Tag Archives: tree

Folk Art in West Seattle

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Dear husband and I were recently in West Seattle and I took the chance to check out some folk art, roadside attractions. The first stop was at 5274 44th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA and that home had some wonderful tree carvings in the front. Dear husband especially enjoyed the fairy hanging out on the chimney. The roadside attraction info can be found here. This is a private residence, but the art can readily be seen from the street.

The second stop was the nearby Walker Rock Garden at 5407 37th SW, Seattle, WA. I remember going to see this rock garden more than 20 years ago when it was open one Mother’s Day. I was so impressed. Here are some older photos from when I begged a peek. The amazing rockery was created by Milton and Florence Walker and the property has since sold. I’m not sure of any future plans, but it would be so wonderful if it was again opened up to the public on special occasions. The roadside attraction information can be found here and there is an Atlas Obscura entry, with some good photos, that can be found here. This is a private residence and not open to the public.

 

 

The Barn on Highway 26

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Along Highway 26 between Colfax and Washtucna there is a barn I have often admired and today I pulled over and snapped the photo. Since I know nothing else about the barn, I’m including a photo from the other side of the mountains in North Bend and another random highway scene with a tree.

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The Ginkgo Trees of DuPont

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A few weeks ago, I went on a photo walk in DuPont and noticed these Gingko trees. Somebody in the group mentioned that the leaves turn a lovely yellow. I can see that beginning, but our unseasonably warm weather must be keeping them green a little longer than normal. They are lovely anyway. I don’t know the name of the little park like area next to the history museum, but that’s where the trees are. I discovered on the internet that the tree is considered a living fossil and that the fruit smells bad. The species of tree was once widespread, but eventually ended up primarily in China. Fossils going back 270 million years have been found.

Hope Heights

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Tree MuralThe Hope Heights mural at 6323 McKinley Avenue is glorious! It has vibrant colors and  plethora of images including skulls, fish, a raven  and a dragon. The combined cultures are illustrated together around a ginormous tree. The mural had an art team of Joni Joachims and artists Yvette Simone, Chelsea O’Sullivan, Kate Cendejas, Brian Hutcheson, and Janice Lee Warren. To learn more, visit this blog http://tacomaarts.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/murals-project-update-hope-heights-mural-is-complete/

Although the building’s address is on McKinley, the mural fronts on 63rd. The brick building was constructed in 1925 and was owner occupied by the Grote Pharmacy, which included a U.S. Postal Substation. More recently it was occupied by A. A. Wedding Supplies, but it is now vacant (at least the lower level) and available for rent.

 

 

Kelso Gillenwater Plaza

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In front of the University of Washington Tacoma Library is the Kelso Gillenwater Plaza, a small, square plot of land with a lovely, blooming magnolia tree, some other landscaping and a memorial plaque (see below).

The Plaza is listed on the UW-T’s walking tour, which can be found here http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/shopuwt/docs/walking_tour.pdf

Starbucks in University Place, will it snow?

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They tell me there is a big old snow storm coming, though when I snapped this photo the skies were mostly blue. I needed some provisions (cookies, chips, milk, cheese) and stopped at Trader Joe’s and then for a cup of drip coffee at Green Fir’s Starbucks. It was packed and there was no inconspicuous way to take a photo, so I took one of the outside and it was truly awful! I mean really, really bad. So, here is a photo that I do like of one of the trees in the Green Firs Center. Now let’s see if we actually get this huge storm!

No-El Tree Farm

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It’s that time of year and we spent more time then normal deciding on our tree. Did we want to go to a lot and if so which lot? Or a you cut farm? While I was up in the air, my husband called it – a You Cut called No-El Tree Farm. We had gone to a couple of years again. It is a family run farm in South Pierce County.

Red Oak in Wright Park

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Usually I use the FourSquare app on my phone to record that I have been to a place, but once in a while I use an alternative app called Gowalla. I was amused to see that somebody had gone through Wright Park and made many of the individual trees separate destinations! I’m sure I won’t get around to all of them, but today’s new place is one of the Red Oak Trees in Wright Park. How do I know its a Red Oak? The parks folks thoughtfully labelled it!

If you’d like to know more about Red Oaks, check out this site:

http://ostermiller.org/tree/redoak.html