It's the equinox! Fall began as a bright, clear beautiful day in Seattle. A few days earlier, Dave was in town, and we took a hike on the Tonga Ridge Trail in the North Cascade Mountain Range.

Huckleberries!

At the end of the trail were lovely meadows where a type of small huckleberry plant grew (Vaccinium caespitosum). Their leaves had turned red, and they were delicious! Here J is staining her hands purple (and probably her pants, too) as she collects enough for dessert.

News & Notes

• While Dave was in town, we caught up on his news, saw his pictures from the summer, cooked, and generally had fun. The huckleberry he's picking is probably the "thin-leaved" variety, V. membranaceum, but he seems more interested in gastronomical than botanical details.

  

  Front View; Side View

• Our friend Ken Burr gave a reading from his new book Coming Out, Coming Home at The Elliot Bay Book Company. The book contains poems that Dave wrote, and Ken read one of them as part of his fascinating presentation.

• Our friends Chikako and Kamon Yoshimura are returning to Japan after a decade living in Bellevue, Washington. We are sure we will see them again somewhere in the world.

  

  J L Chika and Kamon

• We now have a 2010 Toyoto Prius as our second car. It is dark gray, so it will be almost invisible in Seattle once the rains start. License plate: GNEISS1

  

  A Toyota

• Our first road trip with the new Prius was to Libby MT for yet another terrific visit with Jim and Julie Shadle. (Gas mileage = 52.3.) They helped us find more rocks for our garden. These beautiful Prichard Formation rocks are 1.1 billion years old.

  

  Jim and Julie

• And we (and our friend Pat Bentz) made a quick visit to Dick and Victory Grund's home on Whidbey Island. We dined on fresh boiled Dungeness Crab! Grunds were off the next day for a raft trip on the Colorado River.

  

  Dick and Vic