Monday, June 30, 2008

Berryliscious

(detail from Forest, exhibited in 2006)
Yesterday, in the heat of the afternoon, my girl put on my sun hat and marched out the door with a big basket for a big harvest. When she came back inside, maybe a half an hour later, her hands were stained red and the basket was full and she said, "is this enough for strawberry shortcake?", with a big grin on her face. After a hearty barbeque dinner I was too stuffed for shortcake so I suggested making strawberry sorbet instead, which was met with approval. In the dark, with all the windows open, the fans running, the ice cream maker churned away at the simple ingredients: the freshest strawberries, fresh lemon juice, sugar and water, with its droning hum. Nearly an hour later a concoction of the most intense essence of strawberry was enjoyed by all, instantly cooling us down and melting away the heat of the day. There is nothing in the world like home grown strawberries, warm from the sun, red through and through, and dripping with sweet juicy goodness. Ahhhh summer!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bloomeriferous

I love it when a variety of plants, like ingredients of a recipe, come together perfectly for an instant. Gardens are so ephemeral, the Siberian iris seem to be gorgeous for one day a year, and if you don't bother to step outside at just the right moment you can miss their whole grand display. Today the Styrax japonica is at its peak of bloom. The fragrance is overwhelming. Peonies, Sisyrinchium, Tanacetum, Ceanothus, Alchemilla, Rosa, Digitalis, Campanula, and Physocarpus combine right now to make me swoon. Ahhh, June! Happy long days of summer!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Booties

A shower gift.
Cozy flannel interior
Recycled shirt toe + tongue

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Roses in Our Garden

Not all of them are in bloom yet,
such as Ballerina (which keeps getting
pruned by the deer) and The Fairy.
The range of fragrance goes from no smell,
tea, spicy, musky,
delicious fall-into-the-shrub-rapture floral,
to a grandma's heavy perfume.
The native Nutka roses that I planted years ago
have colonized a huge area into
quite the thicket and wildlife habitat.
And the delicate Rosa glauca (front row right) have multiplied into
grand arching monsters that make it difficult
to penetrate while gardening.
They have grown taller than the deer can reach now.
They seed so easily that they border on
becoming an invasive weed, lovely weed however.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Moving Day

Back to Fort Ward State Park this morning and new treats while on my walk/run. Mt. Rainier was fully visible today in all its snow cone glory. Way up ahead on the South Beach Road I could see a baby deer, so I ran as quietly as I could, hidden behind thick shrubs, to get a closer look while he was occupied with his meal. As I approached I slowed to a quiet walk and then the doe appeared along with a second spotted fawn. I just burst out loud with, "ohhhh, you are sooooo cute!" My voice got very high on the emphasized cute. The threesome looked at me for a moment and slowly made their way up their narrow steep deer trail into the dense forest. When deer rub their antlers on the tree trunks in my garden, girdling the trees, I am less than happy about their presence. When they gobble up my budding roses and loads of other shrubs I again am not too pleased. But when I saw that little family I couldn't help but fall in love with those sweet cuties.
It's a big day out in bunny world in the back yard. The orphaned bunny that I found in our garden last December has graduated from his temporary quarters and moved into the recently vacated big hutch. There is so much more to see in his new home. His new location offers a wonderful view of the Tan, a doe, that will be a new source of desire. I think he looked a bit frightened at first in his new house, but he will eventually enjoy the view and the expansive quarters. It's supposed to get warm today and tomorrow so perfect timing to vacate the shed where it gets quite hot in the summer. Both of our bunnies love roses and the climbing Cecil Bruner is now supplying an ample source for their munching pleasure. Happy new home sweetie.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

