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Spring WalkIt is a great joy the day we discover that we can learn things without actually having to make the mistakes ourselves. |
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Sunday, April 5, 1998
In shocking news in yesterday's entry, Anita gets stood up!
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I took a walk to the north end of Capitol Hill this afternoon. The overlook near Lakeview Cemetary was my goal. This is only a block from where I lived with my parents when we first came to Seattle. One of the advantages of choosing a route on the north-south axis is that the hill is mainly on the same level in that direction. Easier walking!
I walked through the commercial area near my place, and stopped at my favorite City People's Mercantile. I was thinking about a small item I wanted for tomorrow, but got distracted in sniffing and sampling the aromatic oils and lotions.
The weather was beautiful! We are at the peak of Seattle springtime, with daffodils, tulips, cherry laurel, clematis, all in bloom. I know the yards and houses so well in that neighborhood; I used to take my mother out in her wheelchair (used due to cancer weakness, not paralysis) every day.
One of my least favorite plants is all too popular around here, and it is at its worst at this season. Red-tip Photinia is used for foundation plantings and hedges. I dislike the coarse foliage and the raw red color of the new growth. But it is easy to propagate, so it is cheap at the garden centers. Perhaps I snobbishly despise it because it is widely grown?
I was pleased by the amount of mature ivy I saw. I like the dark black-green berries and the rounded leaves on that form of the plant.
Whenever I try to write about plants or the natural world, I think about Henry Mitchell. I'm sure that reading his columns in the Washington Post is what got me interested in plants and horticulture! Have you ever caught an obsession just by reading about someone else's?
The overlook was deserted. They've done some clearing on the steep hillside below, so I could clearly see the 520 bridge, the University, the sailing class boats darting about near the Montlake Cut. The trees have a green haze of leaves just peeking out. After a few minutes, I walked back, crossing the street to walk through Volunteer Park for some variety. I hadn't been through there since they've opened a dog off-leash area!
I stopped on the way back and made that purchase for tomorrow.
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I had coffee this afternoon with MD, a man who contacted me from my yahoo personal ad. I arranged to meet him on Capitol Hill, not realizing he had to come all the way from Everett! I could have gone partway and met him in Lynnwood, perhaps.
MD is a technical writer who started in educational technology, before there were PCs! Learning machines or slide projectors were what was used for training materials. He's currently working on contract at Boeing. He seems intrigued by Cacophony, perhaps because he saw the Los Angeles branch when he lived down there and was distinctly unimpressed by them.
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My friend Kate Schaefer gave me a good recommendation in the ongoing thread on microwaving marshmallow peeps in the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.fandom, so hello to any readers who came here on her advice!
I can't believe I'm hearing that dufus Jeremy Rifkin on NPR! Is he truly dim, or just disingenuous? Arrgh!
I updated my opera page this morning, adding one link, deleting a few that have disappeared, and changing one URL. I also looked through this journal and identified the entries where I talk about opera, and added links to them.
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