Evaluating Sunlight (gardening)
To determine what plants can go where, I performed a sunlight evaluation for all garden zones across the property. On a sunny day, I took photos of each area every hour. I placed those photos in grids to evaluate the…
Washington Park Arboretum (part II)
After gathering ideas from the Winter Garden in Washington Park Arboretum (see Washington Park Arboretum, part I), I explored the rest of the park. I found structural art in a few bare Japanese Maples and a very peaceful reflective pond.…
Washington Park Arboretum (part I)
As I develop my gardens, one of my goals is to enhance their aspect during the cold months. With at least half of the property surrounded by maples, it can get pretty bare and drab. after learning about the winter…
Neighborhood Owl
Looks like there’s a resident owl in the neighborhood. Over the last few days, residents posted pics on Nextdoor (a neighborhood community website), sharing their sightings. Here are their photos: The spectacular photo at the top of the post is…
A Dusting of Snow
It’s been very chilly here in the Puget Sound–dipping into the 20s at night, and hovering around 30s and 40s during the day. I’ve been catching up on some gardening–a little pruning and weed control–and it was so cold, I…
Garden Plans
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…
Early Buds & Garden Clean-up
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…
Christmas in the Neighborhood
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…
Niko’s First Snow Experience
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…
My First White Christmas
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…
Foraging Birds
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…
Recipe: Leek & Asparagus Soup
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…