In the Land of Linn

Ahhh-the magical Land of Linn, better known as Linn County, Oregon.

The first time I saw this place of our family ancestry, I was smitten, and ever since that day I have been completely in love with it. So what better place to celebrate our wedding anniversary? What other gift would be so sweet? You guessed it--a trip with my Farmer Boy to the Land of Linn.

I must explain that, though I've been to Linn County many times, it is generally to the area south of here and so I was very excited to see what treasures this area! Being the history buff I am I was really, really excited to see more of the covered bridges I've fallen in love with (this area has quite a few of them) AND, of course, new scenery is always a treat!

The first bridge that we found after getting lost, finding gas, having a desperate prayer answered in an unexpected way, finding the right road--was the Shimanek Covered Bridge.

Positives: red, neat windows, you can drive through it (at least most vehicles can--there is a weight limit) and after you do that, you can drive along the creek you've just driven over for a bit. And did I say it's RED??? Negative: No good place to pull over (at least that we saw).

Final verdict: It's a RED bridge--how can one not like it???

Ahhh! Hannah. Great name, beautiful location, SUNSHINE, blue skies and a place to pull over and park! So we did that and then we walked back through the bridge (the traffic early Sunday AM is almost non-existent and they were careful with tourist type people, meaning us!) I am so glad we did park and walk through the bridge because down from the bridge we saw lots of GREEN and a very nice creek too! For those that may not know: rain, rain and more rain=very green moss + lots of ferns here.

A view from inside the bridge--the wood planks here are part of the bridge (but you probably guessed that already)

The Land of Linn--hills, gaps between mountains + hills, mountains, farms, historic homes & buildings, rivers, creeks, lakes, forests, countryside and covered bridges!

On to the next covered bridge--our last today. This one is very, very special--you'll see...it just happens to have a great little park by it and it is on a creek with a river very close by. And at this very pretty little park something very special happens--a river (the Roaring River) flows INTO a creek. Impossible you say? Nope, it really does happen in the magical, beautiful Land of Linn! This was also a really great place to play with my camera--BTW, I need many more places to play with my camera (tell my DH, please).

And the roaring river; as you can tell it really does roar--in a watery sort of way--at least in winter/early spring when every river and creek seemed to be swollen in the Land of Linn.

A view of the Larwood Bridge there--you can drive through this one too! I should have worn my pioneer dress and bonnet...but then that wouldn't be a lot of fun without a wagon or buggy and horse.

Ahhhh--the Land of Linn--the more I see of you, the more I fall in love with you!

Your moss--your ferns--your covered bridges and your old historic mill with ferns --on top of the roof...

by a creek--with a covered bridge--and by a river...a river that roars:)

Hope you enjoyed our little trip to the enchanting Land of Linn...more of our anniversary trip later. Blessings to you, Aimee

Photos: taken in northern Linn county, March 2011. Sorry about the sloppy formatting. Am really having a struggle with the html tonight:( (sigh)

Sundays of Our Past

The late 1800's

It is a Sunday morning in the small village in interior western Canada. Overhead are clear, blue skies and the day holds promise of being another beautiful spring day. Along a small, rough trail comes a family--the dad carrying his toddler son on his shoulders, the mom with her infant daughter in her arms and beside them walks their five year old daughter.

As they walk along, they can see the beautiful mountains of that area, and as they grow closer and turn a corner in the path, they catch a glimpse of a steeple--

they are almost there!

And from all directions they see that others are arriving too--

some on horseback,

some in buggies and wagons,

and some, like them, on foot.

-

Of all ages, from every walk of life, single and married

they come to this place in the trees to learn, pray and fellowship together.

And soon, very soon the sounds of their worship will spread throughout the village

and rise from earth to the heavens--

and so it is to this day.

--

Have a blessed Sunday,

Aimee

~

Photos:

Christ Church (Anglican) in the town of Hope, BC, Canada.

