For My Mother With Love

On the day before Mother's Day~

 

 

 

  

 

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her...
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:28,30 KJV
 

 

Remembering you with love this Mother's Day & everyday,

Aimee

 

Morning Garden

A knock on the door and barking dogs changed my rising time this morning...

a blessing because it got me outside before the heat of the day.

Our pink roses made me smile;

the color pink in the garden always makes me smile:)

In the miniature rose garden colorful roses of white, orange and more

also made today all the more blessed.

An extra treat was finding the Lady's Mantle rimmed with dew..

in the light it looked like tiny ice crystals--

so BEAUTIFUL!

(I rewarded that garden by a morning watering)

An early Mother's Day gift from my DDIL and family

found a new home on top of a lacy tablecloth on our east deck.

I feel the call to have tea out there now...

Two familiar birds greeted me and the morning light with their melodies of perfection...

so wish I knew what the lyrics to their song were.

And now, time to get back to my tasks...

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

simplicity rose

lady's mantle

miniature rose

(to be transplanted into the main mini rose garden later)

one of our morning visitors on the bridge near one of the evergreen huckleberries

(anyone know what kind of bird this is?)

rhododendron--possibly a white catawa

 

The WORD on Wednesday: Time

So teach us to number our days,

 that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom...

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:

and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us;

  yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.


My prayer today should be my prayer everyday.  

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Notes:

Scripture from Psalm 90:12, 17 KJV

 

Early May Garden

Seems like spring is acting much more like summer these days!

Temps in the 80's,

clear blue skies,

windows open to let in a breeze,

weeds growing--well, like weeds,

 capri's, shorts, sandals, tee shirts in place of jeans and sweats,

and in our garden...

one of my favorite rhodies is starting to bloom.

Since I got it from my second dad,

a former nurseryman,

its bloom is extra special to me...

Each of my plants has a history and each of them brings back memories of trips to the coast,

my 'second' dad's farm, nurseries here and there, and more.

OK, before I get a little mushy here...

In the back yard, on the arbor, the kiwi is getting ready to bloom too...

last year's harvest was abundantly amazing!

I'm hoping this year's will be the same because then we have plenty to giveaway again.   

Also in the back, our blackberries

(marion and waldoberries)

are filled with blossoms.

I am thinking smoothies,

made with yogurt and homegrown fruit,

for this summer. 

I have some other ideas for our fruit too...

do you have any favorite recipes?

Hope you aren't tired of columbine photos yet,

because every spring I find more...

Another thing I am finding more of this year is birds...

every day they sing me sweet melodies

and today,

two hummingbirds were flying up on our north deck!

In case you didn't know,

I am a BIG fan of birds and I am really fond of hummingbirds.

By the way,

Farmer Boy tells me that 'our' hummingbirds are very fond of the blueberries

 that are blooming right now:)

And the BIGGEST news...

we now have roses!

Actually from the look of things,

we have had them for awhile now...

 

We also have Irises,

a beautiful show of dogwood bracts,

several azaleas with more to come...

and daffodils

(yes, you 'heard' me correctly). 

What's growing in your garden these days?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

Springtime in the Coast Range

Tell me we're going on a drive in the mountains and

 I can be ready to go in about 15 minutes or so no matter the season.

I LOVE them that much!

But one of my most favorite seasons to be in the mountains is springtime--

because of the waterfalls, fresh green of the foliage and, well, so much more!

One of the waterfalls we passed...

can I just say my love of waterfalls and desire to get a nice photo of them

vastly overcomes ANY fear of coming in contact with poison oak.

So far I've been lucky:)

By the way,

this is a great time of the year to see waterfalls

and I have some more travel plans in mind:)

After a rather scary scramble downhill, we arrived on the bank of a river...

it was beautiful down there!

The lake we saw a bit earlier was really pretty too--  

I LOVE to explore new areas on any of the trips we take...

but when my hubby turned left way before we were supposed to,

my heart got a mini 'workout'...

fortunately he had no intention of going too far on that particular road:)

Up on one of the 'viewpoints' we hiked too...

I would love to know the name of this particular flowering bush...

although this photo doesn't quite do it justice:(

One complaint here...

why, just because it's public land,

do people think they have the right to do anything they feel like?

It doesn't take long to pick up your litter and those coming after sure appreciate not finding trash while they take in all the beauty up there!

BTW, please feel free to insert your own deep sad sigh and irritated growl here

as I do everytime I see this.

On the road again...SO much green!

