Family Celebrations

 Grateful for two months in Seattle bookended by my dad's 90th birthday and Hana's graduation. In between these two events and ongoing work I was grateful to be able to spend time with family and a couple friends and ensured my mom's little side garden is bursting with vegetables and other mysterious seeds that she won't know what to do with. I posted many of these on fb but if you didn't see them there, please enjoy them here!

I also spent time prepping for the long awaited Chefoo Reconsidered Japan (see future post)and now after a short ten days in Thailand, it's on to Japan whose airports I have passed through so many times but I have yet to step outside the airport doors!

Seattle Summer - Fall/Autumn - And a taste of Winter...

 A few reminders but mainly the colors of the seasons...

For many of the nine months in Seattle I kept my eye on these two as they sat on, hatched and cared for their one eaglet this year. They've roosted in this tree for many years. They are good parents even when their kid is learning how to fly - whew there were some parental moments and lessons as he swooped and fluttered and sometimes missed, falling and clawing his way back onto a branch. 

Most every day I would do a 2-2 1/2 mile loop down the hill and around Alki. In nine months of doing this loop, I only ran into someone I knew (the same person) twice! But the sky and the sea were always there - never the same...always changing. Always beautiful. 

Lilies taller than she is...

Homegrown...

And one day all the phaleonopsis got it together and coordinated. 

And the Dahlia's were large and in charge and always spectacular.

So I said I never ran into anyone I knew on my two mile loop - but, there was one friend that I made who was there many many days (maybe 50% of the time) waiting to say hi to me and to all the other walkers that would go past his house and down the steps to the beach. Meet Mochi - beloved neighbor cat who would walk with his many friends up and down the stairs and loved to chase any stick or string or leaf you might have. 

Seattle Spring

Seattle had a colder wetter spring this year but was still beautiful as flowers burst forth in all their glory. I thought I would post a lot of flowers (and there are a few) but instead I'm starting with 'Where the Green fern grows...' - Schmitz Park, a beautiful, almost old growth setting right in the heart of the city and just around the corner from me. I'm grateful for this urban green jungle and I'm grateful to be near the water and for water views and for some feathered friends you will see at the end:-)

Tulips - West Seattle Farmers Market

Colorful home grown swiss chard with colorful parents!