As a member of the local  American  Legion yesterday  I went out to the Tahoma National Cemetery to honor our fallen soldiers.While there I also took a moment to sit and think about my dear life long friend Robert Larson as well as other friends who have left me.

Today  Veterans Day  2014 , my good  friend Ken Vensel,  hiker, photographer , mountain tour guide,  invited me on a hike. Ken  likes to take photos of waterfalls and mountains and all  kinds of other stuff. We usually do most of our hikes under the light of the full moon. We have done today’s hike many times  but always on snow shoes. It was fun to  see what things look like without 12 feet of snow on the ground.  It was an amazing day for a hike as  the sky was clear ( not so great for the guy with the camera) the temperatures were in the low 20’sF ( not so great for the  girl in yoga paints and no gloves).It was obvious to us both  today that winter is here, even though just last week the temperatures were in the  high 60’sF.  We hiked the  Common Wealth  Basin Trail which is also part of the Old Pacific Crest Trail.  I counted at least  20 plus waterfalls during our  hike today. I can hardly wait for the snow so that we can head back up on snow shoes!   Ken is also one of the artists that will be showing at the Columbia Winery with me from Jan 5- March 31.