Eugene Parnell

Sculptor. Garden designer and educator. Tech industry veteran. Bigfoot stan.

Location: Duwamish Land, PNW
Website: https://www.eugeneparnell.com

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Last Notes

2026-04-29 04:06:42 GMT

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The horsetail is "blooming"
#bloomscrolling #gardening
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2026-04-29 02:49:23 GMT

The lithodora is blooming
#gardening #bloomscrolling @npub1nw7…g0ek
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2026-04-21 03:49:49 GMT

It's not exactly a #bigfoot sighting, but maybe the next closest thing.... I saw a mountain beaver! They're not actually beavers, but a kind of "living fossil" rodent that's found only in the #PNW. I've been been hiking #Washington for literally decades, and known about them for almost that long, but this is the first time I've actually laid eyes on one. And yes like all good #cryptid photos these are blurry. #WildLife #wildlifephotography
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2026-04-04 00:05:34 GMT

What's blooming in my garden now. Hyacinths are just wrapping up as the syneilesis start to grow out of their "demented muppet" phase.
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2026-03-31 21:17:28 GMT

RE: https://mastodon.social/@nancycomics/116315824117484504
Digging in the dirt #gardening
#note1jy6…w22m

2026-03-09 03:47:50 GMT

#silentsunday #Bloomscrolling #gardening #PNW
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2026-01-09 09:14:32 GMT

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Countertop laminate 😆 you're killin' me

2026-01-03 07:10:04 GMT

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I had no idea that such a thing as a water shrew existed. Near where I live, as well. I've spent a lot of time near alpine streams in the Cascades but never seen such a thing. To be fair, they are pretty small. I'll have to watch for them.

2026-01-02 06:23:32 GMT

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😆😆😆

2026-01-01 23:05:38 GMT

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Have you ever seen the comic called "The Life of Sharks"?
https://thelifeofsharks.com

2026-01-01 22:35:36 GMT

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I read it 20 years ago when I was having a creative block after moving to a new city. It was better than I expected. A little cheesy at times but if you actually do the exercises (the things she recommends), not just a couple times but stick to them for a few months, you'll see results. It's more about establishing a practice than anything, and she gives you a method. Don't fall for all the spinoff products like special journals and stuff, you don't need them.

2026-01-01 05:25:31 GMT

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This is not the first time we've been reminded of the importance of SLACK!
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2026-01-01 03:59:50 GMT

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I am really loving this piece. It looks like the human chest is backwards on the horse part (facing its tail), but the head is on the shoulders backwards too, so it's actually facing forward. And the expression on the face is appropriate for, like, what if that happened to you. And are we really sure he's holding a dragon?

2025-12-30 16:12:15 GMT

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I've been to Floreana and have read all about all the weird stuff that went down there (and heard the stories from the boat guides). I'd forgotten about the movie. I'll have to watch it. Those crabs are adorable!

2025-12-29 03:30:03 GMT

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That's a beautiful map, it reveals so much with such simplicity. Thanks for sharing it

2025-12-28 02:16:42 GMT

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You are an inspiration, Brian! You prompted me to estimate my on-the-trail hiking in actual wilderness and it's maybe 100 miles for the year? Which is a lot for me. I used to walk nearly daily as well but like someone else above I'm dealing with the return of the dreaded plantar fasciitis so I've now switched to Peloton for the winter 😆

2025-12-20 00:09:18 GMT

For #FootpathFriday here's a shot of the boardwalk path to Cape Alawa, the Westernmost point of the Continental US, on the Pacific side of the Olympic Peninsula. It's a pretty remote place (over an hour's drive even from Forks), but the coast is spectacular. There's a nice 9 mile loop trail that takes you through the coastal rainforest & wetlands to the beach. Photos from August 2022; this time of year that place is being hammered with huge waves and constant rain. #PNW #hiking #beach
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2025-12-19 20:02:18 GMT

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I don't know but your post made me think of this Tom Waits song and I wondered what he meant and whether "pruneaux" is the same thing as "pruno" so I had to look it up and.... Oh.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruneau
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruno

2025-12-19 05:28:06 GMT

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Husky Deli in West Seattle has got you covered. They've been there for decades and they're really good. If you're ever up in Seattle it's a worth the trip over the Duwamish bridge. There's also a real record store up the street, the best bakery in town down the block, and two, count them, two actual bookstores within walking distance.

