Burke-Gilman in May
A little bit of info for those not from around Seattle: the Burke-Gilman Trail is a favorite for walkers, bikers, roller-bladers and skate boarders, families and dogs. It starts way over there and goes and goes and goes until it ends up way over that way. My bit of The Trail stretches between Metropolitan Market on 40th NE in one direction and 125th NE in the other. So far. I'm working up to more. After a year at it, I feel that I'm still new to bicycling and don't enjoy exercise all that much ~ ok, not at all. Most* people using The Trail are very pleasant and they like my bike. It's pink and it has a bell, which I use. The flora and fauna is classic metropolitan Seattle and the views are great. If we ever win the lotto, we'll find us a place between The Trail and The Lake and hunker down to knit, spin and watch the water from inside, leaving all boats to the crazy people. I mean that in the nicest way, really I do.
The Trail
Spring bloom
Trail guardian
Tall grass
Looking east
Clover
Bees
A retaining wall
No need to wear a watch if we walk this way
A covered walkway down to the house on the lake
One of my favorite lakeside houses
These folks have a great view looking east toward Kirkland
We call these plants The Pod People**.They grow uninvited and, like kudzu,
they take over everything.
We don't know what they are or who is responsible for clearing them out, but they need to be gone. They're taking over whole sections of both sides of The Trail.
* Some professional bikers ~those in skin-tight bikewear, you know who you are~ on The Trail are every bit as rude on Burke-Gilman as they are on the city streets which means if you don't watch out they will run you down because they're speeding (the speed limit on The Trail is 15mph) so it's not all that restful or fun to be on The Trail when they are. How hard is it to get a bell and use it? Ok, rant over.
**We would like to find out what this plant is and how to kill it so if anyone out there knows, please leave a comment or email me at rebecca at bienn dot net. I'm as much a gardener as I am an exerciser but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about a plant from another galaxy taking over the planet. These Pod People need to be stopped!
6 comments:
Rebecca, there is a similar plant that grows downtown here in Olympia. I'll have to go have another look to see if they're the same plant. I've wondered what it is too because it's a very aggressive grower and seems to only be intermittently removed here - and then only when the entire sidewalk has been blocked by its growth.
You take such lovely pictures! What a beautiful day to go for a trail ride.
Peggy
You know, doubtless, that I see those same sights every day, but how I enjoyed your pictures all the same! You just help me see things in new ways sometimes. Wonderful!
The June issue of The Smithsonian had an interview with an entymologist about the disappearance of honey bees. No, it's not a virus like the 1980s, entymologists simply don't know, and Extraterrestrials are not ruled out.......you've documented honeybees and Pod People in the same area.....I think you should call Washington right away!
Hey, just came across yer blog. The invasive plant looks a lot like Japanese knotweed, which is a noxious plant throughout the NW and even parts of AK (where I live). Hate to say it, but I think the best way to be rid of the stuff is to use herbicide, then aggresively replant with Native spp.
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