodge so as to avoid indoor crowds, but we did try out getting a locker one weekend. Between our first and second ski weekends, I decided I needed a better solution for lugging my boots around, and I found the Dakine boot pack, which has been a total game changer. It has a back compartment for my boots (to keep wet, dripping gear separate from everything else – very thoughtful) and the upper zip pouch fits my helmet, goggles, gloves, and neck gaiter. It’s a backpack, so none of the shoulder slipping issues I had with the boot bags I used growing up. Like I said – game changer. And the “Solstice Floral” pattern is so pretty, I keep stealing glances at the backpack just because I like looking at it. If you ski and are tired of your boot bag, I can’t recommend highly enough.
After the Hall of Mosses hike, we put our heads together and decided that we had time for a second hike – and we weren’t ready to leave the Hoh Rainforest. I plumped for the famous Hoh River Trail, but was outvoted three to one in favor of the shorter and easier (but tbh, no less spectacular) Spruce Nature Trail.
We decided we’d walk as far as the Hoh River, so we could see it, and then make our way back to the warmth of the car (and a long drive back to Port Angeles).
All over the rainforest, we saw these trees on elevated roots – looking like they were standing on stilts. The trees took root initially on fallen logs – called nurse logs – and when the nurse logs rotted away the new growth was left standing on tiptoe. Weird!
The Spruce Nature Trail boasted its share of moss-hung trees, too – and other cool sights. Like this uprooted tree:
WOWSERS.
I was fascinated by the knotty bark. With all of the fascinating things to see and observe, it felt like no time at all before we reached the banks of the Hoh River.
With all the mist, the visibility was a bit limited – but it really didn’t matter. It was mysterious and quiet – and just beautiful.
When we got back to the car, we had our biggest wildlife sighting of the day – right off the parking lot! – a mother black-tailed deer and her two fawns.
Too cute!
We watched them quietly and from a safe distance until they decided they were done foraging, and ambled off to surprise some other lucky park visitors. Definitely a magical end to our afternoon in the Hoh Rainforest!
Next week: stopping by the Sol Duc River for some fishing – wink, wink.
Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for January, 2022.
New Year’s Day, by Edith Wharton – This is something of a New Year’s tradition for me, although I don’t re-read it every year. But I love starting off the year with Wharton’s poignant and captivating (if tragic) novella.
Patsy, by Nicole Dennis-Benn – The story of a woman who leaves her native Jamaica for the United States – leaving a small daughter behind – not to guarantee a better life for her family but to put herself first, this came highly recommended. The writing was certainly enthralling, but I found the main character profoundly frustrating.
Welcome to Dunder Mifflin, by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman – This very exciting Christmas present (thank you, Steve!) lived up to every bit of anticipation. Baumgartner (better known as Kevin Malone on The Office) and Silverman collect the recollections of cast, crew, studio executives and others to compile what really is the ultimate oral history of The Office. I loved the show on first-run and have watched it multiple times on re-run, and this was a magical read.
A Time to Keep Silence, by Patrick Leigh Fermor – This collection of three long-form essays about Fermor’s experiences staying in monasteries was a quiet, contemplative read – and beautifully written. I enjoyed the first essay the most, and would have loved more of the third.
A Countryman’s Winter Notebook, by Adrian Bell – Slightly Foxed has collected a wide range of samples from Adrian Bell’s newspaper columns about nature and country living, hinting at three more seasonal collections to come (I keep checking to see if the spring collection has been announced yet… not yet). I loved this.
Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare – Reading Twelfth Night on the actual Twelfth Night seemed like a good idea. It was a fun way to see out the Christmas season (twins! disguises! hijinks!) but probably not destined to become a January tradition for me.
Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars, by Francesca Wade – Fascinating – the author discovered that five very different women, writers and public intellectuals all, lived in the same small Bloomsbury square in the period between World War I and World War II. She takes readers on a spin through the lives and work of the modernist poet H.D.; detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers; classicist Jane Harrison; economist Eileen Power; and Virginia Woolf, who needs no introduction. It’s a fantastic concept and a wonderful book.
Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village, by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper – This is a slightly longer version of the absolutely hilarious essay (which originally appeared on CrimeReads) and I giggled my way through it in one sitting. So much fun, and I’ll revisit it many times.
