Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
There are remnants of an old pier in Dungeness Bay near the former location of the Three Crabs Restaurant. The road has been rerouted around a wetland but there’s a small parking lot and short trail that leads to the beach. The area is planted with native vegetation and is being restored.
Old Victorian buildings are sometimes called “painted ladies.” This one in Port Townsend is a good example.
The Parliament building in Victoria is beautiful by day. Lit at night it shows off its elegant architecture.
This is a side of Parliament that many tourists don’t get around to seeing. It’s at the back of the building. And it’s none too shabby for a “back door.”
The nighttime reflection of this First Nations canoe in Victoria Harbor caught my eye last month.
I was pleased to see lots of bees visiting many of the flowers at The Butchart Gardens last month. I’ve long been concerned about dramatic declines in bee populations. It’s one of those things that has been given various reasons but the bottom line is that bee populations have been crashing. Be it microscopic mites or disease, pesticides, climate, or something else, bees are dying at alarming rates.
These little insects are very important if you care about eating. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 90% of the food eaten around the globe comes from 100 basic crops. Of these crops, 71 rely on bee pollination.
You can thank a bee for your daily coffee. Or apples, cherries, almonds, beans, grapes, and many spices. Click here if you’d like to see a list of crop plants pollinated by bees. And click here if you’d like to read a New York Times article about a beekeeper and the plight of honeybees.
These little guys are important, and worth caring about.
The Japanese Garden at The Butchart Gardens is sublime. Like virtually every other part of the gardens, there is beauty at every turn. But the mood of the Japanese Garden is subdued, quiet, contemplative. There are several groves ideal for peaceful meditation though it may be a challenge if you factor in your dozens of new friends also enjoying the gardens.
The Italian Garden is so colorfully planted it’s almost blinding in bright light. This area of the property was originally a concrete tennis court. To the left is a former bowling alley. The Butcharts obviously had resources.
A rose garden is at the heart of the gardens, filled with hybrid tea, climbing, and rambling roses. It’s everything a rosarian dreams of.
