Notices by Carolannie (carolannie@c.im)

Crocosmias are getting ready to bloom, and the hummingbirds are already checking out the few open ones. I think the buds are fascinating.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #BloomScrolling #Crocosmia #SeattleSummer #PicardoFarmPPatch ##OurNeighborhood

Blackcap raspberry (Rubus leucodermis) growing in our garden. Very evil thorns
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleSummer #OurGarden #NativePlants #NativePlantsOfThePNW

Green textures, cool water, a respite on a summer day
#Photography #SeattleWashington #RavennaPark #RavennaCreek #TextureTuesday #HeatWave

This didn't make headlines, but a French village refused to host Hegseth for the D-Day celebrations
#DDay #Hegseth #USDiplomacy
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/14/normandy-village-legrune-sur-mer-protest-d-day-pete-hegseth

As pointed out to me, US centric as I am... This didn't make headlines in the US. It didn't even get mentioned

The last time I passed this house (a year ago!), they had a puzzle sharing chest. This time they have a keychain library (or perhaps it's a trinket library?). Take a thing, leave a thing, swap things!
#Photography #SeattleWashington #OurNeighborhood #RavennaNeighborhood

We were out really early for the dog walk, and it was already 72°F (22°C). Here is some hot hot color for your enjoyment
#Photography #SeattleWashington #LateSpring #BloomScrolling #OurNeighborhood #Smoketrees #Ninebark #Geraniums

At your service, a Dalmatian fire hydrant
And Monty didn't even check it out.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #StreetArt #OurNeighborhood #Whimsy

#SilentSunday #Photography

"Nurturing from thoughtful, engaged teachers like Mr. Hackenburg seems to be the best part of Seckinger. It is absolutely essential to a good school, and it’s also hard to measure. The parents of current students I spoke to were wild about the staff."
#GiftLink #Education
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/30/opinion/ai-high-school.html?smid=url-share

Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) bud showing its pattern of growth (from the archives)
#Photography #NativePlants #BloomScrolling #NativePlantsOfColorado

That image of George Washington praying at Valley Forge? Nah, he was known for his lack of piety.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2026/05/28/george-washington-praying-for-the-return-of-his-slaves/

#SilentSunday #Photography

I thought i missed the bloom time for orange honeysuckle (Lonicera viliosa), but there it was in the hazelnut bush, blooming away
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleSpring #BloomScrolling #SeattleParks #RavennaPark #NativePlants #NativePlantsOfThePNW

Bigleaf lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) blooming amidst the creeping buttercups
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleSpring #BloomScrolling #SeattleParks #NativePlantsOfThePNW #NativePlants

#SilentSunday #Photography

Shadow play, a locust tree pod on the sidewalk
#Photography

This is probably anathema to tidy gardeners! I often shake my head at all the hardscaping done around houses, which also inhibits drainage, shunts water into the streets, increases flooding and subsidence, etc. But who am I to say?
#NaturalGardening #PavingOver
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/12/a-messy-garden-is-a-glorious-garden-stop-paving-over

A species tulip (Tulipa bakeri ) also called "Lilac Wonder", shows off the golden heart enclosed by its lilac corolla
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleSpring #OurNeighborhood #BloomScrolling #Tulips

Native Plants Are the Foundation, Not the Finish Line
Native plants matter because ecosystems are built from relationships, not individual species. Most insects, birds, and other wildlife cannot survive on generic greenery. They depend on specific native plants to feed, reproduce, and complete their life cycles.

When those plants are missing, the food web collapses quietly. The yard may still look full, but it becomes functionally hollow. Few insects. Fewer birds. Little resilience.

This site looks beyond plant lists. We focus on how native plants interact with soil, insects, predators, and structure to create habitats that actually work. Even small properties can support complete ecological systems when they are built with function in mind.
https://nativeplantecosystems.com/

Elementary school sign in the park along the stream bed: the kids wrote up a nice set of signs with various insights about local ecology. This is the first one of the series. Spelling and wording totally their own
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleParks #RavennaPark #AmateurEcologists