Nothing much, how about you?

Yes I am back.

I was never really gone but it certainly seems my Summer was long and, I have to admit, filled with ennui.  Between a virus that hit me hard and frequent trips into work on the weekends, I never felt greatly inspired for blogging.  Fires late in the Summer kept me home from so many of my favorite areas.  I did some fun stuff and I visited an amazing place I will tell you about later.

    
It seemed that Summer would never arrive and rain persistently kept me from my favorite areas.  I even got turned back by snow in early June.  I had some nice visits to Eastern Washington and one of my favorite encounters was with this Great Horned Owl nest.

I paid a quick visit to my favorite hike to Red Top, but was turned back by snow.  I stopped at the little abandoned cabin to check on an orchid I know blooms there and encountered this feral peony bloom with a butterfly, perfect timing.

Late in  June I left for a vacation to England and Madeira.  On Madeira I hiked from hotel to hotel using a Sherpa service to transport my bags.  This method of travel is quite popular in Europe and I am aiming for another trip next Summer. 

I was in London for the solstice.

Madeira is remarkable for its rugged volcanic mountains.  I will certainly return to hike in this area.  I fell ill a few days into my visit and did not feel up to the 20Km hike along the spine of the island.  At ~ 6000 feet, I didn't feel totally confident I could easily and safely cover the distance.  I contented myself with spending the day at the hotel enjoying the view and drinking tea.

My neighbor and I had a trip rock hounding.  Augite crystals are found no other place in Washington but this one location.  It was a blazing hot day and we were introduced to several methods of finding rocks.

One new activity that I have really embraced is Mud Racing, or MOB events; Mud Obstacles and Beer.  Warrior Dash is one of the larger events but I am finding smaller events sponsored by local community groups to be just as much fun.  I did eight events this summer and look forward to the next one.  I braved the North Bend Warrior Dash along with some co-workers.

I had two nice hikes, both of which involved trains.  Lester is a ghost town in the Cascades that served as a railroad stop back in the day.  For a long time I have wanted to hike up the abandoned road to pay a visit. 

A second hike took me to the Iron Goat trail.  I need to go back as my visit was highlighted by a fall that broke my camera.  This Pika was the final subject for my Olympus.

My friend Ron suggested a few cameras for me and I was instantly in love with the Nikon Coolpix 510.  I have been out and about snapping pictures for my projects.  I was able to capture the August Blue Moon

This fearsome Isopod on International Rock Flipping Day

A handsome rooster at the Evergreen State Fair.

The stretch of 80+ sunny days was finally broken last weekend with rain.  I feel all is right with the world now.  I even see a hit of new snow on some of the higher mountains today.  I ran out to Snoqualmie Falls on Sunday and got this pictures of the clouds for my Scavenger Hunt.

and Kubota Gardens for the Fall color in the rain

I will probably be heading to the beach soon.  I saw a kite there that I cannot get out of my mind.  My little place in Neah Bay, Bullman Beach, is not going to be open in the winter this year, so I am looking for a little snuggery for the holiday week.

So that's about everything.  I will try to do some stories on Madeira soon.  It is a lot like here, only different.

M ~ Melospiza melodia , Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia , Song Sparrow


The most common and widespread of the sparrows in the United States, Song Sparrows can be found and heard in most every open grassy or brushy habitat. They are very sociable and are regularly found in city back yards as well as isolated mountain forest edges and meadows. Here in Washington most of our birds are well marked and favor russet and white colors. Much of the streaking is over-washed with a bluish gray blush.

Song Sparrows are so common that they are often used to relate bird size when in the field. In discussion with another birder it would be common to say that a bird is bigger then or smaller than a Song Sparrow. Other birds that serve as a size standard are American Robin , chickadee and pigeon ( Rock Dove) and American Crow.

Kubota Garden in the Spring

I took advantage of a relatively mild day and visited Kubota Garden. I have not seen this lovely place in the early Spring. I also had "garden" as a topic for my monthly scavenger hunt. This seemed the best place to be. It was a tough choice but the view of Mr Kubotas Heart Bridge was my favorite shot.

I arrived quite early and there were already many cars in the parking lot. I noted that there had been a sale the previous day. I am sorry to have missed that as there is certainly someone I could have bought a pretty plant for. The Kubota Foundation raises money to help support the park and they also need to gather volunteers to take care of the hours upon hours of weeding and maintenance that this park deserves. Next weekend is a Japanese Maple Festival with lectures and tours.

I was dazzled by the variety of maples and astonished at how many of them come into their leaves without green color. This lovely maple near the Heart Bridge was stunning in the weak sun glow.

