Planting circles

[randy_byers]

Yesterday I joined about a dozen of my neighbors in landscaping the two new traffic circles on 36th Street. These concrete, dirt-filled circles in the middle of intersections are intended to slow down the traffic, and hanging out in the middle of them certainly teaches one how much traffic there is in this neighborhood these days! So I got to meet some of my neighbors, and we planted a bunch of native plants, including a Western Red Cedar in the big circle in Woodland Park Avenue at the base of the hill. I worked for about three hours, including some pretty heavy physical labor, and my legs are sore today, although not as bad as I thought they might be. Thankfully, my back is fine despite much bending and some gang-lifting of heavy trees.

Then I watched the University of Oregon lose to the University of Oklahoma at football, boo hiss argh! Well, except that after I gave up on the game when Oregon went down by 13 points in the fourth quarter, they apparently managed some kind of miracle comeback in the last minute and won 34-33 when Oklahoma missed a field goal as time ran out. Don't think my heart could have stood the excitement, so it's probably just as well that I gave up.

Instead, I watched a very odd Japanese movie called Black Lizard [Kurotokage] (1968), directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on Yukio Mishima's stage adaptation of a novel by the Father of the Japanese Detective Story, Edogawa Rampo. It stars the apparently renowned female impersonator Akihiro Miwa as the decadent jewel thief, Black Lizard, and the bizarre, florid-and-yet-formal romanticism of the movie seems very fin de siècle and Frrrrrrrrrrrench, but transposed to the psychedelic Pop Art '60s. Not as camp as I expected it to be, but very stylized and almost cold. Quite entertaining, and Mishima also plays a statue in an important cameo. Now I can watch the "sequel", Black Rose Mansion (1969), again and try to figure out if there really is any connection.

Then to crown a very rich day, holyoutlaw and juliebata hosted a birthday party for Art Widner, who turned 89 yesterday and had come to town to see his new great grandson -- his sixth great grandchild. People have gotten the idea that Art has a taste for single malt whisky, so there was a large variety on hand. I brought Bunnahabhain, but akirlu and libertango brought an interesting Irish single malt, and the best one I tasted was an 18 year old Glenlivet. I of course roomed with Art at Worldcon, and he told me that I was the best roommate he'd ever had because I was so damned mellow. Maybe that's because he kept pouring single malt into me and telling stories about Francis Towner Laney.

Great day all around, even if I'm feeling pretty beat this morning. Think I'll be skipping the dim sum at 11am, but I hope y'all had fun without me.

Comments

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

re: traffic circles
Their success depends on the local driving conventions. In one of my old neighborhoods, one young tree got replaced yearly -- that's about how often someone drove right through the intersection, curb-reflector-tree-curb and all. The best choice might be a tree that's naturally reflective at night. I think they're still working on those genetic modifications, though (she said, not bothering to link to that glow-in-the-dark rabbit).

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I'm skeptical how well the plants in that lower traffic circle are going to do, because the meatheads have been driving over it regularly in their big trucks and likely will want to smash the plants to show how macho and un-slow-downable they are. We might put some big, jagged chunks of concrete in the mix to try to discourage them, although the city officially says we shouldn't do that. However, we did it on one of the older traffic circles, and I took great pleasure from watching one guy have to jack his pickup off the rocks, as it were. Asshole.

Then again, another thing that influences how well trees in particular survive is whether the neighbors are willing to water them regularly in the first couple of years.

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

The city planted a number of trees in the parking strips along Interlake a couple years ago, and the only ones that are doing well are the two that Jane waters regularly -- the ones outside 4119 and 4121. Sheesh!

Glad you could come to the party, I think I got a picture of all the bottles on the table, I'm not sure.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we did a big tree-planting on our side of the street a few years ago, and one of the dogwoods actually died this year from the drought and lack of watering. Fortunately, the Japanese maples in front of our house seem to have gotten beyond the stage of needing to be watered. They're really beautiful trees, too, and just starting to turn red now.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

The last time I was driving in your neighborhood, it was to show B. the Troll, so you can blame that for some of the traffic. But not, I think, for the heavy trucks. On 36th? They must be trying to avoid the traffic somewhere else.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Well, when I said heavy trucks I was unhelpfully actually referring to SUVs and the tank-sized pickups that seem so popular these days, but we do get some number of heavier work trucks as well -- not to mention tour buses heading for the troll. There's also an increase in traffic on 36th because Whitman Ave has become a cul-de-sac, so everybody who lives on it has to take 36th to get there. And yes, people use 36th to avoid the traffic on 35th and 34th, particularly during rush hour, although some of this has to do with the Fremont Bridge being under reconstruction, with only one lane open each way. Also, Fremont is getting denser, so there are just more people, and therefore cars, in the neighborhood. There is also talk about going to zoned parking on 36th.