Palindromedary Tales

PIXIES

2014-03-05T21:11:00.003-07:00

Miles and I went to the Pixies show at the Great Saltair a couple of weeks ago. Its so nice to have Miles for my concert buddy, so I don't have to go solo.

We got there early so we could be fairly close to the stage. The crowd went nuts when they started played! We were just outside the big mosh pit.

This is my favorite Pixies guitar solo. Everyone knew the words, too.

Here's a couple of reviews:

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-17563-10438-concert-review-pixies-at-great-saltair.html

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/57536939-223/pixies-song-songs-band.html.csp

Cousin Party

2013-08-28T11:09:00.000-06:00

A week and a half ago we went to a party for Melinda's cousins. Extended family can be a source of great strength. This is less than half of them. Their grandpa would be so proud to see them all together.

Cousins.

Cousins, spouses and second cousins.

Pink Martini

2013-08-04T10:08:00.001-06:00

In July we went to the Pink Martini show at Red Butte Garden. It was really hot but as soon as the sun went behind the trees it was perfect. It's such a great place to enjoy the outdoors and good music.

Our favorite song was Hang on Little Tomato. It was inspired by an old Heinz ketchup ad. It is such a fun and uplifting song.

We also loved the songs in different languages. The sang in Spanish, German, Japanese, Turkish, Arabic and Czech. International Jazz. Awesome.

Wasatch Wildflower Festival

2013-07-31T10:00:00.000-06:00

Saffy, Miles and Ian joined me early Saturday morning so we could go to the Wasatch Wildflower Festival at Albion Basin.

It was fun because we got the same guide as last year. I was excited to identify several varieties that I had been wondering about. Last night I was able to correctly label four plants from a previous blog post.

We all had a good time and barely noticed the rain. Saffy was a great little hiker and Miles and Ian are getting quite good at flower identification.

Larkspur, Delphinium nutallianum

Sticky geranium, Geranium viscosissimum; blue flax, Linum lewisii and Engelmann's aster, Aster engelmannii

Indian paintbrush, Castilleja spp.

Pearly everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea

Sticky geranium, blue flax, little sunflower with sulphur buckwheat, Erigonum umbellatum

False hellebore or corn lily; Veratrum californicum

Beautiful meadow

Brighton Lakes

2013-07-28T10:55:00.001-06:00

Miles, Ian and I hiked the Brighton lakes for Pioneer day. There were quite a few people hiking, but most of them only went as far as Lake Mary, so we were still able to hike in solitude.

We saw fat ground squirrels, but the chipmunks seemed to be fitter this year. We saw a moose family by Lake Martha, and a some kind of flightless foul.

The wildflowers were gorgeous and we were especially excited to find a patch of snow saved by the entrance of a shallow cave. It's pretty awesome to make snowballs in July.

Fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium

Monkshood or wolf bane, Aconitum columbianum

A meadow of little sunflowers, Helianthella uniflora

Mountain bluebells, Mertensia arizonica

View of the mountains north of the trail

Butterfly on an Engelmann aster, Aster engelmannii

Lake Mary

Coyote min, Monardella odoratissima; Wyeth's buckwheat, Eriogonum heracleoides; little sunflower, Helianthella uniflora

Lake Catherine

What kind of bird is this? Maybe a snape?

Snow in July.

Showy fleabane, Erigeron speciosus

Lake Mary on the way back.

Lewis' monkeyflower, Mimulus lewisii

Elephant heads, Pedicularis groenlandica

Ski lifts at dusk

Wasatch penstemon, Penstemon cyananthus

Dog Lake

2013-07-16T22:00:00.001-06:00

Our last hike was Dog Lake up Millcreek Canyon. I'm not going to gush and tell how incredibly beautiful it was because I really don't want it get any more popular than it already is.

Columbine, Aquilegia spp.

Thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus

Monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus

Baneberry, Actaea rubra

Stickweed or False forget-me-not, Hackelia floribunda

Red elderberry, Sambucus racemosa

Sticky geranium, Geranium viscosissimum

This is a pale specimen of the usually pink sticky geranium. The pure white geranium known as Richardson's geranium doesn't have the pink veins.

Leafy Jacob's ladder, Polemonium foliosissimum

Mountain hollyhock, Iliamna rivularis

Silvery lupine, Lupinus argenteus

Coralroot, Corallorhiza spp.

Paintbrush, Castilleja spp.

View near the top

Hikers

Dog Lake

Sticky geranium, Geranium viscosissimum and

Wastch penstemon, Penstemon cyananthus

Desolation Trail

2013-07-02T19:37:00.002-06:00

Last week's hike: Desolation Trail in Millcreek Canyon.

The woods

Showy fleabane, Erigeron speciosus

Mallow ninebark, Physocarpus malvaceus

Woods rose, Rosa woodsii

Mountain hollyhock, Iliamna rivularis

Salt Lake Valley overlook

Hikers

City Creek Hike

2013-06-03T22:52:00.001-06:00

The last two hiking club meetings took us to nearby hikes that were essentially urban.

Two weeks ago we parked at the City Creek Center, and then walked over to memory grove and up a trail next to the real City Creek. There were lots of people walking there, and there were several little benches and little developed areas to rest.

Lisette joined us for this one. We liked this hike, but with reservations. It was cool that you can walk from the heart of downtown and be in nature in less than a mile, but there were too many people to feel we were totally immersed in nature.

Miles wore appropriate sun protection.

We hiked out of the little canyon and had a great view of downtown and the capitol building.

We ended up "hiking" down residential streets, just a block away from LDS hospital. We enjoyed the varied architecture of the old houses though. We hiked 4 miles round trip and had a respectable elevation gain.

Hiking Club - Season 2

2013-05-17T09:43:00.003-06:00

Ian and I reconvened our hiking club, and this year Miles is joining us. We started with an easy hike inside of Red Butte Garden, it was just over 2 miles with an easy 387 foot ascent. Here's the route we took:

View on Google Maps

The hills are covered with arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata). It was the perfect time to visit, since they are all in bloom.

We saw a lot of this little beauty, wild phlox (Phlox longifolia).

Here is Ian at the deer gate.

Backside view

View of the valley.

Miscellaneous October Photos

2012-10-21T20:18:00.000-06:00

Nigel

Ian and cousin Samuel

Lisette and cousin Andrew

Ian of Arabia

Lisette and Miles with friends in chemistry class

Saffy and Ian

Farewell to Summer

2012-10-13T20:50:00.001-06:00

Sunday we hopped in the van and drove up Millcreek Canyon to see the fall leaves. Melinda and I had gone up the previous week just by ourselves but we wanted the kids to see the colors.

It's hard to believe summer is over already. Two weeks ago it was pleasantly cool in the canyon, but last week it was almost freezing; it was only 1 degree Celsius (33 degrees Fahrenheit). There was ice forming on rocks in the stream already.

Ian is in the 11 year old scouts this year. I've really enjoyed going camping with him this year. We camped in this same canyon just last month. Earlier in the summer we camped in Big Cottonwood Canyon and in East Canyon. We also had fun hiking. We also did 9 hikes together during our weekly father and son hiking club.

Saffy braved the cold and although she had a warm coat she somehow came only in flip-flops. Saffron started going to Liberty Girls club this year. She really likes doing crafts and activities with the other girls.

Miles and Lisette are both doing chemistry this year with some of their friends with Melinda teaching. Lisette is really enjoying her AP English class and somewhat tolerating her math class. She has gotten very good at crocheting and she now has a head of natty dreadlocks.

Things have been busy and I haven't done any blog posts for a while. In September I started a new job. It's hard to adjust, but I'm really glad to be working as part of a team and to be able to work with a lot of new technologies. Plus the commute is under 10 minutes, so I've been able to come home for lunch most days, which is nice.

