Homemade Cupcake

This small but potent cupcake is an amazing double-choco-coco masterpiece. Yummy!

Inert, Nicholas Galanin

Inert, by Nicholas Galanin at the Frye Art Museum. It's really nicely done taxidermy, and I found the wolf's gaze quite striking.

Nuclear Reactor in Plain Sight

Dedicated in 1961, the Nuclear Reactor Building on the University of Washington campus was a showcase for nuclear technology, prominent and with large windows allowing anyone to peek in to see atoms being split. The reactor ran until 1992, but was not removed until 2008.

It's now the More Hall Annex, a historical landmark of brutalist architecture, and a reminder of past attitudes towards nuclear energy.

Eastern Cascades Early Season Hiking

Early season hiking is often constrained by lingering snow, so I headed east, where the snow is less deep, the altitudes less extreme, and the temperatures a bit warmer. I still hit the snow line, but had a great day out.

Olmstead Place State Park

Olmstead Place is a historic farm, maintained since the original homestead in 1875.  It offers a peek at the original buildings, farm implements, some livestock, and a nice walk along the adjacent creek.

Ai Weiwei - Colored Vases

Ai Weiwei's Colored Vases (2010) on display at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The colors are pleasing, though the artist's statement of what they represent is a bit overwrought.

Ian McMahon, "Cascade"

Cascade is an interesting installation by Ian McMahon. It is a set of curtains of plaster, carefully erected without any internal support or structure. The only bit of stability is provided by a bit of bracing against the rafters.

The artist plans on taking a sledgehammer to it in August.

Memorial Day War Cemetery

Volunteers decorate each soldier's grave with a flag for Memorial Day, and the planted flags stay there for some time.

This cemetery is for veterans that survived various wars, not for soldiers killed in action.

Purple Allium

These purple allium bulbs, planted in the fall, came up beautifully this spring. Hopefully they'll naturalize and give us an equally good show next year!

Lake Washington Stand Up Paddleboarding

Three friends and a dog enjoy a paddle board on Lake Washington on a warm June afternoon. The dog seemed reasonably comfortable gliding along the water, and the paddlers were smooth and competent.

Rusty Beach Railing

This railing along the seashore could do with a lick of paint. It must be challenging maintaining a steel railing when it is constantly attacked by corrosive salt spray.

Hermit Crab

Hermit crabs move into other animal's homes instead of growing their own shells. As they grow, they select appropriately larger shells to inhabit. The shell's weight above them is rarely evenly loaded, so they often wobble comically as they carry their homes around the beach.

Lake Twentytwo

Early season up to Lake Twentytwo, when snow is still decorating the far cliffs and this year's avalanche damage is freshly visible.