It's a Brand New Day

My morning walk today was a delightful change from the usual. I had read recently that to be successful in maintaining an exercise regimen you should mix it up, and not do the same thing day after day. Well, I have been on pretty much the same path for many months, but today, today was a whole different critter entirely.
After dropping my daughter off at her new summer engagement I drove a short way to Fort Ward Park. Instantly there was a difference from my usual routine in that where I walked, for the most part, no cars could speed past me (I'm always hopeful the usual speeders are not distracted on their cell phone or whatever and mow me down). Just the sound of birds, barking seals, and the wake of the passing ferry braking onto the shoreline.
I signed up for a short run coming up in July with my daughter, my first race ever, and I thought I better get some substantive running time in. Through the woods, along the shore, past lovely old bungalows with views of Mount Rainier I had to stop for a few minutes to soak in the dramatic view. Just as I rounded the bend at my favorite part of the island where narrow South Beach Road is braced against the tides just above the edge of the sound I saw the distinguished massive figure of a mature bald eagle, which was being harassed by a seagull. He was sitting on the remains of an ancient pier surveying the tidal flats for yummies. His sturdy bright yellow legs and rapier talons were impressive with their telling strength. Just to my right, weaving its way through the blackberry bramble, was the flash of a goldfinch. I haven't seen a goldfinch in many years here. What a treat. And then, it was just this opera unfolding in front of me, a seagull with a clam in its beak flying at full speed dropped its booty onto the beach boulders. Success, he broke open the shell and ate the meat with ease. The seals were barking all the while off on the channel marker. The saturated smell of the lowish tide and the muskiness of the tall grasses in full efflorescence, still ladened with morning dew, added another dimension to the rich sensory experience. Mt. Rainier was only visible on its lower flanks as the top was enclosed in clouds. The ferries passed each other in front of me as they made their way through the narrow channel. I turned around with renewed enthusiasm and ran all the way back through the park to my car, a feat not easily achieved by this old body.
I'll be back tomorrow.
And on the cancer research front, great breaking news for those that were loosing hope, new findings from the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center has successfully beat metastasized melanoma into remission: http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2008/06/18/T_cells.html

Have a good day!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Ripped Apart

My lovely Cercidiphyllum japonicum developed two leaders, probably after a storm that broke the initial leader, and has now ruptured right down the middle of its trunk. I know this state is an accident just waiting to happen. One big gust and one or the other halves is likely to fracture from the trunk and come crashing down on my five foot tall lilies below or worse on a passerby. I know I have to euthenize this tree but just like our old bunny that I had to put down last week this tree tears at a piece of me with its charm, grace and the years of nurturing. I bought it as a six inch tall sapling from the arboretum plant sale twelve years ago and now it is a thirty foot beauty. The lithe arc of its branches, the perfect cordate leaves, the mahogany colored emergent leaves, the perfect dappled light cast through its canopy, the butterscotch fragrance of the cadmium yellow autumn leaves, the all-at-once leaf drop...it's just such a gorgeous tree!

In some ways, not nearly so graceful, I feel like this tree. Fractured as my children don't need to rely on me any longer, fractured in my physical state (although in better repair than previously), fractured in despair about my ailing sister, fractured from the loss of a long held pet.

When I pointed out the structural problem of the Katsura Tree to my daughter she asked if we could plant another one in the same spot that is exactly the same size. That would cost a fortune to plant a fully grown tree. Fortunately, since I love this species dearly, I have bought many saplings through the years and have a younger smaller Katura that I can transplant to this spot once the big one comes down, although I'll have to wait until it goes dormant in the winter for a successful operation. I'm hoping there are additional pieces of my life that can also be transplanted to fill the voids. What shape they will take time will only know.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

finished

I finished the cap for my sister this afternoon under an outburst of sunshine. Perhaps prophetic. The dreary weather has dragged on for so very long here and just as I finished knitting the long awaited sun finally appeared.

The garden, other than the tomatoes and cukes, has not minded the cool temps. It has prolonged bloom times for the briefly blooming ones like Siberian iris and peonies.
Here is a sampling of bloomers today:

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

holes

i've never knit with such urgency before.
each stitch is a tiny prayer.
this will soon be a chemo cap for my sister.
hope the holes won't make it too chilly.
rowan calmer yarn.
i like the name of this yarn!