Takes my breath away.

Last October, when I visited it was green.

Some maples have variegated leaves, others have dramatic bark colors.

There was a lot of blooms both small flowers and big trees. As expected many Azaleas and Rhodies. Some were already past bloom, but some are quite tightly budded and will be wonderful in a week. I had a bit of fun capturing rain drops on different subjects.

Hosta is coming up everywhere.

There were a lot of forget-me-not and a large purple flower that is in the same family as our native Self-heal. I rounded a corner and was greeted by this.

A Purple Tide. It made me think of waves.

This Song Sparrow could not stop singing.

I could not possibly grow tired of this place. It is ever changing.

Kubota Gardens

I woke up this morning at very dark'o-clock listening to the rain torrenting off the roof past clogged gutters. The first deluge of the Fall is here.

I pondered what I would do this day. Being in bed, listening to the rain is a cozy thing. I spent Friday night with my sisters and together it pretty much gave me the feeling of wanting to feel "home". To me that means my childhood neighborhood in Rainier Beach. I knew at this season, on a gritty rainy day I needed to see Kubota Gardens. http://www.kubota.org/


Entry gate by Gerard Tsutakawa, son of sculptor George Tsutakawa. The representation of the sunrise is a nod to the tradition of honoring the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu.

Fujitaro Kubota was born in Kochi Prefecture in Shikoku Island, Japan in 1879. He came to America in 1907 and established his home. In 1927 he acquired the land that the garden sits on and studied landscaping. He and his son Tom worked the land and were key figures in the Seattle garden and landscape industry. The family was interred in Mindoka, Idaho while Tom served in Army Intelligence. The garden was completed in 1962 but remained a private place, not open to the public. I can remember walking past and wondering what it was like inside. I do remember getting one opportunity to enter with a school group. It was Toms wish that the future provide for the elders and other citizens who could not climb "the Mountainside". Since then, a flat garden was established with plenty of benches for sitting.

In 1987 the city of Seattle acquired the garden and the land is protected and cared for by the Kubota Garden Foundation. They offer tours for groups as well as on a drop in basis on the fourth Saturday every month at 10 am, April through October. There is a chance for one tour at the end of this month.

I wandered about. Trails and paths lead here and there. Few signs or markers point the way, one must explore. Small paths no more that a person wide take you into and out of groves.

Stone steps are well placed. Several creeks and waterfalls cross the property and with last nights rain they were running swift and muddy.

I saw the genius of Mr Kubotas work. It was as if he knew exactly how to plan this garden so that 50 years from now, "Marti will appreciate this wonder, or that vantage point". Every plant and tree looks like it was planned to be just so. But, at the same time, nothing looks manipulated or structured.

The Moon Bridge is a focal point of the water complex. It symbolizes the difficulty of living a good life. A steep rounded pitch "Hard to walk up and hard to walk down".

Maples and conifers of every kind dominate the landscape. I cannot begin to identify the international encyclopedia of plants. I assume most of them are Japanese and Asian in origin. The garden paths show you wonderful views and hidden surprises. Small paths take you off to see something from a different advantage. The magic of such a place is in what you choose to see, both in close detail and in the broadest sense.

The colors were starting but I am sure that in a few more weeks the full effect of all the Maples changing will be stunning. Robins flew about in noisy flocks. They are feeding on Ash and other berries. No doubt most of them are pretty gorged on fruit. As the Fall progresses and the fruits age on the trees and plants they start to ferment. It is not unusual to see Robins drunkenly hanging on branches, floppy and drunk.

A Yew species and berries. It is from the bark of this Genus that Taxol was discovered.

I drove home past my childhood home . I marveled, once again, how the city did such a great job at making the length of the blocks shorter and the hills less steep. I stopped in front of the house and could see that there is still at least one apple tree in back and it was filled with apples. Oh how I wish I was brave enough to go beg some of those apples from the current resident. I took the long way home via Seward Park and Rainier Valley, 23rd Ave to Montlake. So much has changed and so much remains the same.

I came home with well over 150 photos. It is hard to select favorites to share with you but here they are.

A variegated cedar

I wish the sky had been an easier backdrop for this twisted old tree.

Hydrangeas added a burst of color.

The Heart Bridge, crossing Mapes Creek, a replica of a traditional red bridge on Shikoku.

A cone of an unknown conifer. It was stout and solid, unlike many of our cones.

These bushes resembled a Laurel species and the blue berries with red twigs were dazzling. I feel like I have seen this plant in Belize or in Tikal, Guatamala.

It would be a wonderful experience to see this garden in snowfall.