Beauty and Serenity: The Gifts of Kubota Garden

It seems I've lost track of how much time I've been adhering to the "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order that our governor placed on us here in Washington. After looking it up though, he issued the order on March 23, yet I was already doing this for approximately a week prior... I think... maybe two... I'm not really sure because the days have run together in a blur.

I've been out just a handful of times, and always with a mask, even before they were telling us to (why they ever told us not to is a matter that infuriates me, but I won't get into that now, as I don't want this to be a political post). I've been out three times to go to the grocery store, and two mental health excursions out of the apartment. Yesterday, was one of them.

Our city has been fairly strict about social distancing, even to the extent of "boarding" park benches... only to "de-board" them less than 48 hours later after complaints from senior citizens and disabled who rely on those benches to temporarily rest during their times of walking exercise (which IS allowed as long as they're social distancing).

When I heard about them boarding the benches, I became very upset. Sometimes it feels like this is so invasive to my rights, and like it will never end. Although my husband tells me it will, and I believe him to an extent, I have little faith that it will ever be back to normal the way "normal" once was. Time will tell, but for now, I just really needed to get out and do something that felt "normal" without putting anyone at risk.

I called my Mom yesterday and she suggested going to Kubota Garden. It was my understanding that all the parks were closed except for walking, running or cycling through, so I had only been thinking about taking a drive. Park parking lots have been barricaded for quite some time now, so I wasn't sure what we would find when we got there. The parking lot was indeed closed, but per their website, the park is open. Yay!!!

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon, and this park visit was much needed food for my soul and emotional and mental health. We didn't make it through the entire gardens, but thoroughly enjoyed what we did experience. We'll take in the rest on another visit.

Here are some pictures from our walk through the gardens.

The pond was FILLED with Koi. It probably would have been nicer if the pond didn't look like a mud puddle, but it was still beautiful.

Mountain Peony - SO beautiful, I want to paint it!!!

Thank you, Mom, for the suggestion!!! Eric and I really enjoyed the beauty and serenity of Kubota Garden!