Melinda is sporting the latest in headwear fashion (it's actually a pair of Nigel's pants). Melinda is staying busy homeschooling the kids. She works really hard at their weekly chemistry class and their history and book club groups.

What a handsome group! Just this year both Miles and Lisette have grown taller than their Mom. Miles seems to have grown an inch just this past month.

Speaking of Miles, he just turned fourteen last month. We had a fun birthday with him. He planned what he wanted to do. We went to Bruges Waffles and Frites and had real Belgian waffles and frites. He wanted cookies instead of cake, so we made rose water cookies, which were very tasty.

He's been really busy working on making his own 3-D printer. There is an open source community that has plans, but you have to get all your own parts. He's been working hard saving his money for well over a year and now he's buying all the parts and putting it together. He has the frame already done, and he'll have more done soon as soon as the parts arrive by mail. Here's a picture of a completed printer.

OK, that's all for now. Maybe I won't wait as long for my next post, but I wouldn't hold your breath if I were you.

Coyote Gulch

2012-08-21T21:37:00.001-06:00

I spent four days last week hiking with some of my siblings in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Tuesday morning we hiked into Coyote Gulch. We were graced with cloud cover which made the hike so much more enjoyable.

I'm wearing my backpack which hasn't seen any action since the early 90's.

Ruth, Joy and James are modeling the latest fashions in backcountry wear.

Clair, our intrepid guide, leads the way.

After about three miles marching through sand and then over slick rock, we reach our destination. Yes, we were up very high.

You want me to hike down where?

Seriously, are you nuts?! Go down there?! Do you want me to die?! Where's the elevator?

This is a view of what we climbed down. Yes it was completely insane. At the end James climbed back up and retrieved my pack for the final descent and I used a rope on the way down. Thanks again, James. Aren't little brothers great? It reminds me of how "I didn't apologize for when I was eight and I made my younger brother have to be my personal slave."

We had a really sweet camping spot, right underneath Jacob Hamblin's Arch. There was also a natural spring with cool clean water just a 100 feet away.

This is the other side of the arch.

This is one of the natural amphitheaters that was carved out by the river.

Notice the people the bottom? The sandstone walls were massive. It reminded me of walking between the skyscrapers in Chicago, shaded almost all day.

It was breathtakingly beautiful down there. This is a popular destination, but we went at an unpopular time and were rewarded with complete solitude.

Scenes from Spring City

2012-08-20T18:38:00.003-06:00

I just got back from a four day backpacking trip at Coyote Gulch with four of my siblings. On our way there we passed through our old hometown of Spring City. My family moved here in 1983.

This the view of Horseshoe Mountain from where we used to live. We weren't actually in Spring City proper, but a mile or so out of town.

Our friends, the Sopers, renovated this beautiful house. I think they're trying to sell it now.

They've been working on renovating this old school for years. I remember we once had a Halloween activity where we sat in the foyer of the school and watched the original Night of the Living Dead. Very creepy in that building with the peeling walls and eerie shadows.

I always loved this painted billboard.

Right next to the gas station is this monument where you can actually drink the spring water.

Here's the old Bishop's Storehouse.

I didn't appreciate how cool this chapel was while I attended there. It's over a century old.

Here's one of the many restored homes. Every may they have a historic home tour where you can go and see inside.

This is Joe Bennion's pottery shop. They made a documentary about him and his life creating pottery for a living in the early 90's.

Forbes recently listed Spring City as one of the nation's prettiest towns. I sure didn't think so growing up there as a teenager in the 80's, but driving through there I would agree, it is beautiful.

Noisy Toddlers

2012-08-05T19:56:00.002-06:00

Nigel and his cousin Elliot were having some type of competition involving breakfast cereal. What could they be thinking? What goes on in their little minds?

Wasatch Wildflower Festival

2012-07-28T13:11:00.003-06:00

Warning: this post contains lots of boring flower pictures and their corresponding boring scientific Latin names.

