A Walk in the Park (Volunteer Park in Seattle)

Old trees, Volunteer Park, Seattle

One of the pleasures of having out-of-town guests is that you get to re-visit your favorite spots while you give them an insider’s view of your home town.  Volunteer Park in Seattle is one such place.  The rhododendrons were in bloom on this most recent visit, and the stately old trees stood in green grandeur.

The rhododendron is the official state flower for Washington

Old cedar tree

Under the canopy of a horse chestnut tree

My niece in the donut hole of Isamu Noguchi’s sculpture, “Black Sun,” in Volunteer Park

Shaped into a Vessel

The campus of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle is the setting for a large sculpture called “Vessel” by Ed Carpenter.  Beneath the metal frame are some benches that invite contemplation of the soaring space.

Vessel by Ed Carpenter

Looking up into blue infinity

Soaring like the spirit

A rainbow of colors caught in the metal grid

Colored reflections mark the surrounding space

As You Go Through Life
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

 

DON’T look for the flaws as you go through life;

 And even when you find them,

It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind

 And look for the virtue behind them.

For the cloudiest night has a hint of light

 Somewhere in its shadows hiding;

It is better by far to hunt for a star,

 Than the spots on the sun abiding.

The current of life runs ever away

 To the bosom of God’s great ocean.

Don’t set your force ‘gainst the river’s course

 And think to alter its motion.

Don’t waste a curse on the universe—

 Remember it lived before you.

Don’t butt at the storm with your puny form,

 But bend and let it go o’er you.

The world will never adjust itself

 To suit your whims to the letter.

Some things must go wrong your whole life long,

 And the sooner you know it the better.

It is folly to fight with the Infinite,

 And go under at last in the wrestle;

The wiser man shapes into God’s plan

 As water shapes into a vessel.

Easter Bunny Ears

Waiting for the Interurban on Easter Sunday

Waiting for the Interurban in bunny ears

Waiting for the Interurban sculpture decorated for Easter

One of Seattle’s icons is a sculpture in the Fremont district called “Waiting for the Interurban.”  This piece of public art seems to invite people to decorate it in celebration of personal birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations, as well as seasonal holidays.  Today, in celebration of Easter Sunday, the sculptures were decked with bunny ears.

Seeing them reminded me of my daughter at age 4 after an Easter outing.  I love the way she created bunny whiskers from a strip of fabric.

My daughter in bunny ears and whiskers, 1993