As another month of “Stay Home Stay Healthy” wraps up, we hope you’re finding your rhythm and maybe even some joy in exploring new ideas for living well in the confines of home and your local neighborhood. Many of us have learned how easy it is to plant a seed, make a sourdough starter, or build a birdhouse. We hope you enjoy these glimpses of our projects, our gardens and the natural diversions of our local neighborhoods in this month’s Institute photo round-up!
PROJECT PROJECTS PROJECTS!
How many ways can we stay creative and productive at home? Like you, Institute staff is trying them all: baking, building, organizing, pickling, cleaning, stacking, sorting, sewing and more. Tell us what you’re doing with your time at home in the comments below!
Stacking firewood for next winter is a piece of cake with this little guy on the job. Photo by Julie StoneCara and Lucia built a “Home Tweet Home” for the pair of Northern Flickers who frequent their yard. To make a house for the birds in your neighborhood start with plans from www.70birds.com/birdhouses.Turn your setting for smell-o-vision wayyyy up to enjoy this pic of Julie’s fresh rounds of sourdough.
During the Learning Center closure, Chris took the opportunity to refinish the dining hall floors. Beautiful job, Chris!Zoe and Justin share the view and a fresh-from-the-oven roasted pear & salted honey scone with curious company.Stephanie raided the cellar to fresh-pickle cipollini onions with garlic, and spicy rainbow carrots.Maggie makes a project of this stick, because it’s not going to chew itself. Photo by Mari Schramm
OUT IN THE Garden
Thank goodness the necessity of staying home has coincided with the planting season. There’s plenty to do outside, if the miracle of dropping seeds into soil and watching them grow is your thing—as it is for many Institute staffers!
Christian has the right idea with all this color in his garden!A fine demonstration of the traditional foot hoeing technique. Photo by Julie StoneScarecrow watches over spring onions, raspberries, herbs and potatoes in Confluence Garden. Photo by Molly HarriganJulie’s little guy enjoys getting his hands in the dirt with a shovel just his size.Among the small miracles occurring in Zoe and Justin’s garden are these radish sprouts.Calvin and his feathered assistant who takes scratchy notes during backyard Zoom meetings. Photo by Jodi Broughton
Spring Wild flowers
No need to go far to spot one of these delightful wild flowers. A watchful eye will be rewarded with glimpses of bleeding hearts, red flowering currant, salmonberry, and more floral treasures like those pictured here, in neighborhood parks and green belts. Enjoy a full bouquet of our staff’s wildflower pics in A Guide to Spring Blooms in Cascadia.
A rare sighting of the bewitching Calypso Orchid. Photo by Alexa BrandtThe spring ephemeral known as Trillium. Photo by Julie StoneYellow Violets, also known by the name Evergreen Violets. Photo by Mari Schramm
Our Wild views
As leaf buds open sunward into sprays of that particularly fresh shade of green, our natural views are especially uplifting right now.
The fog lifting on a perfectly North Cascadian spring morning. Photo by Katie ManzStill recovering from the wildfires of 2015, green is an especially welcome color In the Skagit Gorge. Photo by Katie ManzExpert bird enthusiast Kim locks eyes with a barred owl in a mysterious encounter in the woods.A thoughtful afternoon on the river. Photo by Katie ManzTwo juvenile elk are sheltered by their family while crossing the Skagit River in Hamilton. Photo by Molly HarriganThe sun-warmed Skagit Tours dock on Diablo Lake. Photo by Katie ManzDiablo Lake has many moods. Photo by Katie ManzAnd finally, a stunning and dramatic end to the day. Photo by Molly Harrigan
Thanks for coming along on this photo round-up! As always, we invite you to share your own adventures with us—please reach out to us at photos@ncascades.org and your pics just might appear in our next round up!
Comments
Steve
Apr 30, 2020
Such amazing pics! Thanks for sharing this with us. It felt like my sheltered world expanded a bit! I especially like the one with the littlest lumberjack!
Such amazing pics! Thanks for sharing this with us. It felt like my sheltered world expanded a bit! I especially like the one with the littlest lumberjack!