St. Patrick's Day is usually a good day in the Seattle area. By mid March, the weather begins to warm up, and by St. Patrick's Day, the leaves on some of the smaller shrubs and bushes are starting to sprout green. Most St. Patrick's Days are sunny, for some reason. This year was no exception. A few days before St. Patrick's Day we had a spate of great -- although cool -- weather, and the frogs began croaking and chirping in the nearby ponds, and the robins and chickadees were starting to be heard in the mornings. The Northern Flickers (our local woodpecker) even started their tapping away on street signs.
Last St. Patrick's Day (2014), I got out on my bicycle and took my Canon camera with me, and I snapped some photos of various spots along the Cedar River Trail in Renton. I also rode the Trail this St. Patrick's morning (2015) but it was a bit misty out, and I didn't take my camera with me.
Because this year I didn't take any photos, last year's St. Patrick's Day photos will have to suffice. To start out with, there was a curious sign with a Leprechaun I saw near a house -- It looks like someone's kid drew on it with a green, orange, and black crayons.
Further down the Trail, I saw a volunteer daffodil which apparently was planted by a neighbor, or maybe someone who is really into gardening and flowers.
I then rode into Renton, and just about 2 km outside town there is a relatively new beaver's pond beside the Trail, first created by beavers two years ago. At first, it was just a wet, swampy area, but now it is a real, year-around pond. It's one of my favorite places to stop and just look out into nature, and it is one of my favorite places to photograph from season to season. Last year the blooms on the bushes near the trail were out, and there was still moss hanging onto the tree limbs. It looks similar this year.
Further into town I stopped at the Chief Seattle fountain, which stands in front of Renton's old fire station (now a historical museum). The fountain was placed there in 1910. There are parts of the fountain for people to water their horses, and dogs, too. To the right of the picture one can see a brown building, the Berliner Pub, where I went on St. Patrick's night.
One of Renton's oldest neighborhoods, Renton Hill, is across the highway from the Chief Seattle fountain. Renton Hill, like many neighborhoods in Renton, has its own sign. On the Renton Hill sign is a fist-sized chunk of coal taken from the Renton Coal Mine, which employed much of the City until the Great Depression.
This is a photo showing the whole Renton Hill sign, with some of the neighborhood in the background (behind the I-405 freeway).
About a block away, you can look down Renton's main street, 3rd Street. It used to be a lot busier before the recession hit. Skyway Hill is in the far distance, and the railroad tracks which go down the middle of Houser Way used to carry transcontinental freight trains. Now they just carry airplane parts from Kansas to the Boeing Airplane plant in North Renton.
Heading back out of Renton, I once again hit the Cedar River Trail. The sign near the beginning of the Trail has a small history of the railroad tracks that were torn out, to make the Trail.
The sign is located on the site of the old brick plant, which is now a large, open park.
Further out the Trail the sun began to come out and shine through a break in the trees.
St. Patrick's night I went to a local pub, which had a lot more people than I figured would be there. They had karaoke there. The Berliner is a German styled pub, with a lot of German-style decorations. The people there were having a great time.
When I was younger, my Irish-American grandmother used to make the traditional Irish dinner every St. Patrick's Day, and it was a special time for me. She's gone, so the Irish dinner from a local pub had to suffice this year: corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes, and carrots. I also used to play the pipes at some pubs on St. Patrick's, but the pipe reeds (made out of cane) became cantankerous because I don't play the pipes all the time. I'm hoping to try some of the new synthetic, plastic reeds and see if that makes playing the bagpipes less of a chore. Below is a photo of me playing the pipes at a neighbor's outdoor birthday party. Being a loud instrument, bagpipes often sound better outdoors.
Of course, St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday, and the bagpipes are a Scottish instrument. However, a lot of Irish Americans (at least out here on the West Coast) love to hear the Scottish pipes on St. Patrick's Day, as the two countries have a bit in common -- they are both Celtic countries with many similar cultural traditions. I have ancestors from both sides of the Celtic fence. The only Irish music I've played are a few fiddle tunes, which unfortunately I play poorly. So during Celtic events, I stick to the pipes.
Hopefully, those of you who have read this post had a good day on March 17th. And thank you for reading.
