Mt. Shasta 2013

Time for my fall sojourn up north to Mt. Shasta to cat-sit while my friends venture off to the great southwest to visit family & friends. For the next three weeks or thereabouts I will coming to you from Lake Shastina, California. And yes that is almost precisely the view from where I stay.

Mt Shasta Part II

[Content Disclosure: Poker 0%, Cats 27%, Food 14%, Sloth 11%, Lingering Crud 6%, Assorted other beasts 3%]

Whilst I continue my slow recovery from the viral crud, I have divided my time between this laptop and the nest pictured above. A few warm quilts, a trashy paperback and the always appropriate admonition to "just throw another cat on." That is Midnight in this photo, although Smokey is usually the more likely candidate for reading partner and quilt buddy.

My hosts are both back at work today, so I will be taking over dinner duties, which will be a challenge as Gary has managed to do back-to-back-to-back deck grills with entree offerings of:

Steak in Hot Artichoke Marinade
Steelhead with Pear Chipotle Sauce
Scallops with Chili Mango Glaze

I am going to go with my standby: Strata.
This version with Andouille Sausage, capers, shallots with a Hazelnut bread base. Full half and half, of course, with an extra sharp cheddar.

Further introductions from Shasta include: OK (Outdoor Kitty) in both her barely outdoor and decidedly indoor poses. Missing image of Smokey and other slightly less tame animals next time.

Mt. Shasta Part I

[Content Disclosure: Poker 0.0%, vacation 23%, olde friends 17%, cats 34%, dog 1%, raccoons, deer, skunks, hummingbirds 22%, nostalgia 7%]

I made the 12 hour drive from Las Vegas to Mt. Shasta last Monday. The long time friends, Gary and Cyndy Blevins, had headed out on their spring break vacation the day before, so I had five days to recover from my lingering illness and enjoy the peace and quiet of their place northwest of Mt. Shasta City. Technically, I am in Lake Shastina and non-technically this is Weed, California; but let's just stick with the major geographic phenomenon and cosmic convergence--Mt. Shasta.

Mount Shasta is located in the Cascade Range in northern California about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of the Oregon-California border and about midway between the Pacific Coast and the Nevada border. The Cascades are the most volcanically active mountains in the continental United States, the range includes the well known Mt. St. Helens. All of the major peaks in the Cascade Range through Washington, Oregon and Northern California are considered active volcanoes. But enough geography.

The Blevins returned from their family visit to Oklahoma last night and we are now enjoying a Saturday of complete sloth. The week ahead should provide more of the same for me, though they will be returning to work on Monday. I do have a bundle of writing to do while I am here but I also have some wildlife to share with you, beginning with a couple of random shots of what the back deck looks like on any given evening.

The more domesticated fauna, next time.