Spencer Jack's Fast Delivery To Texas Of His Uncle Joey's Smoked Salmon

Last month I blogged about Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey's Big King Salmon Catch Of The Day.

Yesterday in the early evening I got a text message from Spencer Jack and my Favorite Nephew Jason....

Smoked salmon is scheduled for delivery at your doorstep tomorrow by 10:30 am. Spencer and I just dropped it off this afternoon in Burlington. I will be amazed if you have it tomorrow. Hopefully I packed enough ice to keep the salmon chilled. Brother Joe specially cooked the King Salmon he caught near the Queen Charlotte Islands for you.

I texted FNJ that the smoked salmon had arrived, somehow managing to get to its destination ahead of 10:30 am.

FNJ texted back, confirming his prediction that he would be amazed if the smoked salmon arrived in the time frame predicted.

When I opened the box I was surprised to find something in addition to smoked salmon.

That surprise was my favorite Pacific Northwest delicacy, dungeness crab. A lot of dungeness crab. That would be a little peak at the crab you see above, in between a couple bags of smoked salmon.

I have not had my favorite Pacific Northwest delicacy since late July of 2008, when my mom and dad showed up in Tacoma with some dungeness crab they found on their drive up the Oregon Coast.

Opening the box I was quickly transported back to Washington, the air filled with smoked salmon perfume.

The air smells better in Washington than at my current location. I remember my last drive north, driving solo from Texas back to Washington. As I crossed Snoqualmie Pass and began the I-90 descent to sea level, the mountains covered with fir trees, the air began to smell like Christmas trees. I had never noticed this so drastically when I lived in Washington.

Thank you Favorite Nephew Joey. And FNJ and Spencer Jack for the expedited delivery.

Hiking The Tandy Hills With Herds Of Dogs Thinking About Dungeness Crab For Lunch

A few days ago, when I was on the summit of Mount Tandy, the fog was so thick that it shrouded in obliteration the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

Today, the sky is clear, with downtown Fort Worth back being visible in all its splendor, which you can clearly see looking west across the old wagon trail that leads to where local legend claims the West began.

I came upon a hiking couple today who were hiking with a large herd of dogs of various sizes. All but one of the dogs was not on a leash. The unleashed dogs were very friendly. I did not feel in danger.

I looked for a Trout Lily today. I read in this month's Prairie Notes that the annual appearance of the illusive Trout Lily had arrived. I have yet to find a Trout Lily.

Changing the subject from the Trout Lily to the Best Hamburger in the Pacific Northwest, or, at least, Anacortes.

I heard from Spencer Jack this morning that his dad's restaurant in Anacortes had been determined by scientific data acquisition to have the Best Hamburger in Anacortes.

So, I blogged about this on my Washington Blog in a blogging titled The Fidalgo Drive-In Has The Best Hamburger In Anacortes.

Looking at my nephew's menu has me craving crab, of the Dungeness type. Crab and cod. And halibut and prawns.

And clam chowder.

I wonder if Spencer Jack's dad uses his grandma's (my mom's) clam chowder recipe? Because mom's is the best ever.

My nephew has absolutely no catfish on his menu. I can't imagine why...

Walking Around Fosdic Lake In A Misty Drizzle Thinking About Catching A Dungeness Crab

I did not realize it til I left my abode that a fine drizzling mist was moistening the outer world at my location.

The fine drizzling mist was very much like what frequently happens in a coastal zone, like my old home port in Washington.

I did not want the fine drizzling mist to drizzle on my camera so I took a photo from the Oakland Lake Park picnic shelter, looking through the bars, whose function I don't understand, at Fosdic Lake.

I was hoping going on a walk would make me feel better. It didn't.

I grow very weary of whatever it is, allergy or virus, that is making my respiratory system not function correctly.

Sister Jackie & Nephew David

Yesterday, on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, I was unable to reach my sister to wish her a happy birthday.

This morning on the Blue & Max blog I saw that my sister is up in Tacoma, which explains why she was not answering her land line in Arizona.

For her birthday my sister got Dungeness Crab at Pike Place Market in Seattle.

I have not tasted Dungeness Crab since the last time I was in Tacoma.

I miss fresh seafood.

Catfish does not qualify as seafood.

