Storms Over Mountains

B and I took advantage of a weather break to get in a bit of a walk. We had lovely warm sunshine, but storm clouds were piling up over the Olympics.

Image shows a bit of the Sound, looking across the water at the Olympic Mountains, which have a line of fluffy white clouds spilling over their tops. The rest of the sky above them is cloudless.
Storm clouds crossing the Olympic Mountains.

I love watching storms approach. Everything on this side of the Olympics was springlike and mild. Other side of the Olympics was probably a much different story.

A detail of clouds piled atop the Olympics. One of the peaks is poking through.
Must be wild weather up there.

We’re in a mild rainshadow here: the Olympics wring a lot of the moisture from incoming storms. So you get what we got Monday and Tuesday: mild, mostly sunny weather followed by lots of clouds and a few showers as the storm passes over.

Another detail showing jagged Olympic peaks topped with clouds.
Cloudy blanket.

We’d had a few days of rain prior. Misha gets very insistent on using me for a mattress when it’s that gloomy, and we had a few arguments about it. I was trying to get work done. She didn’t want to budge. It’s very difficult to argue with a 21 year-old cat. Good thing for her that a lot of my work involves research, which I can do on the tablet, and thus accommodate her. But sometimes, I have to gently but firmly move her aside so I can get to the computer. Then we go through a routine where she tries to make the computer go away. Life is so hard, people.

Image shows a cherry or plum tree blooming at right. There is a view of the Olympics and the Sound, with a bit of sea grass in the foreground, and a sailboat to the left.
A beautiful tableau, with flowering tree.

The night before, I’d been up late alternately fighting a stubborn cat and a repeatedly-freezing computer in order to get a post finished. It should have only taken an hour, but between all the lock-ups and having to move the cat every three seconds, it took several hours. It doesn’t help that Aunty Flow is on the way, and delighting in reminding me of this fact by randomly shooting pains through my abdomen. It took a while to fall asleep, and then Misha decided to trample all over me for most of the morning trying to find a comfy spot. By the time she’d gotten settled, the mowers were out and loud. Sigh.

A branch of plum or cherry blossoms.
Pretty flowers.

B hadn’t slept well, either. But getting out into the sunshine, with the gorgeous views and fresh breeze, plus a flowering tree, made it better. And I got to have some small revenge on Misha, since he spent the night. She hates having to share.

Shooting through the flowering branches, with the blue Sound in the background. The Olympics are barely visible.
Sound through flowers.

She got revenge right back by deciding to lie on top of me most of the night. It’s hard to sleep when you’re pinned, and your legs are getting numb. I finally got her to move off, but she slept beside my legs, forcing me to contort to fit us all.

A branch of pink blossoms and red leaves hangs from the top of the photo, with dark blue sky as a background.
Blossom branch.

Needless to say, I didn’t sleep lots that night, either.

We took a walk over to the creek in the morning to feed the ducks, and saw an adorable squirrel on the YMCA steps.

Image shows a squirrel crouched on a set of wooden steps painted green.
Squirrel!

There were a couple of Hooded Mergansers on the creek. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen them there – usually, they’re hanging about Lake Washington, but don’t seem to frequent the smaller waterways. I’ll have pics up of them soon. They were neato. The ducks were being total assholes, and I will someday edit the videos I shot of them into an epic food fight compilation.

Then we watched a super awesome MMA bout, and I took B home and had some Wendys and collapsed like a dead person, thus screwing up my sleep schedule. Whoops.

But it was an awesome couple of days. Hopefully, you’ve had some enjoyable ones yourselves!

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Storms Over Mountains
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