I took the day off Friday and took Miles and Ian to the Wasatch Wildflower Festival. We drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon in the morning and parked at the base of Brighton Ski Resort. The volunteers were all excited when we arrived because we were the first ones of the day. We had our own private guide take us on a hike and show us all the wildflowers. It was overcast and we had a few light rain showers, but it was a great respite from the desert valley heat.

In this picture the white flowers are Richardson's geranium (Geranium richardsonii), the black ones are western coneflower (Rudbeckia occidentalis), the red ones are Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp), the purple ones are monkshood (Aconitum columbianum), the yellow ones are groundsel (Senecio spp) and the big white one is false hellebore (Veratrum viride).

This is native Utah bush is twinberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata).

If you look closely at this flower it looks like a bunch of elephant heads on a stick, thus the common name of elephant heads (Pedicularis groenlandica). It grows in wet marshes and along streams.

We saw lots of these plants last week in Millcreek Canyon, but they weren't in bloom and we couldn't figure out what they were. Our guide told us these are false hellebore (Veratrum viride).

It was raining earlier in the morning and everything was wet. All the volunteers had jackets and long pants and we felt a little unprepared in our shorts and t-shirts. But we only got a few sprinkles and the day turned out really nice. I liked this arrangement of monkshood or wolf's bane (Acontium columbianum) with paintbrush (Castilleja spp). There are lots of varieties of paintbrush and they mingle between each other so I'm not sure which ones these are. Painbrush are interesting because they are semi-parasitic and their colors may change depending upon the host plant.

I was excited to see a white version of Monkshood. We had never seen one before.

We saw these beautiful pink Lewis monkey flowers (Mimulus lewisii) growing out of a rivulet.

There is a lot of variety of buckwheat or sulphur flowers (Eriogonum spp.) growing up there.

Ian and Miles were great hiking buddies. Miles took most of the photos (at least the ones that turned out).

We enjoyed this patch of fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) growing near the top of the trail. After the big Yellowstone fires in 1988 fireweed was the first plant to appear and start to stabilize the soil.

We saw this American pika scurrying back and forth between boulders, he was carrying little branches of leaves and grass onto a pile on a boulder.

Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) has nice little white flowers which last for a long time (thus the name). This is a flower I've enjoyed growing in my own garden.

I was really excited to find this flower, Monardella odoratissima, which is also known as mountain coyote mint, mountain beebalm, and mountain pennyroyal. When you touch the leaves, your fingers are left with a wonderful mint smell.

Here is a closeup of the blooms.

The sky mostly cleared up when we got up to Lake Mary. It was so nice to be outdoors and the lake is just stunning.

We took a break on a boulder and enjoyed the view. We had trail mix for a snack and soon we were accosted by a scurry of cheeky chubby chipmunks. They ran all over trying to get our food. They were hilarious to watch.

On our way back down we saw some yellow monkey flower (Mimulus guttatus).

This is the approximate site of the fateful ski accident of 2009. I don't think I've been up here since then.

There were a few patches of Rocky Mountain penstemons (Penstemon strictus) near the base of the mountain.

We were driving down the mountain when on a whim we decided to take Guardsman Pass over the mountain. The road was very steep and very rough in places, but we were rewarded by some awesome views of the mountains and valleys below. We were glad we took it. It felt like we were on a mini vacation in a remote forest.

We ended up in Midway and we went and saw the crater. Miles and Ian's have great-great grandparents who immigrated to Midway from Switerland which makes them 1/8 Swiss. They have a little grocery store there called "The Store" that has a built in deli and pizza place. We ordered a delicious pesto mushroom and spinach pie. It was an excellent finish to a very fun outing.

Strolling Cousins

2012-07-21T14:27:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday afternoon we went to my niece Elizabeth's baptismal service. She was so pretty in white. It was really nice to visit with family. After the service we drove to Buhl Idaho and stayed overnight with my brother James and his family.

