Hot Day

Today is cloudy, it's about 65 degrees, and we just had a refreshing rain shower. Yesterday we had a wonderfully hot, dry, sunny day.  It really felt like summer!!

This credit union sign we passed by said it was 100 degrees, though the weather websites say it only got up to 86. I took a picture, though, to record the event. ;)

Flag Flying on the Fourth of July

The house we live in used to belong to my mother-in-law. We moved here to help care for her while she was on hospice almost four years ago. It's our home now, and there are so many things here which remind me of her and which we are blessed to be able to use in our family and pass down traditions that my mother-in-law loved. One thing that was special to her, and is special to us, is putting up the flag on the porch on patriotic holidays. We continue to use the same flag, and here is a picture of it flying yesterday on the Fourth of July, Independence Day.

Black Locust Tree Shadows

We went for a walk yesterday at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, WA, and there were still blossoms in the black locust trees.  It's one of my favorite times of the year at the park, because they smell *so* good to me!  They are very interesting trees because their leaves are so delicate and their blossoms are so lovely, and yet their branches carry amazingly sharp thorns (I accidentally poked myself recently, ouch!). 

beautiful black locust tree

sharp thorns on a black locust tree

I'm linking this post to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Yellow Fire Hydrant Hiding in the Grass

The other day while walking near Fort Steilacoom Park I decided to take another picture of the yellow fire hydrant that I posted a picture of back on October 23, 2010. I was surprised to see how long the grass had gotten!  The coloring is quite different in this picture than in the one I took back in October.  That one was taken on a cloudy, gray day.  I took this one while the beautiful sun was shining.  I love seeing the sun!

Litter at Hill Ward Memorial

21 June 2011

A Rock Monument Commemorating the Death of Chief Leschi

I feel so badly that until this week I didn't know who Chief Leschi (pronounced LESH-eye) was.  I had heard his name before because there is school district in Puyallup, WA, that carries his name, and I saw recently that there is a park in Dupont, WA, with his name, plus there are other places in Washington as well that are named for him.  But as to who he was?  I had no idea.

This week that changed when I found a history book on the Puget Sound that used to be my mother-in-law's.  I began reading it and saw the name of Chief Leschi in it.  His name was early in the book for he was alive in the 1800's and played an important part in the history of our state.  I eagerly read to find out his story, and to see what would happen.  He was a chief of the Nisqually Tribe, and reading about him I grew to have respect for him and to feel that he was a noble, good man.  I hoped so much that it would have a happy ending, and I cried when I read that after he was wrongfully accused and convicted of murder -- of a uniformed man during wartime -- and even though there was compelling evidence that Leschi wasn't even at the scene of that occurrence, he was unjustly and wrongfully hanged on February 19, 1858.

Then I found out that it was in Lakewood that it happened. . . he was hung in our city!  There is a rock at the Oakbrook Shopping Center, 8107 Steilacoom Boulevard, commemorating his death.  I go to that shopping center pretty often, and I had no idea it was there.  I had seen the rock, but didn't notice that it had an inscription on it and didn't realize that it stood for something important.  How could I have not realized that this happened in our city?!

I went there today to visit the rock monument sitting on a small grassy place under a garry oak tree. It's such an unassuming place for a monument to be, in front of a parking lot, surrounded by cement sidewalks, near businesses such as The Dollar Tree, Key Bank, a bookstore, a daycare center.   Yet I felt moved to see it, to touch it, to read the inscription.  The inscription reads as follows:

Leschi

Chief of the Nisquallies

Martyr to the vengeance 

of the unforgiving white man

was hanged 

300 yards S.E. from here

February 19, 1858

Erected 1963 by Pierce County 

Pioneer & Historical Assn.

While reading more of his story online, I was pleased when I found out that justice was finally served when, 146 years later, Chief Leschi was exonerated on December 10, 2004, by a historical court: 

The historical court, led by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, ruled that if Leschi did in fact kill Moses, they were lawful combatants in a time of war, so a murder charge was not justified. source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6697065/

Here are some links I found with more information about Chief Leschi:

http://www.leschischools.org/about/thechief.php
http://stories.washingtonhistory.org/leschi/
http://forejustice.org/wc/chief_leschi/chief_leschi.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Leschi
 
I'm linking this post to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Black Locust Tree Reflections in Waughop Lake

The black locust trees at Fort Steilacoom Park have blossoms right now, and they smell wonderful! This is a picture of some black locust trees and their reflection in the lake.

Visit Watery Wednesday to see more pictures with water in them!

The Duck was Wearing a Yellow Hat!

The pictures below were taken in University Place, WA, a city next to Lakewood -- it's to the north of Lakewood. We went to the library there today and were surprised to see that the sculpture of the mama duck (such a neat sculpture) in front of the library had a yellow hat on her head! I couldn't understand why someone would do that, I mean that seems very strange, you know? But my daughter explained to me that there is something called "yarn bombing" -- it's graffiti with yarn!

