AROUND AND ABOUT

I have been wanting to go to Randall Park to check it out and see if there are any baby ducks or geese there yet. So on Sunday, we rode over there. Upon arriving at the pond viewing area, we were met with a pond almost covered in some kind of pollen or scum. It looked awful, and the birds did not seem too happy about it either. It was so thick in places that small birds could easier walk on it. I did not see any sign of any nests, no babies swimming around, and no juveniles present, so I guess the birds there are not nesting yet. Maybe it hasn’t gotten warm enough for a long enough period of time. We’ve had a warm day here and there, but for the month of June so far, it has been very chilly. It is predicted to finally warm up for good here in a few days. We will schedule another trip to the park in a few weeks to see what’s happening then. Until then, please enjoy the videos below.

While at Randall Park I wandered around looking for something of interest to photograph, since all the birds in the pond area seemed to be napping or preening. I found a tree with some sap running down the side, and it reminded me of the mosquito caught in ancient amber in the movie Jurassic Park, which we just recently watched. I wonder if the worm in the picture below will one day in the future be cloned as an example of animal life from the Quaternary Period. Here is a link (<—) to a very interesting website concerning the Geologic Time Scale. I find this quotation from the website to be very sobering: “Humans have been around for a miniscule portion of earth history.” We need to be reminded of this from time to time when we get to feeling superior to animals.

Back home things were the same as usual. I have finally gotten the straw down in my garden, and now it looks much better. I had my first harvest last Saturday when I picked four cherry-sized tomatoes off of the Sun Gold plant. They went into my lunch salad and were very tasty.

I also got the Swiss Chard plants in the ground and they have been doing well so far. I still need to plant my parsley plants in pots, but I am waiting on a nice warm day which seems to be slow coming.

It was sufficiently warm for me to sit out in the back yard a couple of days ago, if only for a short while until the wind came up. I was able to get a few pictures to share with you of our beautiful plants back there…all thanks to Linda and her green thumb. The picture below is a vertical panorama that I took with my phone.

This picture below is a horizontal panorama.

These two hostas below are the exact same plant, the smaller one was a piece taken from the larger one. To me, they don’t look exactly the same but that may be because one is younger than the other. At any rate, I think they are just gorgeous.

Summer Girl seems to find a new “favorite” spot in the garden every year. This year her new spot is near Fanti and Mingo. Maybe after this past year of isolation, she feels like she needs the company.

At least it has been warm enough for me to grill a lot lately. Grilling is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I have been grilling a lot of asparagus, but this past week we said goodbye to Asparagus Season here in Yakima. I was sad to see it go because I could literally eat my weight in asparagus (especially if it is grilled). But now we are into Cherry Season, and that is almost as good. Our favorite fruit stand, Johnson Orchard, got in some cherries last week and I got a three-pound clamshell full of those luscious little orbs. The other night I pitted a few and threw them on the grill after I had cooked supper. They made for a very delicious little dessert…I only wish I could have had them on top of some vanilla ice cream.

I’ve seen hummingbirds visit our feeder a couple of times this past week, and on Monday while taking a break from housecleaning (that means me constantly staring out the window instead of cleaning), I saw one go to our Penstemon plant in the back yard. He stayed there long enough for me to get my camera and catch a quick video. I am not sure what kind of hummer he is, but he definitely looks like a juvenile because he isn’t sporting his colors yet.

Linda saw the little guy again this morning, so they are starting to come back around. Hopefully I will be getting more video to share in the days and weeks to come.

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl prided herself on being socially distant even before it was a thing. She is, after all, a cat. Although restrictions have been relaxed here in Yakima, she is still practicing safe distancing. I just hope she doesn’t show up at the back door one day wearing a mask!

Join me every Wednesday (barring any unforeseen circumstances) for more from the Southerner in the Northwest.