My dad, mom and sibling made a trip there quite a few years ago (actually we were on our way to the Canadian Rockies but that is another story). Anyway the church is quite beautiful and I hope you are able to see that beauty even though this was taken with an older camera of ours. (You might click on the photo to enlarge it if you are having problems seeing the detail)

For more information on the church and its history see this site.

http://www.anglican-hope.ca/History/index.html

The WORD on Wednesday

For, lo, the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of the singing of birds is come...

Song of Solomon 2:11-12a KJV

~

Even though the rain is certainly not over here in the PNW,

new blossoms ARE appearing daily!

Again my world is filled with their colors-

the colors of new life!
And in the trees, little birds eagerly sing their spring melodies

causing me to look up towards the sky

as my heart fills with joy at the sights and sounds of the new season!

I am SO thankful for spring!
Are you thankful for anything today?

Something small

but still miraculous?

Something that makes you look up towards the heavens above with thankfulness in your heart?

~

Blessings, Aimee

-

Photos:

Taken in Independence and Monmouth, Oregon, spring 2011.

More about them later:)

Wanted!

Fields filled with sunny daffodils and tulips of many colors

and time to wander about

and gather a bouquet or two of them.

An orchard filled with the white and pink blossoms of fruit trees

and time to sit under their spreading branches

and just admire their beauty.

A field of wildflowers

and the time to lay down in it on a quilt

and watch them sway gently in the slight breeze

and reflect on the goodness of the Creator

and the beauty of the creation.

~

I have the time,

all I need is spring to start

(I heard a 'rumor' that will be tomorrow )

-

What do you want this spring?

~

-Blessings, Aimee

-

Photos:

Tete a tete daffodils--from our garden

(I still want the field of daffodils and tulips to walk in though!)

Plum blossom--from our garden

(soon our mini orchard will be filled with blooms and I will take time to sit and reflect)

A field of wild mustard seen on one of our day trips

Aimee's Ants

Aimee's place has ants.

Aimee's place has lots of ants.

Aimee HATES the ants that have taken over Aimee's place!!

-

Ants that:

crawl on her counters,

hide in her dishwasher,

have been known to inhabit her microwave,

and

ants that have community meetings at her sink.

-

Ants that crawl on her.

Ants that smell really, really bad

and

ants that bite.

Aimee REALLY hates ants that bite!

-

Ants that get under the cap on her mouthwash--

Aimee hates those too!

-

Ants that keep on coming

and coming

and coming.

~

But the worst thing,

the very worst thing

that Aimee hates...

-

ants

that got into her refrigerator,

then somehow squeezed,

their small smelly bodies,

under the cap of Aimee's whipped cream

that went onto her freshly sliced, juicy, lightly sweetened

(with raw sugar)

bowl of strawberries that she was craving!

-

Ants have absolutely NO conscience!

-

Aimee

The Wonder of Spring in the Midst of Winter

Ever since Aimee at momzoo (see my bloglist for a link there) wrote a post on how to force forsythia branches quite awhile back, I've wanted to do the same thing...

but every year nature beat me to it :(

not this year :)

And

I forced plum branches too!!

If you've never tried it,

just follow Aimee's great directions then

be prepared to enjoy days of lemony wonder inside your nice warm home!

Thank you Aimee for your great post!

Blessings...

Note: I will try to post a direct link later if I get some time but if you go to Aimee's blog - momzoo -- you should be able to find this particular post with little problem.

Of Winter Waterfowl

They take my breath away.

They make me feel like a child seeing something wonderful for the very first time.

I can't get enough of them this winter!

And they seem to be obliging me:)

For I am seeing them in all the usual places--ponds, wetlands, refuges...AND a hotel parking lot??? Love it:)

Lord, I LOVE the handiwork of Your hands!

Blessings, Aimee

Photos taken at various locations in NW Oregon including Tualatin River NWR, a man made pond and the Grande Ronde area. Just to let you know I have fallen totally in love with our national wildlife refuges in the PNW; if you have never been to one (they are all over the USA) you should go! The ones in the NW I have visited are:

1. Siletz Bay in the Lincoln City area (note: you can view this area from the road; entry is very limited),

2. Baskett Slough in the Dallas area (a beautiful area --especially near sunset)

3. Tualatin NWR south of Portland (very nice visitor center with a viewing scope--great on freezing cold windy winter days, also has a small interesting museum of the history of the area, view of foothills-mountains in distance)

4. William L FInley NWR, south of Corvallis (great driving route with many different types of environment and my other great love---several historical barns and homes. They also have a visitor area but I didn't go in as the day we were there was warm!)