2025-12-17 03:35:42 GMT

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I find it curious that this news comes only a day or two after this article in the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/climate/china-us-fusion-energy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9U8.QUXk.pSmEdLr2kEYw&smid=url-share

2025-12-15 16:50:41 GMT

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Hey I'm old enough to remember when men's suits by "Botany 500" were prizes on TV game shows! Haven't heard that name in decades

2025-12-14 02:35:04 GMT

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I don't know if you've read "River of Doubt" by Candice Millard but it's a must-read for Teddy Roosevelt fans. It chronicles his last great adventure, post-presidency, down the tributary of the Amazon that now bears his name. It's a page-turning adventure story but also chronicles Roosevelt's struggles with his own electoral defeat, aging, and mortality.

2025-12-12 21:44:23 GMT

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I've been up Sauk mountain! It was a bit smoky the day I was there but the view was still fantastic.

2025-12-12 20:02:17 GMT

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good eye! Yes it's marked on the map as the "old Sauk River trail". It was February during the pandemic and I was going stir crazy indoors so I drove up there and there was "hair ice" all over the ground that day. It was pretty awesome. Is the flooding bad on the Sauk itself?

2025-12-12 19:21:59 GMT

For #FootpathFriday here is a path along the Sauk River near Darrington, WA. This photo is from 2021 and you can see how the rising sun has melted the hoar frost off all the undergrowth. Right now, this area is badly affected by the floods in Washington state. Everything you see in this photo is likely underwater at the moment.
#PNW #flooding #hiking
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2025-12-12 02:40:41 GMT

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I didn't know that about tulip poplar. It makes sense though if you look at the blooms and the seed pods.

2025-12-11 07:24:37 GMT

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This has got to be like 100 square miles. It's unprecedented.

2025-12-11 07:18:04 GMT

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I saw that US Highway 2 is now closed near Stevens Pass. I assumed it was due to snow-- the closure was at about 4000 ft (1220 M) elevation. But no-- the temperature listed was 45F (7C). Too warm for 4000 ft in December. Our flooding is in part because all the precipitation in the mountains isn't falling as snow, it's falling as rain and it's rushing down the mountainsides at breakneck speed. It's a bad omen, I'm afraid.
#PNW #flood #flooding #ClimateChange

2025-12-11 07:07:26 GMT

Wow the flooding situation here in Western Washington is really bad. I've lived here for 30 years and never seen a story like the one below. 75,000 people ordered to evacuate the Skagit floodplain.
https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/dec/10/skagit-county-asking-residents-in-flood-plain-to-get-set-for-evacuation/
#PNW #flood #flooding #ClimateChange

2025-12-11 04:56:28 GMT

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those ducks sure are happy! That's the first time I've seen a chicken actually wading in the water though. She didn't look too happy about it 😆

2025-12-07 19:30:06 GMT

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what a beautiful workspace! I am so envious

2025-12-07 05:26:00 GMT

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it's definitely an issue in wildfire-prone areas. There's a whole different set of calculations that come into play. I've attended a few training seminars on fire mitigation strategies for landscape design. There's ways to accommodate wildlife and mitigate fire risk but there's a lot to consider and some serious trade offs that need to happen. For the curious, your county or state Master Gardener program (in the USA) will probably have more information. Sorry that happened to you all.

