Monday, October 7, 2024

Yard Work and a Walk in a Park

Hola!  We've been doing fall stuff.  Saturday was the annual wrapping of the arborvitae in deer netting.  It's a terrible job, the mesh is the perfect size to catch the buttons on the shirt sleeves and it's just a pain.  As much as I hate the arborvitae, I don't want them maimed by the deer this winter.  So they're done now.  You can see the light glinting off the mesh.

Yesterday was the pruning of the hydrangeas.  It's not difficult, but it's pretty boring.  They had a good year this past summer, and were up against the house and surrounding trees.  So, bye bye pretty blossoms.

Then it was on to trimming the boxwood hedge.  I didn't take much off, but there were some wingers that needed to be dealt with.  Over the three years we've been here, we have not been sufficiently brutal with the hedge trimmer.  It's taller than it was when we got here, and it's closer to the walk way.  I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to cut it back a lot.  I guess if we don't let it get any bigger, things will be fine.

Today was chilly, we were just not in the mood to put on all the layers to ride, so we went to Manito Park. It's a delightful park.  It's surrounded by older homes which are well kept and I would imagine updated more than once in their history.  We also saw some new construction done in the style of the neighborhood.  It would be a cool place to live.  I have photos!

The Mirror Pond.  It used to be a natural seasonal lake, but there was a desire for it to always have water, so they paved it.  There are tiny fish and ducks living there.

After wandering for a bit, we found a map next to the Cafe (which was closed) and discovered the location of the conservatory.  They have a lot of foliage plants as well as cactus and succulents.





There is a Japanese garden.  The water features are lovely.  The orange blog is a big koi.





It was fun.  It's kind of a hike for us, but for the people who live near the park, it's a treasure.

Sunset the other night.


That's it, that's all I've got until Milton hits Tampa Bay.  Currently it's a Cat 5 hurricane, so not good.

9 comments:

  1. The Japanese garden looks like a lovely place to sit and just be

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  2. That is a beautiful Japanese garden! There's a really nice one here in Holland Park, and I haven't been in ages. Maybe I should head over there sometime this week on my days off. You've inspired me!

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  3. WOW Manito Park, why have I never heard of that lovely 90 acres of beauty? Might be worth a visit east of the mountains in the late spring just for a wander! It is probably beautiful in the snow as well!
    Hone ownership can wear you our- there is always something that wants attention. First world problem!

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  4. I would have waited for the hydrangea to stop blooming before I pruned it back. there's a Japanese garden in Hermann Park in Houston. I'd like to go again since it's been a long time but not sure I want to deal with Houston traffic there and back.

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  5. What a beautiful park. I had no idea Spokane had a botanical park.

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  6. I just looked up Manito park images and it reminds me of Butchart Gardens but it's much bigger. Very beautiful.

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  7. The Japanese gardens are lovely. They paved the bottom of a lake?

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  8. Our son, Jesse (and Erin and sweet little Annie) lives in one of those lovely old homes bordering Manito Park! We enjoy taking Annie and Molly (their Lab) for walks in the park every time we visit.

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    1. Hi Suzi, we figured that must be the case. Allison mentioned that you had told her about the house on 18th (I think) with those huge hunks of basalt in the front yard that practically obscure the house. Some of those old craftsman homes are just gorgeous!

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