New Beginnings

With my emotions in turmoil, I have been blessed with another week of good weather, and a garden to claim my attention.  As we deal with the sense of loss that comes with the break up of our daughter's family, with the sadness, and sometimes the anger, we have spent ourselves making our little corner of the world more beautiful and productive.

 The pots are all planted, and the annuals are set out.

 The bulbs are about finished, and tulips have been replaced by dahlias.

 Everything is filling in, and the lush season has begun.

 It's columbine time.

 And yes, the glass flowers have been planted too.

 The vegetable garden is planted.

 The wisteria is coming into bloom right on schedule for Mother's Day.

 My wonderful husband is washing windows.

The shed has been emptied and is ready for Irene and isaac to set up their garden shop business.

 The tomatoes Tom started from seed are planted in a hot spot.

 More tomatoes and geraniums from the green house are awaiting transportation to their destinations.

 There are a few buds on the roses.

 Delicate spring flowers from the garden grace the kitchen table.

With rhubarb from the garden I've just baked a cake for Sunday.  We have a Sounders soccer match at the stadium Saturday afternoon.  I'm expecting the whole family to be there.  Then on Sunday we'll be joined by our two kids and our two grand kids to celebrate Mother's Day with ribs.  Yum!  And cake, of course.

We will continue to have our ups and downs, and to deal with our mixed emotions.

But in my garden all is right with the world.

Now it's time to go sit in the shade.  I have a good book to read.

Sunday Morning Stroll - Bellevue Botanical Garden

After working most of the week in our own garden, I needed a change of venue.  I wanted a place where I could combine walking with beautiful surroundings, not too far from home.  

We found just the place.

 The Bellevue Botanical Garden is undergoing some construction - a new visitor's center- so the temporary entrance is now through the Yao Garden.

It was another beautiful day, and the new green Japanese maple leaves made a glowing canopy overhead.

Leaving the precisely planted Yao Garden, we took the wilder trail through the wooded seventeen acres of preserve.

 Emerging from the wood, we came to the newly reworked Perennial Borders.  These are maintained by the Northwest Perennial Alliance, of which Tom and I are members.  We can't claim any credit here, since our own garden takes up all of our time and energy, but our purchases at the NPA plant sales have certainly contributed to the fund raising.

 A stroll though Rhododendron Glen took us back to our starting point.

We walked a bit more through the woods on the adjacent Wilburton Trail outside the garden before returning to our car.

We spent two lovely hours surrounded by beauty and bird song, covered three miles, took lots of photos, felt restored, and were back home by noon.  

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

I fear Seattle has made the national news again, and again not in a good way.

There was a time when May Day was not a day of protest.  It was a day to celebrate Spring, and flowers!  There were may baskets left on front doors, and even May Pole Dances.

This is a page in my high school senior yearbook, May 1, 1962.  We had a May Queen and King, a big assembly, and senior girls, dressed alike as partners, danced the May Pole dance.  I am in that photo somewhere, with my partner, Sandra.  Most of us made our own dresses.  The base of the pole was heaped with flowers gathered from yards in our small town in Oregon.  It was a lovely celebration.

When did we decide that May Day needed to become a protest day?  In Europe it is Labor Day, but we already had one of those.  

Several years ago the immigrant workers, legal and otherwise, decided this was their day to make a statement about immigration reform, and large rallies were held around the country.  They were peaceful.  Here in Seattle the custom has continued, and there was a large, permitted, peaceful parade of demonstrators during the day, which was over and cleared out by dinnertime.  

They have a point, of course.  We do need immigration reform, and we do need the labor force these workers provide.  A favorite placard, in this state that has just legalized marijuana, was "The Hell with Pot, legalize my Mom!"

But then the handful of Anarchists took over, aided by the street kids looking for a reason for some wilding.  The result was ugly.  The police, well prepared, held their ground, and with the use of bicycle barriers, pepper spray, and flashbangs, slowly cleared the streets, preventing damage to the downtown area.  It was all over by 9:00, as darkness fell.

Watching some of the live coverage on "breaking news", it seems there were about as many journalists and camera men as there were protesters. Actually there weren't protesters at all, just hooligans.  

Do we really have to put up with this every year now?

I want the flowers back.