Weekend Photos: Seattle Arboretum and other miscellaneous photos

- August 09, 2025

A few weeks ago when my son and daughter-in-law were visiting we did a fun walk through the Seattle Arboretum, starting with a loop over Marsh Island (note to self: get a kayak and go play around there!). We were more about enjoying the day than looking at the labels, but had a good time and I got a few good photos.

Lily pads near Marsh Island

Bald eagle watching the water--and the hikers.

Our trail passed under the 520 freeway, which made for some interesting photo ops.

Between the lanes

Support, with water reflections on the upper beams.

We turned up into the main arboretum, and soon stumbled on an amazing work of art by John Grade.

The photo doesn't do justice to the blue!

John Grade's installation is titled "Union," and is made up of 6300 cast-resin pieces. His statement about the work:

“The sculpture was inspired by a fallen western red cedar in Seattle’s Discovery Park. The top of the trunk of the fallen tree was divided into two slender leaders. Broken by the fall, both leaders revealed their concentric growth rings. Focused on the similarities and differences between each of these cross sections, Union is a magnified representation of the cell structure of each of the two leaders.”

The individual pieces move in the breezes and of course cast an interesting light beneath them.

More wildlife sightings ensued--this very insouciant urban coyote watched us, scratched his ear, and eventually got up and wandered off into the underbrush.

The final stop was the Japanese garden, where we didn't have quite enough time to enjoy it properly, but we liked the fish and turtles. Lilies here were pink instead of white.