Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Today’s Dose of Hummers in the Garden
I love them. 🙂
~ Susanne
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The Beauty of the Great Outdoors – How I Survived 2020
Remember 2020 and lockdowns, quarantine and social distancing? What were we to do to keep our sanity?
Thank goodness for the Great Outdoors!
For this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, celebrating the Great Outdoors month of June, I perused my photos from 2020, surprised at all the places we went, remembering how we coped that first confusing year of Covid.
There were many walks in the woods,
day trips
various forms of nature therapy,
and sunsets over the Pacific.
All within my home state of Washington.
It worked.
~ Susanne
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Moving Forward to Summer
May was full of rain, dampening spirits, and keeping us inside.
It was also full of unforeseen circumstances, limiting my time in the garden and on the blog.
But the flowers still bloomed without any effort on my part
and this morning dawned bright.
Summer is on the way, and I am ready to move forward.
Thankful that every season brings a fresh start.
Sharing on the last day of #SquaresRenew.
~ Susanne
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A Burgeoning of Weeds
It happens, though not something I normally welcome in my garden.
But why not?
This little weed – or attractive wildflower – you decide – is called Herb Robert, or Geranium Robertianum.
I found it burgeoning in the woods on a recent hike at Nolte State Park.
It’s a familiar plant, one l pull out of my garden beds. The ones in the more remote corners of my yard I let live, like the one below.
Isn’t it lovely? And why exactly is it classified as a weed anyway? It’s a member of the geranium family which we otherwise welcome in our gardens. And this one has also been used historically for medicinal purposes.
As near as I can tell, whether something is classified as a weed or not, has to do with whether it is native to the location in which you find it and whether it has undesirable features. If it isn’t native and it’s a prolific grower it may displace native plants.
This one seems harmless to me and attractive.
I’ve squared the photos of these prolific and burgeoning plants – weeds – wildflowers – herbs? – you decide – and am sharing them with Becky’s #SquaresRenew Challenge. It runs all this month, so you still have time to join!
~ Susanne
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Swimming Lakes from my Youth
I was inspired by this week’s Sunday Stills #Water Challenge to reflect back on some of my favorite water memories from childhood.
Hicks Lake
That was the name of the lake, back in the last century, and it was my favorite place to swim as a child. It was a small lake in White Center (south Seattle) with a dock and low diving board. There were usually lifeguards present and you could only go past the ropes if you passed the swim test. I wasn’t a great swimmer and don’t remember having lessons, but I always passed the test.
Occasionally we would make the long, long walk to the lake. But more often, Mom would bring us kids after work on a hot summer day.
(The older I get the more appreciation I have for her driving us here and there after a busy day at work.)
She sat in the car and read while we swam and splashed around in the warm water – it was a shallow lake and the later it got on those long summer days, the warmer the water.
I went looking for Hicks Lake not too long ago (I’m nostalgic) and found it had mostly disappeared and also had a new name – Hicklin! Maybe Hicks sounded too much like, well, ‘hicks!’ I was so disappointed and the pictures I took were pathetic, so I have none to show you. Not so my next lake.
Green Lake
Before I started high school we moved to the north end of Seattle, near one of the most popular lakes in the city – Green Lake!
Summers were filled with walking around the 2.75-mile path, boating and fishing, but MOSTLY with swimming! Lifeguards were always present so there must have been swim tests there too, as I reached the dock and even braved the higher diving board!
I revisited the lake a few years ago for a fall walk (we no longer live nearby) and it was splendid.
There were still boat and paddle boat rentals.
And there in the distance – the swim beach!
I can almost feel the sun on my skin, smell the murky water, and hear the laughter, from those dog days of summer.
Happy Days! 🙂
~ Susanne
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Douglas Fir Trees – Many Parts are Edible
If you are of a certain age, you’ll remember Euell Gibbons telling you that, “many parts are edible” as he broke off a branch from a pine tree. My friends and I would regularly quote this (in copycat accent) when we came across some strange plant or other foreign object in our travels. It was always good for a laugh.
I’m reminded of Euell every year when fresh, tender tips of new growth appear on the Douglas Fir trees in my yard.
I haven’t tried Douglas Fir tips yet, but the internet confirms they are indeed edible.
But I have tried Grape Nuts, the cereal Euell was hawking, and if you plan on eating some, I have some advice for you: soak them a long time in milk if you don’t want to lose your teeth. Though tasty, they’re hard as rocks in your mouth! 🙂
Regardless, nothing says renewal like the spring green tips of the evergreen trees!
So I’m sharing with #SquaresRenew.
~ Susanne
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Burgeoning Lavender in the Garden with the Bees
Spring is moving forward day by day, it’s messy and beautiful at the same time.
I wander in the garden where I spend more time watching than I do working.
Yesterday I pulled some weeds, planted some seeds, watched the bees, though not necessarily in that order.
As tiny blossoms are burgeoning on the lavender, more bees are visiting, drinking in the nectar,
and gathering pollen
to carry back to the hive.
Squaring my photos for #SquaresRenew.
~ Susanne
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Chickadees at Home in the Snag
I’ve told you about the snag we have in our front yard, saved from the axe a few years ago, per the recommendation of an arborist.
I’ve watched the Flickers do their renovation work
and seen them nesting in it year after year.
But the Northern Flickers aren’t the only ones using the snag. They’re pleased to share with their smaller friends including black-capped chickadees, who’ve taken up residence on the other side, after doing their own renovations.
I love them all! 🙂
Sharing with #SquaresRenew.
~ Susanne
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Swimming with the Goslings
I first saw them resting under the tree,
but it wasn’t long till they were heading for the beach,
for a swim in the choppy waters,
until it was time for lunch.
Just by watching them, I was refreshed and renewed.
Sharing with #SquaresRenew.
~ Susanne
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A Gallery of Cobalt Blue
I love cobalt blue but it’s not so easy to find!
So I went through my archives and found some in the most unusual places, starting with Texas! No, not in the bluebonnets, those lovely wildflowers that adorn Texas in the spring, but from the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.
I found a blue lady in the lobby, on track and moving forward, so I squared her for #SquaresRenew.
I found more blue inside, in sculptures of rock and pigment,
and ‘In Search of a Mountain,” by Anish Kapoor.
In Florida, I was impressed with the beauty of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, shimmering in cobalt blue.
And nothing says cobalt like a winter sunset over the water, this one closer to home, in Port Ludlow on the Olympic Peninsula.
I’ll close with another square for #SquaresRenew – ‘Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder!’ with the Blue Angels. They fly over Lake Washington during Seattle’s Seafair weekend every summer.
And that will do for cobalt blue!
Sharing with Sunday Stills #Cobalt Blue.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 