Flowery Field Trip

 

SPYING IRISES: Midday Saturday we took a quick field trip to a place just a couple of blocks to our north, Leonine Iris. We'd noticed the place on walks through the neighborhood shortly after moving here almost 4 years ago. We'd admired their smallish front yard, which is packed with Pacific Northwest irises. Little did we know, that's just a small part of their collection, which runs through both side yards and encompasses their entire backyard, as well.

Thanks to a post on Nextdoor, we learned that every Saturday in May, Leonine Iris has open garden tours, so we stopped by for a visit.

A slice of the back yard, looking back toward the house.

According to their website,  www.leonineiris.com, their primary focus is on Pacific Coast Iris, "although we grow a significant representation of all other types of iris as well. Our ultimate goal is to create a living archive to preserve as many of the older Pacific Coast Iris hybrids as possible. We currently grow over 350 named PCI hybrids, along with many as yet unregistered seedlings, and are constantly seeking to expand the collection."

There were labels next to each iris. Apologies that I didn't get photos of them. You'll just have to guess what kind each of these are. ;) That, or go to Leonine Iris' website, where they have photos and labels for most all of their irises. 

I like the edge of the petals on this one. 

Check out these almost black buds!

Such strange flowers!

Annabelle amidst the irises, in one corner of the back yard.

I love how the veins on this iris pop. (I realize they're probably not called veins, but I'll be you know what I mean.)

The one below almost looks like a pair of eyes, a mouth, and a fancy nose.

There were so many bumblebees in the gardens! Bumblebees must really love irises.

The next two have colors of a sunrise or sunset.

Pretty spectacular.

Lots of pinks and purples in the gardens.

I thought it funny that the iris below is called "Oregon Watercolor" when it's Washington Husky colors.

Some of my favorite flowers in the garden weren't even irises. Check out these cute little blossoms on the Kalmia shrub. They kind of look like candy to me. 

I figured I *had* to include a photo of one of the irises growing in our yard. Another interesting blend of purple and yellow/gold on one flower. I have to wonder if whoever planted it was a Husky fan. 

FAMILIAR FACE: On Thursday morning, we watched par of a hearing by the House Natural Resources Committee. The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, led by Chair Teresa Leger Fernández, was hosting a legislative hearing on the RESPECT Act and STOP Act. The two bills require the federal government to engage in meaningful consultation with federally recognized tribes to prohibit the export of sacred Native items and increase the penalties for illegal trafficking. The hearing was of interest for more than one reason. FIrst, preserving Native artifacts is an important topic, second because CJ is studying Native Americans in his current Pacific Northwest History class, and third, my cousin Lauren van Schilfgaarde, an attorney and who is a member of the Cochiti Pueblo tribe, was testifying. It was interesting to hear about the bills and the work being done on this matter. You can see the hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP8lSl7n1is

FEEDING TEENS: This Saturday was the fourth of the month, so for us, that meant prepping a whole lot of food for Teen Feed. 

The menu was inspired by a summer picnic: Fried chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, baby carrots with ranch dip, and a choice of strawberry shortcake or Oreo chocolate mousse.  (I suspect some guests had both kinds of dessert.)

CJ and Annabelle helped, of course. CJ cut 15 cups of strawberries. 

Annabelle helped fill over 90 little ramekins with ranch, for dipping carrots in.

We fired up the Flair and baked up about 80 shortcakes, including gluten free and vegan options.  

We picked up 196(!) pieces of chicken from a store in White Center. You can imagine how my car smelled after driving around for about 45 minutes with that much fried chicken on board.  

The dinner went well, and before long we'll be thinking about a menu to serve for next month. 

PARTING SHOT: Kirby, living her best life. And this is *after* the haircut, I kid you not.