The Penguins are Extremely Satisfied

I finally got to take the Sustainable Building Advisor exam that I missed last Friday... and I passed! Woo Hoo!

So, now I can be fancy and put the letters CSBA after my name. Not that very many people would know what that means.

Anyway, I know it's been forever since I took any photos. I hope to be back to my regular picture taking self this weekend. In the mean time, enjoy this cute penguin joke Agnes sent for me and Sami.

Sami Loves Google Street View

It's our house, and our street! (and Melissa's truck in our driveway)

Kinda scary and kinda cool.

Sami played with this tool for nearly three hours, walking around all the old neighborhoods we've lived in. Then he started checking out other places like Alaska, and the ghettos in LA.

I think someone should build some kind of car race/chase game where you get to drive around in google street view. It would be great fun.

Missed Exam!

I was scheduled to take my certification exam for the National Sustainable Building Advisor Program but something went wrong with my online registration and I wasn't properly registered. I panicked a bit because the next scheduled exam is not until October. I just knew that if I waited that long, I would forget everything. Fortunately everyone was very helpful and I will most likely be able to take the exam this coming Thursday.

Happy Nameday to Me!

Hey, it's my nameday!

(at least in Finland)

I'd totally forgotten since none of our calendars have the namedays listed. Thank you Karoliina for remembering and wishing me a "Happy Nameday!"

My name happens to fall in the "women's week" in the calendar. That's July 18th - July 24th. If you're curious to know more about namedays, here's the wikipedia article, and here's a calendar listing the dates for all the Finnish names.

Scotch Thistle - Onopordum acanthium

I saw these thistles growing by the road on my walk to work this morning, but I didn't think they quite went with the Calla Lilies post.

Calla Lilies

Calla Lily - Zantedeschia sp.

I love Calla Lilies, but I've never tried to grow them in our yard because they like really damp areas and I know they wouldn't get enough water in the summertime.

I found these lilies growing in the flowerbeds just outside the library. they looked like they were struggling even with the automatic sprinkler system.

Calla Lily - Zantedeschia sp.

I thought the tiny little white spider on this flower was so cute... but unfortunately the camera didn't want to focus on him. He was too small.

Gladiolas and Yet Another Poppy

Gladiolas - Gladiolus sp.

The gladiolas have started to bloom. These looked so cool and fresh on my walk to work this morning. I wonder how they will hold up as the day gets hotter.

Corn Poppy - Papaver rhoeas

Actually this could also be an Oriental Poppy - Papaver orientale. I'm not completely sure.

I think Poppies are my new favorite flower. I've made so many posts on them lately, and they just photograph so well.

Here's another view of the same flower.

Red Hot Afternoon

Daylily - Hemerocallis

Our weather has been hot and dry lately. Sometimes the bright sun washes out the flowers and plants and makes them dull looking. Today the sun was making the daylilies in front of the library look just brilliant!

Japanese Maple - Acer palmatum

The Japanese maple is a popular choice for neighborhood yards. The colors and the lacy leaves look great in spring and summer.

Here's another one.

Our Neighborhood

Crocosmia

I just discovered the name of this flower at the farmer's market last year. I love it. So tropical looking. This one, in my neighbor Shirley's yard isn't quite opened up yet, but I'm sure it will be looking great in the next day or two.

I tried planting a few bulbs in my own yard, they made leaves but no flowers this year. Hopefully they'll do better next year.

Small White Butterfly - Pieris rapae

I was disappointed that this photo didn't come out better. For some reason my camera had a very hard time focusing on the white butterfly. It looked so great among the lavender blossoms... I'll have to walk down the road again and hope the butterfly is back for another try.

Daylily - Hemerocallis

I met a girl my age that lives in our neighborhood. Her name is Liesl. We went walking in the neighborhood park. Afterwards we went back to her house where we barbecued some beef for dinner and I met her husband Derrick. It's nice to have a new friend in the neighborhood.

Like Summer Snowflakes

Queen Anne's Lace - Daucus carota

I actually took this picture last Saturday - I've been pretty busy and haven't taken many pictures lately.

