The Magic Faraway Tree

Enid Blyton was pretty much all there was when I was a nipper. It was, in fact, a 'Noddy' Book that taught me to read when I was three years old. I wish I knew how, but it was so far away in time, and I so young... . Our Enid led a very alternative lifestyle, impressivily raunchy for a respected children's author, which was so excellently portrayed by Helen Bohham-Carter in an eponymous TV series a few years back. But that's another story, for another day.

A long-time favourite of mine was, 'The Magic Faraway Tree'. It wasn't that well-written, or exciting: thankfully children's authors today have well-rounded characters and intriguing plots. Take it from me, 'The Magic Faraway Tree' has neither. It does, however, have a wonderful plot device. Periodically, there would appear amidst the cloud-strewn branches at the top of the tree, a completely new and exotic world. 'Topsey-Turveylamd' for example where you were expected to walk around on your head. Fantastic.

"What?" You may be asking, "Brings Topsey-Turveyland to mind?" I am about to tell you, so keep reading. There is, at the bar at the top of this page, a button to press labelled, 'Next Blog'. Occasionally! I spend a happy few minutes scolling through Blogland to get a taste of what's out there. I am perpetually astonished, until I hit an unrelentingly, say,  Portuguese, section,  which leaves me mystified and calls a halt to my surfing. 

At every fresh press, a new world opens, a new life revealed. 

I like to think that some of my far-flung readership hits upon this blog by accident, and then hangs around a while. You're welcome. Leave me a message and I'll come and visit you! 

What always pulls me up short, are the abandoned blogs. I see photos of new-borns who are now in kindergarten (or High School!) and I get interested in individuals who were blogcasting back in 2003, but have now  vanished without trace. I feel a little cheated. I am thankful when someone says, "I'm off.Goodbye and thanks for all the hits." The rest,  leave me a little saddened. Did Rollo die? Did Little Wumpkins and Soppy Sally  get divorced? We'll never know, and the voyeur in me feets cheated. 

I guess every blog has a sell-by date, and, inevitably, this one will end one day. But not today! Here are some photos to prove the point. I am on holiday in Washington State, where every trip out has been rather like visiting a new land at the top of The Faraway Tree. See for yourself:

Tac-o- Bet

Tac-o-bet, is the Native American name for Mt Rainier, Tac-o-bet was a beautiful woman, who when her life ended, chose to become a mountain who could, forever sustain her people. Rainier was an Englishman who was never here...

The sun shone all day: temperatures rose to the upper umm thirties.  Two amazing pieces of luck - the weather is unusually warm and clear, and the late snow melt this year meant the flowers bloomed later, and there were many still going into late September.  Tonight, Darlene and I go shopping for the Devonshire Cream Tea which I am catering tomorrow for everyone who helped with the wedding. Casually starting packing.  We leave at 4:30am on Thursday for a 7am flight (via Cleeveland and Newark NJ) We touchdown in Birmingham at 9am Friday. Though I don't get home until after Daniel's weekend at Llansor Mill.

Mt Rainier

Today was perfect... 'The Mountain was out'! Well and truly out.  Warm, sunny, clear - days like this are rare enough, and the fact that the same is forecast or the next two days, rarer still! The B&B is the home built for the Timber Company Boss who stripped the area bare back in the 1900's.  It is beautiful, and the couple who run it, lacking tv reception, gain all their information about the world from the BBC, so we're well in! The rest is up to the photos, I really can't convey how spectacular, how sacred this place is, and not just to the Native Americans.

Aberdeen, Gray's Harbour Wildlife Sanctuary, Ferry from Bremerton to Seattle

Ocean Shore State Park, Aberdeen. I didn't photograph the SUV's riding up and down the beach!

Driftwood is a feature of these shores fringing the Oympic Penninsula vast forests.

Tsunami escape routes are clearly marked... The Pacific coast is geologically VERY active.

Downtown Aberdeen.

The re are a series of Western Hemisphere feeding grounds for migrating birds.

Bremerton is a Navy town...

Washington State is very beautiful,,,

Too hazy for good mountain shots,,, Mt Baker is a dormant volcano.

The Space Needle - built for The World's Fair in 1962.

Seattle waterfront from the ferry.