Whidbey Island Wandering

I love Whidbey Island. Since the weather forecast for today (Memorial Day) is for lots of rain, we decided to go to Whidbey on Sunday afternoon.

There was a short wait for the ferry and I walked over to the Mukilteo Lighthouse to take a few photos. It is funny to me how small it is. I think it might be the smallest lighthouse I've visited.

Our first stop on the island was Bayview Farm and Garden (a nursery). They have laburnum arbors that are currently in bloom.

I visited these arbors last year in April but they weren't blooming yet. What a contrast!

The hanging baskets above these Adirondack chairs are beautiful but priced at 100 dollars and up!

Our next stop was Fort Casey State Park. We skipped the old battlements and walked along the bluff.

There are lots of wildflowers in bloom which I enjoyed.

I'd like to learn the names of more wildflowers.

Next we walked down to the beach.

note the wildflowers changing the colour of the slope.

I searched for purple rocks and found lots. The boys ran around and threw things at each other. All good! Unfortunately, A dropped his pricey Air pods (headphones) at the beach. He realized this as we were about to leave the park. We promised to come back after we'd eaten.

We had supper in Coupeville which is quite close to Fort Casey. We placed our take out order (no dining inside yet) at Toby's. I snagged a picnic table with a view of the wharf.

Unfortunately, we waited an hour for our food. The restaurant was overwhelmed with customers and was short staffed. After we ate our supper (fish and chips, salmon and chips, shrimp and chips, and a hamburger) we went back to Fort Casey beach hoping to find the headphones. J and A looked but did not have success.

Although A doesn't remember this trip fondly, I was happy to spend some family time away from home, out in nature.



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Mother's Day Lunch Al Fresco

With COVID-19 restrictions still in place here in Washington, we couldn't do what we normally do on Mother's Day which is go to a restaurant and enjoy good food and service. At least we can do take out from many restaurants. I picked Emory's (north east of us) for Mother's Day since I remember having delicious food there a few years ago.

They had a special menu for Mother's Day. J order 2 meals for 2 people (several days before today) and we split them plus added homemade tabbouleh that J has been making for himself.

There is a park next door to Emory's that has a covered picnic area with a view of Silver Lake. J went to scout the location after church was over. To his delight, the tables weren't taped off and they weren't occupied. He sat at a table to save it. The boys and I came at 12:45 pm. Our lunch order was for 1 pm.

I had pecan encrusted halibut, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and roasted carrots. J and the boys shared a steak that C said was amazingly tender. We also had Caesar salad, a crab dip appetizer, and 2 desserts. One was chocolate cake and the other was berry cheesecake.

It was about 83 degrees when we were outside so the shade was very much appreciated.

J bought me flowers on Saturday as well as a balloon and I brought it along for our lunch. One of my children (you can guess which one) really doesn't like drawing any attention to himself so he was not appreciating the balloon and our tablecloth.

I spent some of the afternoon sitting in the sunshine in our backyard. A neighbour was playing music loudly but I had fun playing "name that tune."

I tried to buy myself a hanging basket of flowers yesterday at Flower World but they were sold out of the really big ones. I'll make one for myself but you don't save any money that way. The baskets are a bargain I've discovered. I paid 40 dollars for annuals that won't even create a very lush basket. Baskets range between 20 and 50 dollars.

I'm thankful to be a mother and to have a mother. I'm missing my mom today. I hope the border won't be closed for much longer so that I can go visit her.


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What's Blooming in My Garden?

May is a good month for blooms. June is probably my favourite due to roses and peonies.

The lilacs above are from the small lilac tree that I have. I think it is about 3 years old. The large one we planted about 10 years ago (just a guess). They smell wonderful. Today I was sitting out on the deck listening to an audio book and the fragrance of the lilacs was very pleasant.

I had about 12 tulips blooming at one time. I missed taking that photo.

These are my annual containers on the deck railing. There is mint and parsley growing below in pots.

Costco sells a pack of 6 geraniums for a good price every year so I always snap those up.

I bought a new hydrangea a few weeks ago. It joins others that circle the gazebo. My established hydrangeas won't bloom for some time.

I also added a columbine in a rich colour and it is next to the new hydrangea.

This purple phlox is another new plant. I'm not sure where it will end up so for now it stays in a container.

This pink bleeding heart needs to be propped up.

Lily of the valley. These are really tiny.

This is a snowball bush which resides in the front garden. J doesn't like green flowers but I do.

Snapdragons are supposedly annuals but I have a few that come back every year.

As for edibles, I've got peas and carrots coming up. I started some squash from seed and they look a little pathetic right now. Hopefully they'll survive and thrive. I'll be buying tomato plants this week. I've got potatoes growing in grow bags. The raspberries plants are getting big and I need a trellis for them.






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