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STROLLERS: Monday morning we went for a little stroll first thing. We headed down to the lowlands near the Tukwila Community Center. We parked in their lot and walked north for a bit, along the Duwamish River. 

In short order we saw some Canada Geese families. One of the groups had thirteen babies!

We walked across a kinda scary bridge over the water (pictured at the top of this post), and strolled through a quiet neighborhood on the other side. There, we saw some ENORMOUS leaves of a plant none of us had ever seen before. Later in the day, we did a little research and we think that they are Japanese butterbur (Petasites japonica).

Per a city of Portland's Environmental Services webpage, it's an invasive species. "Japanese butterbur’s kidney-shaped leaves can be up to four feet wide and are fuzzy on the underside. It emerges in late winter or early spring, sometimes with clumps of white or pale yellow flowers appearing before the leaves, and can grow up to six feet tall," says the site.  

Later in our walk, we spied a station of sort surrounded by screened chain link fence. I immediately thought it the air quality station that's part of the state network. 

During the last miserable air quality summer, I repeatedly checked the official site for local air quality readings, and I do believe this just has to be the site listed for Tukwila. This photo makes it look like it's out in the wide open, but I shot it between slats. It's completely fenced in.

ONE LAST TIME: As documented here, we've been doing birthday bulletien boards for the kids' former school for months and months now. 

The last one of the year is always the hardest, as you have to incorporate June, July, and  August birthdays.

We decided to do a fishy theme, and incorporate info about local libraries' summer reading programs. 

We really enjoy this project, but we think it's time to pass the torch to others. There are so many gifted artists at the school ... it's time to see some of their work, we do believe.

PARTY PARTING:  Monday afternoon, we headed down to South Lake Union for a final gathering for the Ultimate Frisbee team that Annabelle has played for for the past two years. 

The spot had free games like pool, darts, and a couple of arcade games. The kids had fun and it was a nice way to wrap up a good season for the team.