7 March 2011 by ben.

It was bitterly cold in the Moscow, Idaho area during the festival this year, with the thermometer plunging to -11 degrees Fahrenheit (-24 C) on Friday evening.  Brrr…

All groups performed well for the judges, although because of the way the student concert has morphed in the past two or three years, hardly anybody comes to hear the bands, instead going to dinner in preparation for the evening concert.  I personally miss the excitement of the festival from a few years earlier when winners and runners up were announced, soloists performed on the big stage, and winner bands performed on the big stage.  When Bonnie and Sandy performed with their middle school winning band just five years ago, several thousand students, parents, and jazz fans heard them perform.  This year when the same middle school performed, there were 90% fewer people listening.  Clearly, the train has come off the tracks for the student concert.

Regardless, there were photo ops galore as Kim and I followed the Roosevelt Jazz kids around.  Vocal Jazz did have their chance to perform on the Kibbie Dome stage, mostly to their friends from Roosevelt and Garfield High School.

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Roosevelt Vocal Jazz Ensemble at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival

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25 August 2010 by ben.

On 18 August, Kim, Bonnie and I drove over Washington Pass to Klipchuck Campground, a few miles from Mazama and a few more from Winthrop, for a short camping trip.  Our plan was to hike every day, dine at least once on burgers and fries at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, and treat ourselves to ice cream and lattes at Sherry’s in Winthrop. Read the rest of this entry »

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21 December 2008 by ben.

Our snow and cold just won’t go away!  The low on Saturday morning was 14.9 degrees F (-9.5C), the coldest ever reported by my weather station, with the average for the past two days just 23 degrees F.  Saturday, another snow storm moved into the area, dropping 7″ (18 cm) of new snow.  My brother, Nathan, in Montesano near the Pacific Ocean, reported 14″ (35.5 cm) of snow by 10 pm last night as it was tapering off at his house.  Seattle was spared most of the high winds from this powerful storm, which generated gusts of 70 MPH in Enumclaw and 100 MPH in Cumberland.

Kim and I got back from the Christmas shopping shortly after the snow began to fall in earnest just after 3 pm, and so we were able to enjoy the rare spectacle of snow on a very cold day in Seattle.  I took these shots after 10 pm around our home.  In this first photo, our older corgi, Raffle, plays a bit in the snow.  She’s about 86 in ‘people years,’ but bursts with exuberance in the snow!

Raffle loving the snow

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6 September 2008 by ben.

Thanks to the efforts of Kim and Bonnie, our backyard garden became a hummingbird cafe this year.  We had multiple sightings each day for several weeks, one time with three zipping around at the same time.  There were so many flowers from which to feed — gladiolas and tiger lilies and others — that one time a hummingbird zipped around, fed, and rested, and zipped around some more over a twenty minute period until it was too bored with our flowers and flew away.

Hummingbird enjoying an early evening snack

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4 March 2007 by ben.

On Sunday, 4 February 07, Phil stayed in Tucson for his final performance of Madame Butterfly, and Kim, Marion and I hiked most of the way up the Pontatoc Canyon Trail just north of Tucson, rising about 1900′ above the trail head and about 2500′ above Tucson for this beautiful panorama.
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21 February 2007 by ben.

Kim and I had our longest getaway ever this year (nearly six days!), reliving the honeymoon we never had, by flying to Tucson, Arizona at 6 am on February 1st. Yes, that’s early — we were up at 4 am — but we were psyched. Time to ourselves, away from jobs, routines, the usual worries and chores; and hopefully we’d get a huge dose of sunshine to blow away the winter blues. We were going to meet Marion, meet up with my parents a couple times, see Phil’s opera, and, weather permitting, hike in the mountains north of Tucson. And that happened, and more!

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11 January 2007 by ben.

I read about this comet just today in the Seattle Times in a brief article that said it would be visible just after sunset, but close to the horizen. So… I drove to Sunset Park in Ballard (Seattle) which overlooks Puget Sound looking west for a terrific view across the water to the silhouetted Olympic Mountains. The temperature was 28 degrees and dropping, and it was breezy, yet dozens of people arrived at this tiny park to have a chance to see a comet. All that I talked with had never seen a comet before.

Then three things occurred at a glacial pace: the sky darkened; the comet emerged; and my fingers froze. I snapped a few photos and was happy to get back to the heater in the van!

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22 December 2006 by ben.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle is the Pike Place Market. It a thriving public farmers market that first opened in 1907 and includes a variety of fish, cheese, vegetable and flower vendors plus an array of artisans including photographers and painters. Along the main brick street one can find delicious bakeries, the original Starbucks store, a wine merchant, several restaurants, and great gift shops.

And on the first afternoon of winter, I had a chance to see the market with the additional adornment of holiday lights. It was a fairly dark afternoon, with a terrific rain storm only an hour away, but for a while, it was simply elegant and charming.
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