Tom and Patti Saunders
Dog's Breath Acres 2023 Annual Report
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Here's our annual photo of Dog's Breath Acres, taken 1 January 2023, and the same view in 1988.
(Clicking on a photo will usually link to larger versions.)
Miscellaneous news from 2023:
Patti has been kept busy looking after Charlie. There are occasional art project days and trips with the Quails (Patti, Judy, and Sue. Beri has decamped to Florida). She does Zen Meditation once a week, and Pilates, via Zoom, with instructor Anelody. And works on her garden. Here's some more of Patti's artwork.
In the meantime, I haven't been doing much of anything. My biggest concern during 2023 was the merging of of Cordilleran and Pacific-slope Flycatchers back into a single species, Western Flycatcher. This would have (I thought) brought my ABA Life List down from 600 to 599, a nightmare. But luckily, when I finally checked my records, I discovered that I had already taken the merger into account - no more sleepless nights.
Andrew, Michael, and Joelene have been doing some worldwide traveling. Andrew has been studying Japanese over there, and Michael Spanish down in Ecuador, where all three did some vacationing. Andrew (a junior in high school), Michael, and Alyssa have been visiting colleges, planning for the future. Andrew has turned into quite a high jumper.
Sienna graduated from Snohomish High School in June and is just starting out at Edmonds College, studying biology (I believe). Kiara is in her third year at Western Washington University up in Bellingham, and spent the summer at her boyfriend Leigh's home in Winnipeg (I think). He's visited down here over a few holidays. Mike has kept busying running a sawmill in the backyard, slicing out lumber.
Scott is working at Oregon Health & Science University down in Portland, seeing patients and lecturing. Patti took the train down for a two-day visit with the family, where they live part time in Hillsboro. In July Scott took part in RAMROD [Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day] 2023, a bicycle rally over 156 miles and 10,000 feet of elevation gain.
Many of us got together at Dog's Breath Acres for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
More stuff:
In September we deposited Charlie at Roscoe's Dog Ranch and spent a few days driving around the Olympic Peninsula.
I didn't do a whole lot of hiking this year, thanks to aching knees. But maybe next year, after some overdue maintenance.
A few pictures from around Dog's Breath Acres:
And our favorite photos from 2023:
Our water fountain, just outside the front windows, attracted plenty of birds, particularly on the hottest days of summer.
Plenty of critters ambled by our trailcam, a coyote or two almost every night (and they would often howl, much to Charlie's (barking) delight.) But no bears this year.
A project this year was to scan a bunch of old negatives, mostly taken by Ma and Dad, of around Old Saybrook, my home town, for the Old Saybrook Historical Society.
