Cloudy and cool today - it's going to be cooler than normal all week. This summer has been very different - we had one week of abnormally hot weather, one week of abnormally cold and wet, one week of normal sun, but mostly cooler than normal. I hope it gets back to normal soon!

We went down to the beach tonight to fish for salmon again, but no luck. A couple of guys caught some small ones, but only one keeper. The sea lion was there again, and it looked like he caught one - there was a lot of splashing and carrying-on out there! The water was calm and clear, washing over the stones.

And then this giant container ship went out - sure makes the Puget Sound look small.

The Alpacas at the Greenbank Farm have recently been sheared, and they look so silly with their big fluffy heads and feet! But they are very sweet, and when I stopped to take their photos, they came over to see if I had anything to eat. They had to lift their heads up to see out from under all that fluff!

There are quite a few Alpacas pastured here, but these three guys were separated from the rest. Probably the Bad Boys! The Greenbank Farm is a community farm, and has some businesses in it's buildings, and hosts many events over the year. In the past, it was the largest loganberry farm in the country, and while there are still some loganberry fields, and there's the annual Loganberry Festival, they aren't grown commercially any more. They rent out the fields now, and the alpacas are in some of them.

Suze & I went to the Anacortes Arts & Crafts show today - weather was perfect, there were lots of great booths, and we had a fun time. Here she is trying on hats - we each got one to wear, and she got some extras for Jon and herself. They are really lightweight and have wide brims and a long back to cover your neck, and are SPF 50 or so. Comfortable to wear, even if they aren't the height of fashion!

I found some good Christmas gifts - it's always nice to get some early shopping in!

I planted some scarlett runner beans on this arch, too, and they are eagerly racing for the top!
I got this book from the library, The Letterboxer's Companion, by Randy Hall. It is a fun little volume that describes what letterboxing is, how it started, the proper etiquette, and how to find and create your own letterboxes. We had so much fun doing that on our Retreat at Deception Pass, and I wanted to learn more about it.

To quote the introduction: "Letterboxing is an intriguing mix of hiking, puzzle solving, treasure hunting, and rubber stamp artistry, topped off with the thrill of discovery. There is something for everyone in this quaint old-world pastime. Artists and writers enjoy the opportunity to express themselves in their stamps and clues, while hikers and outdoor adventurers have found it an excellent way to share their special places with others.

"The idea is pretty simple. Letterbox clues lead you to the secret location of a box that contains a hand-carved rubber stamp and logbook. You carry with you your personal stamp and personal logbook. When you figure out the clues and find the box, you stamp the box's logbook with your personal stamp, and stamp your personal logbook with the box's stamp.

"In addition to the thrill of the hike and the solving of the clues, it's fun to read the box's logbook and see who has been there before. You might also enjoy getting together with other letterboxers and comparing personal logbooks to see who has been where and to marvel over some of the stamp images people have discovered."

Your personal stamp is your "signature" in the letterboxing world, and creating a distinctive stamp that is "you" is part of the art of letterboxing. You can, of course, use a store-bought stamp, but most letterboxers prefer hand-carved stamps. They also prefer to find artistic hand-carved stamps in the boxes, which should relate in some way to the place it is hidden or the clues. I carved a quick stamp while we were at Retreat, but I will probably make another one and take more time with it.

The author is the one who started the website, http://www.letterboxing.org/, where you can find clues for boxes all over the country.

I love seeing the houses I design go up. I don't take the time to go and see all of them, but I sure enjoy them when I do get out there. And I especially love seeing the structure - all the framing members; studs, beams, rafters and trusses. It's the framework of the house, and at this point you can see how it will all work. And you can see the views from each window - even with the houses right across the street, this home has an expansive view of Port Townsend and points north and south, and a great view of the ferry crossings.

We got up very early this morning to go fish on the beach. The salmon are in - you can keep the silvers and humpies, but not the kings. So who cares? The water is smooth as silk, and the sunrise washes the tops of the Olympic Mountains, reflecting pinkly over the ripples. The sea lion kept popping his head up, beyond the range of our casts, but it didn't seem to scare the fish any closer to us on shore. The fisherman next to us caught his four-fish limit while we were there - where's our fish?

This little guy and lots of his buddies floated by in the shallows at our feet. The water here is maybe 5 inches deep.
And, wow - David's got one on! It's quite a fighter - he had a fun time. But it finally tired, and he pulled it up onto the beach.

It was a silver - almost 5 pounds - real good eating size. We baked it in the oven, stuffed with lemon slices. Yum!

Blackberries are already getting ripe. It seems early, but it looks like we'll have a bumper crop. The bushes are just loaded, and still blooming, with berries of every degree of ripeness.