The great thing about Skywatch Friday is the amount of looking up we all do now. This scene was from a hardware store parking lot. You can see showers falling a few miles away, but all was balmy and beautiful overhead.

This small park in Renton WA on the Cedar River is so small or unimportant it doesn’t show on our AAA map. But it’s lovely and perfect on a warm day. We went to be someplace cool and quiet, and rested on the grass and looked at the leaves. It was wonderful.

In terms of Think Green Thursday, even though parks are not wilderness, they remind us of how powerful and meaningful the simple outdoors experience can be.

There was a Fourth of July vintage autos exhibition at the Normandy Park Cove, and on a recent walk this specimen was in the neighborhood as evidence. I took a photo of the rear trunk plate because I’d never heard of a Kaiser car. Hope you like it.

Seattle has an International Festival in the International District which really seems to be Chinatown, mostly. We went last year, had a great time, and were glad to see it was bigger this year, but I could do without the amplified karaoke. There was wonderful dancing on the Dragon Stage by several Punjabi groups, and the vendors included a food carver, below. Red is the color of good fortune in China, you know, so there was lots everywhere.

For even more red, visit Ruby Tuesday. And for more seriously bright colors, visit Color Carnival.

These shasta daisies are a yellow color that I haven’t seen before. I saw then on a walk in the neighborhood the other day. Nothing like seeing what grows in your neighbors’ yards for ideas about what to plant. I’ll have to try these, I think.

For more close up shots of everything imaginable, visit Macro Monday, and for more golden goodness, visit Mellow Yellow Monday. And have fun, hear?

Did you know that the “hydra” in hydrangea means these plants love water? Up here in Seattle they can take full sun, but they must have water and plenty of it. You can also root the pruned stems very easily. When pruning in the spring, just poke the extra stems in the soft ground where they will be shaded by the mother plant, keep all moist, and you will be amazed by how easily they root. New plants!

This lovely specimen is from a friend’s garden. Happy Flowers for Today!

I was lucky enough to be invited to tea at the home of a talented tea-maker, complete with little triangle sandwiches with the crust cut off. The weather was as superb as it gets, and here is a little slice of that heaven, with shadows. For more creative shadows seen in the most interesting places, visit Shadow Shot Sunday.

I admire the restraint in planting one color of flower like this. I can’t seem to help wanting one of each color. The best I can do is plant groups of similar plants in different colors, which is just not as impressive as one huge color splash like this one. A neighbor’s garden on a walk the other day was so perfectly pink I had to share it. Happy Pink Saturday to all!

Last week we had such fabulous weather. I was in Seattle driving downtown and during stopped traffic, out my open car window, shot this photo. It’s like two buildings and skies in one!

For more visions of skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Everyone loves to grow tomatoes but not everyone knows how to make sure there are lots of tomatoes on the vines. With bees experiencing serious decline for unknown reasons (although I seem to see more this year than last year in my own garden), pollination can be a problem.

The solution? You! Assisted flower sex is the answer, and you get tomatoes for your trouble. Unless you are a farmer with acres of tomatoes, for a few backyard plants you can make a big difference in yield by going around your plants with a child’s little paintbrush, or even a cotton swab, and brushing each little yellow flower in turn. Do this every few days to catch as many flowers as possible, and you will be amazed at the results. And it’s fun!

Visit Think Green Thursday for more takes on the meaning of green.