Sunday morning they blessed their new baby, Maddison. She is such a beautiful baby. Sunday afternoon we had lunch with Brooke and James and Brooke's family in Hagerman. It was a really nice afternoon and it was so nice to spend it with family. I didn't do too well taking pictures, but Nigel was really cute playing with his cousin Jaydaka and I did get a short video clip. Here they are strolling around the driveway.

Welcome to the Badlands

2012-07-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

We were looking through old photos and we found this video of Saffron. This was from our trip last year when we stopped at Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

Here's a transcript:

Welcome to the Badlands. It's very rocky and some plants live here and my Dad and Mom think it's called the Badlands because cows will just fall off and fall off of tables. And we like to have a clear view of part of the Badlands. You saw your view, don't you. We can walk around a see a viewing and we can go around and walk on the Badlands. But it says be careful and watch out for rattlesnakes. Now this is the end, goodbye!

I'm pretty bad at filming, but I think Saffy has a future in television journalism, don't you?

Hair Jealousy

2012-07-01T23:15:00.000-06:00

Lisette and Miles just got back from their Super Summer trip to Flaming Gorge. Even though it was more peaceful around the house without them, I missed them. Here is Lisette in front of some roses. Isn't her hair cute? Melinda, Lisette and Saffron now have pink stripes in their hair. Our friend with breast cancer had a pink hair party because she didn't want anyone to shave their head for her.

Miles doesn't plan on getting his hair cut until after The Hobbit comes out in December because he wants to be an elf. Does anyone have a spare set of prosthetic pointy ears?

Here Miles is teaching Nigel how to mop. Either he's trying to teach him life skills or he's pulling a Tom Sawyer and trying to get him to do his jobs for him.

Ian is in the eleven year old scouts right now and he and I are going on some camping trips this summer. Ian's excuse for not cutting his hair is that he is a Nazarite - and we all know what happened to Samson when he cut his hair. (Also, like a good Nazarite, Ian won't touch dead animals either).

Here is Saffron with the first vegetables from the garden. She doesn't want to cut her hair either.

Nigel's hair was getting just a little crazy, so yesterday he got it cut.

Can this be the same little boy?

Nigel and I are the only ones committed to having short and naturally colored hair.

Why haven't I posted the pink stripe hair pictures yet? It's too late and it's too much work. Maybe later. Stay tuned.

The Living Room Part Two

2012-06-29T23:03:00.000-06:00

Ian and I went hiking last week to The Living Room, but we ran out of steam before the summit. Yesterday we went back to try it again and this time we were victorious!

We saw lots of these lovely flowers. I'm still trying to figure out what they are. I've been consulting my native plant books, but I haven't found them yet.

It was somewhat overcast so it wasn't too hot. This is the view facing the U of U campus.

This is facing the south of the valley. We could see all the way from the point of the mountain to the Great Salt Lake.

We were encouraged on how much better we did this week. We went much further before we had to take a break and it seemed easier.

The view was beautiful; very stunning. We could faintly hear music from Red Butte Garden below where someone had a wedding reception. The sounds of traffic were very distant and it was peaceful up there.

It is called the Living Room because someone built all these great armchairs and couches out of slabs of sandstone. We were very happy to have made it this time, and we lounged and enjoyed the sunset with the other hikers.

Ian likes to wear my favorite hat so I took my gardening hat. It's great to keep the sun off me, but Melinda thinks I looks silly in it (she's probably right, like always).

I think that this flower is a thread-leafed daisy. It's hard to be sure, but I think it's probably Erigeron filifolius. There were many of these growing in the cracks of the rocks.

We felt great after a little rest and we had a very pleasant walk down the mountain. The valley was very pretty with the sun low in the sky.

We're trying to decide about next weeks hike. I'm thinking we should check out Millcreek Canyon.

Thai Cooking Class

2012-06-25T18:27:00.001-06:00

Saturday I took a class on Thai Cooking at Orson Gygi's. It was great fun! There were about 12 of us in the test kitchen. It had 5 professional stoves, granite countertops and about every kitchen gadget you could imagine. Our instructor gave us a list of the recipes we were going to do and then went around and did a presentation on how to make them. We then split up into small groups of 2 or 3 and started cooking.