BTW--I will have photos from #4 soon--right now I am learning how to use new software:)

Blessings, Aimee

Out & About

With all the lovely snow and rain which followed the lovely snow...

we have been seeing a lot of wetlands that are really wet:)

However, this photo is not from one of those--

this was a beautiful man made pond we stopped to walk around awhile back

during a trip we made.

This particular pond had two huge fountains that were just beautiful!

It also had ducks and geese which you could get fairly close to

in the path that went around the pond;

a little bit of serenity in an urban area.

One of the ducks we passed.

My sibling used to own ducks when we were children and I have always been fond of them.

Not at the pond above but in another area I visited with family.

Beautiful.

I love these days of late winter/early spring!

Blessings,

Aimee

Responsibility...

I long to stay on blogger and to play-

but unforunately my household tasks can't be put off one more day.

So to work I must go--

though it pains me so, so, so

(ok it only pains me a bit)

:)

Coming soon: photos of geese, a refuge, mountains, historical church and more.

~

Blessings,

Aimee

Before and After

Not long ago a certain woman walked around her garden

looking for signs of spring, and she found a lot of them: beautiful white pieris blossom clusters, cheerful yellow tete-a-tete daffodils, buds swelling on plum trees and other plants....

oh and flowers on the rosemary and one of the azaleas (I kid you not)--

see?

yea I could not believe it either!

And all of this spring in winter stuff made her very, very happy

and she was grateful for them but...

~~~BEFORE~~~

deep, deep down she harbored a not-so-secret desire for the blessing of

beautiful and delicate frozen ice crystals-

and so did a lot of other PNW'ers.

~

And then one day,

well past the 'normal' time for such blessings...

the heavens opened,

and instead of the usual rain,

they brought the gift of snow to the PNW and to Aimee's garden.

~~~AFTER~~~

And Aimee smiled as she strolled around her yard

dressed in her flannel PJ bottoms, a sweatshirt and her favorite boots.

~

And she kept saying 'ooh' and 'ah'

as the silent song of the snowflakes filled her heart

with happiness and gratitude for this wondrous gift from above!

~~~BEFORE~~~

and the song continued as she found gift after gift

~~~AFTER~~~

See?

A beautiful white blanket to hide the very ugly,
but very wonderful,

landscape fabric that keeps my plants very happy all year long!

BEFORE:

a kiss from heaven in the form of a sunshiny tete-a-tete bloom

and now...

AFTER:

lemony goodness and an upside down snow cone:).

~~~BEFORE~~~

And throughout the gardens

the magic of the snow's song continued

making what was beautiful before

into something even more wonderful!

~~~AFTER~~~

And the magical melody still continues,

though darkness has long since fallen,

for we still have snow outside!
~

From the winter wonderland of the PNW,

I bid you peace on earth and blessings from heaven,

Aimee

The WORD on Wednesday: Love III

Master,

which is the great commandment in the law?

-

Jesus said unto him,

Thou shalt love the Lord

-

thy God

-

with

all thy heart,
and with

all thy soul,

and with

all thy mind.

~

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it,

-

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

=

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:36-40 KJV

-

How often I have failed at these two commandments;

how thankful I am for the love, mercy and grace of God even when I fail.

--

Blessings this Wednesday eve,

Aimee

A Look Back at 2010: A Little Bit of Christmas

Now that we are past New Year's Day and Valentine's Day.

it must be time to post some Christmas photos:)

Our yummy smelling Christmas wreath--

I just took it down this week and it still looked good except for a few areas in the back;

yea for our humid winters!

(I know, you thought I would never say that)

-

My best friend always makes my wreaths-

we work together on the design I want each year;

this time I was into a semi-natural look.

Lefse--store bought this time but a necessary part of my smorgasbord!
This year I got my DH to take a teeny tiny bite of the lefse-

I was very happy he at least tried them!

