Memorial Day -- May 30 (Traditional)

In honor of those who have given their all in service to this nation. May the government and people of this country they died for never forget these men & women. May we also remember the sacrifices of their families too.

Blessings, Aimee

Links: Memorial Day info--history of observance, etc (wikipedia); Another site with a lot of information (usmemorialday.org)

Note: Apologies to any readers for the lateness of this post. I was not feeling too well this weekend and so didn't post then; however I have chosen to backdate this short tribute to the traditional observance of Memorial Day. Soon I will be posting a more personal memorial to one American citizen who gave his all to protect the USA in World War II.

Container (Barrel) Gardening

This year I decided to go with container gardens for growing some of our 'food' crop in. With certain health issues I'm facing and the fact that we don't own a tiller, it was just easier for me to handle and still have some of the fun of growing fresh herbs, raspberries, strawberries and a few veggies to enjoy without so much work! Also there are just two of us now--not counting our drop in children and other family!!

I had done some container gardening before but it had been a long time since I had used wine barrel halves and I wanted to experiment a bit too with some plants. So far I am pleased with the results but the experiment won't end till the harvest is in!
First step: I purchased 3 authentic wine barrels from France. OK, actually I got them locally but originally they were from France -- it says so right on the bottom:) Second step: my wonderful, sweet and very patient hubby drilled 5 holes in the bottom of the barrels with some help from his 'lovely' assistant--me. These, as I am sure you have guessed, are for drainage. No one wants floating plants...well unless you are going with an aquatic garden which some people use these barrels for. But we have the ponds for that ...

Third step: at that same wonderful, sweet and very long suffering hubby's suggestion, I used some gutter (?) screening to cover the hole instead of the window screening suggested by one site. It did the job and was easier then cutting a big circle of the fiberglass window screening I had bought; besides we need to replace the screen on a sliding patio door (sorry no photo as I had both hands busy)Fourth step: together we filled the barrels with planting mix; it took about 3 cubic feet for each one. I so love the feel and the smell of planting mix!!! And there are no weeds in it, it is formulated just perfectly for this type of gardening and --- it is just so earthy and nice. BTW--we did not feel the barrels all the way to the top; the soil line is several inches from the top.

Barrel before we added more soil.

Fifth step: planted the veggies, fruit and herbs. Watered the plants and-of course-too photos of our new baby garden:)

'Bright Lights' Swiss Chard & 'Red Fire' Leaf Lettuce.

This year's garden list (in addition to our fruit trees, grapes, kiwi, blueberries, gooseberries, Waldo & Marionberries, rhubarb, lingonberries & evergreen huckleberries):

Herbs: Sweet basil, lemon thyme, cilantro, variegated sage, lemon balm, Greek oregano, sweet marjoram, rosemary 'Severn Sea' and pineapple sage. Note: some of these like a drier environment and I will have to move them in awhile but had to clean some smaller pots first. I also have some other herbs in a smaller container that still need transplanting to a bigger container (will try to post a photo later; need to make some alterations to this barrel garden)

Raspberries: 'Anne' -- a yellow fall bearing raspberry. Yum, love raspberries. This will be tied to a trellis--maybe a bamboo one. I love bamboo too!

Veggies: 'Bright Lights' Swiss chard (1), 'Red Fire' leaf lettuce (6). I may also try baby carrots---am into the whole baby thing right now. BTW---I SO wish I'd taken a photo of the roots of the Bright Lights Swiss chard. They were beautiful--not brown but multicolored like the top of the plant!

Strawberries: still awaiting a permanent home are three strawberry plants. 'Albion', 'Totem' and ???? Right now they are decorating my outdoor table and front porch.