 And with that I will bid you adieu for today as

I have a somewhat shorter journey to make today...

it's time to check my laundry drying outside and hope I see another hummingbird:)

 

Wishing you peace and love...

Blessings,

Aimee

 

A Different Kind of Exercise...

I haven't been getting enough exercise lately

(lately being the last few years)...

In fact, I've been way too deficient about getting

the ole heart a pumpin' up in that target range...

So today I decided to do something about that...

and, of course, I talked my dear ole' Farmer Boy into doing it with me

(because that's just the kind of thoughtful person I am).

~

What I had in mind was to do a bit of climbing...

that would work, don't you think?

OK, OK our car did most almost all of the climbing,

but believe me,

 on some of the roads we drove today,

my heart did a WHOLE lot of pumping.

 You see there's nothing like meeting NON compact type vehicles

on one lane roads, located on the side of mountains,

 where there are no pullouts when you need them

(we did avoid meeting any logging trucks though).

And then there was that little drive on

a certain narrow, graveled, somewhat twisty, really gnarly forest road

that went UP

and UP;

was NEXT to at least one horrific drop off

with a beautiful

views of waterfalls and other things,

 but (gasp) no guardrails and

few places to get turned around to really give this heart a workout

(let's just say Aimee got OUT of the car while her sweet cliff loving hubby

got the car turned around)...

Aimee handles drop offs and cliffs MUCH better on foot than in vehicles.

 

Yep,

little Aimee's heart got quite the workout...

 

By the way, we saw snow...

laying on the side of the road, in a pile, in shade snow...

but REAL SNOW

(and shockingly we weren't in the Cascade Mountain range when we saw it),

Oh...I should say there were a few other things that got my heart a pumpin'...

like the gunshots we heard really, really close by

(gulp),

clambering down a steep slope to the river...

(yep, it looked pretty funny I'm sure but I did make it)...

you know the little things that make a d Saturday drive 

not just a drive but an adventure:)

Have I said how much I LOVE the PNW in springtime?

Have I said, that even with the handful of heart stopping moments

Aimee LOVED her Saturday adventure...

well except for that one gnarly forest service road:)

 

What are you doing for 'exercise' these days?

Blessings,

Aimee

 

PS: Don't you think cute, white dog needs a new leash?

Something a little (lot) less ratty?

(blush)

It was strong enough to prevent not afraid of water cute, white dog from being

carried away by the swift river current today

(thank God),

but still I think she is quite embarrassed about it.

 

Photos:

Oregon's Coast Range (highest point on drive/walk approx. 3,000 ft)

 

 

April Showers?

No April showers here,

but lots of April

--almost May--

flowers

(and foliage too).

 

 

Daily I have been hanging out laundry to dry and enjoying the sound and sight of birds

and toads...

Yesterday I brought out the remainder of our adirondack chairs and placed them by the wildflower garden, the lower pond and bamboo grove...

and I placed a lace tablecloth (vinyl) on one of our patio tables--

inspired by the beautiful settings of Patty on her blog

(see below for her blog url...she has some amazing photos on today's post BTW)! 

 

 

My best friend and I transplanted Japanese irises earlier this week

(because we had no other choice NOT because it is the correct time of the year to do so),

planted a new red azalea my dear SIL bought me last year

(have I said in the last few minutes how incredibly blessed I am to have SO

many great brother and sister-in-laws?)  and other new plants.

 

 

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done outside--

mostly because our weeds and bamboo are thriving as much as all the flowers:(

I definitely need to remind myself to breathe and take one thing at a time...

and maybe take a little time out by the pond. 
 

 

Well it's time to eat and get busy before I waste more time online

and miss out on all the beauty outside!

 

 

Wishing you a peaceful weekend...

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos, links, notes:

Cinnamon fern

(LOVE these--want more!)

Strawberries

Columbine

(thinking of you mom)

Water lily

(hardy type, flowers soon.

Also parrots feather and another water plant)

Armeria Maritima 'Rubrifolia'

(love, love, love)

 

Favorite Links today:

http://morningramble.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-simple-life.html

(for Patty's amazing photos today)

 

Sunshine in the Garden

What a difference a sunny day makes...

residents of the Pacific NW rush to their local garden nursery

and

families play at nearby parks.

And at Aimee's place...

koi eagerly swim towards yours truly

(thinking she has come bearing a gift of food),

light shines through ready to eat lettuce leaves,

new fern fronds uncurl,

and a new plant settles in happily with its neighbors.

