The previous owners of my property established some very special trees, flowers and shrubs. I’ve enjoyed the profusely blooming blue hydrangea, delicate climbing rose bushes, bright salmon colored azaleas, and various ornamental maples. There are others I have yet to…
New buds are starting to appear around the property. Most of the plants are still dormant, but bright green shoots have come up in the front, tiny leaves are appearing on some of the small trees, and I noticed flower…
In the afternoon on Christmas Day, I put on my boots and walked down my street. A few neighbors had Christmas lights up and trees in their windows and my neighbor shared a photo of a snowman from around the…
This Christmas Day is the first time Nicholas has even been near snow, so I opened the back door and let him check it out. He normally avoids the cold, so I was surprised to see him walk outside and…
Christmas Eve came with soft snowfall late in the day–so delicate, it was almost undetectable. It persisted through the night and I woke to a magical landscape of sparkly white, lightly piled on every surface. Each tree limb, leaf and…
Can you spot the bird in the photo above? If not, don’t worry, you’re in good company. I noticed sporadic movement on the ground outside my window one afternoon, but couldn’t see what was causing it. It wasn’t like leaves…
As the weather got cooler, I began craving soup. I ran across a leek and asparagus recipe on YouTube, but then couldn’t find it again when I wanted it, so I amended a leek soup recipe online. It turned out…
I was expecting to check out some native plants at a local nursery, and was surprised to see these two chill ladies. Dasher and Blitzen visit Swansons Nursery in Seattle every year for their annual Reindeer Festival. The festival, one…
This interesting stand-alone structure came with my new house. It was built by the previous owner for his wife. I’m told they would have taken it with them but the cost was too high, so he has promised to build…
The first owner of my new home was the architect. I learned this when we evaluated a series of blueprints piled up in a front closet. The blueprints specifically show the electrical system, but also include structural details and dimensions.…