W is for...

Wales

I could have chosen several topics from our UK trip for the letter W, but when I started thinking about my selection, there was no doubt in my mind what I would post when I thought of Wales. We so enjoyed the Welsh countryside...

We so enjoyed our Welsh hosts, blogger Liz, her husband Mike, and of course, George.

We had fun when George led us on our walk to Wormshead.

Of course, George wouldn't even think of worrying the sheep.

We saw a bit of history -- both ancient---and modern,

and a chance to contrast rural Wales

and urban..

Wishing our Welsh friends a blessed Christmas. Their plans for the holidays, as have ours, have been influenced by heavy snowfalls. We had a lovely card of a snow-covered Wormshead. May all who read here find the Christmas season brings special blessings.

ABC Wednesday--here in it's seventh season.

Day one skies over 3-Day Walk

Last Friday in San Diego

 helicopters going about their routine

 What's this, though? a message!

Special for a team from Texas! Their husbands hired it for them.

And yes, those gray clouds let loose with downpours throughout the day.

Other skies around the world can be found here at SkyWatch. Thanks Skywatch team for keeping us going.

3-Day Bubbles

Can you see them? This lady in pink watched from her balcony and saluted us with bubbles as Breast Cancer 3-Day walkers passed by during the walk in Seattle two years ago. A Week from today I will be walking again. If you would like to donate to this cause, I would be delighted to have you as a sponsor. There is a link in my sidebar. We had beautiful skies in Seattle that year. The forecasts are for the same in San Diego next week. Note to self: pack the sunscreen.

SkyWatching is here.

morning skywatch

Can you just barely see the light outlined shadow of the dark side of the moon? Check my yesterday post on 365 for a better view. Find SkyWatch here.

Reflected

Look at all those lines and

Look at all those lines and angles reflected. I could have saved this shot for Monday's Geometry. I took this last week while walking along the Columbia River in Richland. Lots of moorages along this part of the river. I walked eight miles on the river pathway--part of the Sacajawea Trail.

When James started sponsoring Weekend Reflections at Newtown Daily Photo, amazing reflections started being everywhere. Do memes make us more observant? See what everyone is reflecting on at his site.

Look! Up in the SkyWatch

It's a bird!


It's a plane!

    It's an ultralite against a clear blue sky!

Looking like a kite. Sounding like a lawnmower. Ready to land on the river with those pontoons.

Why is it you LAND on the WATER?

This adventurer flew past me while I was on a training walk last week from Howard Amon Park in Richland to Columbia Park in Kennewick. The pathway travels alongside the Columbia River between the two cities. My walk was about eight miles.

Check out what can be found in the skies around the world today at SkyWatch

37 Days

My apologies if you have come to this post from the November 14 Weekend Reflections link. I don't know what happened and Linky won't let me correct it. Here is the correct post.

Okay, so I am way behind. Suddenly, the Virtual Trainer guides I get in my e-mail say Six Weeks, then Five Weeks till 3-Day Walk. My Pariticipant Center tells me it's time to get my final check in started. Yikes.

This is my begging post. I am pledged to raise $2300 for Breast Cancer research, education, and patient services in order to participate in the 3-Day November 19-21. I am currently 1/3 of the way there.

I had intended to offer some gifties to entice donors to part with $5, $10, or $20 in support. Circumstances in the last month or so have kept me from making any gifties. Thanks a lot, burglars!

I will have this year's quilt, shown here just after it was pieced and hopefully quilted by walk day--to present to one of my sponsors. So if you would like to have a chance to win it, or if you just want to remember someone you have known who has experienced the trauma of breast cancer, please consider clicking my 3-Day badge on the sidebar and donating through my walk.

Two more days of hikes--Cul Mor and Stac Pollaidh

Fog! We set off for Cul Mor not anticipating long views. Some days are like that.

We did get to see some of the lochs below through the damp. I think this is Loch Veyatie. Cul Mor is a challenge. I looked back to see the others scrambling up the rocks behind me. (How did I get ahead?)

...and ahead to see what was coming as we continuned upward.

This time I was among those at the top, as we gathered around the trig mark at the highest point.

I think this is Stac Pollaidh, our goal for the next day. I am not sure, as the most distinctive part of that peak would be hidden there in the cloud.

Friday's hike, easier in some ways--up to a certain point. You can see the top from here.

This is the top. Shaun knew not to ask me to take those vertical rock walls. Ranney and I remained to watch and look around.

We could look back to Cul Mor--you could actually see the top today.

While the mountains in the Torridon area were like a range--lots of hills and ups and downs, these rise up from the surrounding plain as individual monoliths. You definitely start at the bottom.

Here they come back down--a white knuckle experience for some. They could truthfully say they climbed Stac Pollaidh. I am content to say that I climbed ON Stac Pollaidh.

Where had they gone? Up there!

ABC Wednesday--W

A building reflection, a rose, some chickens, two different bridges, flowers wild and cultivated, an impressionistic pond.

What have these to do with W?

All side benefits of WALKING.

W is for WALKING.

ABC Wednesday is here.

My World Tuesday in the Rose Garden

In my world the other day, I went walking to town and passed through the Rose Garden of which I wrote back here in February. In February it was a bit of a mystery, as we had had a Rose Garden in another park for many decades. It was also not much to look at then.

Well, it has improved, both with the efforts of city workers and volunteers and with the passage of the seasons.

Here is a section of reds...

...such as this one.

Whites and yellows were in another section.

Through the path and a look back over the way.

The old Rose Garden in the city park remains. I will take a walk through there in the next little while to see how it fares with all the attention here on the edge of town.

My World--Walking for Causes

Visit bloggers showing their world today at the Show Your World site.


I headed over the pass last weekend to Tacoma, to walk with a former student and his family and friends in the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund) walk. That's Sahil in the dark jacket and blue pack walking with his friend Trent. He sure has grown since I first knew him as a first grader.

Sahil was diagnosed with diabetes when he was five years old. That's a lot for a little guy to handle, but he handles it well. He didn't much like having his finger pricked back in those days. Now he has an insulin pump, but he still has to check his sugar level several times a day. He doesn't let diabetes keep him from life. Always an eager learner, Sahil does great in school and he runs track--every event possible, apparently.

Events like these bring awareness to the community. They bring together those particularly concerned and give kids like Sahil a chance to realize they are not alone with the disease. They also give a chance to learn more and see what is new in research. One booth had information about service dogs trained to recognize when a diabetic's sugar levels are reaching a dangerous low, and alert him so that he can take action to adjust it. Exciting, isn't it!

The Sahil Sonics, organized by Sahil's Aunt Nabila, raised over $1000. (It doesn't all register on the page yet.) I was proud that they let me be a part of their team.

And we had a beautiful day and a lovely setting for it.