Redmond Watershed Preserve

The weather on Saturday was what we've been waiting for - sunny and warm-ish. We were up and out early for a get-a-way that wasn't too away. Over in Redmond is the Redmond Watershed Preserve, a park with 800 acres and over seven miles of multi-use trails. It's a great place for a run or a hike and even a bike ride. Horses, too, can meander these trails so watch your step. We highly recommend this place for a hike. Get there early so you can soak up the quiet - except for the birds and frogs and such. We heard woodpeckers, we spotted geese and a heron, crossed paths with a couple of deer, and saw lots of birds and a snake. We also got a really good 4 miles of walking to start our day. Once back home we hit the yard to plant flowers.

Here is the basic map and directions. Here is Karen Sykes' article from the Seattle P-I.

A Snail of Two Cities

One city is the out of doors, where this guy and his pals can be spotted sliming along my pea starts. The other city is in the tropical greenhouse, where warm air and dripping moisture lessen the friction between already slimy snail and the shelves! This one was spotted making its way to the newly sprouted basil. This is not the first and certainly won't be the last snail to see using my greenhouse as a personal HomeTown Buffet. I'll be watching very closely.

Urban Growth

Here are a couple of Orange Smoothie Pumpkin starts. I've got two in the ground. Not sure where these two will go. Perhaps just in a big container and then set amongst the landscaping to spill over the rock wall.

Everyone in the garden got a good dose of water fortified with fish emulsion. That includes me. I guess that litre bottle has been in the shed a looooooong time. I was shaking it and then I gave it a squeeze cuz I could feel the weight of the product and I wanted to get things moving. Well, one squeeze was all it took to crack the thing and I got sprayed all over the front of my shorts. Pretty much looked like I had explosive diarrhea but in the front. Yeah, and it smelled good too. The cat was really diggin' me when I went inside.

Planted some bok choi and rainbow chard starts and then more of the same seed. Planted nasturtium starts and discovered a clump of volunteer sunflowers. Last month I had seen the old, half-eaten sunflower head from last year in the drive way. These things disappear and then turn up again as various critters pick them over. So it made its way to a clump of dirt by the sage plants. We'll have to thin them but it will be nice to have sunflowers. I have several sunflower seeds germinating in the greenhouse anyway. I'll just plug them everywhere. The more you plant the more you should get to survive?

Turnips have been sprouted for over a week so I planted more seed, along with a full array of lettuces around the broccoli starts. I've basically packed that little bed with growth potential. I have thousands of seeds, I might as well use them.

What's going on in your veggie gardens?

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Just a few ideas:

Take your own bags to the grocery store.
Walk to the grocery store.
Switch to energy saving light bulbs.
Take the bus to work.
Plant a salad garden.
Try a meat-free meal this week (then next week, then twice a week, then three times a week).
Choose independent over big-box-chain store.
Buy in bulk to reduce packaging.
Open those curtains and turn off those lights.
Don't buy anything today.

I could go on. The point - take a step to make a change.

Global Warming?

Speaking of weather, I think February was nicer than March. March was the coldest in decades. Veggie gardens around town are slow in growing. I thought I'd be eating arugula by now but it's just sitting there, not quite 2 inches tall. My broccoli has it’s first set of true leaves but that’s it. And those I planted as established starts! My onion patch, however, is perfectly content. But I’m doing what I can, besides waiting and brooding, to encourage urban growth. My little greenhouse is full of basil, catnip, peas, beans, sunflowers, chard, and tiny pumpkins in various stages of germination.

Other yard projects included laying down a whole new layer of gravel - ourselves. We also replaced the bricks removed by the contractor when he repaired a leak in the outside drain from the gutter. We changed the shape of things a bit and removed a plant or two. I like the simple rustic look. It gets alot of traffic from us so it needs to be user-friendly. Local weather folks are calling for freezing temps again so I will delay - again - putting in more veggie starts. Errrrrrrrrrrrrr.

SPRING!

Finally, the sun, the temps, the blue sky! For a whole day! But Sunday and today are cloudy again. Still, we saw our window of opportunity and jump through. We hopped a ferry to Southworth then drove a bit more to Belfair, WA to explore the Mary E. Theler Community Center & Wetlands Trails. The temperature was over 70, we hung out with barn swallows, blue herons, hawks, ducks, geese, red wing blackbirds, snakes, and all sorts of other flying critters as we walked the 3 miles of trails. I've included a handful of photos here. I hope wherever you are you can get outside!

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Quick Stop in Fremont

First time in Stickman Coffee. Above is the courtyard with a fabulous mural. Below is a double-tall-non-fat latte, my drink of choice. Excellent coffee, really. This place is right around the corner from Fremont Jewelry Design where we had our rings made/prettied-up. Very, very pleased with the results.

Rocket Leaves No Tail

This is Rocket, a neighborhood cat. She has practically no tail. However, she is an excellent climber and was spotted stalking the birds that feed at our feeder. I rapped on the window and she spotted me.