My group made this shrimp salad with cilantro lime dressing.

These are the green curry puffs. They were tasty (but isn't everything deep-fried tasty)?

This is the fresh basil beef. The Thai basil in this dish is just wonderful.

For dessert we had coconut mango rice pudding.

We also had chicken satay with peanut sauce, but I forgot to take a picture. After we were all done, we all sat down and ate our food together. Everyone was really friendly and it was satisfying to be in a group of strangers and create a temporary cohesive unit.

I did have a slight hesitation about eating the meat, but vegetarianism isn't my religion, so I ate it anyway, it seemed churlish not to. Yes, it was delicious (especially the basil beef), but going veggie has been good for me, so I'll try not to defect to the dark side altogether.

Today I went to the the Southeast Asian Market on 9th South and got some supplies: Thai sticky rice, coconut milk, bean noodles, fish sauce, oyster sauce, green curry paste and massaman curry paste. Melinda brought home some mangoes from Costco, so I think we'll have Thai sticky rice with mangoes tonight. Yum.

Werewolf, Shape Shifter, or the Man I Married

2012-06-25T00:24:00.001-06:00

When I first met Eric he was clean shaven. He was in the National Guard, so he had to be. However just before we got married, he separated from the Army (or whatever you call it). So then he was free to experiment with growing a beard.

No beard for our wedding in December, but by my graduation in May, he was bearded.

Then for our summer trip to Nauvoo, he was shaven.

Back to a beard for Lisette’s birth that winter.

Then shaven again for the summer of 1997. (He’s feeding Lisette squid. Don’t worry she didn’t eat it.)

Then back to a beard the next winter.

He kept going back and forth until after Miles was born. Things got so hectic after Miles’s birth (1998) that Eric quit shaving again.

I thought that it was after Miles was born that he quit shaving for a good long time, but doing research for this blog post, I found this shaven Eric in a picture from Miles’s one-year-old birthday party 1999. But somewhere around 1999 he quit shaving for 10 years.

However Halloween 2000 he did have to shave to be Steve with Blue and Magenta.

2006 with Saffron on his back. 2008 in Alaska with the silver salmon.

September 2007 Eric was in a bushy beard phase.

Right after the bushy beard phase, he decided to try to wax his mustache. That was interesting.

For years, this was Eric. Then, December 2009, after about 10 years of constant beard, he shaved it off and kept shaving. This is a picture right after he shaved. I thought I’d be okay with it, but I cried for two weeks every time I saw him. I didn’t recognize him as my husband.

But eventually I got used to his new look, and I loved him only slightly less than I used to (a Morrissey song lyric that Eric quotes). Every now and then (Conference weekends for example) he’d go a couple weeks without shaving and look fairly scruffy. But mostly he shaved at least once a week for 3 1/2 years.

Then finally, this April, 2012, he grew the beard back. Oddly, I’ve felt conflicted about it. Which of these men is my husband?

Last weekend, after two months of beard he shaved it again. Here’s a photo he just took for me with his phone.

So what’s your vote? Lisette and Miles think he should grow back the beard and keep it forever. Ian leans toward the beard. Saffron thinks he should keep shaving.

Ian and Dad's Hiking Club

2012-06-21T23:04:00.000-06:00

Ian and I are starting a hiking club. It's pretty exclusive, but if you ask politely we might consider your application.We are going to hike a new trail every Thursday.This Thursday Melinda and I had a wedding reception to go to, but we couldn't wait another week so we started yesterday, on Wednesday. For our first hike we decided to try The Living Room above the Shoreline Trail, not too far south of Red Butte.

We hiked through maple trees.

We hiked through oak trees.

We saw a lot of native plants. There were lots of Rocky Mountain Penstemons, or Penstemon strictus, on the side of the trail.

Also quite a few Crazy Peas, Oxytropis lambertii, as well.

