Lavender Festival: Music + Good Conversation in the Hills

I've loved this area of the Pacific NW for years and thought I pretty well knew it,

but there was a road I'd never been on...this past weekend we turned on that road.

 After a few miles of driving past pretty wild sweet peas,

gorgeous vistas,

beautiful evergreen and deciduous trees,

country homes and more,

we arrived at our destination--

Woodland Lavender,

a farm located high on a hill above the valley floor.

 There we found fragrant bouquets of lavender hanging in the shade,

bees happily going about their work of making honey, some nice lavender products,

and a very talented musician, Therese Michaud playing wonderful melodies on her keyboard.

Soon we met the owner who offered to show us,

in response to our question, the proper way to prune lavender...

we followed her to the field where

she used a small, sharp scythe with which she quickly and skillfully accomplished the task,

leaving a perfectly shaped mound and a basket full of lavender.

We had a really good time talking with her and a friend of hers!

~

After a bit, I headed off to see the old farmhouse there--

where I imagined a pioneer family, just like my ancestors, sitting on the front porch of the house

or working in the fields nearby.

In many ways I would have liked living back then...

would you? 

I spent quite a lot of time walking around this old (1898) home--

admiring the awesome view

and wishing the lighting wasn't quite so harsh on this sunny, very bright day.

 But what can one do when you can't control the weather...

while you take your photos,

you breathe in the calming fragrance of the lavender,

you talk with the many interesting people who share your love of this plant

and you say a quiet thank you for the ability to enjoy this blessing

(and we did all that and more)!

Blessings,

Aimee

Note:

A BIG thank you to the very kind owner of Woodland Lavender for permission to take and post photos of her beautiful farm during this year's Lavender Festival!

If you would like more information  please see this link: http://www.woodlandlavender.com/index.html

For fellow lavender lovers you can find information on the annual festival here:

http://www.oregonlavenderfestival.org/

(the festival is held in mid July but some farms have additional hours or are open by appointment)

And here, on this site:

http://www.myspace.com/theresemichaud/music

you can listen to some of the beautiful music we heard at Woodland Lavender this past Saturday

(a favorite of mine is her composition 'Cottage')

As is always the case unless I state otherwise,

I am not associated with this farm, the festival or musician:)

And now,

I bid you a good night as I am

off to bed...