Anyway, I thought the tall Queen Anne's Lace growing in the strip between the sidewalk and the street was very pretty. Against the dark green background of the forest, the flowers looked a bit like giant snowflakes.

I also took a picture of dried Queen Anne's Lace last fall if you're curious to see what that looks like.

Invisible Baby Birds

Killdeer Eggs have hatched!

I made a post a couple weeks ago about some dramatic birds protecting their nest. Well, their babies must have hatched... I found this egg on my way into the library this morning. Still haven't seen a baby bird yet.

PS. I took these photos with one of the library's cameras... I accidently let my battery get too low today.

Garden Update

Oxeye Daisy - Leucanthemum vulgare

I didn't plant these in our front yard, but they are pretty and make nice arrangements. When they popped up this spring I was pretty surprised - there were about 3 times as many as we had last year.

It seems that Washington State considers the Oxeye Daisy a "noxious weed" and invasive species. So, I'll be digging up most of them... anyone who would like a plant is free to take one.

Spanish Lavender - Lavandula stoechas

We had seen several lavender hedges around town and Sami fell in love with them. We decided to plant on in our front yard along the sidewalk. It's a very sturdy and drought tolerant plant that grows well in our dry summers. Also, the kids that walk to and from school along our sidewalk can't kill it very easily. The plants are still very small now, but they did bloom this year.

Nasturtium - Tropaeolum majus

Since the lavender hedge has not filled in yet, I decided to plant some nasturtiums in that bed. They're just annuals, but the orange looks great with the purple lavender and these don't require much watering either.

The flowers and leaves can also be added to salads. They taste peppery.

More Poppies (and a Rose)

Lovely Poppies

On my walk to work this morning, I saw more beautiful poppies. I decided that I really want to plant some in the garden for next summer.

Click here to see last Friday's Poppy Photos.

Another Pink One

A Beautiful Red One

And a Dewy Red Rose.

Fourth of July Fireworks

Around 9:45 PM, we went back to the house to pick up some chairs and the tripod for my camera. We walked up to Bridgeton Road and set up on the sidewalk facing North. Although Melissa and Erica live in Portland, OR we were actually watching the Vancouver, WA fireworks across the river.

I couldn't decide which photos were my favorites, so I've made a slideshow.

If you can't see it, please make a comment letting me know what kind of error you get.

BBQ & Band

Erica (the Canadian) is American for the day.

Star Melissa and Sara

Aaron, Erica, & Melissa Grilling

Erica Masters the Art of Grilling

Dianthus

As a sort of housewarming gift, I took a bunch of lettuce and spinach seeds and a couple trays of potting soil over to Melissa & Erica's new place this spring.

Apparently I started a big gardening craze. Now they have all sorts of herbs, vegetables and flowers.

Erica, Aaron & Melissa - Time to eat.

Aaron, Sara & Melissa - The food was great!

Local Band Playing at the Channel's Edge

After dinner we walked down the street to the nearby giftshop/cafe to hear the live band playing there. They were quite good, but unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the band.

Aaron & Sara

Erica & Melissa

Puppy & Poppies

Star

Melissa and Erica invited me over to their place for a 4th of July BBQ this afternoon. Melissa and I went over to the nearby park to walk Star before dinner.

Garden Poppy

Melissa went to walk Star for a couple laps around the field, but I got distracted by the pretty flowers.

California Poppy - Eschscholzia californica

This poppy is actually native to the West Coast. It can be a bit of weed in this area, growing all along roadsides.

Poppy and Bachelor's Buttons - Centaurea cyanus

Oddwater

I'd seen billboards for Oddwater, but didn't really know anything about it until I saw this in today's paper. Cool. I wanna go there.

Oddwater has beautiful fish swimming through beautiful glass

Curious Little Snake

Northwestern Garter Snake - Thamnophis ordinoides

Saw this cute little guy on my walk back to the car after work. I scared him at first, but then after I'd laid on the sidewalk for a minute he started to be curious and check me out.

Here's a full body picture of him.