Here is Ian standing next to a nice specimen of Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany, or Cercocarpus ledifolius. We have one of these growing in our front yard, but it is hanging over the street and our neighbor doesn't like it so it's days may be numbered (I still love it, though).

We had a great view and could see most of the valley, all the way from Draper to the Great Salt Lake. Our guidebook said it was an "easy" hike, but it was very vertical and unfortunately, I ran out of steam before we reached the top. I have learned (sometimes the hard way) that it is best to know your limits and when it feels like you can "go just a little more" it's best to go back. So we'll have to try this one again, maybe later in the season, when we've toughened up a bit.

Any suggestions for our next hike?

Back to the Butte

2012-06-21T16:37:00.002-06:00

For many years we maintained a family membership to Red Butte Garden. We haven't had one for the last two or three years, but Monday night we joined up again.

We read that the Salt Lake Scots Pipe Band were playing for family night, so we thought we'd check it out.

They were great! We enjoyed the stirring rendition of Amazing Grace. They talked about the history of bagpipes and tartans and they took audience questions. They were very personable.

Melinda saw one of her home school friends there. Their family makes kettle corn for events. It was excellent, salty, sweet and very tasty!

Saffy and Nigel had fun marching in the fountain to the sound of bagpipes.

The kids loved playing on these lizards when they were small. It's funny how things don't seem as big as they once did as you grow up.

We had forgotten how much we loved to walk the paths and enjoy the foliage and flowers. Nigel discovered the children's garden and was in heaven running around among the plants. Saffy and Nigel had fun hiding under this tree.

We enjoyed seeing how much the garden has grown since we started going many years ago. The trees are more mature, there is more plant diversity, and they have developed new areas. We will definitely be going back again soon.

Here is the schedule for their family nights in July:

MONDAY, JULY 9 - Capoeira (Afro-Brazilian martial art)

MONDAY, JULY 16 - Bien Flamenco

MONDAY, JULY 23 - Kenshin Taiko

Beautiful Garden Thugs

2012-06-15T10:29:00.001-06:00

In one of my favorite gardening books,The Undaunted Garden, Lauren Springer refers to Epilobium angustifolium, or fireweed, as a “beautiful rose-purple thug.” Fireweed is known to be invasive, but I’ve put it in rather difficult little spot in the back, and so far it hasn’t proven too bad. It is such a beautiful flower, and I have such great memories of seeing it all over in Yellowstone, Alaska, and in the Utah mountains. My garden seems to be rather Darwinian anyway, so at least for now it stays. My mom even made jelly out of the flowers while my parents were still living in Alaska, and it was quite delicious.

Below is a picture of a type of pincushion flower named Knautia macedonica. I have had to pull these out in massive clumps because their prodigious reproductive behavior. These flowers would truly take over everything if I let them. But they are so beautiful that I put up with prolific ways. The original ones I planted were the deep purple-magenta color, but they have also spawned some lovely pink-melon colored flowers as well.

Here they are all together in my back yard, fighting it out for garden supremacy.

Mock Orange Juice

2012-06-05T21:25:00.001-06:00

Does anyone remember the mock turtle from Alice in Wonderland? Well, this is the same pun reversed.

Several years ago we bought a mock orange shrub, Philadelphus lewisii, and planted it next to the fence in the backyard. I must admit the main reason for planting it was for a little more privacy from the neighbors. If you are in the market for a shrubbery, you might want to consider a mock orange. It has a wonderful, gentle citrus fragrance and it is breathtaking when in bloom. It sadly doesn’t bloom for very long, but it’s pretty amazing when it does. It is also native to this region so it does really well. Just ask the Idahoans, it's their state flower.

This picture was taken just after the peak bloom time.

Here is a close-up of the blooms.

Here is a scratch n’ sniff so you can smell it.

Remember, if you have a old CRT tube monitor you need to scratch it, but if you have an LCD monitor you need to rub it in a circular motion to release the scent.

Just kidding. I always wanted to do that.