Try as I might to limit my exposure to too much negativity, on most days I’m a dedicated news junkie. However, sometimes all the buzz and spin become so overwhelming that I have to unplug for a few days. Such was the situation this past week.
I’ve been visiting long-time friends in Seattle for the past two weeks and I managed to escape the city for some much needed serenity in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors.
I had two experiences that I’m featuring here in video format. In the first, I was lectured by a Douglas Squirrel as he peered down at me from above. In the other, I was transported to a serene world where the only sound was rushing water tumbling over smooth rocks created millions of years ago.
Ahhh, the healing power of nature!
The Squirrel Lecture
I watched this Douglas squirrel (native to the Pacific NW) each day while staying in a friend’s cabin overlooking Puget Sound. It was an inquisitive creature and enjoyed nibbling on its forest treats while sitting on an electric cable that ran from the cabin to the Douglas fir tree where it lived. One day while i was enjoying my breakfast on the cabin’s porch, the squirrel decided to launch into a speech on what I suspected were its reflections on the human habitation of a cabin so close to its own territory. While I tried to reason with it by telling the squirrel I was just a visitor to its world, it didn’t take my intrusion lightly and continued the lecture for a full 5 minutes, although I’ve edited the video to just 1 minute.
Whitewater
Ever since I was a child I’ve been drawn to water. I suppose it’s partly a shared primal instinct we humans have retained from our own wet evolutionary past. The dazzling lighting effects created as the sun dances on the water’s surface are mesmerizing. At the same time, the sounds of crashing sea waves or a stream rushing over rocks delight my soul in a different but equally fulfilling way.
This was a good winter for snow-pack in the Cascade Range west of Seattle which means this beautiful mountain range is living up to its name. The spring thaw is now supplying abundant melt-water that’s producing some spectacular waterfalls. This video was made at Deception Falls near Steven’s Pass on US Highway 2 in Washington State.
peace, henry
My quest blog 
There is nothing in the world more satisfying to me than the views and sounds of a waterfall. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Cindy…for me too!
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Loved it Henry 🐿. Thank you💕
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Thanks Pam!
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Yes…nature is so serene…and lovely to observe animals too! Beautiful squirrel!
What a great place you are staying and spring time too!😊
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Yes, Peta, I’ve been counting my blessings! Thanks!
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That squirrel definitely has a lot to say and a mind of its own. For the record, that little Douglas Squirrel aka pine squirrel is native to the Pacific coastal states of the USA. According to Bird Note*; “they’re named for Scottish explorer and botanist, David Douglas, who surely heard them in 1825 when he traveled up the Columbia River with trappers for the Hudson’s Bay Company.”
It was an absolute pleasure having your company at the cabin this spring. See you next year, or sooner, I hope!
* https://www.birdnote.org/show/douglas-squirrel
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Thanks for adding the background on the Douglas squirrel Kristy. They are so entertaining to watch! And as always, thank you so much for your hospitality!
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What delightful videos. 🙂
I remember there were a couple of flying squirrels who lived in the trees in the back yard of my dad’s house who used to tap on my bedroom window every morning and start chattering away when they figured it was time for me to get up. 😀
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Squirrel alarm clocks. 🙂 They are fascinating creatures! Glad you enjoyed the videos!
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@Dracul I’d really love to see a flying squirrel. How fun that they’d come to your window in the morning!
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My reaction to the article and the videos was a mixture of delight and sadness. Delight at the free squirrel going about its business and the magic of nature. Sadness at the way we are destroying the latter and increasingly deprive the former of its natural habitat. The selfishness of human beings is boundless.
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I agree Marios. Humanity’s view that nature exists solely to provide resources for us to freely use is exceedingly arrogant. At some point, nature will retaliate against humanity’s destruction of the natural world via epidemics or drought and starvation. As the ongoing eruptions of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano illustrate, we humans are at nature’s mercy when it decides to unleash its power. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!
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Love the hiking around Seattle. It’s beautiful over there. That water video really is relaxing! Great post.
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Thanks MB! I have insomnia and always thought I’d be able to sleep like a baby if I lived beside a waterfall. I’m still looking for that magical spot. 🙂
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Lovely to watch in a hot and eco destructive Asian city!
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Happy to provide a few minutes of escape Kevin! 😉
Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I love the videos! Dougie, the squirrel, really tickled me pink. I miss the Cascades very much. Thanks for sharing these videos! xoxoxoxoxoox
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Yes, Carolyn, Dougie the Squirrel was either 1) a woodlands actor looking for a vehicle to stardom, or 2) just mad as hell that it’s personal space has been invaded. Glad you got a giggle from the video. I sure giggled a lot while watching Dougie’s actions!
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Good Job Bro ❤️
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Loved the squirrel. Very chatty and cute. The water was wonderful and proved once again, how unimportant and meaningless we are in the face of true power. Power that doesn’t care about words or standing. True power just is. I love that.
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I’d vote for that squirrel any day for public office…what a great orator!
The sounds made my rushing water as it crashes over rocks have always been magical for me. It never fails to soothe and put me into a meditative state of mind.
Thanks for visiting!
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