2025-12-06 05:34:54 GMT

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I recently heard a great interview with the director of horticulture at the High Line. It's really interesting. https://rootsandall.co.uk/podcast/the-high-line/

2025-12-06 02:34:18 GMT

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I love the 10-legged alligator chicken dog

2025-12-06 01:29:52 GMT

Something different for #FootpathFriday . The Highline in New York City, a city park built atop a 1.4 mile (2.3 km) stretch of disused elevated railway. Designed by famed garden designer Pier Oudolf, the park features at least 500 kinds of plants, of which over 200 are native to New York City. This linear urban ecosystem supports a surprising diversity of insects, birds, mammals and even bats. I snapped these photos in October when I was there. #gardening #nativeplants
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2025-12-05 19:05:40 GMT

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There have been various schemes to reintroduce camels to western North America on the idea that until quite recently they were an essential part of our megafauna and environment. Ditto with lions and elephants

2025-12-04 19:44:39 GMT

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Very true about the consistency but I wonder if the two word styling should refer to the physical fecal matter of a horse whereas the compound word styling version refers to its metaphorical value? [Talking to a lawyer]: "this is horseshit!"
[Looking at the ground in a pasture]: "this is horse shit"

2025-12-03 21:07:16 GMT

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Try Oofos. They're an exactly what you're looking for. https://www.oofos.com

2025-12-03 04:17:28 GMT

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That's good to know. Thanks for sharing a clear gif that shows how it actually works. I have a couple Fiskars garden tools and while I'm not convinced of their longevity, they do work quite well. Maybe I'll get one of these too, it looks like fun.

2025-12-03 04:07:32 GMT

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I've heard the term "dieselpunk" and it seems to fit

2025-12-03 04:02:35 GMT

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Ha I was going to leave mine too but the stalk fell over on its own already and someone stepped on it. Oh well, next year.

2025-12-02 22:48:54 GMT

Along with #leavetheleaves, another way you can help wildlife in your garden is not to cut everything down right away. Standing dead vegetation provides overwintering habitat for pollinators and other insects (some even nest in the hollow plant stems) and foraging opportunities for birds. Here I'm channeling my inner Piet Oudolf a bit but I always leave these plants standing in my garden--they will look great with a dusting of snow. #gardening #autumn #WildLife #birds #pollinators
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2025-12-01 17:17:52 GMT

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I was just reading a book called "The Genius of Trees" by Harriet Rix, and there's a segment in it about the Kalash and their unique relationship to the cedar trees that grow in their territory (and also some unique funerary practices). I'd never heard of them before and now they pop up twice in one week!

2025-11-30 19:57:38 GMT

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Here's another good show up now.
Japanese woodblock prints and contemporary artists responding to them.
https://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/exhibit/echoes-of-the-floating-world/
#PNW #contemporaryart #museum #tacoma

2025-11-30 19:56:01 GMT

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By the way here's one of the shows. I e known cable for a long time and always liked his work.
https://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/exhibit/cable-griffith-uncanny-twilight/
#PNW #contemporaryart #museum #tacoma

2025-11-30 00:40:41 GMT

Mr Rainier seen from the roof of the Tacoma Art Museum. Stopped in to see a couple shows featuring work by old acquaintances of mine. This used to be my neighborhood, years ago. I used to walk to this museum, the Museum of Glass, the History Museum, my favorite coffee shop on the UWT steps. It hasn't changed much. #PNW #contemporaryart #museum #tacoma
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2025-11-27 06:52:35 GMT

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I've been to a number of countries where the entry fees were different for foreign nationals than for citizens. All in Africa as I recall. I didn't begrudge it considering the wealth disparity and lack of public funds in those places. But unlike there, the motivation here isn't really financial-- it's an effort to ethnically cleanse those spaces, so they can live out the Brady Bunch Grand Canyon Adventure surrounded by only pale skin and American accents.

2025-11-27 04:49:18 GMT

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That's so nice of you to say. I've been developing this garden for over a decade now

2025-11-26 23:20:11 GMT

This time of year you may be wondering "how do I get these wet leaves off my sidewalks?" You can't blow them off, the rake doesn't work.
This works. It's the old fashioned type of broom that's been used in Asia for centuries. Stuff enough to move the leaves but dense enough that they don't slip through. You can find them at some garden centers. They're made in Sri Lanks and they're also biodegradable because they're completely made of plant matter. #gardening #autumn #leaves #leavetheleaves
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2025-11-26 22:58:00 GMT

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I have a lot of leaves, more than my beds can handle. so I compost some directly in a compost pile. For the rest I enlist some help from the Ladies. They are terribly curious about anything new and find a leaf pile pretty entertaining.
They'll spend all winter shredding these leaves and by spring they'll be fine black mulch. It also makes the run less muddy and that keeps their feet and their roosts a little cleaner in the coop.
4/4
#PNW #leavetheleaves #gardening #autumn #Leaves #chickens
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2025-11-26 22:53:17 GMT

