apocalyptic bee cloud

The bee hive went nuts today.  Every bee came out at once (well, it seemed like every bee) and had a look-see above our yard.  They zipped around for about 15 minutes and then all went back inside.  Nuts.

backyard all a'buzz

I know we just had a beehive PURPOSELY placed in our backyard - and things are going well with that. But today AJ and I came home to find this dogpile, several thousand bees stacked up and wrapped around our fencepost. We called our beekeeper to tell him what was up, and he said it was totally unrelated to our real beehive - just a random swarm that stopped in our yard to rest for the night!

this week's blooms

I know, there have been lots of flower postings lately.  But its beautiful up here!  See below for what's blooming this week at the Centenarian.

Orange azaleas

More baby succulents!

sage

Pink rhodies

Purple rhodies

irises

chamomile

rock succulents

monday, tuesday, thursday

I just wanted to show you how my girl tackles dinner on weeknights.  Mind you, this is not the weekend where you have plenty of time to be creative - these dinners were made after a long day of thinking about ocean chemistry and what makes life go from one day to the next.  The kicker is that at least half of the ingredients are homemade.  Pair all of that with temps that were in the 70s all week long, not a lick of rain - so we could even eat outside.  I am super lucky - no wonder I've become such a foodie!

Monday: vegan sliders topped with avocado and sauerkraut, grilled asparagus and grilled mango.  Field Stone 2007 Chardonnay to boot.

Tuesday: garbanzo and potato Moroccan soup, garden green salad, and toasted baguette topped with mango, avocado, chocolate mint and oregano.  Black Box 2011 Sauvignon Blanc to boot.

Thursday: vegan ricotta and fig filled crostata.  Black Box 2010 Syrah to boot.

color galore!

Adrienne and I rode our bikes after work to the Washington Park Arboretum yesterday to see the rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom.  We were not disappointed.  In fact, most of the plants looks as if they peaked 2 weeks ago - so it could have been even MORE impressive!  See below for a slideshow of outrageous color.

flowers for mother's day

Since its Mother's Day, and since its 80 degrees today in Seattle, it seemed appropriate to post the latest installment of what's blooming in the garden (and a few other cool things).  To all the mothers that read this blog, we hope you have a spectacular day!

orange azaleas

chives

kale

rockery flowers

honey bees and our new hive

Icelandic poppy and friends

Rhododendron

Lupine

Columbine

rockery colors

New fiddlehead

Tomatoes going gangbusters - in the garden soon

AJ making her Mother's Day phone call back east

miles would be disappointed

This is it - my very first two cases of of wine!  I'll report back in three months when its ready to drink, but I've already tasted it and it seems promising.  Miles from Sideways would be so sad to learn that my first foray into winemaking was a Merlot.  All I can say is he probably never had a Washington Merlot, which this is - good stuff.