Bow and Edison - part 1

This was our favorite Friday - sunny - white puffy clouds - and an afternoon to do what we wanted.  As we drove up I-5 towards home - after shopping and a nice lunch in Mt. Vernon - we decided to take a detour through the tiny towns of Bow and Edison - you could call them the twin cities - they are so close together it is hard to tell when one stops and the other begins.  And many of the little stores use Bow as their address becasue that is the town with the post office.

They are two of the most charming towns we've ever visited.  With Victorian homes, galleries, small shops and tiny restaurants - just the thing for  a lazy afternoon jaunt.  The traffic is so infrequent that we often stopped right in the road to get photos - sometimes for up to 5 minutes, and no cars came up behind us.  Once one did and they politely pulled slowly around us - leaving me to finish getting the photos I wanted.  Sometimes we pulled to the side of the road if there was room - and the cars still moved slowly past. No honking or impatience.

The heavenly scents coming from this bakery filled the whole town . . .

The metal sign has birds, fish and plants in each of the letters . . .

Just after I took this photo a local lady came out with a big bag of bread for her dinner party that night. She didn't want to be photographed. . .

Just down the street is this business - a coffee shop  which sells local seafood, wines and assorted goodies.  The front is completely open but a man was sitting right on the edge of the elevated sidewalk, and again, didn't want to be photographed.

I wonder if the same person made this sign as made the Bread Farm sign.

A local shop with a clever name. They salvage what is considered useless by many and make new items for sale . . .

Another bakery - with picnic tables for sampling the fragrant breads and baked goods . . . we had just eaten lunch so we didn't stop . . .

I couldn't find anything that told what this big eye was for - the building was empty . . .

Wooden geese on the outside of an art gallery . . .

Flowers for sale in the town of "Bow" - another clever sign . . .

An old barn on the edge of town . . .

Antlers on a weathered building . . .

I glimpsed this garden on the way through town and when we came back I just had to get out of the car and get some photos. . . I like the fishing lures on the screen door.

There are two of these coke bottle sculptures in this garden - I couldn't figure out if there was another use for them - or if they were just decorative.  They certainly caught my attention . . .

"Playground Duck" sculpture . . .

And a "Playground chicken" . . .

Plants and pots - taken over the fence . . . I couldn't find anyone at home to talk to about the garden - I would have loved to hear their story . . .

Bleeding heart . . .

There was the biggest old dog in this garden - he came meandering out and sat amongst the plants - I tried to get a picture of him when he was standing up, but he snaked around through the plants so I never could get a clear shot of him.  He was as big as some shetland ponies - and very hairy.

On the way into town I spied these horses - on the other side of the road - so we looked for landmarks so we could stop and get photos of them on the way back through . . .

Big, life-size metal horses . . .

Who made them - and what are they doing in this yard - besides enticing me to take photos . . .
The only house is a small travel trailer and there were no signs about the metal horses . . .

Such detail - and so realistic . . .

Clouds

Friday was a perfect day - Don got off work by 1 and we headed out for shopping and some adventure.  It was gloriously sunny - and that is especially nice when the forecast has been calling for rain.  The sky was the brightest blue and there were big puffy white clouds - what our family calls Wisconsin clouds.

 

 I am fascinated with the way clouds pile up over the mountains - each on their own flat column of warm air.

 Piles and piles of clouds . . .

 Each view is different . . .

Miles and Miles of clouds . . .

Do you have a favorite cloud photo?

Goose, Goose, Duck

Bet you thought we were going to play a game.  Not really - but we did see a lot of goose families down at the ponds near our house.  We drove down a week ago and there was one family - and this week there are many more.   We parked on the edge of the grass and I took at least a zillion photos - but not to worry, I'm only showing a few.

Goose familiy - they had 8 babies . . .

Snoozing in the grass . . .

Older goslings - teenagers?

Standing guard . . .

Watching the swimmers - don't you get to close to my babies!

The water looks great - do you know how to swim yet?

Several families . . .

There's the duck - you thought I had forgotten about it - didn't you?

A visit with Linda

A while back I met the most wonderful blogger who only lives about 15 miles from my house.  She lives on, and runs, an alpaca farm.  The farm is the one her husband grew up on and they have now returned and made it into an alpaca farm.  Linda and I have gotten together to quilt at my house, and have gone to the Anacortes sew-in together - but I'd not yet been to her farm - so last Thursday was my chance.  Linda has TWO blogs - be sure and stop by both of them.  You'll be so glad you did.

The weather was gorgeous, sunny and just the right temperature so we decided to have our small quilting group outdoors at Linda's farm - one of our members was off running around New York - but we muddled along without her - hopefully next time she can join us.

First Linda gave me a tour of her farm - and I met the alpacas - almost all 30 of them.  They are very friendly and cute - and would follow us everywhere if allowed.

The welcoming committee . . .

Linda has so many cute things on her farm, from the tin man to a wonderfully soothing fountain . . .

And her flower beds - simply amazing . . .

This is at the entrance to their farm - that wisteria is majestic . . . 

Looking down the driveway - that is one skinny road - but she tells me that the big feed trucks and gravel trucks get down there with no trouble . . .

It truly is . . .

A quilted sign Linda made for Alpaca Shows . . . 

Her gardens are full of wonderful farm things . . .

A view of the house from the barnyard.  Everything is painted a pretty yellow . . .

Some very old apple trees . . .

We sat outdoors just below this cute chicken banner . . .

They are just starting to put in the garden - but the raspberries are already growing fast . . .

This scarecrow means business . . .

And another sign points you to the store where Linda sells Alpaca things . . .

She sells yarn that she spins from the alpaca fleece . . .

Ribbons she has won for her fiber arts . . .

More fiber arts ribbons . . .

 And while we are looking at ribbons - here are ribbons the alpacas have won . . .

There are alpaca mittens . . .

And lots of yarn that Linda spins.  She spun some while I stitched on my quilt on Thursday - she's very good at it. . .

More yarn from the alpacas - Linda dyes her yarn too. . .

And cute alpaca dolls to buy in the store  . . .

Hats, alpacas and fun stuff . . .



We had a fabulous day - Linda made taco salad for lunch.  If you are ever in the neighborhood of Nooksack, WA - north east of Bellingham - be sure and stop in - the store is enchanting and Linda is one of the most fun people you will ever meet.  I feel very fortunate to call her my friend!

Outdoor Wednesday is one of my favorites - and is hosted by A Southern Daydreamer. There are so many wonderful outdoor things to see - stop over and visit a while.