A Walk in His Gardens: A Day of Celebration & Thanks

Every day of life

whether cloudy and gray

or sunny and clear is a gift;

as is every year that we are given here on earth.

A gift of indescribable worth

given us from the Creator of life above--
gifts of love from HE who loves us the most.

And since life is a gift of such immense value and a blessing given us by God,

we should see each day as that priceless gift--

a gift far better then money or material goods.

We should seek to love as God's Son loved

and as the One who sent Him loves

(something not always easy for me to do I admit)

And we should especially seek to give to those who mean the most to us--

those family and friends that bless and enrich our lives.

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Several years back, I'm not sure of the exact date. something changed for me and I began to see the day of my birth in a different light;

I began to want to give to family and friends on that day instead of only recieving--

(after all, at my very great, totally advanced age I already have the things I really need and even a lot of the things I want)...

so I started something that year and I really liked it.

What I did was to ask family members who would normally buy me a birthday gift--or a dinner out--to instead donate that money to charity;

but this was in no way forced on them--it was only if they were OK with the concept. This idea gave me joy.

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And because I really LOVE to be out in God's gardens and could think of no better place to be, I treated myself to the only other gift I really wanted--a trip in the mountains and to the PNW coast

(since Oregon's weather looked better we went there)

Of course, since I also wanted to give and not just receive, I decided to surprise my best friend and treat her to a trip too! It was really a surprise because she didn't 'catch' the hint I dropped and arrived in

'grubbies' ready to do the work we had originally planned to do that day:)

No matter--one quick stop would solve that itsy bitty problem.

I SO LOVE spur of the moment trips and nice surprises!

(it was spur of the moment as we were trying to finish some work before the BIG project began and so didn't know if there would be time to make a trip until the very last moment.)

My DH -- aka "Farmer Boy" of course gave us his blessing -- he knows a trip in God's gardens always brings me great joy

(I should explain that technically speaking this gift of a trip was from him. That man knows what his Country Gal likes!)

So we set off towards the beautiful NW coast range

Once there we spent a bit of time walking along the river there,

gazing at the beautiful reflections of the trees and shrubs along the water's edge and enjoying the silence to be found there.

We passed vine maples - red now because of autumn

and areas where the river was very still--more like a pond then a river there.
Once at the coast we walked a bit along the beach after I treated my friend to lunch at a great restaurant there (salad, seafood, dessert). Giving was really a lot of fun for me!

The beach was SO nice and the summer crowds mostly gone! We saw a few people, the usual seagulls and a kite flying.

We saw several bays too --this rocky one

and one of my most favorite ones!

I LOVE this place!

We also stopped while at the coast to buy real, totally authentic salt water taffy and chocolate--a treat for us and for family back home (eek! I forgot to give the taffy to my family when they were over recently. Good thing it stays good for awhile and good thing tomorrow is the weekend! MY DH already ate his yummy gift from me as did I--sorry but I could not resist the fruit chocolates they had there)

Thank you Lord for the gifts you've given me--the ones that surround me everyday

and

thank you especially for the gift of another year of life!

Blessings,

Aimee

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- "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever."

I Chronicles 16:34 KJV

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"To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy." Ecclesiastes 5:19b, 20 NLT (© 2003, Tyndale House Publishers)

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"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17 KJV

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Photos:

Coast range of Oregon & Central Oregon coast.

A Walk in His Gardens: Early Autumn Palette

Less then one month into my favorite season and the colors are beautiful!

The white and purple of most of the lavenders continue as the night temperatures drop but the daytime highs have been for the most part quite nice. Our new mums are a mixture of white and purple too; we also have blooming roses still in a variety of colors including white, orangish and more.

Changing with the season are the leaves of the ash trees in a nearby town--

this photo does NOT do justice to the wonderful yellow of these!

Seed pods are still forming on the Japanese maples--some a light pinkish shade like on this tree; those on the red laceleaf maples are darker.

Also with red tones are the flowering cherry and dogwood, some azaleas, the barberry

and -- of course --the crocosmia.

I LOVE crocosmia (but then you already know that!)

I love red too--in fact I am hoping to add some more of that to our home in 2010. If I survive the BIG project that is :)

Red can also be found on two of our strawberries; this one is as big as a Hood berry--one of the NW June bearing favorites. Yum---guess I will have to force myself to eat it tomorrow; unless the deer get it before me that is.

