Kubota Gardens

We were out looking for a new park to walk through. We never did find it so we decided to go and find Kubota Gardens. We weren't sure exactly what it was because we hadn't seen it in any of the tourist literature.




But we had seen a sign out on the interstate that said tourist spots at that exit. Of course we weren't on the interstate and we couldn't remember which exit. Oh and our gps didn't have the gardens in its database (old gps). And we didn't know the address.

So our choices were 1) ask for directions or 2) give up and go back to the hotel or 3) drive around thinking it would magically just show up in front of us. Since I had some idea of where we were and a vague idea of where the gardens were and most especially because Fred was driving; we chose option 3.

We were at the point where we were convinced that we were definitely not lost merely unsure of where we were and that we were probably going in the wrong direction for finding anything. After discussing our situation for another mile or two we decided to turn around. Fred chose to turn around in what turned out to be the parking lot of the Kubota Gardens. How serendipitous.

This is an amazing place. Very large and very serene. Calming. Amazing plants that I have no idea what they are. We did see countless varieties of japanese maples. And so many bridges and waterfalls and ponds both big and small. And so many shades of red flowers and blooms.

You will have to look closely at the photos in order to see what we saw. We saw a tree with a large base and a super gnarly top. The we saw a tree that was either growing horizontally out towards a pond and then another 90 degree turn down into the pond or else it came out of the pond and turned 90 degrees away. We never figured out which way was which but we did take a picture so that you could figure it out.

We found a neat witchy wood that would make an excellent location for Hansel and Gretel or some other spooky walking through the woods movie scene. We also have seen many many trees here that have really cool curvey branches. The branches just swoop in perfect curves. I never have my camera with me when we see these trees but this time we saw one and I got a sort of picture. The tree was buried away so you have to look through the branches of another tree to see it. Any idea what this tree is.

Allergies

We thought we had major massive colds or else the worst allergies ever. We tried cold remedies which didn't help much. Then we tried allergy antihistamines. Eventually they did something. It took almost a week before we felt human again.


Being inside made us feel even worse than going out walking. We were starting to think that whatever we were reacting to was inside the hotel room. Or that Alf was bringing pollen and stuff inside with him. Of course that week it rained every single day. How could the pollen be zapping us if the rain was washing it out of the air?


But we probably aren't helping matters much. Everything here in Seattle is blooming. And blossoming. And pollen spreading. And we have been out in the blooms and blossoms and pollen everyday.

We have been going out to a lot of the parks around here. There is a park around every corner and it seems like one on every block. Of course all of those parks are FULL of beautiful plants that are blooming and blossoming and spreading pollen. Oh well.

We are taking our allergy medicines everyday. I go get my sunburn dose in the morning and then we go out to walk in a park or three.

Alf has been chasing rabbits. He is really enthused and convinced that he can catch one. The parks are full of hundreds of rabbits all just waiting for Alf to catch them. We are finding so many plants that are wonderful, so colorful but that we have no idea what they are. We have noticed that the parks that have rabbits don't have squirrels and vice versa. Alf really isn't picky and chases both. Maybe he thinks they are the same.

Really Quick Mish Mash Post

Ok, so this post is going to be quick because this week has been insane and extra time just hasn't been there. It would have been bad anyway, but matters got much worse yesterday when the car broke.

First, here are the spiders on the set - I made them into one big puppet which Miss S operates from behind the curtain. Sorry for the blurry picture, but they are 'trembling with joy'.



And here are still more baby spiders - the two smaller, darker ones in the front row (on either side) are the originals. The light gray ones are larger and the black one is the largest. The light gray ones go in the raffle jars. These jars will go on the ticket, snack, flowers etc tables so the raffle tickets can be sold at the same time.




I also knit a little bat which, poor thing, still hasn't been finished and a small pig which also hasn't been finished. They probably won't get finished till after the show . . .

And here is the show shirt. I know you can't see them well, but all the little white people that surround the A Chorus Line logo are actually the kids that were in the show. It's just their outlines and each of them is only an inch tall, but it's real kids. Unfortunately, since S was only an extra in the show, she's not one of the little one inch tall people.

And last, we have a picture of my lovely lilac in bloom. It smells divine.

Lavender Salve

The Lakeside Lavender Festival will be July 10th & 11th this year. And we really need Teresa to come back cause it was so much fun. So here is a tempting recipe that you could make if you went to a lavender festival and picked lavender.

First get your double boiler ready with water in the bottom and 1 cup light or virgin olive oil in the top. Add 1/2 cup lavender flowers and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile get ready: some paper towels, a two cup glass measuring cup with cheesecloth over the top (held on with a rubber-band). Make sure the cheesecloth makes a little well for the lavender flowers to collect in. After the 15 minutes gently pour the oil mixture through the cheesecloth. When most of the oil has filtered, squeeze as much of the remaining oil out as you can. Paper towels are for your oily hands.

Now put the measuring cup into the double boiler and add ten drops of lavender essential oil to the oil (try a natural food store or online for the essence and the beeswax). Add 4 tablespoons of grated beeswax or beeswax beads. Stir over simmering water until melted.

To test the consistency, put some of the mixture on a spoon in the fridge for a few minutes. This should be like a heavy pancake syrup. Too soft: add beeswax; too hard: add oil. (Cheat: one drop onto an ice cube should turn solid immediately when perfect).

Pour into a container before it cools too much. Container should be as airtight as possible (keeps lavender scent longer). Able to open so you can put salve on chapped or dry hands, elbows, knees. Pretty container makes great gift for your mother or your favorite/only sister.