Tomato: a small yellow one (in a 14 inch deep pot right now not a barrel; used a tomato cage to contain the plant so it wouldn't sprawl) (no photo yet)

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Still to buy: lavender (probably 'Munstead') and mints (would like Orange mint, a GOOD peppermint--I have only found one and may transplant some of that) and maybe 'Hillary's Sweet Lemon Mint'--if I can find it). All of these will go into containers -- although we let our mints spread in the garden--I want some on the deck just to nuzzle up to. Yea, I love my mints that much:). I will probably buy a few more herbs too--would love to try chervil and maybe dill. We will see---my hubby says no more wine barrels on the deck; this despite the fact that he builds everything to surpass building codes! I am thinking the area near the deck will do nicely for two or three more barrels.

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Notes:

• As I have read in a few places, and as common sense would dictate, please make sure your deck or balcony can support the weight of a filled barrel (or barrels) without causing damage. These things, as my toe sadly found out, are heavy-heavy-heavy...and that was an empty barrel. Ouch. I checked with my hubby to make sure they would be fine on our deck.
• If you are going to move the container later make sure you allow for that; ours are meant to stay where they are so no caddy or casters on them.
• Make sure your container plants will coexist nicely--in terms of sun exposure, soil, water needs, possible diseases, etc. Some of my herbs will have to be moved in time and I wouldn't plant my tomatoes with my strawberries.
• The oak of these barrels is thick and hard. Have a good drill and drill bit handy (we used a Makita and a 1 inch drill bit for wood)
• Shop around. I called three different places and saved quite a bit of money by doing that. While you are at it--do the same for planting mix.
• Method should work for many urban and rural gardeners like me. Good for many veggies and other plants; check your root depth (many are less then 12 inches).
• One of the reasons I chose the current location for these barrels was its great location: close proximity to a water source, close to our grill, outdoor table and the home.
• As I have said before --- I am not an expert on any subject, just a fellow garden lover:) Research and draw your own conclusions. Half the fun is in the dreaming and the other half is in making that dream come true!

Resources that might help: 'Sunset Western Garden Book', Sunset Publishing Corporation (I use this reference book frequently); 'The American Horticultural Society Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening: Container Gardening' (for root depth & more), American Horticultural Society (bought this at a Flea Market for a few dollars; well worth the investment) and several links on the web including this one here from AZ. There are plenty more -- just use the term 'barrel gardening' or 'container gardening'. I also checked a good herb book (I used the Ortho 'All About Herbs') and several other books. BTW---thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales are great places to find gardening books for very low cost. That is where some of mine are from:) Please note the above are just suggestions not endorsements; like I said I have many gardening, homesteading type books and there is always the Internet! Oh and your local Extension agent and plant nurseries, farmer friends, etc, etc.

Blessings always,

Aimee

A Walk in His Gardens--Crater Lake

A series of "A Walk in His Gardens" of the Pacific NW would not be complete without the inclusion of our 'walk' this week---Crater Lake, located in southern Oregon not too far from the California/Oregon border.

Imagine a big bowl, filled with the bluest water you've ever seen, set in the gorgeous snow capped Cascade mountains of the NW and you have an idea of what Crater Lake looks like....NOT!

Truly there is no way you can imagine this lake--the clear blue lake (deepest in the USA), the steep caldera sides, the beautiful lodge, Wizard Island and the other places that make this lake unique! Believe me--even the best photos cannot fully depict the view, the feeling, the atmosphere that one finds there in the National Park.

When I was down in the Rogue River Valley a few years back, I had the opportunity to make a day trip to the Upper Rogue, Crater Lake and other places in the area near the park. So to the sounds of Marvin Gaye my traveling companion and I took off....

On the way we passed amazing scenes--one of the Table Top Rocks, the Upper Rogue River and beautiful trees and mountains. Then we entered the Park and soon arrived there on the rim near the old beautiful lodge (I have a deep, abiding love for the old historic lodges of the National Parks)

I was a bit surprised to find snow there, in places,near the lodge and elsewhere; I shouldn't have been as this area gets a large amount of snow each year and as I have discovered it is not unusual for the NW mountains to have snow on the ground in late spring/early summer.

OK, I admit it.

