Boardman Lake Trail

Boardman Lake Trail August 2012 

Lake Evan on the Boardman Lake Trail August 2012 

 

Fungus on the Boardman Lake Trail August 2012 

Boardman Lake August 2012 

Boardman Lake August 2012

Click here for more photos of the Boardman Lake Trail.

The Boardman Lake Trail is a pleasant & easy hike in the Cascade Mountains of Washington along the Mountain Loop Highway.  The way is densely forested.  There are 2 lakes here. First comes Lake Evan, then Boardman Lake.  I wouldn't say this is the most spectacular hike in the area.  But the trail is only 2 miles round trip & 200 feet in elevation gain.  In August, there were lots of ripe huckleberries around Boardman Lake.  It was pretty there.  At the highest point, the trail reaches 3,000 feet (914 meters) in elevation.

New Holly Youth & Family Community Garden

 New Holly Youth & Family Community Garden in August 2013

The New Holly Youth & Family Community Garden is another charming garden located in the City of Seattle Power Line Right of Way on land owned by Seattle City Light adjacent to the Chief Sealth Trail.  The New Holly Power Garden is located not far to the south.  This is a very well-sited, well-designed & well-tended garden of 50 plots on 5,000 square feet.  I found the gardeners very friendly when I visited this place.  They are clearly very happy to garden here.  The garden was established in 1999, rebuilt in 2006 & expanded in 2011.

March in Seattle

Chaenomeles (Quince) in Columbia City

 Hyacinthus (Hyacinth) in Rainier Vista

Narcissus 'Beersheba' (Daffodil) in Rainier Vista

 Ranunculus (Buttercup) in Columbia City

 
Ribes sanguineum (Flowering Currant) in Columbia City

March 2014 in Seattle was warmer & very much rainier than normal.  In fact, a record was set for rainfall in March at 9.44 inches/239.78mm.  The previous record had stood at 8.40 inches/213.36mm since 1950.  Normal rainfall is 3.72 inches/94.49mm.  The mean temperature was 48.5F/9.17C.  The normal mean temperature is 46.5F/8.06C.  The highest temperature was 66F/18.89C on 3/24, the lowest was 34F/1.11C on 3/22.  15 days had highs over 55F/12.78C.  There were 2 days with heavy rain, 10 days with rain, 21 days with light rain, a trace of snow on 3/1, 20 days with fog, 16 cloudy days, 14 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  In spite of all the rain, there were periods with sun & 16 days with very little or no rain.  

Ashland Lakes Trail

Beaver Plant Lake, Ashland Lakes Trail August 2012

Spiraea douglasii (Hardhack) Ashland Lakes Trail August 2012

Lysichiton americanum (Skunk Cabbage) Ashland Lakes Trail August 2012

Upper Ashland Lake August 2012

Upper Ashland Lake August 2012

Click here for more photos of the Ashland Lakes Trail.

The Ashland Lakes Trail is a very pleasant & fairly easy hike in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on the Mountain Loop Highway in Snohomish County, Washington.  The flora here is different from that on other hikes in the area, because it is very boggy.  At least, I could see that it was very boggy at other times of the year.  In August 2012, it was fairly dry.  The boardwalks (then being repaired) that circled Upper Ashland Lake seemed pointless.  I think I would rather have gone earlier in the summer when the water was more abundant.  Nevertheless, Upper Ashland Lake was lovely & Beaver Plant Lake was more beautiful still.  There was plenty of Spaghnum (Peat Moss) & Lysichiton americanum (Skunk Cabbage) both evidence of a swampy environment.  The Mount Pilchuck Natural Resource Conservation Area is one of the wettest places in Washington, with between 100 and 180 inches of annual precipitation, about the same as the Hoh Rain Forest.  The trail begins at 2,200 feet in elevation & climbs to 3,000 feet.  It is 5.5 miles round trip.

New Holly Rockery Community Garden & Market Garden

New Holly Rockery Community Garden & Market Garden in August 2013

New Holly Rockery Market Garden in August 2013 

New Holly Rockery Market Garden in August 2013 

New Holly Rockery Community Garden & Market Garden Tool Shed & Greenhouse in August 2013 

New Holly Rockery Community Garden in August 2013

The best thing about the New Holly Rockery Market Garden is that you can buy fresh produce here during the growing season.  It is located not far from the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr Way S & S Othello Street, & the Othello Station, on S Holly Park Drive between 40th Avenue S & Rockery Drive S. The whole place is a bit of a mess & the community garden looks rather forlorn.  The market garden is approximately 16,000 square feet & has 8  gardeners, mostly southeast Asian & living in Seattle Housing Authority low-income housing at New Holly.  It was built in 2002.  The community garden has 23 plots on 6,000 square feet of land owned by the Seattle Housing Authority.  It was established in 2005 right next to the market garden at the north end of New Holly Central Park, which is a pleasant & ample park space.