This makes a cup of salve. Double recipe for more gifts. This will keep for one season or, if refrigerated, longer. Otherwise store in cool, dry place.

You could make tons if you come out to Idaho to the Lavender Festival.

Hint, hint.

The other plant needing identification

Thanks so much for the plant identifications. I have horsetails all along the ditches in the pastures at home so I guess I don't need these. Although these are very different from the ones I have, I don't have a green thumb and probably couldn't get these to transplant.

Do want a magnolia but thought they only grew in the south. Are there any that do very well in an extremely dry (high dessert) zone 6?

Haven't seen the info on the flowers in the pot that look like eyes. Those I really want to grow.

Fred has been finding a lot of the weeping Japanese maples that are only 3 to 5 feet high. I am definitely going to put some of the taller Japanese maples under the walnut trees and make that into a wooded garden.

While I was getting radiated, Fred was being a sweetheart and walking around the hospital grounds getting pictures of plants for me. This is the plant I mentioned before. We have seen it in several beds around the hospital but have also seen it in garden beds at houses we have driven past. (And I am sorry but the fact that I can see what flowers are in peoples gardens while driving along major roads and highways must surely tell you how slow the traffic is moving on those roads.)

These plants seem to be most often found in beds with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, so I am going to guess that they are a spring blooming bulb.

I love lily of the valley and these look like a purple lily of the valley, a very blue purple.

Any idea of what it is and where I can get it. Other than just going into the hospital gardens and helping myself.

This is the rug I am knitting for my bathroom. It is almost finished now. And it is purple, not blue. Colors don't seem to cime out true.

Here finally are the baby gifts.The sweater booties and hat got a little big, but babies grow. So maybe when it gets cooler they will fit. I worked hard on them.

Signs of the Times

We have spent a lot of our time lost which we prefer to think of as sightseeing.

The VA hospital is on the edge of Chinatown, and since we got lost the first dozen times we went there, we have done a lot of sightseeing in Chinatown. All the signs are in chinese, some with english, some with spanish and some in all three languages.

Since the hospital is so close to downtown Seattle and our hotel is considerably south of downtown in Tukwila, we decided that we should go eat after a very long day at the hospital. There aren't any german restaurants back home so we decided to try a german restaurant called The Peoples Pub. It doesn't sound german but the food was great german food. Fried pickles for an appetizer. Amazing. And rouladen and paprikasnichtzel. Very very good. We found the restaurant and then looked for a parking space. Found one in a lot across the street from the restaurant next to the one reserved for Norwegians. Guess someone beat me to the spot.

On our way to the restaurant we drove through very narrow streets full of way too many cars driving way too fast with no regard for people who didn't have a clue where they were going or where their next turn might be.

When I saw the street signs for James St and John St I knew we were getting to the heart of Seattle. Sure enough, we then saw Pike and Pine. Then we had to make a turn and lost track of the sights.

The last sign is at the intersection next to our hotel. Notice it doesn't say no racing. Just no racing between certain hours. This is on a highway. A four to six lane highway. In a downtown area. I think that it would be NO RACING. But that is just me.

Need Help Identifying

As we walk around to get our exercise we have come across some great plants. Some I want and some I am surprised to see. I think.

There are tons of trees that look to me like magnolias. I always though magnolias only grew in the south. What is more symbolic of the south than the magnolia. There are four in the parking lot and dozens next door. Every where we walk we see them. Unless I haven't a clue as to what those trees are.

And then there are the flowers that I haven't a clue but would really like to have if I only knew what they were. There is one I don't have a picture of yet. Have seen it several places but not when I had my camera with me. Will take a picture of it tomorrow. It is some kind of spring bulb.

The there is the way cute flower in the barrels outside the hotel. They have a tall flower stalk and and a very multiple leaved stem. It looks like there are a ton of them as oppose to a single one with tons of stems. Any idea of what it is?

And then we have a picture of the river. This is the Green River that runs behind the hotel. On the walk to the park you cross over the river and the little dog wants to go swimming. Both sides of the river have huge sandbag things lining the river and all around some of the hotels. Apparently the river floods bad and it is getting to be that time of the year. Sort of like the Red River flooding up at Fargo. Sure hope Jimmy and all are okay.

The next plant we really liked we saw along a stream that led into Tukwila Pond. These plants were growing along the upper edge, so not in the water but very near. The remind me of the horsetails that grow along the ditch bank back home.

The plants start out like baby pine trees and grow tall and feathery. Then there are the ?flower? stalks that are tall, striped and unique. Any idea what it is and how well it would transplant. Would it grow along side the pond or in the pond? It seemed to be growing only in the open, sunny spots but would it tolerate shade?

Sleeping in Seattle

The trip to Seattle was better than we thought it would be. I drove the first part so that when it got snowy, Fred would be rested and able to drive. About 2 hours from home I got into snowy roads and woke Fred up. It wasn't too bad but we didn't know if it was going to get better or worse.

The signs said that trucks needed to have chains and I didn't want to drive, so Fred took over for a while. Even snowy it wasn't too bad a drive.

The scenery was beautiful, it was sunny out, and with very little traffic it was a pleasant journey in spite of the snow.

We got back to nice roads and I drove again. Beautiful and sunny the rest of the way to the hotel. Lots of snow beside the road but only a tiny bit here and there on the road.

We got to Seattle and didn't even get very lost getting to the hotel. We had been so lost in this area last time we were in Seattle that we actually knew our way around.

We have are hotel room until May 14th and the doctor hopes we will be out of here by the 10th of May.

So for now, we are sleeping in Seattle.