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Here in the Pacific Northwest, leaf mulching your perennial beds also helps them by slowing down the velocity of rain hitting the soil, so that water soaks in slowly. This helps prevent erosion and nutrient loss in the soil.
We have a lot of half-hardy plants here, that benefit from protection from the occasional hard freeze. act as a blanket for the plant roots, protecting them from freezing too hard, specially when there's no snow.
3/4
#PNW #leavetheleaves #gardening #autumn #Leaves
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2025-11-26 22:42:17 GMT

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"Leaving the leaves" means leaving them on your property, especially if the alternative is a landfill. I don't have an actual lawn, but I do have wide grassy pathways between garden beds. Mostly I just use them as mulch in the perennial beds.
These leaves have insect eggs and pupae in them. Most insects are beneficial for your garden. And those are essential food for birds. Especially for the baby birds that will arrive in Spring.
2/4
#PNW #leavetheleaves #gardening #autumn #Leaves
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2025-11-26 22:35:39 GMT

It's leaf raking season (at least here in the #PNW) and there's been a big campaign by the National Wildlife Federation to #leavetheleaves . Recently one of my favorite podcasts, In Defense of Plants, did an interview with NWF naturalist David Mizejewski to explain what that means.
https://www.indefenseofplants.com/podcast/2025/10/21/ep-549-advocating-for-fallen-leaves
The biggest misconception is that this means leaving leaves on your lawn. No, it doesn't. Leaf buildup on your turf grass will damage it.
1/3
#gardening #autumn #Leaves
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2025-11-25 06:52:19 GMT

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what a lovely hen. She doesn't look a day over seven.

2025-11-25 05:48:39 GMT

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+1 on the Carl Hiaasen reference. Did they know there's 87,000 people on that island? And it's over 200 square miles? And they're just two dudes. Even if they "recruited some homeless people" like article says, how was that gonna work?

2025-11-25 01:59:17 GMT

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I remember the first time I saw Brussels sprouts on the stalk I kind of freaked out because I always thought they grew as little tiny individual cabbages--you know, cabbage sprouts. It was at the Wisconsin State Fair. I went and bought some starts the next spring and grew some of my own. One of my favorite vegetables

2025-11-23 23:43:08 GMT

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This feels like a Steve Martin skit to me

2025-11-23 21:54:50 GMT

Is it #autumn or is it #Christmas ? Or is it just #silentsunday?
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2025-11-19 05:50:49 GMT

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More information on the show.
https://fryemuseum.org/exhibitions/beau-dick-insatiable-beings
#contemporaryart #sculpture #nativeamerican #PNW #firstnations

2025-11-19 05:49:26 GMT

Went to see the Beau Dick show at the Frye At Museum in Seattle over the weekend. Gorgeous work with really interesting political context. Some traditional Kwakwaka’wakw designs and some really contemporary work. Frye Art Museum often gets overshadowed by SAM. It's small but has first rate shows.
#contemporaryart #sculpture #nativeamerican #PNW #firstnations
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2025-11-17 19:17:59 GMT

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Datura stramonium was rather famously enumerated as an ingredient in "zombie powder" by anthropologist Wade Davis in his 1985 book "The Serpent and the Rainbow". It's a fascinating book, if somewhat controversial. There was a terrible horror movie made that was loosely based on it; they are not the same. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Serpent_and_the_Rainbow_(book)

2025-11-17 07:55:26 GMT

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There's a passage in Henry Morton Stanley's book "In Darkest Africa" where he describes some porters becoming violently ill because they had eaten raw cassava from a field. Unpleasant to say the least. I've had fried cassava root as yuca in South America (like a chewy French fry) and eaten the leaves (boiled) in Indonesia, they're like collards.

2025-11-17 03:20:00 GMT

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very interesting-- I've always wondered about the origin of the term "ghillie suit" and now I know! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghillie_suit

2025-11-17 01:15:01 GMT

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there's been a bumper crop of just about everything this year. I've been seeing a lot of mushrooms in my garden too.