February in Seattle

The Dexter Horton Building opened in 1924 on 2nd Avenue in Downtown Seattle.  Like many buildings of this period, it is clad in white terracotta tile.

Helleborus niger 'Ivory Prince' in the Ell Alley Garden.

Helleborus x hybridus in the Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park.

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Euphorbia characias in the Ornamental Border at Bradner Gardens Park.  All photos were taken in February 2014.

February 2014 in Seattle was colder & significantly wetter than normal.  The mean temperature was 41.7F/5.39C.  The normal mean temperture is 43.4F/6.33C.  Total precipitation was 6.11 inches/155.19mm.  Normal precipitation is 3.5 inches/88.9mm.  There was 2.9 inches/73.66mm of snow.  Average snowfall is 1.7 inches/43.18mm.  The highest temperature was 58F/14.44C on 2/28, the lowest 21F/-6.11C on 2/06.  There were 18 days with light rain, 2 days with snow, 4 days with light snow, 19 days with fog (2 with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 6 cloudy days, 21 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  This was quite a turnabout after 4 months of unusually low rainfall.  On 2/18 the Seattle Times reported that the mountain snowpack, which at the end of January was about 50% of normal for that time of year, had increased to about 80%, relieving fears of a summer water shortage.  February 2014 was cold, wet, dark & dreary.

New Holly Power Garden

 New Holly Power Garden in August 2013

The New Holly Power Garden is located in the New Holly development on Beacon Hill in Seattle.  This charming & well-established garden sits in the City of Seattle Power Line Right of Way on land owned by Seattle City Light.  The Chief Sealth Trail passes by on its way to other community gardens, including the New Holly Youth & Family Community Garden, not far to the north.  I like this vibrant & slightly chaotic garden very much.  There is almost a rural feel to the site.  It is an excellent use of land under power lines.  There are 28 plots on 12,000 square feet.  The garden was established in 2003.

Mount Pilchuck Trail

Mount Rainier from the Mount Pilchuck Trail August 2012

Mount Baker from the Mount Pilchuck Trail August 2012

Mount Pilchuck August 2012

Phyllodoce empetriformis (Pink Mountain-Heather) Mount Pilchuck Trail August 2012

 Mount Pilchuck Fire Lookout August 2012

Click here for more photos of the Mount Pilchuck Trail.

The Mount Pilchuck Trail offers interesting terrain & sweeping vistas.  There are great slabs of granite resting on the slopes of the mountain like so many toppled dominoes.  The flora is not particularly exciting.  I found this trail to be fairly difficult: steep, crowded with hikers & strewn with sharp rocks.  There was snow on parts of the trail in August.  I slipped & fell on my back.  However, there were people of every age & description on the trail.  I was utterly amazed to see one man hiking barefoot.  At the very top of the mountain, you must climb over large boulders (& around the people climbing down) to get to the old fire lookout.  You can see forever from up there.  I'm not sorry I did this hike.  But I don't ever want to do it again.  The trail starts at 3,100 feet in elevation & climbs to the summit at 5,324 feet (1,623 meters).  It is 5.4 miles round trip.  The road to the trail head can be found off the Mountain Loop Highway in Snohomish County, Washington.

John C Little Garden

 John C Little Garden, with John C Little, Sr Park beyond, in August 2013

The John C Little Garden can be found at the north end of John C Little, Sr. Park, located in the New Holly development, at the south end of the Rainier Valley of Seattle.  John C Little, Sr. was a member of the Board of Park Commissioners who developed programs & services for disadvantaged youth & low-income families.  This modest & very rectilinear garden was established in 2013.  The land is owned by the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation.

January in Seattle

The Smith Tower, a Seattle landmark completed in 1914.  It was the tallest building in Seattle until 1962, when the Space Needle was completed.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) blooming in the Waterfall Garden.

The Pioneer Building, completed in 1892 & designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.  All photos were taken in Pioneer Square on 1/15/14.  Some of Seattle's oldest buildings are here.  They date back to 1889, when a fire destroyed the wooden buildings that came before.  This was the original downtown Seattle.

January 2014 in Seattle was warmer & drier than usual.  The mean temperature was 44.3F/6.83C.  The normal mean temperature is 42F/5.56C.  The highest temperature was 58F/14.44C on 1/11, the lowest 31F/-0.56C on 1/5 & 1/6.  Total precipitation was 3.7 inches/93.9mm.  Normal precipitation is 5.57 inches/141.48mm.  This was the 4th month with significantly lower rainfall.  The Seattle Times published an article about the potential shortage in the municipal water supply, if this weather pattern persists.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 9 days with rain, 15 days with light rain, 28 days with fog (17 with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 22 cloudy days,  8 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  My mother said she had never seen so much fog.  I liked the fog.  But this January seemed very dark with so many cloudy days.