Category Archives: The Future Ahead

Remembrance and Hope

World Trade Center and Memorial
New York City

Today marks twenty-five years since the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon were attacked. It is a day that I will never forget. Since then, the turbulence in our world has continued in many different places by terrorism as well as direct military conflict. What have we learned? I am afraid to say, not much.

New buildings have risen over what has been destroyed. New hope sparkles as we move forward. There are many things that are right with our world. Our challenges and responsibilities are to do what we can do to learn from the past and move forward to a better future.

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What a Difference a Little Water Makes

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Historic Irrigation Flume in NW Bed
Heatherwood Late Summer

Irrigation gives life to our Heatherwood garden. Without the water that the Selah-Naches canal brings, our landscape would be a dry shrub steppe area like what can be seen on the hillside rising above our home. This small section of the wooden flume that originally brought water to the area is a reminder of the canal that was built over 100 years ago. It brought precious water to the fertile soil for the orchards and farm lands of our valley.

We have had a continuous drought for several years. The mountain snow pack and reservoirs have been low. So far we have been able to keep our little oasis thriving. We are very conscious of how we apply the limited water supply. Over time, I am sure that we will need to replace much of our landscape plants with ones that are much more drought tolerant.

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Our Lady of Liberty Stands Above!

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Statue of Liberty
No Kings Day – Yakima, WA

My heart sinks as I observe what the Trump administration is doing to tear down our Democracy. Hope emerges as my faith in my fellow Americans holds strong. This was demonstrated yesterday during the third “No Kings Day” in our small rural town of Yakima, Washington. We had a large turnout in our very conservative community. As cars drove by, occupants honked horns, waved, and gestured strong support.

Our rural farming community has been severely impacted by the ICE roundups and deportations. We no longer have the work force needed to harvest our crops. Many small businesses have shut down. Several people whom I have worked with and befriended are no longer here. As we stand up and fight for what we believe is right, our Nation will survive. Our spirit with the “Lady of Liberty” will overcome and bring sanity back to our lives.

REMEMBER: “No Kings Day” is EVERYDAY, not just an event!

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Morning Sunshine Brightens My Day!

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Lilies & Hardy Geraniums
Heatherwood Summer

Seeing this little vignette in the early morning sunlight brightens my day! What new opportunities for adventure does the new day bring? What can I do on this bright new day? How can I make the most of the day ahead? Thoughts rattle through my head. So many opportunities. Today will be a great day!

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Happy New Year

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Looking Out My Office Window
Heatherwood & the Bluff Above

Warm sun rays brighten
the garden and hillside above.
A bright New Year ahead!

As I sit in my office gazing out the window, I warmly admire our garden and the hillside above covered by the early morning sunlight. The scene entices me to look into the future in a warm positive light. New knowledge, adventures, and experiences lie ahead. I wish you all a Happy New Year!

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Harbinger of Summer

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Up Through the Garden to the Ridge
Heatherwood Late Spring

Bright blue skies, ground covers in bloom, yarrow ready to bloom … summer is right around the corner. Our Heatherwood garden is starting to burst out in bloom everywhere. Temperatures are in the 70’s approaching the 80’s. Summer seems to be coming a little early this year.

One of the driving factors when I purchased our Selah property was the surrounding ridge. It feels a little like we are in the center of a half circle amphitheater. Looking through the garden, the ridge stands above acting like a guardian. It is a wonderful backdrop leading up to the bright eastern Washington blue skies. As I gaze up at it, my mind wanders to contemplate the wonders of nature and what is good about the world around us.

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Buddies

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Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine & Sester’s Dwarf Blue Spruce
Heatherwood Autumn

I woke up this morning and read the news headlines. My spirits were down in the dumps. To bring my spirits up, I started reviewing my images of our garden that I created earlier this week. I stopped when I saw the image above and started to contemplate. Here are two completely different species growing up side by side, complementing each other in complete harmony with the other trees and plants in the landscape around them. Why can’t we do the same?

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Approaching Its First Winter

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New Winter Garden in Autumn
Yakima Arboretum, Yakima, WA

In the spring of 2022, the Yakima Arboretum selected a Winter Garden for its first Master Plan project to be implemented. The project was conceptualized and designed by Epiklar Landscaping during the remaining part of the year. It was funded by Arboretum membership donations. Elegant Landscaping and Pendleton Excavating constructed the hardscaping early in the spring of 2023. A group of Arboretum volunteers then completed the planting and mulching. Volunteers continue to provide the new garden’s maintenance.

The new garden is establishing itself and preparing for its first winter. It will look a little bare for the first couple of years. Additional planting will be added as the first plants establish themselves. By the garden’s third year, the plants will begin their more rapid growth. By the fourth/fifth year, the garden’s basic form will be established.

Developing a garden takes time. Watching a garden mature is an enjoyable experience. It is a continuous learning experience. Some plantings do well; others do not. Part of the Arboretum’s mission is to pass this knowledge on for others to enjoy and learn how they can develop their own gardens.

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My Never Ending Journey

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Path of Knowledge
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

I love to learn about life and the world around me. I constantly search out new things, ideas, and endeavors. My overall life’s theme is a never ending journey of acquiring an understanding of what surrounds me.

Japanese gardens are characterized by the placement of rocks and plants to symbolize a theme or an idea. As we designed our Heatherwood Japanese garden area, I attempted to create a few life themes. The one depicted above attempts to represent my overall theme of a path to a never ending journey of knowledge. The rock in the lower right corner represents a student just starting the journey. The additional four large rocks represent steps on the path. They curve up and lead up to the ridge above, and then up to the sky. I am a practical person, so I built a simple path paralleling the rock steps which is much easier for me to traverse.

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Looking Northeast, I Dream

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‘Lower Yard Looking Northeast’
Heatherwood Summer

My eyes follow the lawn path through the lower garden up to Selah Bluff on the horizon. The infrared perspective puts me into a dream-like state. I wonder what is beyond the bluff. Beyond, the Wenas valley slopes to the Yakima River. Then another set of ridges rise up then down to the Ryegrass plateau. The plateau rolls along then descends down to the Columbia River. Ridges of the Yakima folds rise up from the river and level off into the farmlands of the Columbia Basin. A few small farm towns sprinkle the basin. Two-hundred miles away lies Spokane.

I then think of the sprawling metropolitan area between Olympia and Everett, and am thankful for where I live. I am a country boy at heart.