This photo, in addition to it's poorer then I would have liked quality, it is not centered perfectly. There is a good reason why--can you guess it?
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The sides of the crater are very steep here and elsewhere around the caldera -steep and slippery because of ice and snow. I will not show you the photo of my traveling companion standing near the 'Danger Keep Back' sign. No--too scary:) Believe me--I didn't stand there. Fortunately they are very much alive and still enjoy hiking on cliffs and other high places. Good thing they are part mountain goat like my hubby ...

View of the lake from near the lodge. I believe the Rim Drive, which goes around the lake, was closed then.

I think it's closed right now too.

Another view of the lake. Wizard Island is to the left.

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Blessings from my home to yours on this beautiful spring evening,

Aimee

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Links:

Crater Lake--some beautiful photos on this site and information re: the lake (wikipedia)

Crater Lake National Park site: map, photos and more.

Story of a man who found out just how steep and dangerous those caldera sides can be in his search for a cell phone (Oregon online news site)

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Photos (note):

Sorry about the quality of the photos for this 'walk'. These are photos I took several years ago with my old camera and recently scanned onto my external hard drive; I was very excited to find them but they are a bit wanting for quality:)

Photos as described above.

A Walk in His Gardens--Foothills (& Mountains), Forests, Flowers

Shock! It has been more then a month since I posted a Walk in His Gardens bad blog owner that I am...

(sorry)

Well though I've been very neglectful here, I have made trips out in God's gardens (and of course spent a lot of time here at home in our little bit of His gardens). So how about --- forest flowers and such from a recent trip I took with a family member?

I love wildflowers! I'm not 100% sure about the flowers in the first photo, but the pink ones (second photo) are wild bleeding hearts. I have several other photos of them but liked this one the best because of the beautiful foliage. Green is so 'IN' -- in the NW!

In the same general area, midst the ferns and other forest foliage, was a native dogwood tree. You see lots of the 'cultivated' pink and mauve dogwood in towns and cities of the NW, but I am quite partial to our native, white dogwood.

This sight was pretty surprising! I wouldn't worry about our little feline friend though---I'm pretty sure he made it home that night as there were some homes we passed on the way up to this place.

A pretty waterfall on the hillside above the river. Lots of moss and ferns here. It is no wonder I like our native moss and ferns so well.

How can you not like that lush, beautiful green?

Mountains, a meadow and many trees:)

I can almost see my family in a little log cabin here with horses (of course), some little goats and/or sheep and ....my dogs!

Blessings, Aimee

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Photos:

mountain view

wildflowers,ferns, moss & other foliage native to the NW

waterfall

another mountain view

Armed Forces Day

Honoring & praying for those who serve in our nation's Armed Forces.

God bless you this day & always.

Dona nobis pacem.

Blessings, Aimee

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Link: Armed Forces Day (May 16 this year)

For My Mom

"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

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Wishing you blessings this Mother's Day & every day thereafter.

Love always, Aimee

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Photo: White Orchid Azalea (might be a different name)

A Mother's Day Blessing for Military Moms

For you this Mother's Day~

Wishing you strength when you feel weak & tired.

Wishing you courage when you feel afraid & alone.

Wishing you joy when you feel sadness.

Wishing you peace when your heart feels fear.

Wishing you love this day & always.

Blessings, Aimee

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"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Philippians 4:13 KJV

"...my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19 KJV

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

John 14:27 KJV

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Photo: Hotei Rhododendron blossom in sunlight.

Reflections

I walked outside today and saw the reflection of our red Japanese maple in the blue waters of our pond. All of a sudden the question came to me, as I was rather awestruck by the lovely, tranquil view I had just seen...am I a clear reflection of God's love to those who see me?

Blessings, Aimee

"Ye are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:14, 16 KJV

"As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." Proverbs 27:19 KJV

Photo: Red Laceleaf Japanese Maple

Happy Birthday!!!

I remember the day you and I first met -- it was a warm and sunny one.

My daughter, her kids and I had to travel a long ways to get you and we met in the parking lot of a shopping center.

You ran straight for me and from that moment my heart was intertwined with yours!

It was as if God had picked you out for me; you were SO very perfect in every way

(and I believe He did as I really prayed that we find the right dog for our home).