2025-11-16 22:51:44 GMT

Today's #silentsunday image js brought to you by the month of November and the color red. (With a little help from anthocyanins)
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2025-11-16 22:46:49 GMT

Today's headline in the Seattle Times. A few years ago some friends who live on the East side of the mountains were talking about how the Yakima River is going to start running dry in the summers by the end of the decade. And I thought "that can't be right. It's not that imminent." Turns out the climate crisis is happening now, happening to us.
#ClimateChange #PNW #Water #drought #farming
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2025-11-15 01:20:43 GMT

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I remember the first time I went to Indonesia as an impressionable undergrad how blown away I was by local transportation there. I grew up in the rural Midwest where buses were only for "poor people in cities" and the only real transport options were driving and flying. I found in Indonesia you could get from any corner of the country to any other just on public transport. And how easy it was. Confusing though-- no schedules in most places; you just had to ask how to do it.

2025-11-14 22:53:53 GMT

Mt Rainier in the snow. Path across Grand Park on the North side of the peak, last weekend. For #FootpathFriday #hiking #PNW #getoutside
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2025-11-14 18:46:53 GMT

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it's beautiful! What's the black thing to the right? Is it a cover of some kind? I can't figure out how it fits with the instrument

2025-11-12 06:43:03 GMT

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Looks lovely. I haven't been to that part of the Olympics before. I'd always thought that SE corner wouldnt be very interesting but your post prompted me to look it up on the the WTA site and after reading the description I'm doubly intrigued. I put it on my list. Thanks!
For anyone else interested: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/lower-south-fork-skokomish-river#hike-full-description

2025-11-12 00:32:02 GMT

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I don't think I've ever seen a photo of this guy. Kind of haunting

2025-11-11 16:34:30 GMT

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😆

2025-11-11 03:03:37 GMT

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Snowy Rainier part 7. As the day warmed up to about 45F (7C), all that fresh snow on the branches started to melt so coming back down was pretty much like hiking in the rain. Here's Lake Eleanor on the way up vs on the way down, with the snow gone. A good portion of that snow ended up dripping down the back of my neck. But it was well worth it, seeing The Mountain this close in its full winter coat. (No mountain lions, though).
7/7
#MountainMonday #PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-11 02:58:44 GMT

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Snowy Rainier part 6. And yes, I remembered correctly! This is Grand Park, a mile long meadow on the North side of the peak, at about 5,000 feet. In the summer this place is covered in wildflowers. And tourists. Now I've got it all to myself. Only one other person came this way. And one elk (I think those are elk tracks?). I just stood there for a good 40 minutes just gawking at the mountain and ignoring my wet feet.
6/7
#MountainMonday #PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-11 02:48:10 GMT

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Snowy Rainier part 5. I'm really hopeful at this point that the trail is leading where I remember it's supposed to... the trees are thinning out...
5/7
#MountainMonday #PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-11 02:38:44 GMT

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Snowy Rainier part 4. About three more miles up and the trees are getting thinner. But the snow is getting deeper, it's up to mid calf in places, well above my boots. At least I'm wearing wool socks. But I'm starting to reflect that maybe this isn't the best idea (always carry clothes and gear for weather worse than you expect).
4/7
#MountainMonday #PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-11 02:29:35 GMT

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Snowy Rainier part 3. The trail passes a little lake called Lake Eleanor, after a mile or so. There's campsites at this lake but of course they're empty. It's about 35 degrees F (2C). The only problem is I'm wearing jeans and a fleece and light summer boots. Still I can't help myself. Just a bit farther. I'm going from memory of what I read about where this trail leads.
3/7
#MountainMonday #PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-11 02:20:20 GMT

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Snowy Rainier part 2. Mt Rainier mostly shuts down for winter. The main visitor center remains open part time (weather permitting) but the East side access road closes in late Sept. But there's another way in--a trailhead off a Forest Service road on the North edge of the park. Here we are still many miles from the peak, and still in deep forest cover. But there's fresh snow and it's dead silent except for an occasional woodpecker.
2/7
#MountainMonday #PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-11 02:10:59 GMT

