Early August Garden

Viewer warning:

The following photos were not taken during the golden hour of the day.

They were not taken early enough to catch the beauty of the early morning dew

or after a wonderful, refreshing summer shower (I wish)...

and they were not taken with a tripod

(and should have been)

but still I hope you will enjoy them :)

 

 

I am always amazed at the visitors to our garden...

both the 'wild ones' and the plants that keep arriving unexpectedly!

This year we were blessed with this beautiful sunflower in the midst of our lingonberries.

I love sunflowers at this time of year and one of my favorite things to do is to walk through a field full of them...

 

Kiwi progress shot...

I love the way the kiwi leaf underneath almost looks like a bowl for them.

These are fuzzy kiwi and every year we harvest lots of them...

and I do mean, lots!

Another fun thing I like to do is visit kiwi farms...

where they actually know what they are doing:)

 

Crocosmia time--I can never get enough of these either.

Each year I wait (impatiently) for their gorgeous flowers to beautify our yard;

each year I am not disappointed!

And of course, this year I was sorely tempted to buy another one...

but where to put it?

 

Another volunteer plant we see a lot of--

besides our native moss which is taking over one of the paths by the upper pond (yippee!),

is the fern...

and I can never have enough of them too.

I almost feel like marking out the area where I wish them to plant themselves...

 

This daylily is one of my most favorite--

I love the pastel yellow

(hate the lighting; love the flower).

I can tell autumn is getting closer--

this week my friend cut a good part of our daylilies to the ground.

Am I ready for fall to begin?

Hum...

no, probably not--although I have found myself enjoying the

 cloudier, cooler conditions we have had lately.

And (I almost hate to say this)--

I caught myself wishing praying for rain earlier this week.

Fortunately God knew what was best for this time...

 

Barrels a waiting...

yes, another project has been added to my 'to do' list

(along with the bamboo taming, lace stepping stones crafting, deck repair, etc., etc.)

 

And with this photo, taken in our miniature rose garden,

 I bid you adieu because my day is about to get very, very crazy in a little while...

(and there is also great hope I will see the small bubbly one today)!

 

Have a blessed weekend!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

A Day of Firsts: Part II

There are those moments in your life you will never forget--

intense, momentous, significant moments...

and who would have known that not too many minutes after this photo was taken,

one of those moments would occur...

(and this is the PERFECT photo for what was to come).

 

 

And-- did I say I wouldn't have my camera with me during

 that "intense, momentous, significant" moment in time?

Nope! And you'll understand why in just a bit.

 

But on with those 'other' firsts--first...

 

 

The aforementioned moment occurred here...

at beautiful Fort Yamhill--located above both the Grande Ronde and Yamhill River Valleys.

This is a wonderful, very historic spot that I've been visiting for awhile now and it is part of the Oregon State Park system.

 

The fort was originally built in 1856 and...

it was built, I found out,

to not only protect the settlers

but also to protect the Native Americans that were on the reservation

(there were concerns that the Native Americans might be attacked by those concerned with the problems in southern Oregon at that time).

 This photo brings back some 'historical' memories...

LOL

I would almost 'swear' that in this photo,

my granddaughter looks just like her dad eons ago...

well except for the whole pink sunglasses and sandals,

floral sundress, long hair and female DNA thing:)

 

I think it was during his Teenage Mutant Ninja phase...

 

 

This house was another first---

for it is,

despite what the Wikipedia article says,

one of the original officer's homes.

Yep!

It was set to be destroyed (I believe by burning--shudder),

when someone realized that this was not just some old farmhouse.

That very brilliant and very wise person

recognized that under the 'improvements'

was the original home of one of the officers stationed at the fort.

 

So the home was saved, put back into its beautiful, incredible, original condition

(yippee for historic preservation and those who worked on this house to restore it)

AND

it's set to be moved back up on the hill where it once stood!

 

BTW, I saw this house before its restoration and I can attest to what a wonderful job they have done.

I can also attest that this (well not this specific house but one like it)

would make a dream house-cottage for me...

of course I would need indoor plumbing,

which this one never had:)

That is because I am NOT a pioneer woman

(even though I am a descendant of quite a few of them).

 

Isn't this house a pretty little thing?

I LOVE the whitewash

(done with a lime solution and not paint);

I love the design!

It would be perfect for a loving couple and their three dogs.

 

Oh it was also here that my granddaughter and I first learned of something--

but we'll keep that quiet for awhile because it might become a future post:)

 

 

First sightings of these pretty wildflowers by a creek in the forest.

 

And that brings us to our last first--

for today that is.

It was here,

on this very spot,

not too long after this photo was taken...

and we had walked down to the creek,

that my granddaughter and Papi became a temporary living totem pole:)

 

But you'll have to take my word for it because I can't show you that photo--

I will show you another goofy granddaughter face though.

 

 

And that "intense, momentous, significant" moment that occurred at Fort Yamhill?

Well, as I said, there are NO photos

(thankfully)

but it involved a first for my granddaughter...

using a vault toilet

(with a bit lot of support--literally--from grandma)

And it was good that I didn't have my camera at that very moment

for more reasons than one--

because it would most likely be at the bottom of said compartment right now:)

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Fort Yamhill and Oregon coast range, July 2013.

© 2013 A. Blessings

All rights reserved.

Please do not copy.

Thanks:)

 

Notes:

Fort Yamhill--Oregon State Parks site

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Yamhill

(some errors on this site but has information on the notable people who served at the fort during its history--including Phil Sheridan)

and to see photos of the condition of the Officer's Home before its restoration,

please see this great blog I found today

http://pnwphotoblog.com/2010/03/11/fort-yamhill-polk-county-oregon/

(I LOVE blogs about history)!

If you follow Rick's links in this post you will also find photos of the original blockhouse that served the fort till it closed--this was moved to Dayton and is now in a park there...

(And yes, I have photos of these items --

I am a history nut after all--

but I like his photos better)

:)

 



A Day of Firsts: Part I

It was a day of firsts...

 

 

First ice cream cone in a bowl...

 

First horseback ride

(such a big girl)

 

First, but definitely not the last,

scramble to rescue beach toys from the incoming tide.

 

First chance to say thank you to the horse (Chinook) who gave you your first,

but definitely not last, horseback ride!

(Grandma and grandpa both had horses when they were younger;

grandma has never lost her love for them and still on occasion takes a ride).

 

First water fight with grandpa at the coast...

SO much fun

(for you both)!

 

First, but most assuredly not the last, goofy granddaughter face by the bay...

 

 

A day of firsts--

but this was definitely NOT the first smile grandma captured that day...

 

To be continued...

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

All photos this post © 2013 A. Blessings.

All rights reserved.

Please do not copy unless I have given you permission to do so.

Oregon's central coast. late July 2013.

 

 

 

Words That Give Grace

"Communication is like a little path into a person's heart and words spoken in a positive way give the listener life."
Julia

I am SO not perfect and sometimes, especially with certain people, I just lose it...
Here is an excellent post (with gorgeous photos) on the legacy we leave behind by the words that we allow to come forth out of our mouths.
Do we like the book of our lives that we're all writing? It not there is still time to make the next chapter better:)
 
Blissfully Content: Words That Give Grace

Blessings,
Aimee

Photo: along the Salmon River in Oregon's Coast Range (summer, 2012)
Notes: Julia, of Blissfully Content also has many great ideas for home and garden! Did I say she is also from the PNW?? :)