Garden Growth

Over the weekend we worked hard in the yard. Sunday I hauled, dumped, mixed and distributed soil mix to grow tomatoes, winter and sumer squash and a few various potted plants around the yard. Tomatoes will live in lovely big cedar containers, each with nasturtiums for company and to draw the aphids. Those cala lillies practically grow out from underneath the house. Monday there was more weeding and more planting early in the morning before the rain started. Yesterday S mowed the lawn and laid drip irrigation throughout the yard. That project continues later - we ran out of garden staples. Garden work never seems to end but it's fun. I suppose it's not suppose to end. The garden is a dynamic entity. It would all have to be dead to stop. That would be awful. When I think of how things looked a year ago I'm amazed and delighted with the work we have done. And "firing" the landscape crew was the best move.
While I worked the dirt, S weeded and weeded and weeded and planted all sorts of great plants to fill in where some were removed due to age or failure to grow. Here is the little veggie patch, home to peas and beans, broccoli, beets, chard (I hope), arugula, baby bok choi, turnips, etc. A nice patch of moss roses to the right of the veggies. To think that I pruned these brutally two months ago. When they die back I will prune again and again.
Wonderful geraniums have bloomed.
This little ladybug has a big droplet of water on its head.
Poppies are still a bit shy but wear the dew well.

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

This was my third time to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and I never tire of it. It's like a get-away but it's only an hour and 15 minutes from home. What a great walk around the 5.5 mile trail. You will travel through riparian forest, then along the Nisqually River, then to the mudflats of the Nisqually Delta and so on. The weather was great. There was a breeze to help ease the slight humidity that came with the heat. We saw plenty of critters, got a great walk, had a good lunch while admiring the Olympics and spotting eagles and herons with the binoculars. Spotted this young deer through the grasses. Afterwards we headed north to Belfair for dinner with A & A at their beach house on Hood Canal. After that it was a bit of a drive back to Southworth, an hour wait for a ferry, then a stop at Vashon Is. before getting back to Fauntleroy. Luckily, we only minutes from the ferry terminal. A long but wonderful day.

Saw plenty of these delicate dragonflies. And the wildflowers were blooming everywhere.




































As we ate lunch, we spotted herons and eagles over the mudflats of the Nisqually Delta. The Olympics make a scenic back drop.



Off in the distance we could just make out the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.






Mama duck and her eleven ducklings. Watch out for the herons!





Keep away from the ducklings, heron.

































Frogs know how to hide and they really love the slimy stuff.

Less (snow) Is More (Spring?)

Well, Spring comes and goes around here this year. But a walk to Lincoln Park a couple of days ago was peaceful. The snow is melting from the Olympics so it must be Spring, right?

Three Days of Spring!

And now we are back to chilly rain. No matter. We really enjoyed our few days of sun and warmth. Here are some shots of the yard - which also enjoyed the heat boost. Roll your cursor over the image to see a caption.

Quincy Wildlife Area

Quincy Wildlife Area in, that's right, Quincy, WA. It was hot. Hotter than should be allowed. Almost 100. The hike out wasn't so bad. The hike back had us a bit concerned. It's not that long of a hike but there is zero shade and zero places to sit and rest. Because of the heat, we worked extra hard to do a simple level hike. I suggest doing this hike earlier than the third week in May or wait until September-October. Or begin your hike as early in the day as possible. We started at 10 a.m. but that was too late.

So, heat aside, the place is beautiful. I wish I were able to get more shots. But, truly, the heat and the sun made things difficult. There was little stopping on the way back for anything. The air was full of the scent of sage. I was tempted to take some to make smudge sticks - but didn't. Columnar basalt towers eight hundred or so feet high. Birds are everywhere in those cliffs, especially barn swallows. Raptors too. I have finally heard a real live meadowlark, S's favorite bird. Along the way we would stop to listen and could tell that one was very close but we couldn't ever spot one. We could hear its song loud an clear. Its song would echo off the rock wall. I wonder if they know the difference between an echo and another Meadowlark answering?

At the end of the hike are beautiful lakes and waterfalls. You can camp around the lakes and lots of people were already set up. Still, a campsite in that kind of heat with no shade...not my idea of a good time. Still, we saw and heard and smelled good things. And if you are yearning for the Southwest, which S surely is, this is a good substitute. Next time we will plan more accordingly.

Clearly This Will Take A While

and i know am faced with the possible decision of switching to the "new" Blogger (which is hardly new but I've avoided making the switch). when i think of all the work i'll have to do to get the blog to look like it did about 10 minutes ago compared to all the work i will have to do to create this blog in "new" Blogger, it's a toss up, really. we'll see...sorry for the delays and the mess

testin testing

accidentally erased entire template
before i get drunk, i'l try a couple of remedies to see if i can retrieve the info

Another Overcast Day

So it's a good thing I had three doc appts. Though the skies did turn blue and the sun was shining by the time I got home and was too tired to care about it. I've attached a few shots of the view from the Harborview parking garage of the life-flight helicopter. I'd like to add that the pilot and co-pilot were women.

My MRI was the kick off to a long day running here and there in and out of parking garages, in and out of traffic and several (no joke) needle jabs. I think it's a record for failed attempts to draw blood or inject dye. I look like a total junkie. Could be a new look for me.

P.S. : Roll your mouse over the pic to reveal the caption.

Growin', Growin', Growin'...

...keep those green things growin' Springtime!

Here are a few shots of the flora around the house. "They" claim the temperature will reach 60 today but that won't happen until around 4-4:30 pm, our hottest part of the day. In the meantime, we live under cloudy skies but plenty of green.