Winter in the Garden

and happy Friday!

“Chill air and wintery winds! My ear has grown familiar with your song; I hear it in the opening year, I listen, and it cheers me long.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Winter garden

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! We made it through the week of fickle weather. This past week’s snowfall has not been bad as it was last year but it is has been unpredictable. My Viejo and I along with a few of my colleagues were checking weather at least every hour to see if and when it was going to snow only to realize it would change every other minute. In a few group texts with my cousins and girlfriends we checked in comparing or weather conditions. We even shared moments of exhaustion as some of our kids having 2-hour school delays and some home with no school leaving a few of us working from home. It is fascinating how we live 15 minutes, at most 30 minutes away from one another and the amount of snow covering our neighborhoods were so different.

Winter strolls through Pacific Northwest gardens within, around and outside the city brings tranquility to my otherwise busy mind. Just being in the snowy gardens feel almost as if the world has stopped rushing around. Everything is still.

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Stay warm…

A Thunderous Evening

Last night brought a thundering night…we lit candles in the open window letting the fresh breeze of rain relax our senses. My not so little hopped in my bed sharing stories of her day and reading Tortilla Sun till she fell asleep. I feel lucky my 12 year old still snuggles with me. The perfect way to end a Thursday evening.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Friday Florals

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”

Claude Monet

Friday Calm

Beach Rescued

It’s Friday! Where has the week gone?

Already in the swing of the afternoon time keeps whisking by and I am so behind on posting. Sorry I have missed sharing a few past weekends in images. It has been a goal to be more current and present although who can tell, right? As they say better late than never.

Well, life being so busy time escapes us I am seeing that more than ever. My attempt at being more spontaneous with early morning and even afternoon adventures has come to a brief pause as mi Viejo recovers from surgery (I shall spare you the details at this time). Current entertainment has been a lot of HGTV House Hunters International, movies (many we’ve already seen), board games and photo editing. Our not so little has become an excellent and attentive nurse to her papa making him smoothies and soups. She’s even helped me in keeping an eye out at his attempts being mister “do it himself.” But cabin fever aside we’ve been writing down some places to escape to once he’s feeling better. There are a few local towns I’ve been longing to revisit and a garden I’ve never seen.

Although life is busy I try to take a drive by a lake or a river for the calm it provides. We need that now and then.

Happy Friday!

Color of Summer

Happy Friday…

A Crisp Winter

“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.”

~ John Burroughs

A HIDDEN TREASURE

Kubota Garden Series I: Winter

entrance

Nestled among homes in South Seattle there is a hidden gem. It is a welcomed surprise, a beautiful 20 acre Japanese Garden known to locals as Kubota Garden.

In 1927 Fujitaro Kubota, a self taught gardener, purchased five acres with a mission to show the beauty of the Northwest in the art of the Japanese garden.

In the garden you can find streams leading to waterfalls, rock formations, beautiful trees and many beautiful spots to have a romantic picnic.

The garden has been a favorite of photographers, weddings, picnic goers, and sunrise chasers. On a visit with my family we got glimpses of young lady getting her Quinceanera photos taken. I wish I’d taken photos of her beautiful white dress that was sparingly covered in pink flowers. But I didn’t want to disturb them. We also stumbled upon a first date among trees near this pond sitting on a green plaid blanket sharing hard cider.

My husband and I have visited a few times and for the first time we discovered the waterfall. Neither of us new it was here and was such a pleasant surprise to discover with our daughter leading the trail of followers we collected on our stroll. It is the perfect escape amongst the urban surroundings. I highly recommend a visit.

Deep Like Rivers

“I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

~ Langston Hughes