June 9, 2019 - Guest Blogger

My daughter's high school photography class project was a great excuse to play tourist at home.  We stopped by Pike Place Market, Mercer Island, downtown Seattle, Queen Anne's Highland Drive and the Kerry Park overlook.  The sights, sounds, color and bustle never disappoint.  (And the gum wall seems to have gotten bigger!)  Today's photos are by Sophie Kimura.

June 9, 2019 - The Pike Place Market Secret Garden

The view of diners at the Maximilien Restaurant patio as reflected from a mirror at the Pike Place Market Secret Garden.  The community-led intergenerational garden is run by volunteers with the produce donated to the Pike Place Market Food Bank.  Tucked around a corner and down a hall from the bustling fishmongers, the garden offers a gorgeous view, a lovely garden...your own little Pike Place Market secret!

June 2, 2019 - A Sunny Drop

The trade off for seeing Snoqualmie Falls on a sunny day is that the 270' drop of the Snoqualmie River may have only a fraction of the water flow as a wet March day.

Did you know that Niagara Falls is a 167' drop?  

June 2, 2019 - The Essence of Nature

Located at the southern end of the Washington Park Arboretum, is the Seattle Japanese Garden, a 3 1/2 acre model of a formal Japanese garden.  The stone lanterns, water feature, wildlife, winding paths, wildlife, flowers, colors and rock are arranged in the style of a late 16th century stroll garden.  This Seattle treasure opened in 1960.

The landscape designer, Juki Iida, planned the garden "faithful to the principle of shizensa, the essence of nature."