Mrs. Tim Carries On (Mrs. Tim #2), by D.E. Stevenson – Can’t go wrong with D.E. Stevenson, and especially with Mrs. Tim! This volume of the eponymous lady’s diaries finds her carrying on through World War II. There are poignant moments (husband Tim is caught up in the Dunkirk evacuation and is missing for a time, but spoiler – he’s all right) and lots of laughs to break up the wartime gloom.
Call Us What We Carry, by Amanda Gorman – I devoured Gorman’s first poetry collection in a day; it was just what I needed to read – beautiful, cathartic, and galvanizing.
Through the Woods, by H.E. Bates – I love to open the year with some seasonal reading, and this journey through the months in an English wood was a lovely, contemplative read.
Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World, by Mark Aldridge – Another very exciting Christmas present (Steve nailed it!) – I was anxious to read this after seeing it recommended by Michael Dirda in The Washington Post. It’s a journey through Hercule Poirot’s life and career in books, film, television and popular culture – absolutely fascinating. Also, Poirot is definitely the greatest detective in the world. Move over, Holmes.
Jane’s Country Year, by Malcolm Saville – This was a wildly anticipated pre-order for me (reprinting a classic from the 1940s that I’d seen recommended on Miranda Mills’ YouTube channel more than once) and it absolutely lived up to the anticipation. Jane is a young girl, sent to live on a farm with her aunt and uncle while she convalesces from a long illness. She quickly falls in love with the farm and with country life, and her year of hiking around the countryside, birding and wildflower spotting with new friends, is a total delight.
Slightly Foxed No. 72: The Cat Who Was Cleopatra, ed. Gail Pirkis and Hazel Wood – As usual, I enjoyed every essay in the latest issue of Slightly Foxed – although this was an odd one out for not adding to my to-read-immediately pile. There was a fresh perspective offered on some of my old favorites, as ever, but nothing that grabbed my attention or tempted me to add to my Amazon wishlist. But even when that happens, it’s 94 pages of bookish delight in and of itself, so a win all around.
Original Letters from India, by Eliza Fay – Fay was a contemporary of Jane Austen, accompanying her lawyer husband to take up practice in Calcutta. The letters she wrote home to her parents and sisters chronicle every step of her journey, from taking in theatrical performances in the presence of royalty to being captured and held prisoner by insurgents. Talk about an adventurous woman!
The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves #2), by P.G. Wodehouse – When you need to laugh, Jeeves always delivers. This early volume of Bertie and Jeeves’ adventures chronicles the romantic travails of Bingo Little; Bertie’s narrow escape from Honoria Glossop; and the alarming adventures of Claude and Eustace – and more. It was just what I needed during a very tense week in the news cycle here in Virginia.
Whew! Some month of reading, indeed. I think February will be a lighter month, so if you made it to the end of this post (well done!) there’s relief ahead. But I did read a LOT of good stuff in January. I’m not sure I can even choose highlights. There was Amanda Gorman; she has to headline any month that contains her poetry. But what I needed most this month was comfort and levity, and there’s not much better in that respect than Jeeves, or Dunder Mifflin – and I had both, which made such a difference in my state of mind during a long, stressful news month.
Y’all. How is January almost over? Seriously. How? I feel like this month has flown by – probably because we were having fun and the old truism really holds. This weekend was almost a repeat of two weeks ago; I’m tempted to just tell you to go back and read that post – but I won’t, ha! On Saturday, Nugget and I were up and out the door to the ski mountain. We got an earlier start this time, but still were stuck in the overflow parking when we arrived, oof. (But a better spot, at least.) In between our last ski outing and Saturday’s, I actually bought skis and boots for Nugget. My plan had been to rent his gear this year and buy next year at the very beginning of the season, but the two-plus hour rental line last time we skied changed my thinking – and I worked out that between the cost of the rentals and the skiing time lost waiting on line, the gear would pay for itself if we went two more times. And since I’m planning to have him take lessons all summer at an indoor ski place near us (I know!) he would definitely get more use out of it than that. He was stoked to have his own gear, and he did so great again. We worked on turns (he doesn’t see the utility) and he graduated from the magic carpet to the chairlift up to the very tippy top of the bunny slope, where he was only knocked down by an adult beginner once. My goal for this winter was for him to have fun, be comfortable, and fall in love with skiing – I think I can declare mission accomplished on all three, and we still have weeks of skiing left. Another couple of seasons and he’ll be skiing all over the mountain with me!
