Beautiful Ballard Locks in the northwest corner of Seattle. Opened in 1917, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, are a link for boats between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal, which connects eastward to Lake Union and Lake Washington. Tourists and locals enjoy watching the parade of sailboats, […]
The Great Zucchini Races of 2015
This past Saturday, Miss Lellow Submarine was pitted against many fine souped-up “cars” in the Great Zucchini Races of 2015. Now in it’s second year, the Great Zucchini Races are an annual event (I hope!) in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood. Little Bird and I went to pick out our zucchini at our Friday Farmers Market. […]
Saying goodbye to an old plum tree
The garden is growth and change and that means loss as well as constant new treasures to make up for a few disasters. ~May Sarton We reached the end of an era in our yard and garden last week. Our Greengage plum tree came down. It had been showing signs of stress for awhile and […]
REACH for the river
The mighty Columbia River winds its way from the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada and flows northwest and then south into Washington State, turning west to form much of the border between Washington and Oregon before it empties into the Pacific Ocean. Telling the stories that celebrate the natural, scientific and cultural history of […]
There’s heaven in them thar hills: Horse Heaven
Nestled in southern central Washington State, between Yakima Valley and the Columbia River, is a little slice of heaven–Horse Heaven Hills–a long range of high, rolling hills in Klickitat, Yakima and Benton counties. James Gordon Kinney, an early pioneer, is credited with officially naming the Horse Heaven Hills in 1881. He first came to the […]
Once upon a time there was a farm stand: Country Mercantile
Once upon a time, there was a little roadside produce stand in the Tri-Cities. The little stand grew and grew and grew, until one day it morphed into Country Mercantile. When you see everything (and I mean everything) the store has to offer, it’s hard to imagine owners Jay and Janece Wood’s humble beginning, selling […]
4-year-old chef wannabe makes her own pizza
Are you excited about our upcoming trip to the Tri-Cities? Yes. What are you looking forward to? I get to make my own pizza. For several weeks prior to our Tri-Cities weekend adventure, whether we were standing in the check-out line at Safeway, playing on the playground, or stopping to pet the random dog on […]
Two if by sea: Seafair Weekend
Seafair Weekend, Seattle’s summer festival, when traffic snarls because everyone’s eyes are focused skyward on the Blue Angels, and hydroplanes roar across Lake Washington. Parties are everywhere, by land and by sea: neighborhood block parties and boats laden with bikini-clad babes. Seafair has been an annual event in Seattle since 1950, but its roots can […]
The stars aligned: an anniversary post
Losing one’s wedding site puts a bride and groom-to-be in a precarious position. Not only are you faced with finding a new location for your nuptials, you need to secure a spot that is available on the same date as the first place you reserved. This is the scenario Big Papa and I were up […]
Le mur des je t’aime–Wall of I love you
The “I love you” wall stands at the center of a garden just behind the Abesses Metro Station in Montmartre, Paris. 612 tiles of enameled lava cover a surface area of 40 square meters. The phrase “I love you” is written more than a thousand times in over 300 different languages. The wall was created […]