YES, there has been a Bambi sighting -- again.

And yes I missed it -- again. Super sigh.

Reddish tones on an upright maple tree not located in our garden but no matter -- our two laceleafs are becoming more red as the days pass.

I love the contrast between the light bark and that beautiful, gorgeous red, don't you?

OK. Confession time.

Yellow (like that found on aspen and ash trees) and red are my favorite autumn colors

and yet this year I find myself

really, really loving the colors of the different gourds - winter squash and pumpkin

that I am seeing too! So pretty!

This photo was taken during a trip in NW Oregon at a farm there. They also had amazing apples, honey, ornamental corn and a LOT more!

(photos and info on the trip there and to some other farms to be posted soon).

I LOVE PNW farms; really I do!

Which reminds me I need to check out apple cider at our local farms soon.

Now actually this coppery color is NOT a good sign even though it was a beautiful sight! It means the plant really is tired and stressed out over our continuing summer weather and that this poor baby longs for a long, deep, good soaking. Poor plant--I am caught between hoping it gets its wish and loving our current blue skies and warm temperatures.

And the kiwi keeps growing-although they would have probably been larger had they received more irrigation this summer. I love the fuzzy brown amidst the green leaves and pretty vines! And today, when my sibling visited, they found another one I hadn't spotted yet!!

. I can hardly wait for harvest time which should be soon---I think.

Not shown but also adding color--and later food- to our autumn garden are: Concord & Niagara grapes (deep purple and green respectively), lingonberries (red with some white blossoms still), evergreen huckleberries (dark, dark bluish), Comice pears (yellowish with red blush) and a few prunes (you know what color they are, right?) Oh we also have some yellow raspberries left, a bit of baby reddish leaf lettuce and some really, really sad looking red peppers; I never seem to have luck with peppers. Sigh.

But the two never before seen surprises for color this fall have been

the forsythia which is happily producing its normally springtime lemony yellow blossoms now amidst the green and autumn red of its many leaves

and one of our blueberries. The one--always a spring bloomer, summer harvest berry apparently thinks its spring again too! Confusion seems to have reigned in our garden all of this past year. Kind of fun though!

This was September 21st

and this just the other day.

So what's happening in your gardens and what is your fav autumn color?

Blessings,

Aimee

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Photos:

As above.

A Walk in His Gardens--the Great Plains & WY

Some more photos from my son's trip collection. These are from his autumn trip to Missouri several years ago. Now all of my children have traveled further east then I

(but I still hold the record for farthest west--at least right now, this minute, at 9:36 PM September 29, 2009!!) Come to think of it... my parents smashed that record to bits with their trips to SE Asia.

But back to my son's trip-as he traveled through Wyoming that day in mid Autumn, they hit snow near Cheyenne. I believe this particular photo was taken about an hour east of there.

I am not surprised about the snow at all--I heard from a friend today whose husband hit snow on a PNW pass this week and October seems to be the month for snow in the Rocky Mt states (or so I hear).

Yea!! SNOW in early autumn, in the mountains!!

The snow, for my son at least, did not last long and before they hit the WY/NE border it was gone.

I am sure our PNW snow in the mountains will soon be gone too--at least for a little while but hopefully not for too long :)

I think these photos were taken in Nebraska.

But maybe not. NO I am pretty sure they were but I really need to have him write the locations of his photos down for me;

either that or I will have to start coming along on his trips:)

I like photos of mushrooms. We have SO many of them in our PNW yard; something about the ph of our soil being wrong (per my gardener friend)...anyway I feel at home when I see photos of the fungus among us. Besides they look SO earthy AND I like earthy.

And my favorite of the photos--a woodland in (hopefully) Nebraska. When I look at it I feel peace and it seems to invite me to explore the areas beyond...wish I could but alas it is late and I am hungry for a baked apple. Actually that sounds like a really good thing so

with one more version of my favorite photo of this collection...

It's almost like a painting, isn't it?

And now I bid you peace and blessings from the PNW.

I am off to cook an apple.

Aimee

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Photos: as above.