Snail Hunting On The Cool Windy Tandy Hills With Lobster Tacos & Jalapeno Progress

On Saturday on the Tandy Hills I came across a bottle full of frozen water, sitting on ground heated over 100. With no humans seen.

The next day that bottle was gone.

And today, about a foot from where that bottle sat, there was a white snail shell stuck to a thick stalk of prairie grass.

I have seen snail shells on the Tandy Hills ground, previously, but never stuck on a grass stalk. I would seem that something like a snail must not have an easy time dealing with a drought.

It was barely 80 when I hit the Tandy Hills today a little after noon. Wind frequently gusting over 20 mph provided a nice wind chill factor. Making today the coldest day on the Tandy Hills in a long, long time.

I rather liked it.

The pool, this morning, bordered on cool. And had me wondering how it is that I manage to go swimming all winter long, as long as it is above freezing.

Labor Day lunch was Lobster Tacos. With Extra Sharp White Vermont Cheddar. Lobster Tacos may be my new favorite. I was not much of a lobster fan when I lived where there was a lot of fresh seafood available, with lobster not being among the fresh seafood one could fetch from Puget Sound.

I have never made tacos using Dungeness Crab. Methinks Dungeness Crab Tacos would be really tasty.

I made Jalapeno Progress today. No, Jalapeno Progress is not some Mexican food item. What I meant is I made progress via having a successful Jalapeno chopping experience. Meaning, I did not have a burning a super-sensitive area incident after chopping a Jalapeno.

In my simple world I have to make note of the little things to have any sense that I'm making some progress somewhere.

Being a Valentines Day Melancholy Baby Today In Texas Thinking About Washington

I am being a Melancholy Baby today.

In the picture you are looking at my house in Mount Vernon.

Well, actually, what used to be my house in Mount Vernon. It was sold in 2002.

The house was built in 1985. I lived there from then til I moved to Texas in December of 1998.

When I moved to Texas it was to a house I had not seen with my own eyes. I'd only seen pictures.

This morning's melancholy has me feeling a bit homesick for Washington. I think what got me started on the melancholy thing was Betty Jo Bouvier's weekend stay in Leavenworth, an Alpine Bavarian type village set on the eastern side of the Cascade foothills

There are no Alpine villages in a mountain setting in Texas.

There is a town called Alpine, in Texas, in sort of a mountain-like setting, down in the Big Bend Country Region of Texas. But, it is no Leavenworth.

I'm thinking if I still had a house up in Washington, I would move back. Having a place waiting for you to move in, makes the moving thing way easier.

When you live in Western Washington you are close to mountains and ocean beaches. If you're in the mood for a total scenery change it is a relatively short drive over the Cascades to Eastern Washington, with its more desert-like climate, turned green in a lot of locations courtesy of the Columbia River's many dams and reservoirs.

Going over to Eastern Washington in summer and fall you can get yourself all kinds of fresh fruit.

Where I lived in Washington it was about a 20 mile drive, to Anacortes, to get on a ferry to go to the San Juan Islands or Canada.

In Washington I lived about 40 miles from another country. Vancouver was just a bit further north than Seattle was south.

The San Juan Islands is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. Meaning the islands get way less rain than you get if you are closer to the Cascade Mountains. The New York Times recently had a list of the 41 places in the world you need to go to in 2011. The San Juan Islands was #2 on the list.

When I lived in Washington I took living in one big theme park for granted, because it was what I'd always known. Only when you move away, and return for a visit, do you really see real clear, for the first time, just how special the Pacific Northwest is.

The scenery, the tall trees, the air smelling like Christmas trees, all the fresh produce, some growing wild, like blackberries and blueberries.

The fresh seafood.

I could drive about 15 miles and catch fresh dungeness crab and dig horse clams. I lived 2 miles from the Skagit River. You can easily catch salmon in the Skagit River. Or any of the Washington rivers. And eat the fish you catch. Unlike the polluted waterway I currently live about a mile from called the Trinity River.

In Texas my big hiking thrill, which I will likely do today, is to hike some short hills. In Washington I could see the Mount Baker volcano from my living room. It was a short drive to hike up a real mountain. It was a short drive to hike up all sorts of mountains.

Well, I better get going if I want to get a hike in on some Texas hilly scrubland called the Tandy Hills Natural Area, so I can make it to my Valentines Day lunch at the appointed time.