We drove home that day with you on my lap---you were (and still are) so cute and so very soft. I was caught up forever in 'puppy love'.

But we were not prepared yet at home so we had some shopping to do first.

The first store couldn't let me bring you in,

but the second not only let you come in but stayed open past closing so we could get everything you would need

(they have had our loyalty ever since because of that).

The days and months passed and my hubby fell hard under your 'puppy love' 'spell' too ....in fact we added to our puppy family a bit later, all because of you!

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It has been some years now and you've been with us through them all. The hot summer days when you swam with your human dad in our pond, cold winter days when you and I would have fun out in the frozen landscape while others clung to their fires and heat inside and all the times in between! You've made some trips with us, helped dad with his cyber surfing and guarded us well without complaint. You always give us a warm welcome when we get home--especially your dad who you are totally crazy about.

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Thank you for coming into my life and making it so much the sweeter and most of all--thank you God for this little creation of Yours. I am forever grateful!

Happy Birthday my puppy and...may we have many more years together!

Blessings, Aimee

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Photos:

Puppy time (a treat, Hey dad!)

Checking out my new siblings

Cyber dog (yes, he really did have it in his own head to get up there))

In the wintertime (2 different years)

I Remember Lord

In a few days I will again celebrate the anniversary of God granting me one of the true desires of my heart. On that day I will take time to remember His loving kindness and grace to me--as I do quite often these days.

Two years ago, I was employed at a job that was challenging, rewarding and fun (at times) but also very stressful. Over time it became apparent that the challenges, rewards, money and benefits of this job were outweighed by the very real and negative affect the stress was having on me--emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. Also, the true desire of my heart was to be a full-time homemaker again even though all my children were grown and had moved away from home by this time.

Yet, despite the increasing negative affects and obvious conflict between the desire of my heart to return home, and what I was actually doing, I could not bring myself to leave for two main reasons: the first was the security my job provided me (and us) in terms of wages and benefits; if something unforeseen happened (God forbid) to my husband, we or I could live on my wages--not something one can do everywhere these days (we already knew that we could survive easily on my husband's income alone ). Also, it was a job that I was well suited for, could physically do until retirement age and if I did leave, there was a big chance I could not return there to work.

Secondly, my husband was not in agreement about this. Sometimes he would say it was OK to quit and at other times he’d say it wasn’t a good idea because of the benefits I had there. So time passed, the stress increased, things changed--negatively--in some ways at work and my heart’s desire to be home grew as I continued to pray.

After some time had passed--I realized the first reason -- security -- had more to do with fear and a lack of trust in God to provide for me should the unforeseen happen. Did I truly believe HE would take care of me or was I placing my trust instead in a job and mankind? Hum, the answer was obvious here--God had a perfect track record of keeping His promises; man did not. Still I had to come to the place where I took my trust and placed it in HIM instead of looking at the world to meet my needs for future security (this doesn’t mean I am not advocating being a good steward of the money you've been given. It is wise, and I believe Biblically mandated, to stay as debt free as possible and to save for the future--we do both of these things).When I truly realized what the real issue was and the answer to the fear that was holding me there -- the first reason against leaving my job left and I had peace about it. But there was still reason #2...

At some point, my husband changed his mind about this matter and he agreed with me that it was OK for me to quit my job AND become a full-time homemaker again (I wanted us to be in full agreement on this important, family affecting decision as I feel this is right in God’s sight to do this when you are married). Both reasons against leaving were now gone

Then a few events happened at work and it became clear it was definitely the time to leave there so I turned in my 2-week notice and the burden I had been carrying lifted from my shoulders. On the day I left--almost two years ago now--I walked out that door and walked into the freedom God had given me!!! To this day I don't regret it and my gratitude to God for answered prayer is immeasureable :)

Thank you Abba Father for showing me, Your child, grace and mercy though I've sometimes doubted and not trusted You. Thank you God for answered prayer and for this precious gift of my heart’s true desire. Forgive me Lord for the times since then that I’ve wasted or misused what You’ve given me and help me to treat it always as the true treasure I know it is.

