This is where I put all the Yellowstone photos.
Trying to describe the wondrous enormity of Yellowstone National Park is a bit beyond me at the moment, so I’ll do it in images. If you have the chance, go. (These images are from 2019.)
{wandering} Low tide at Deception Pass, WA
A soothing few minutes at one of the beaches of Deception Pass, Washington state.
Plant chat: Updating my tropical terrarium
I’m taking some time off this week, so I had a chance to revisit my terrarium. I took all the plants out and set them on an unfolded trash bag, then wiped down the lid, inside and outside of the aquarium. I didn’t bother cleaning the bottom, since it’ll just get dirty again. Raymond lifted…
Plant Chat: Tradescantia Day (Houseplants)
In which I demonstrate a) repotting tradescantias and b) why I’m not a plantfluencer. No apologies for the terrible video.
{wandering} Mowich Lake, WA
Mowich Lake is one of my favorite semi-hidden Washington day trip destinations. It’s located in Mount Rainier National Park, but getting there requires you to take a separate route from the main park roads, over some (public access) unpaved logging roads that are more or less adventurous depending on how recently they’ve been maintained. The…
🌱 Now for something different: Plant chat
I’ve had a few requests to see my high-humidity plant setup. I am constitutionally incapable of making a short video, but here you go!
{wandering} Mount Baker, Table Mountain and fat self-care
I’ve only been to Mount Baker, Washington in the fall, and that’s the way I like it. The time of year of that first visit was coincidental — it was on my trip list and we wanted to get in before the highway closed for the winter — but I don’t know that any other…
{daily life} A chatty gentleman
I had the pleasure of meeting this chatty gent last week and couldn’t resist capturing him enjoying some late afternoon sun! Sarah at @bodypositiveparenting is his chief servant. I love how dubious he looks on that chair; guess he wasn’t expecting the paparazzi to show.
Seattle, heat waves, weather and empathy
The Pacific Northwest is heading into an extraordinary weather event, where Seattle could reach 104 degrees for at least two days in a row, and Portland, 109 degrees. The dry eastern side of Washington state could reach 114 degrees. Like two-thirds of Seattle, we don’t have air conditioning, but we’re lucky and privileged enough to…
A short guide to a few of the better-known Seattle houseplant purveyors
Image description: Dark purple African violets bloom, surrounded by other houseplants from Seattle plant stores and nurseries. Alpine Nursery & Landscape: One of my favorites. Huge greenhouse, friendly and helpful staff, huge selection of both indoor and outdoor plants. Get on the waitlist for unusual varieties they grow in house, like tradescantia quadricolor. Perfect for…
Cuttings and quartz
Image description: A green glass bowl of smooth pebbles in soft red and green tones and mixed sizes, stones Lindley found in a river in Idaho. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the differences between the houseplant groups and the rockhounding groups that I’m in, and how they reflect larger patterns. (All the groups…
Fat-Friendly Pacific Northwest Day Trip: Mountain Loop Highway
Mountain Loop Highway, an absolutely delicious drive through the western Cascade Mountains north of Seattle, was our first experience with U.S. Forest Service roads. The first thing you need to know: Just because they’re marked on Google Maps doesn’t mean they’re paved! The first time we went, we weren’t expecting anything but pavement, so we…
Plant Chat: Thanksgiving cactus blossoms + planting rooted cuttings
My Thanksgiving cactus is blooming! I’ve had it for two or three years and this is the first year I’ve gotten it to rebloom. Three big beautiful blooms! I’ve kept it in an east-facing window this year and about two months ago started putting it in a completely dark, cool closet at night. (Last year…
Refilling the Well, Day 2: Coeur d’Alene, ID, to Butte, MT
This post is part of a series on exploring and navigating the world with a fat body and an anxiety disorder. See all the posts here. If Montana is big sky country (and it is — we’ll get there), northern Idaho feels intimate. The smoky haze begins to clear as you head east past beautiful,…
Garden notes, March 25
It’s garden season again! Finally! By which I mean, the highs are still in the low 50s, but it’s not raining *all* day every day. Since we’re up on a ridge, we’re a little behind the lowlands. The roses are just starting to leaf out, and I saw the first cherry blossoms just beginning to…
{explore} port townsend
(This post was originally published at Sweet Amaranth in 2015.) After the lavender festival, we were fairly wiped out. All we wanted was a cold drink, some good food and a breeze. Luckily, the pretty little town of Port Townsend wasn’t far away. Our route from the Lavender Festival in Sequim to dinner in Port Townsend,…
garden details, april
Now that the long, wet winter is over, green is springing from the ground faster than I can keep up with it. A thousand baby maples decorate the back slope between the big maple and the redwood. The lilac bushes, big as trees, are in full flower. The rhododendrons and azaleas burst open in quick…
studio details, january
It’s a rare day of winter sun here outside Seattle, and I’m puttering around my portrait studio here at Alcove House, drinking in the light pouring through the windows and capturing the small details that make up my surroundings. Vivid orange gerbera daisies that the Viking brought me while I had a cold earlier this…
{explore} Western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Mountains
This is the post in which I visit North Carolina and fall into a waterfall. Okay, it wasn’t a major accident, but since the entire town of Newland was out enjoying a rare sunny and 70-degree winter day just after Christmas at that particular mountain park, it was a wee bit embarrassing.