Of PNW Olive Oil

Today was such an incredibly warm and sunny spring day in the PNW that it brought back good memories of all of the PNW farms I have visited in the last few years! Yes, as I sat on the back deck soaking in the sun and drinking a nice herbal ice tea, I couldn't help but think of how the NW is at its loveliest under blue skies and how fortunate we were to have a real spring after last's year wet, cold, gloom.

And then I woke up...

realized I was freezing; that it was a yucky gray outside, and pouring down rain, and that we were just experiencing a normal/abnormal spring day in the NW. However, and I am holding onto this little bit of hope, as I sit here with a blanket tucked around me, we have had and will have REAL spring days again...this year...maybe:(

Well at least we WILL have summer this year--

after July 4th, of course (it is a PNW joke)--

but actually our summers are really nice once they arrive:)

Alas summer has not arrived yet

and spring is playing games with us so what's a sun starved, cold PNW girl to do?

Make a summer post -- of course! And I just happen to have one:) I particularly dedicate it to all of my fellow winter in spring sufferers--have faith guys! ==

Nothing spells summer like farms...so this post will be at one of course...

do you recall me saying how very excited I was when I found out that one could grow kiwi in the PNW---and then years after we planted some I got to visit a REAL kiwi farm???

Well can you imagine my surprise when I learned that one can also grow OLIVES in the PNW? And that there was actually a nursery that was doing it AND pressing their own olive oil? It's true and I have some of their oil in my pantry to prove it:)

All the photos you've seen in this post were taken at that nursery and it really is a most amazing place! It is located in the hills SW of Portland, overlooking the Willamette Valley in one direction and the rolling hills and vineyards of that area in the other. It is beautiful in the summer and the colors in the autumn are gorgeous (I was fortunate to be able to visit there several times)! They sell and their gardens are filled with herbs, flowers, lavender (yes, I know that is an herb--but I LOVE that herb so think it is worthy of a seperate mention) and olives! Their gardener is awesome and has a flair for great design BTW and you can picnic there overlooking those beautiful hills and gardens (they have some cheese and other food for sale there). They also have a gift shop selling dried lavender and a lot more--oh and they sell plants of course:)

The website for Red Ridge Nursery is here;

I hope to get back there at least one or two times myself this year!

Blessings, Aimee

-

Usual disclaimer: I am in no way associated with this business nor are they with this blog or me, but as usual I love to post places where I have had a memorable time and think that others would too! I sincerely thank the wonderful owner of Red Ridge who happened to be there when we visited the nursery and kindly gave me permission to share some photos with you all!

Spring Serenade

Did you hear it today?

Did you hear the sound of God's spring serenade?

It's the sound of children playing in fountains!

It's the joyful sound of water!

It's the sound of awakening spring blossoms!

It's the sound of couples strolling hand in hand.

It's the sound of light;

it's the sound of life!

And today on our trip, I heard it!

-

Did you?

~

Blessings, Aimee

-

Photos: taken spring 2011 on a trip in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

The WORD on Wednesdays

Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee: Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever. Psalms 118:28-29 KJV

Blessings this Wednesday eve, Aimee

Photo: beautiful, sunny Utah

Sometimes You Just Need A Refuge

And if any wildlife or birds are reading this and looking for one...I would heartily recommend William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge in the Willamette Valley :) I heartily suggest it to any humans needing a place to get away and enjoy nature for several hours or more too! And it just so happened that since the refuge isn't too far from the Land of Linn, we continued our anniversary trip among the woodlands, wetlands, hills and historical buildings there.

I'm thinking this is what heaven must look like--or at least part of heaven:) If only the cloud cover was just a little bit thinner that day...sigh. And to think there were once people that did live here--it's nice that we all can enjoy it now!

A little visitor I found while checking out some of the historical places in the refuge. Can you see him? I think of Alice when I see rabbits...and wonderland...and carrots. The big house in the back and to the left of our little friend is the Cabell Lodge, built (approximately) 1912.

Love, love, love carriage houses---love, love, love windows like this with many panes. Ahhh:) This carriage house was built in 1933.

The front of the Fiechter house (1857). I could live here--well actually I can't because it is owned by the government...but I am happy with that because it means these buildings will be preserved!! BTW---the beautiful, big, red barn above---the one where the blog title is...that is across the road a bit from this house. LOVE that barn, love all old barns--this is the Fiechter Barn (early 20th century).

This refuge has so many types of habitat and topography. And did I say you can drive through it? SO nice! The refuge has trails too but during the winter months some areas are off limits because the dusky geese need to rest before they return home to Alaska!

My sibling would love this moss. I know I do!

Ahhh. Peaceful. Serene. Quiet. Beautiful.

A perfect ending to our anniversary trip; a perfect gift from Farmer Boy to his bride:)

Wonder where my path will lead me next? Wonder where your path will lead you?

Blessings, Aimee

Photos taken late winter 2011. Link to the refuge and also source for information on the historical buildings: http://www.fws.gov/willamettevalley/finley/index.html

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