Kubota Garden

The highlight of the day was a private tour of Kubota Garden with Barb; she has been volunteering there as a docent for about 10 years. She showed us her favorite places. Unlike Bonhoeffer Gardens which we walked through on Friday & the Northwest Stream Center that we toured yesterday, Kubota Garden was not meant to be a natural area. It was started in 1927 as an area where Fujitarō Kubota could show prospective clients what different types of Japanese-inspired gardens could look like. And while it is not a naturally grown garden, due to the Japanese style of gardening & Fujitarō Kubota's skill at transplanting mature trees, the plantings appear very old & natural. When she leads tour groups, Barb incorporates information in to the tour about treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II; the Kubotas were not exempt. They were lucky to still have the property to return to after they were released from the concentration camps but it had been neglected during the war & much needed to be done to return it to its previous beauty. 

Approaching Entry Gate & Ornamental Wall.

Kai views garden from Window Overlook.

Spring Pond as seen from Terrace Overlook.

Dry laid rock walls of Terrace Overlook built by stone masons from Japan.

Turtles sunning themselves in Spring Pond; not able to get clear enough look for a positive identification.

Stone Garden made from rocks repurposed from old residential job done by Kubota Landscaping.

Marker for traditional Japanese Garden that was built in 1930's.

View from Lookout, 65 feet above surrounding garden.

There were a couple of interesting signs at Kubota Garden that did not have anything to do with plants; one was about coyotes. There was also an information kiosk with volunteer opportunities & events. 

I really like this sign!

Just outside Entry Plaza.

This morning, while waiting for Kai to pick me up, I got to take a look at the photo album that Darla received when she retired last year. One the projects she is most proud of is the Little Bear Creek Advance Mitigation site. Here is a video that explains more about the site & has footage of the before & after conditions.

Retirees from Public Works can also have a personalized sign made for them. Most people choose signs of their names; my sign says, "Takatani ʻŌhana" which will be installed on the driveway gate. Darla went a different route with a "Do Not Disturb" (the retiree) sign that she designed to be similar to the Native Growth Protection Area signs we install on our mitigation sites.

After loading up all my things from Darla's, we headed to breakfast at Barbara & Bruce's house. There was a surprise waiting there for us, Bo's wife Barbara also joined us for breakfast! (Bo is still in Sweden.) Barbara made Swedish pancakes for breakfast & served them with various preserves. 

Fancy table settings!

Swedish pancakes! Yum!

A wonderful breakfast! I'll be back for more!

Following the tour at Kubota Garden, we headed for Karen's house in Renton where we will stay overnight for my very early flight home tomorrow. The tour of the garden was planned specifically for today because it is in south Seattle & closer to Renton than any of the other places I was staying at. Karen & David prepared a wonderful fresh grilled salmon dinner; Ursula, Rei, & Aunty Florence also joined us for dinner. It was good to see the family again.

(Clockwise from right) Grilled salmon, sourdough rolls, tofu dish, cherry tomatoes; coleslaw in center.

Mixed fruit tart.

Rei cuts the tart, while Justine supervises & Aunty Florence prepares the serving plates & forks.

I got to see a lot of people on this visit starting of course with Kai when he picked me up at the airport. I think there were over 60 friends & family that I saw in 10 days. I saw Anne, Mary Kay, Mark, Charlie, Barb Y., Jen, Susan, Isaiah, Daphne, Kyle, Marnie, Shabbir, Ruqqya, David G., Paul, Percy & Kai Chan, Jeannine, Janice, Mohammed, Eleta, Ananda, Morgan, Gulshan, Mary Ellen, Michael, Emanuel, Amelia, Irene, Gary, Norm, Carole, Lani, Crilly, Darla, Jim, Chris, Ernie, Jairul, Uncle Bruce, Bea, Tom, Lorna, Darrell, Keith, Tong, Daryl, Barb O., Tim, Dr. Tom, Kerry, Barbara E., Bruce E., Barbara T., Aunty Florence, Karen, David O., Justine, & Rei. We also saw doggy friends Koda, Joey, Jasper, Maple, Louie, Maximus, & Ollie. And kitty friends Cake, Jasmine, Sparkle, & Puakiko. No wonder Kai says I need to build in a day in the middle of my visit so he can recharge after having to deal with too many people! I can run him out of spoons quite easily.

I slept in Rei's bedroom; she & Ursula were at their dad's this weekend but came to have dinner with us. I am wondering why there is a black-tailed deer head in her room. He seems to be wondering, Who's in Rei's bed?

Before going to sleep, I usually do a Duolingo lesson. Tonight before I started, it told me I had been demoted. Again. Not surprising since I have been so busy I have not been able to do many lessons.

I also downloaded the boarding pass QR code to my phone. Alaska has gone heavily in to nearly everything being digital! Guess you're out of luck if you're not tech savvy.

The next episode of the eruption at Kīlauea is anticipated to start between the 3rd & the 6th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e ʻAnakē Jeanne & Lillian!