One of the glories of the end of summer is the blooming of our light lavender cyclamen plants. We see their foliage most of the year, but in early summer they die back. We don't even notice they're gone, when - boom - stalks pop out of the ground each with a gorgeous, delicate flower at the end. The best part is they are naturalized here and there around the garden. One cluster has even settled in across from the compost bin, where the livin' is easy.

The cluster of Cyclamen hederifolium beneath the Japanese Maple

News & Notes

• Melissa and Brendan joined us for a weekend in Vancouver. The main attraction was the city's Mural Festival, but we worked in other activities, including an evening stroll along English Bay.

  

  Melissa, Brendan, J and L

  
  

• Like last year and the year before, Vancouver's Mural Festival exhibited some truly spectacular work. This octopus, which you will notice covers three faces of the building but is perfectly proportioned, is tucked away on a alley off of Main Street, where too few people will pass to appreciate it. But, then, octopuses are shy creatures.

  

  Inspecting A Ship In A Bottle

  
  

• We joined Shelley and Ken at their place on Lopez Island for Labor Day to see the Studio Tour Art Weekend. We have enjoyed this event for many years, and this year was no exception. There were old faves, including floral animals, and new entrants, including a handmade wooden boat. It's art to us! A larger boat - the Washington State Ferry - gleamed in the Labor Day morning light. Surprisingly, later that afternoon, a pod of orcas frolicked near the ferry dock.

  

  Morning Ferry Docked At Lopez Island

  
  

• We visited Jim and Julie in Libby for a week. A highlight was spending a couple hours shelling peas. Yes, really, it's a time to chat and try to find a pod with 11 peas. We also got in some serious fishing on Lake Koocanusa. On one of the fishing days we were out with Alvira and Tom. On another day we visited Dolly and Doug because Dolly has two new horses.

  

  Dolly Scratching Livia, The Colt, As Isla, The Weenling, Looks On

  
  

• We've both finished our summer projects:
  
  J's summer project was to weave a rug out of dark blue, light blue, red and yellow yarn. It's large - 35" x 74" (about 1 x 2 m).

  

  Too Pretty To Walk On

  
  L's summer project was a fence along our patio's west edge. Visualize the future white lavender flowers in the bed behind the fence.

  

  Keeping Partiers Out of the Flowers

  
  

• Though L isn't writing textbooks any longer, he's still writing. The 4th edition of Boys and Grills, his recommended grilling times for gas barbecues, just came out.

  

  Grilling In The Rain