When people yarn bomb they knit or crochet things and apparently put them on just about anything -- trees, poles, statues, bridges, etc. My daughter said that last week there was even a yarn bombing day. Here's a website I found about yarnbombing: http://yarnbombing.com/ After hearing about yarn bombing, I thought, well, that's actually kind of neat. :) Here are some pictures of mama duck with her pretty yellow hat on her head!

I thought this post would be perfect to link to Mellow Yellow Monday!  :)

Hill Ward Memorial

At the Hill Ward Memorial at Fort Steilacoom Park last year on the first day of summer. . .

taken 21 June 2010

Water Level at Waughop Lake

I said the other day that I would put up a more current picture which shows the water level at Waughop Lake, and I know you all have been waiting with bated breath to see it ;), so here it is. . .

picture taken 9 June 11

Western State Hospital Historical Cemetery

The marker for the Western State Hospital Historical Cemetery at Fort Steilacoom Park. . .

Foam on Waughop Lake

picture taken on 14 June 2011

Doesn't the foam look a little worrisome?  I googled "foam on lake" and found this article on Lake Foam. The author explains,

On lakes, in bathtubs and in mugs of beer, the cause for foam is the same. Agitation at the surface causes air to get under the surface film of the water. Weakened surface tension is unable to force the air out, but rather keeps water wrapped around a volume of air, creating a bubble. If this happens for long enough, foam is created.

 It was windy when I took this picture yesterday evening, so maybe that's why there was foam at the shore of the lake? 

Feathery Clouds above Waughop Lake

I thought the clouds were so pretty the evening this picture was taken.  You can see Pierce College in the distance on the hill.

picture taken on 24 May 2011

Red Fire Hydrant at Fort Steilacoom Park

This red fire hydrant is by the barns at Fort Steilacoom Park.  You can see that it's been painted several colors over the years!  I took this picture yesterday evening on a walk in the park.

picture taken 9 June 11

The Water Rose Even Higher at Waughop Lake

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted!  I probably should post something wonderful and exciting since I haven't posted in so long.  I'm afraid, though, this picture isn't going to be terribly exciting.  Since my last post was about how high the water was a Waughop Lake, I wanted to make note that the water in Waughop Lake rose even higher than it was back in March.  This picture was taken on May 21st.   I'll try and post a more recent one soon! :-)

The Water is High at Waughop Lake

The first picture of Waughop Lake was taken on Sunday the 20th of March. The water in the lake is really high right now. The second picture was taken back in October, and you can see that the water is high by comparing the pictures and looking at the pilings of the old dock.  The piling the bird is standing on in the second pictures is completely covered by water in the first picture except for the metal pole that is sticking up.

March 20, 2010

October 20, 2010

Icicles!

Icicles in Lakewood, Washington. . .

picture taken on Feb. 25, 2011

Snow in the Park

(I haven't posted a picture in so long that I thought I might as well post four. ;))

Taken yesterday at Fort Steilacoom Park. On the left side of the fence
is the free-roaming area for dogs.

On the bus yesterday

We stopped by Lakewood Target. We thought it was funny they
were selling swimsuits when it was so snowy!

Another picture taken at Fort Steilacoom Park

Pierce College's Rainier Math/Science Building

This picture was taken behind Pierce College's Rainier Math/Science Building while we were on a walk through Fort Steilacoom Park on 1/1/11.

LeaflessTrees around Waughop Lake

picture taken on 1/2/11

The leafless trees in this picture are such a stark contrast to the colorful trees I took a picture of in the autumn!

This post is linked to Shadow Shot Sunday.

View of Mount Rainier and Fort Steilcoom Park

Picture taken near Pierce College's Rainier Math/Science

Building on a hill overlooking Fort Steilacoom Park. . .

Children's Section at the Lakewood Library

The Lakewood Library was closed for awhile last month and reopened on January 3rd. They rearranged a lot of things and did some painting, too. Things are more "open." Some of it is very nice, and you can see they worked very hard on it and were thoughtful about the choices they made. For some people, though, so far it feels too "busy" and doesn't give the nice safe, cozy feeling that a library should give. Maybe it will feel better as we get used to it.

One area that was changed was the children's section. They moved it across the room to the other side. It's been in the other spot for as long as I can remember, so this is a big change. Here is a picture of it:

Frosty Fallen Leaves

Leaves on the ground in our yard on December 17, 2010.

Christmas Tree at Fort Steilacoom Park

On a walk in Fort Steilacoom Park late last week, we came across a tree that someone had decorated for Christmas. . .

Reflections in Waughop Lake

Picture taken on December 17, 2010

Waughop Lake in Fort Steilacoom Park

American Lake on a Windy and Stormy Day

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Click here to see a past picture of American Lake on a rainy day.

New Bench at Waughop Lake

We were happy to see that the bench that was smashed by a falling tree back in November has been replaced!

Waughop Lake on the First Day of 2011