Walking Seattle Again

 The Arboretum was beautiful today as a friend and I took a meandering walk through its lush greenery. One view was more beautiful than ... ... another and many areas appeared to have been groomed and benches added. We noted heart locks on a chain link fence ... ... and Fiddleheads Forest School ... ... and some of its sheltered areas. Our 6 mile walk was well worth the time spent walking and talking.

A friend and I spent a nice morning walking in the Green Lake and Wallingford neighborhoods. Most of the streets  contained single-family homes and were lined with trees ... ... and enchanting gardens. We observed some trees used to support play equipment ... ... and some artificial turf. Although most of the homes were modest in size, we did note some big older homes, some large new homes, some new skinny homes, and some lots where homes had been demolished and new homes would be built. We came across a  "Canine Output Containeration Solution Station" ... ... and ended our walk near a lovely rhody. Along our 4.5 mile walk, we talked, laughed, unwound, and passed four Little Free Libraries. We could have picked up novels, magazines, cookbooks or a book on golfing in Washington. Given the number of tree swings, I had expected more children's books.  

 Victory Heights greeted me today with poppies, .... ... rhodies,  ... plantings, ... ... unexpected green space (like this one at Goodwin Way NE and 19th Avenue), ... ... a beautiful Monkey Tail tree that managed to grow far enough from overhead wires to avoid being butchered, ... ... and even a pocket park. This is Pinehurst Pocket Park at 117th and 19th, which, according to my neighborhood maps, is near Pinehurst but in Victory Heights. My maps may be wrong because the Pinehurst Community Council posts information here. Every street of my meandering walk was different. Most of the homes were single family but there were apartments close to 15th. Many homes were older and modest. There were some newer, much larger homes. There were some vacant lots, some lots which appeared to have been subdivided years ago, some lots which were recently subdivided and now contained three homes. Sidewalks appeared and disappeared and, seemingly out of the blue, I came across this cul-de-sac...

Back in the Olympic Hills neighborhood to walk some streets I had missed, I started near the Lake City Fire Station. I had noted this sculpture before but not the nearby plaque explaining that this piece called Thornton Creek "... stands as a monument to our ancient and vital community creek and watershed. The sculpture lifts swaths of native creek grass above the urban hardscape and to the daylight. Steel pipe is 'peeled' open to catch the rain and carry it to an underground cistern. The sculpture speaks to the urgency of a balanced ecology and an architecture of service." This path at 133rd and 28th allowed me to walk where cars cannot go. Venturing into Victory Heights, Hiram Place became a private road that took me to ... ... Virgil Flaim Park which had ... ... a working water fountain (the water was cool and refreshing) and ... ... a plaque on a rock noting that the Lake City Playground was donated by the Lake City Lions. Over on 30th just south of 125th, I spott...

 Back in Olympic Hills again, I started walking east from 23rd along 133rd. The street becomes a path which ... ... leads to a staircase which ... ... leads to a T intersection which... ...leads to another path. I had mostly walked in a neighborhood of single family homes. Once I got close to 130th and 31st, I spotted the large residential complexes which have gone up in Lake City. Even with a map, I got so turned around on some of the twisting streets that I'm sure a walked some of them three or four times. I did run into more dead-end streets that aren't dead-ends for walkers before completing my 5 mile walk. Along the way, I passed five Little Free Libraries. They contained novels, children's books, a book in an Asian language, a book about chaos, and a number of books on various word religions.