© 2009 J. Blessings & A. Blessings this post. Permission kindly given by my wonderful son for me to post the photos here. Thanks, J! mom

Serenity, Acceptance, Courage & Changes

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.

Amen.
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If ever there was a prayer written for people such as I, it would be similar to this one. You see I am 'gifted' with a feisty spirit, a leader's personality and a very strong will. In certain matters I have found (and still find) myself fighting against circumstances which I have no power to change and then, on the other hand, when there is something I should and can do I - at times - find myself 'frozen' with fear. Both situations can be 'peace-robbers' and both are common to man (and 'womankind') :)

The answer is simple, and yet not always easy to accept for someone as strong willed as I; it's taking the things that bother me to God in prayer and asking for wisdom to better discern His will in those matters; praying for courage to deal with the things I know He wants me to deal with and resting in His peace that "passeth all understanding" when there's nothing I can (or should) do.

Blessings on this last day of summer,

Aimee

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"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1: 5 KJV

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"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 4-7 NLT (Ilumina Software © 2003, Tyndale House Publishers)

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Photos:

Wisteria

Raindrops on rhododendron

Crocosmia (told you I can't get enough of these flowers)--this one is Miss Scarlett

Three ferns of two different types awaiting planting

Azalea, Autumn Ruby--an azalea that blooms three seasons of the year.

Liberty apple--immature apples

Autumn Crocus

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Note: From what I have read, the first 4 lines were possibly written by Reinhold Niebuhr and the
remainder of the prayer added later by an anonymous author. Source & link for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

Prayer of St Francis

Prayer of St Francis *

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

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*Although this prayer was most likely written well after the times of St Francis, it is a reflection of the way this man chose to live much of his life. Life is about choices, the one St Francis made gave him great peace and abundant joy. Although a most imperfect vessel, I pray that I too can be an instrument of God's peace.

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Photos:

Scenes from our NW/Japanese-style garden AKA "Garden for my son".

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Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_of_Saint_Francis#Prayer

(with more information about this beautiful prayer)

An Early September Morn

I awoke early this morning to a clear day. Rising, I began to do a few tasks, much as on any other day. For that is what this would be--just an ordinary, normal early September day.

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Eight years ago, on another coast thousands of miles away, many average Americans and those living and working in the States were doing the same thing. They arose from their beds that morning and prepared to start their day. Some boarded planes that would take them to different destinations; others arrived at their jobs in two east coast cities. They too had no reason to expect anything other then a normal early September day-it was clear and beautiful outside then too and all appeared to be ordinary as they began their tasks and flights.

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And then terror struck--the hatred of mankind one towards another; unspeakable acts of violence and terror of strangers against average people they had never met, never conversed with, never shared a cup of tea or coffee with, or a laugh. In that moment these average people--most civilians--were thrown into circumstances that would dramatically change their life’s journey and the journey of those they loved and who loved them. And for a few terrible moments hate ruled the day.

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Some of these innocents would go to their deaths never knowing the reason; others would fight back when they realized the aim of the evil aboard their plane that morning. Normal, average people called upon to become heroes -- showing extraordinary courage in a situation which brought out the worst in some, who sought to destroy, but in others brought out the very best - the latter whose only aim was to thwart the evil goals of those who had so much hate in their hearts that clear September morn. And again love began to rule, though hate would take its cruel toll.

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And in the cities fireman, policemen, average Americans and military personnel were called upon to help and show extraordinary courage too as they entered the damaged Twin Towers and Pentagon or battled within those buildings to save the lives of strangers, co-workers and friends who only minutes before they may have conversed with or shared a cup of tea or coffee or perhaps a laugh. And love appeared in those office spaces and in the stairwells as average Americans did what they could for their fellow man out of a sense of brotherhood and good will.

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And on that day and the many following it, America (and many other nations) wept for those they had lost; and America’s citizens pulled together as one. People sat transfixed in front of their TV’s as those terrible images passed in front of them one by one and they cried out to God for help. And families who lost so very much that day felt the pain that only one bereft of a loved one could feel but also felt support from average people just like them. And all over our nation and around the world, children and adults alike asked how hate like this could be when there was another choice.

