Much to my surprise when I looked out the window of our apartment what did I see but a COYOTE. He was just sitting among the shrubs near the main building. I had never seen a coyote before. I had heard of other sightings in Ballard and further out in the country. But there was one right before my eyes right here in Shoreline, just a few miles north of Ballard. As I gazed in amazement he casually got up and walked slowly away. I was so excited!

But sorry – no photo. – the coyote was gone before I even thought of getting my camera.

I’ve been slow on blogging recently because I’ve been looking for a particular item to introduce a new series of blog entries. I’ve been searching the innards of this computer. The computer has this account/story hidden somewhere – somewhere in Ancestry stories. I’m sure I didn’t imagine it. I read it here but unfortunately didn’t make a note of it or flag it or whatever so that I could find it again. So I’ve been searching for it for about a week and of course been flailing about in all sorts of directions. It is a very good account of what life was like on the journey to America back in the early 1600’s. So many of my ancestors made this journey in the first half of the 17th century, particularly from 1620 – 1650., from England to New England. I wanted to use this account to introduce a series of profiles of these particular ancestors.

Do you read a book you really like- do you just sit down and read it nonstop? That is what I have been doing recently. Just enjoying my book reading so much – and hardly waiting to choose and start the next one. This afternoon I plowed along and finished reading Janet At Noon by Jane Duncan aka Janet Sandison. This is the 2nd book of 4. jean in the Morning was the first book in the series of 4. It was published in 1971. I read many of Jane Duncan’s books years ago. She wrote a whole series of “My Friends …..” books. Straight forward and charming. This series I’m reading now is a recent discovery which I obtained from a bookseller in Florida. The copies are each well worn ex-library books. What a find!!

But now I am faced with the joy of choosing my next book. I’ll give Jane Duncan a rest before reading Janet in the Evening, the3rd book of 4. Will I read a John Le Carre or maybe Marley, a take on the Dickens character?

I am not sure where I found this portrait of the English poet Dame Edith Sitwell, but it is certainly very striking. Just the combination of colors! Maybe I was meant to find it for that reason. I am knitting a series of scarves now and am experimenting with different color combinations.

I like the image below for the strength of the red color.

And the image below for the more muted blend of the colors.