I can say fewer words about Sunday, because it was a much quieter and less exciting day. I worked in the morning, then made the usual rounds, darting from swimming to soccer. The rest of the afternoon, I briefly considered doing something productive (like folding laundry) but decided I’d rather read my book and that I work hard and deserve an afternoon off. So, there!
Reading. Pretty decent reading week! I spent most of the workweek over Original Letters from India, which was fascinating (what an adventurous life Eliza Fay had). Wrapped it up on Thursday and steamed through the latest issue of Slightly Foxed that evening. For the end of the week, and the weekend, I needed something light and fun to counteract doomscrolling (if you haven’t heard yet, we have a new rightwing nutjob in charge of Virginia, shivers) – Jeeves was just what the doctor ordered. I know I’ve read The Inimitable Jeeves before, but it must have been over a decade and a half ago, because Goodreads had no record of it; I corrected that. Still in need of light and funny after Jeeves, I decided that now is the time to finish off the last two novels in the Mapp and Lucia series – I’m currently on the penultimate, The Worshipful Lucia, and then I’ll turn to Trouble for Lucia.
Watching. This and that – we’re all bereft after finishing Winterwatch. Several episodes of Gardener’s World on BritBox (Steve won’t admit it but I think he’s getting hooked on Monty Don like Nugget and me). And on Sunday night, we finally started watching the absolutely hilarious Space Force. (Without the kids, obviously.) I laughed until I was literally sobbing and gasping for air.
Listening. I’m about two-thirds (I think?) through The Man in the Brown Suit now, so I’ll probably finish it up this week. While it has definitely been an improvement over In the Crypt with a Candlestick, it’s nowhere near Agatha Christie’s best. I got it on Audible, bundled with 4:50 from Paddington, which should be better – I’ll listen to that next and report back.
Making. Lots of work product last week – it was a busy one. This week will be busy, too. Otherwise, just the usual: breakfasts, lunches, school snacks, dinners, the daily round. And some tentative plans to maybe get back to running in-person races in 2022? I’m turning that idea over in my mind.
Moving. All the cardio, still. Several chilly neighborhood runs, a couple of walks, a ski day with my little buddy. I thought about doing yoga. Does that count?
Blogging. January’s reading round-up on Wednesday; buckle up because it’s a long one. And then back to Olympic National Park for another hike in the Hoh Rainforest on Friday. Check in with me then!
Loving. I recently restocked on my Beautycounter stash – man, do I love that stuff. I use Countertime antioxidant lotion and eye cream every evening before bed and I can’t do without them. They’re light and smooth, not heavily scented (I’m sensitive to fragrance), and I really think they’re doing something. I’ve written about my evening skincare routine in the past and I do sometimes get out of the habit of moisturizing before bed, but I’m trying to be better about that and Beautycounter certainly makes it easy to look forward to those few minutes of self care in the evenings.
After our morning at Ruby Beach, we headed for something completely different – Hoh Rainforest, park ecosystem #2. We were all a bit damp – okay, drenched – after the coastline, so I think the idea of walking under a rain-breaking canopy of trees was appealing to everyone.
Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States. The landscape was carved by glaciers, and it’s a completely different world from the coastline we had just left.
Our destination was the Hall of Mosses trail. If I’m being completely honest, I’ll tell you that we picked the trail based – pretty much – on the name alone. I mean, how could we pass up a trail called “Hall of Mosses” – could you? It helped that our cursory research confirmed the trail’s kid-friendliness; it’s short, relatively flat, and steeped with interesting things to look at.
My favorite thing about the trail was, predictably, the old-growth trees hung with primeval quantities of emerald green moss.
I know that Longfellow’s famous line “This is the forest primeval” was written about eastern Canada – but it could easily have been about this spot.
We veered off the main trail onto a little spur that took us into a magical grove of maples overhung with club moss.
Nugget liked the maple grove.
The other day, Nugget asked me what my favorite hike is. I couldn’t possibly decide – I’ve been privileged to experience so many incredible trails, in habitats ranging from coastlines to deserts to mountains to forests – and everything in between. But the Hall of Mosses trail would have to be up there. There was just so much to look at – from the largest moss-hung trees…
…to the tiniest details of mushrooms, moss, and tiny leaves.
The Hall of Mosses trail was short, but packed so much into a fascinating space. I’d love to go back – again and again. I’m sure it must change every day.
Next week: Still in the Hoh Rainforest, we explore another trail and amble down to the Hoh River.
covered in flour 