 

What an amazing day today was--

in our travels we saw a snow covered Mt Hood,

bought some new plants for the pond garden,

discussed all the work needing to be done this growing season,

discovered the irises and some of the minature roses have developed buds

and are not far from opening,

ate yummy Japanese food

(always a favorite with me)

and just enjoyed the beauty of the day.

And...

I hear we have a few more just like this one coming:)

 

How was your day?

Blessings,

Aimee

Rainy Day Thoughts

Outside it's stormy--

Raindrops are falling from the heavens above.

Leaves, branches and newly opened blossoms are swaying in the wind.

Yesterday's sunshine has been replaced by gray, overcast skies.

And yet, even today, there are a few moments of light...

as the gray clouds part momentarily and sunbeams light up the landscape. 

Such has this week been.

More frequently now we hear news from all over the world which

cause our hearts to grieve...

storms hitting our land and those far away.

Lives cut short,

life journeys changed forever,

 dreams brought to an abrupt end.

And these news 'clouds' of sadness and pain

increasingly bring darkness to the moments of our days.

It is not how things were meant to be from the beginning;

it is not how most of us want them to be as we live out our lives on this earth.

So many blessings we've all been given.

So fragile some of them are.

 

Blessings from our household to yours this Friday,

Aimee

 

 

Lord,

I ask You today to

 bring comfort and healing to those who have lost so very much this week;

not just those in Boston and Texas,

but to all those in our nation and worldwide

 who have suffered pain of unspeakable depth in recent times.

Grant them true peace Father God,

and may they again know joy and love in the years to come.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

 

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galations 6:2 KJV

~

Photos:

Cherry blossoms

 (thinking of you today M.)

Lilac

Apple tree blossom "Liberty"

Azalea "Ria Hardijzer"

Flowering crabapple tree "Prairifire"

Canadian Geese flying to their summer homes

Flowering dogwood "Cherokee Chief"

 

The WORD on Wednesday: Springtime, Gardens + More

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,

and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land....

Song of Songs 2:11-12 KJV

~

As I write this today a blue sky is overhead

and  sunlight will soon stream through the family room windows.


 

Outside our entire yard looks like it is in bloom--

indeed the whole countryside is beautiful!
 

 

Our resident toads have appeared again, jumping into the pond at the most inopportune times,

always surprising whomever happens to be walking by:)
 

~

~

~

 

The mixed lettuce seedlings I planted just over a month ago are pretty well

ready to eat now and

one of our strawberry plants even has a blossom bud just about ready to appear!

 Rhodos, azaleas, camellia, columbine, bleeding hearts and more delight my eyes daily...

putting a smile on my lips.

 

 I am SO incredibly grateful for this beautiful season of spring;

 I wish it would last forever!

 

My favorite season is early fall but a close second is spring--

especially a spring that brings us many days of sunny (or partly sunny) skies.

What is your favorite season and why?

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Taken at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm--

unsure of name of this plant but it is beautiful and did you notice...it's pink:)

Bleeding heart 'spring magic'

Brunnera Macrophylla 'Jack Frost'

(our forget-me-not plants are blooming too)

Camellia Japonica 'kumasaka' -- I think:)

Bleeding Heart 'alba'--

I absolutely LOVE both of my bleeding hearts!

Blueberry 'Earliblue'

Lettuce--looseleaf mixed varieties

(some of these photos were taken about 2 weeks ago, this being one.

The lettuce is much bigger now)

 

Container (wine barrel) Planting:

Even though we have a regular space for growing veggies and such,

we haven't used it for years--mostly because I HATE snakes and because it is more difficult to maintain. Instead I grow many things in wine barrel halves on and near our decks.

Among the things I have grown are:

culinary lavender, strawberries, herbs, raspberries, small veggies...

 

If you are interested in how I do it see this link:

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2009/05/container-barrel-gardening.html

 

Since I planted ours back in 2009,

I've come to the conclusion that the wine barrel halves work very well for our needs

and I am actually thinking of buying more in the future just because I like them so much

and they are readily available here.

I should say that I have made one change since we first planted these about 4 years ago...

and that was to place supports under the three wine barrels that were on our back deck.

This was to allow the wood of the deck to be able to fully dry out underneath the barrels.

We used some leftover pressure treated wood blocks under the barrel to elevate ours;

but there are other options available.  

 Of course it goes without saying that the barrels must be completely stable however you choose to elevate them and that wherever you locate them, other than the ground, must be able to support their filled weight. Be safe:)