Category Flowers
Water lily
If April showers bring May flowers, the heat and sunshine of July bring water lilies. And oh, what a dazzling show they put on! I attribute this 100% to moving the pond from the spot next to the Japanese maple tree to where it now sits along the southern parapet. After going all last year […]
Fourth of July!
This might have been the best weather I’ve had in Seattle for the 4th of July. The morning was chilly and cloudy, but then the clouds cleared and it warmed right up and it was just about perfect. Justin and I hosted a small family barbecue with his parents and brother on the roof, and […]
One last weekend, and now back to work
Yesterday was Easter Sunday, the second day of General Conference, and the last day of my three-week vacation. With a heavily overcast, steel-grey sky and an aggressive case of the Sunday Scaries that kept threatening to take over, I struggled to appreciate the time that I’ve had and the fact that so much is good […]
Plants!
The big island seems to alternate between vast swaths of barren lava sheets, lush jungle, and scrubby desert hillside. Seeing how the micro climates change from one place to another has been fascinating, and one of my favourite aspects of the trip has been discovering the range of plants that characterise each one. My absolute […]
Hawaii! — let’s start with beaches…
I cannot tell you how good it feels to get out of the house, Seattle, the daily routine—and instead enjoy sun, warmth, and the joy of living in a big and beautiful world. And having Heather decide to join me at the last minute has made it even better. We flew in yesterday, separately, and […]
Flowers in wintertime
Oh hellebore, you lovely thing. Exactly what’s needed to lighten the midwinter darkness.
Air quality
We’ve had a rough run in terms of air quality this past week. Smoke from the wildfires in California and Oregon has swept up the coast and sat on us like a cat. Gone the rosy mornings and hazy afternoons, replaced by chalky grey everywhere. And the air quality index has gone through the roof. […]
Weekend reset: mountains and flowers and cycling and a baby tapir!
I took a four-day weekend this week. My time on the covid-related project that has been keeping me so busy at work is coming to an end and my replacement is fairly well onboarded at this point, so it seemed a good opportunity to take a break and (at least start to) reset. Only, what […]
This is what happens
Sometimes you run out to pick up a few necessaries for grilling with friends on the roof and realise before you even get to the condiment aisle that dinner-plate dahlias should have been at the top of the list. An oversight quickly remedied… 😉 These are no shrinking violets! Let’s just say it’s a good […]
Has summer finally come?
After a classic Seattle June-uary and what had been looking increasingly like Febr-uly, can it be that summer is finally here? Clear skies, mid-70s… let’s hope this lasts! And since our work-from-home has been extended now through the beginning of January, I’m going to soak up as much of this as I can on the […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 