Before #MountainMonday is completely over, here's a short thread about an impromptu visit I made to Mt Rainier over the weekend. I found myself halfway there--in Enumclaw--it was 7:30 AM on a Saturday, and it was sunny. I wasn't geared for hiking but I thought ok I'll just drive up there and see the trailhead. What could it hurt?
When I see a sign like this at the trailhead, there's no help for me. I have to go.
1/7
#PNW #hiking #MtRainier #snow #getoutside
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2025-11-09 20:16:48 GMT

Mt Rainier National Park, yesterday. I'm sure it looks the same today. #silentsunday
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2025-11-05 04:10:53 GMT

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wow that's a beautiful spot. Hard to believe it's 12,000 feet. Everything we have up here in WA that's above 10,000 ft has got like, a glacier on it

2025-11-04 22:20:36 GMT

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Wow that's one of those plants I only dream about. That color is the rarest flower color on Earth, I can think of only one other plant with blue-green blooms.

2025-11-01 01:08:23 GMT

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you can tell when the em dash was put there by a human because most of us just use two hyphens because we're too lazy to figure out the keyboard shortcut for the proper character

2025-10-30 18:28:46 GMT

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I like the look of the circular gabion pond surround. It's very sculptural. Lots of crevices for little critters too

2025-10-28 19:39:57 GMT

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I guess you really "headed for the mountains"
(Yeah that was an old person joke)

2025-10-28 15:53:53 GMT

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That's so very Portland.

2025-10-26 22:42:44 GMT

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Fun trivia that popped into my head as I saw this: that labyrinth predates hedge trimmers! (Scissors, secateurs, and such only came into use in the late 1700s or early 1800s)

2025-10-22 23:47:16 GMT

October in my garden. It's rare to catch a sunny evening when the leaves are turning but it's worth waiting for.
#Gardening #PNW #autumn
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2025-10-20 00:38:39 GMT

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For a while I was getting up super early and going to work in the garden before anything else. It's a fantastic time to be up and about. I loved it. I have not been able to sustain because of all the demands of family and work. But I'd go back to it if I could.

2025-10-17 18:24:26 GMT

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I think there's several things going on: one, noone seems to know that trees don't just stop growing in size the way people do; two, perhaps they lowball the sizes on the tags hoping you'll buy six instead of four; three, there's pressure on landscaping folks to create things that look good now, regardless if their long term appropriateness. Or, more cynically, they know that when that shrub grows too big they can charge to prune it!

2025-10-16 20:42:37 GMT

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doesn't look horridus at all! (Until you fall into one!) 😆

2025-10-14 05:29:07 GMT

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Yes, I hike a lot and pay close attention to the plants I pass, and I don't see it very often-- i think it's not super common even though its range is pretty large. I did see one plant nursery in northern CA had a page on it but nothing in stock. I'll keep an eye open for it, thanks for posting the photo!

2025-10-14 03:50:10 GMT

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I am curious about this plant. Seems like something that would do okay here in the #PNW in a #nativeplants garden (spreads by rhizomes!) but I have never seen it for sale in any of our native plant nurseries. Has anyone ever had one in their garden?

2025-10-12 01:32:43 GMT

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"Which way to the archives?"
Minutes later
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2025-10-12 01:25:49 GMT

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whoa don't stand too close to that thing. It might hatch out some kinda alien bug 😆

2025-10-11 20:10:12 GMT

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It's doing what Foxgloves do-- surprising you

2025-10-10 22:13:36 GMT

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Could it be a gray tree frog? (Hyla versicolor)? A lot of them have black markings that make them look like toads but some apparently don't, judging from just browsing through photos online.
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2025-10-10 03:27:21 GMT

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Oh wow that's so pretty. Lots of stories about black orchids, Rex Stout, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock have all written stories with black orchids in the title. That's just off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more. There's a perfume. Probably a clothing line too. It's almost a cliche but you never ever actually see one. But here it is. And you have it! Congratulations!

2025-10-09 15:17:46 GMT

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Thank you so much! I made them during Covid

2025-10-09 00:10:17 GMT

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