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Today, on this normal September morning, average Americans got up and prepared to go to work - some in cities, others in towns and some on the land they live on. And they remembered the many sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers who would not rise today to go to work--the average Americans and others who are no longer among us. And in two lands far away average Americans turned Soldiers and Marines also remembered this day when hatred made time stand still and Americans wept together for their lost. And they hoped that love would again rule all our days in America and around the world.

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In memory of those innocents lost before their time on that clear September morning and their families, where ever they may be, who still bear the immeasurable pain of their loss; and to those who keep watch both here and abroad over our nation. May God bless and comfort those who lost so much that early September day and on the days after, and may God grant true peace to all of us.

Blessings this early September day as we pause to remember once again,

Aimee

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"There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." I Corinthians 13:13 NLT

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Photo:

Japanese-style lantern in the Garden for My Son.

Bible Verse:

Ilumina software, © 2003 Tyndale House Publishers.

"The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen...."

Happy September 10th!!

Have you heard that song before? If you are of a certain age group then most likely you have. Well it still rings through my head everytime I lay eyes on the Emerald City's skyline--a place of beautiful memories for me. Memories of the wonderful ice cream I used to get in the U of W district, the canals and waterways filled with ducks and boats, the city's hills, the parks, the lakes....OK I know I am gushing but I can do so--after all I did live here at one time:)

But it's not just Seattle that I love; for Washington state is an amazing place! And I love it... the peninsulas, islands, ferries, waterways and mountains for just like its southern neighbor, Oregon, this is a land of contrasts--from the very green (and often wet) rain forests of the west to the more arid eastern portion of the state.

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I have family history here, too, and often wonder what my ancestors (and extended family) thought as they viewed for the first time the beauty of this area-a snow capped Mt Rainier, the blue Hood Canal--a fjord and the lush green of the rain forests. I know these scenes still take my breath away even though I have seen them more then a few times!

So to nourish my soul today -- a few photos of Washington state.

Forever may you stay green (and blue)!

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Beautiful, serene and peaceful.

This is my beloved Washington.

I thank God for you.

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Blessings,

Aimee

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Photos:

Seattle - the Space Needle.

Olympic Peninsula

Central Washington (2 photos)

Northern WA--along I-5 (2 photos)

Olympic Peninsula (2 photos)

SW Washington

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Note: Some of these were taken with my older camera and are not of the best resolution (not that my newer camera is a lot better--LOL). Sorry about that but I hope they will still give you an idea of why I love this place so very much!

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Song:

http://www.bobbysherman.com/lyrics2.htm ("Seattle")

Links of interest:

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

Note to blog visitors

I recently added a search feature to this blog because I needed a quick way to find a post I had written about a particular song. I couldn't find it under the label "Music of my life" and didn't want to spend the time doing a manual search. By using the search feature I quickly determined it wasn't on this blog at all and could then go on to check the forum I write on -- where it was! Yippee!

However, the reason I am putting this note here is the search feature would come in handy if you're looking for a specific PNW (or other) location-such as Astoria or Seattle on this blog. I don't think it works perfectly on older posts, but it's fun to use and besides I love learning and (using) new features. BTW search results will appear at the top of the posts below the title photo.

Checked out the Blogger 10th Birthday gift blog lthe other night; there are some pretty interesting new features there. Might give them a try at some future date. Let me know if you have used any of them yet and what you think.

BTW hope you had a happy 9:09 AM & PM on 9/9/09----I am saying that for my DH "Farmer Boy":)

Blessings all,
Aimee

A Walk in His Garden: Scenes of September

I love this time of year.

When plants & trees begin to take on the hues of autumn.

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When the fragrance and colors of the grapes begin to become more pronounced as they move closer to harvest time...

and the season of peaches, sweet corn on the cob and tomatoes draws closer to its end.

Autumn flowers share room with summer begonias and the garden seems to be a more peaceful place.

Blessings from the garden,

Aimee

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Photos:

Pieris against a handmade concrete-rock table

Laceleaf Japanese maple after shower (an authentic one this time!)

Nandina Moyer's Red by our upper pond

Chrysanthemum 'white Gigi' in planter (love this mum!)

Grapes: Concords & Niagaras (my favorite treat the last part of September!)

Tomatoes, sweet corn on the cob & Elberta peaches fresh from a farm (I would give up meat for these!)

Begonias & violas.