Cooper the Majestic --AKA "You Big Maroon" -- takes offense at this. Anyway, at the shelter they called him Andrew, which is worse

Fun Fact addendum: Magnolia seeds are an evolutionary link between gymnosperms like conifers and angiosperms like maples, which came later. Dinosaurs ate them.

Power lines, and our clothesline, are not my favorite part of my backyard view. But this summer they've been the staging area and gossip spot for fledging crows, Steller's jays and chickadees, making the mornings noisy and hilarious #addBirder

Mysteries of the 49th (almost) parallel. It's not surprising to find a volunteer native snowberry in the shade of a giant Norway maple, but the blooms on the yucca that showed up a few years ago amaze me every year. Bellingham WA doesn't seem like yucca country. 🌱

Regular old-lady hand v. Trump hand. The difference is a wasp sting yesterday on my finger. Turns out there's a big paper wasp nest in our back-yard rhododendron.

#gardening 5 seconds of Western Washington summer perfection in the garden. Sweet breeze, 18 hours of daylight, vegetables picking up steam instead of sulking through another Juneuary. I've got about 700 gallons of rainwater stored to help get through the coming drought restrictions. Fingers crossed

🌱We grow some big kale. Last year I had to use a saw to cut the stalk of the burliest one. My housemate dried it, varnished it, and made a copper-tipped walking stick.

🌱The rhododendron is fading and the overwintered kale is going to seed and I wish Monet would show up to paint them.

My adopted daughter and SIL's wedding had some complicated dynamics. But there was never a doubt it would include whatever relatives they chose to invite: birth family, my SIL's foster mom and sibs, adoptive cousins, and me and my ex-husband. These 3 matriarchs all had roles in raising them.

🌱Another "front yard in the rain" picture. It's pouring as I type, and it rained yesterday and more is forecast tomorrow. Meanwhile we have a statewide drought declaration because our summer and fall water supply depends on snowpack, and it is way below normal.

I go barefoot in the house. When I put socks on my old guy perks up. If I go to the room where the shit bags are he starts dancing. Neither of those things has just happened.

Elder care: We are old. I head out minus keys, glasses, phone. Husband stashes little things in his shoes and then forgets, which is bad as he has lost feeling in his feet and doesn't notice until they do damage. His daughter and my granddaughter have stepped in. (Husband is a thee/thy Quaker.)

Rainier in midsummer from Mason County. Indeed, big mountains are widely visible.

🌱My goals for my front yard include looking good in the rain, deer resistance (eg, no tulips), edibility (strawberries, blueberries, herbs), native plants (most are behind the azalea bushes and not up yet), and frogs (the tiny pond is just out of sight to the left). March 24, 2026

For Northwest Washington folks, my daughter Deshanna Brown is both the director and the lead for a production of American Son, opening Jan. 30 in Bellingham. (Kerry Washington had the role in the movie.) Bellinghamtheatreguild.com

My dad was a local reporter with a local radio broadcast in the 1950s and '60s. This is the published version of his 11/25 response to JFK's assassination. He had a little more time than Tony to gather his thoughts before pontificating, but not much. We have the right to expect better.

This is from my childhood cookbook, published in 1955. I remember wanting to make it, but I don't think it ever happened. Maybe my folks were as creeped out by the illustration as I am now? I think the dab of mayo is an unfortunate look.

Bird's nest fungi with hemlock needles for scale, growing on a chunk of old plywood. They are so tiny. I just read that the spores are spread when raindrops bounce the "eggs" out of the cups. No wonder they are happy here in November. #Fungi Friends

These magnolia seeds are now stratifying in my refrigerator for planting next spring. I've never seen them in the yard before -- guessing that's because we had a fire this summer that displaced our resident squirrels. I learned magnolias are among the very first angiosperms. Dinosaurs ate them. 🌱

Beautiful! It reminded me of this freshwater image from Lake Bled in Slovenia.

Potato bonzai from a root veg storage cleanup.🌱

July 1, early in the morning. We've got peas, beans, peppers, tomatoes, a great big volunteer squash, tomatillos, cilantro, onions, Liberty apples, and other stuff tucked in corners. Chard and kale will replace the peas when they're done. #gardening

Guanajuato, Mexico, 1953

Maybe choose different peacekeepers. A better ending happened at a (very) small-town No Kings in Everson, WA. A Trump supporter showed up, open carrying -- legal in Washington -- and agitated. Details in ALT text.

How about mine?

I was left unsupervised on the beach today. This is what happened.

Springing in the rain (and the wind). 20 years of planting and good luck and the strip between our house and the neighbors can look like the world. It's their magnolia and forsythia growing over the fence. #gardening

He spends a lot of time like this, while sweeping the wall with his tail.

Like many Puget Sounders, we have a little oyster grow op on the low-tide beach. We buy seed from commercial growers and raise them in bags. I gathered these yesterday and made poboys today. Those are full-size cookie sheets for scale. 7 oysters in shell = 10 pounds. #marinelife #oysters

🍄 Mini moss forest with fruiting bodies and a couple of Doug fir cones for scale. The black patch at left is deer tracks. #moss