-

We also had pickled herring (love, love),

pickled beets (yum)

and Swedish meatballs (big time yum)!

Mini Christmas stockings--
I bought several different kinds to use as napkin & eating utensil holders

(an idea I got from Bed, Bath & Beyond)...

but that didn't happen due to some circumstances,

so next year?

More food:

Christmas eggs: the 'tree' is a piece of dill--I think I saw that somewhere on the web;

the 'berry' is a piece of dried tomato rolled up. My DH & I liked them very much,

but next year I will use a pastry bag for the filling.

Pressgurka: peeled, scored, thinly sliced cucumber in a mixture of vinegar, sugar, salt. These are always good no matter the season and I have made them for a long, long time.

Pickled beets--store bought but oh so good!

I also bought an assortment of cheeses and goodies,

but we didn't eat them this night because it was so late in the day.

I love cheese from Scandinavia and have a weakness for Danish cookies:)

-

Blessings,

Aimee

Life in the Garden: Early & Late February

One of the reasons I post photos of my garden on here is to keep track of the changes from year to year; it is much easier for me to check garden pictures on here then browse through a zillion photos on my hard drive.

I know that one of these days I am going to delete all the ones I really don't need;
one of these days:)

Since there are so many of them I'm going to keep writing to a minimum--

at least that's the plan.

Here goes--will you join me?

Not the clearest photo,

but I love the color.

This is one of the newest pieris.

This is our (or should I say God's 'forest on a tree' garden).

I love it!

Look at all the kinds of lichen and moss.

Amazing and really beautiful in the morning light,

per my best friend.

who was over here this week helping me.

See--I've already broken my own 'rule' of keeping words to a minimum.

You should meet me---

it is really frightening how much I talk.

Plum buds and another 'forest in a tree' garden.

I hope you notice that I am including a lot of the romantic colors...

after all we are SO close to that special day now.

More plum buds--two of ours are at this stage now.

The Shiro and Satsuma Blood.

Two of our earliest blueberries are looking like this as of late.

They are the earliblues--and I am very partial to them.

Irish Moss and camellia sasanqua petals.

I can't show you the whole path

or it will make me think very bad thoughts about the skunk whose life we spared.

Mister Tap-Toes at Night was NOT a good guest.

(of course we might be wrong--

it might have been a gopher--

but I'm thinking skunk from the shape of the many, many holes

that are all over the Japanese-style garden.

Our viburnum--Spring Bouquet.

These clusters will open to white flowers in spring,

hence the name -- :)

I belive this is one of the evergreen huckleberries--

just like last year it is confused and so are the lingonberries.

I am hoping the confusion is short lived because I really, really want loads of berries from all of these this year.

This was really hard to post---

I'm sure you can see why...

but behind the ugly but very wonderful landscape fabric--

which my plants adore--

are daffodils.

This type is a fancy kind.

Another photo of my beloved evergreen huckleberry--

Pacific NW native and friend to all berry loving Aimees.

Not shown but with buds opening or other changes--

daphne (heavenly smell)

praecox rhodo (I am hoping the flowers will hide all the 'burn' it has from our low temps.

I'm thinking next year we might try to give it some kind of cold/wind protection.

an unidentified plant with white flowers

(and a heavenly smell--not that I know what heaven smells like--but I am thinking really, really wonderful!)

Pussy willows are emerging--yea

and more...

Happy Valentine's Day soon!

Blessings,

AImee

The WORD on Wednesday: Love II

A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another;
as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another.
John 13: 34 KJV

Jesus spoke these words,
just after He took on the role of a servant

and

washed His Disciples dusty feet.

-
All 12 Disciples-
the 11 who would follow Him all their lives

and
the 1 who Jesus knew would betray Him shortly.

-~
…love one another;
as I have loved you--

-
Perfect,
selfless,
patient,
never-ending,
I Corinthians 13
type of love.
AGAPE
love.

-

Lord,

help me to love others the way You love them.

Amen.

~~

Blessings,

Aimee　

~

Photo: nandina in winter