Saturday, May 24, 2025

Beaverton: Wonderland Arboretum

Some time ago -- when we would take Allen to 217 -- I started noticing these benches on the sidewalk of a side street that seemed odd. Like, it would be a very small park.

Then I noticed a sign that seemed to say "arboretum". It seemed really small for an arboretum.

We had to check it out. 

On Arbor Day 2013 77 native trees and plants were planted. That included 15 different tree species and 11 different plant species.

While the emphasis on native plants is important, it was not the extent of the commitment to sustainability.

Surfaces were built to be porous and the benches that first caught my eye were built out of reclaimed material.

There was helpful signage for a lot of what was done.

It also occurred to me that with such a clear planting date, the arboretum could be a good predictor.

It is one thing to want to plant native species, but another if you don't know what to expect in terms of eventual size and how much room to allow for growth.

You can get a good idea for combinations and spatial relations if you are looking at your own property.

You can also get a view of the overall process at https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/1545054f-0e70-4248-a261-0049e832ae12

In some ways it reminds me of the water efficient demonstration garden at the water district, but with a different focus.

I suspect most of the visitors it gets are local to the neighborhood, but there is nothing wrong with that.

It is more to the point that they took something that wasn't really being used and created something useful and beautiful.

There is room for lots more of that.

COVID: This is all outdoors and it is easy to spread out.

Accessibility: This should be pretty good. There are sidewalks and paths, it is in a small space, and there is parking right alongside.

Also, you have lots of plants cycling through carbon dioxide to provide you with more oxygen; that should be helpful.



https://beavertonoregon.gov/1012/Arboretums

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2025/04/planting-native-species.html


Saturday, May 17, 2025

Tigard -- Claw City

 Friends who know my sisters and I know that we really enjoy claw machines. 

Normally that means something we try on our way out of the grocery store (or sometimes restaurants), but we will occasionally go to arcades with more options.

Claw City has a lot of options.

Machines are mainly small, with a few that are even smaller.

There is the option to trade up for prizes.

Sometimes you may look on top of the machines and notice a larger prize, but mainly you are going to notice all of the ducks on the ceiling.

There is a lot of visual stimulation.

The obvious question is "How is the clawing?" Pretty good.

The grocery store machines go through cycles where how the claw drops and how tightly it grips changes. Sometimes grabbing something is impossible, sometimes it is almost impossible to miss, and sometimes it is somewhere in between when knowing what to choose and where to position the claw before dropping it makes a big difference.

These are not automatic wins, but they don't seem to go through the impossible part of the cycle.

More than that, they told us upon entering to let them know if we had trouble getting the toys. I never asked for help, but when I dropped a seagull and employee was suddenly behind me saying it was probably positioned a little wrong. She opened the machine, re-positioned the seagull, closed the machine, swiped her own card and told me to try again.

That left me with an extra swipe so I went and clawed a mouse.

There is a level at which that felt a little weird for us. We were only helped once, but still, we knew it was easier. We knew we were paying a little more, but it was also pretty fun.

For people who would like to try but don't want to keep fruitlessly putting in money, this is a great option. They do have birthday parties.

COVID: It is indoors in kind of close quarters. Yes, a lot of the people there are children who are breathing a foot or so below you, but this is a very good place to wear a mask.

Accessibility: The surface is flat and it could be pretty easy to get around, but it is not spacious and there were a lot of people, at least on a Saturday. This could cause some difficulty navigating.

Over-stimulation is probably the bigger risk. That includes some flashing lights, though not with a strobe effect. Also, hand-eye coordination seems like less of an issue here than anywhere else.



https://clawcityusa.com/tigard/

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Woodland WA: Lilac Days at the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens

The gardens are on the property where Hulda Klager originally grew and bred her lilacs, now a national historic site.


The lilac days are a few weeks in the spring where visitors can come and enjoy the grounds. It also acts as a fundraiser for the property.

The house is still there, and the barn now functions as a museum.

The property is in good condition, though the main attraction is the lilacs.

There are other plants as well. As you first enter the most prominent blossoms are rhododendrons, and there were some viburnum that I really liked.

Honestly, it wasn't as lilac-y as I would have hoped. 

I think some of that was an early bloom, where we may have ended up there a little late. That is always a risk with plant festivals.

I just thought a lot of the plants looked a little scrawny, like they didn't deadhead enough last year. I frequently have that issue myself, but I don't charge admission.

The grounds are still pretty and they smelled reliably heavenly.

I am glad we went to check it out, but my preference is going to be for our local Duniway Lilac Garden, which is closer and free.

COVID: Mostly outdoors, the only time I masked was when we went into the museum, and that does not require a lot of time.

Accessibility: This is better than average. While not everything is paved, paths are generally smooth, there is a ramp for the museum, and there were even chairs and walkers available for borrowing.

It is not bad, but not necessarily a destination.

If you do go, there is pretty easy access from the freeway, and there was clearly marked signage as well.



https://lilacgardens.com/