Monday, Monday

Himalayan Blue Poppy

What is the most beautiful flower in the world?  I nominate this rare blue "poppy," native to Tibet where it grows effortlessly out of yak dung in high dank meadows.  It's notoriously hard to cultivate and many gardeners have tried and failed.  Maybe the lack of yak manure?

For some strange reason it thrives and blooms once a year in a special mucky patch at the Botanical Garden in Federal Way.  They are the most astonishing sky blue.  A dreamlike color so perfectly natural it seems almost unnatural.  It brings to mind the fake turquoise-dyed carnations that were once sold in flower shops.  But that's a tacky comparison. The intense color shining in the sun is magical.

We drove down to the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden garden in Federal Way and got in an early walk to see the famous poppies before the Mother's Day crowds arrived.

Oh, it was lovely in Seattle this weekend.  A long stretch of blue sky, sparkling water and snowy mountain views that make you wonder why anyone would live anywhere else.  On a nice day we forgive and forget the bad weather in the Northwest, which is a good thing considering how wet and dark it is most of the time.

Keep off

After the poppies we rested our eyes on the slimy pond, which looks like a solid green path meandering through the woods.  Little Nova would surely try to run right across it.  

And so people must get a reminder about the dangers of "walking on water." As the sign says, the green stuff is not slime but fern.

Wisteria bonsai

We always take a turn around the magnificent, world-class bonsai display, which is inspiring but disheartening when I think about my ruffian bonsai collection at home.  Well, at least they're still alive, so I must be doing something right.  Where there is life there is hope, and I bought a special little bonsai shear to do some spring pruning. 

I was looking forward to a Mother's Day hot dog lunch, but the stand wasn't up in the parking lot this year. So we stopped at I Luv Teriyaki  in Georgetown on the way home.

In this town there's a teriyaki joint on practically every corner, but I Luv Teriyaki is my favorite. It's actually run by Japanese people, and instead of the usual messy teriyaki heap on Styrofoam, they artfully arrange your cheap lunch on a real plate.  Nice.

And what's a trip to scenic Georgetown without a stop at the new Hat n' Boots park?

Hat n' Boots, 2002

The last time I drove by the Hat n' Boots it looked like this. It was built as a premium gas station in the 1950's on what was once the main highway between Seattle and Tacoma.  The boots were the restrooms and the gas pumps were under the hat.  Urban legend goes that Elvis filled up his Cadillac there on his way to the 1962 World's Fair.  It was the most successful station in the state until Interstate 5 replaced old Highway 99, although it managed to stay open until 1988.  Then it became a sad derelict until the Georgetown Community Council moved the structures in 2002 and restored them in a cool little park.  We'll have to take Nova to see it next time.

Hat n' Boots postcard, 1956