Blessings always,
Aimee

"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass."

Psalms 37:4, 5 KJV
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Note:
This post was not meant to make women employed outside the home feel bad about their decision to work. For some women I realize this is necessary to meet family needs or there are other important factors to work--I’ve known women where this is definitely the case. Please understand that I do not walk in your shoes and am not judging you or saying that working is sinful or wrong for you to do; this is between you, your family and God only not me. Since my children were born I’ve -- at times--been a full time homemaker (especially when the kids were young), worked part time at jobs that had little impact on time spent with family (like at their private, Christian school and babysitting), returned to college when they were older and also worked at jobs that did have an impact on our home life.

Looking back--I would say that it is important to weigh this choice carefully--determine whether you are truly working for needs or just wants (can you honestly live on one income only -- if you are married; are you living beyond your means?). I urge you to consider the affect this has on you and your family.(in ours there were some very real negative affects --family wise and for me healthwise). Consider whether there night be another way to meet the financial strain your family may be under.

If you are torn between home and work or have the desire to be home full time with your family, as I did, I would encourage you to pray about it and make it a matter of family discussion--sometimes the answer is choosing work that can be done at home or when your kids are at school; sometimes it's a matter of looking at your priorities and sometimes--as in my case--it’s a matter of trust.

Into the Shade

Most of my favorite walks have been in the forests and woodlands of the NW. When we were looking at re-doing the pond gardens this year, I wanted to include a small area which would remind me of these beautiful and very peaceful walks---a shady, cool place to retreat to on a hot summer day; a special place to relax in within the larger garden scheme.

Now, even though this area is not completely done yet, I like it so well that we're working on enlarging it already (in case you don't know a garden is never really done but evolves and changes as time goes on)

So are you ready to go into the shade and see some of the plant treasures hidden within the shadows there?

This is a brunnera, Jack Frost, and as you can see from this close-up the leaves are dramatic--beautifully shaped and colored...but that isn't all. The plant also has small blue flowers that remind one of forget-me-nots. Between the variegated leaves and tiny flowers it really stands out in the relative darkness of the shade garden.

A given in shady areas of the NW are ferns and our garden is no exception. In fact we have about 5 there so far and will never have a need to buy more. Why you ask? Well in the NW, or at least on our land, we have ample supplies of 'freebie' ferns growing in shady (and some sunnier) locations--under decks, behind buildings and in even more surprising areas! By 'freebie' I mean ones which we never planted.

The photo above is one of our larger ferns--and may have been given to me by my sibling who likes them as much as I . Don't you just love the new tendrils? The brown against the green is a gorgeous combination; unfortunately this photo doesn't give it justice:(

Another plant commonly found in the shade here (a NW native like the fern) is the trillium (see photo above; it's the little one near the hosta)). Although ours is a teeny tiny bitty plant now it will get much bigger in time. I really like to use plants native to our area---first because they are incredibly beautiful and second because they generally need lower maintenance in terms of water, light and other requirements, etc.

You've already seen our new bleeding heart. I can report she is now happily planted and doing well. I will miss her beautiful white heart-shaped blossoms very much when they are gone soon--they're something I am quite fond of (there's a good photo of the blossoms on the right side of this screen)!

Next to the bleeding heart is a hosta which has no blooms --yet. Hum, there is an odd looking area on the photo--I will have to check more closely tomorrow and make sure no slugs or snails (the bane of the NW) are dining on my hosta. Bad slugs! Later this summer the hosta will have blossoms too so she may have a 'repeat performance' here then :)

Several more shade or partial shade lovers ... an astilbe (an amethyst--will post when it's in bloom), some Mt Hood daffodils (some of my favorites; I bought even more this year), three more rhododendrons (Pioneer Silvery Pink--pic to right of screen, Hotei -- this will have yellow blossoms soon and then a photo here, a Ria Hardijzer--picture to right of screen too) and more...

Trees in our shaded - partially shaded garden include, but are not limited to, two types of Japanese Maples (I love my maples; they're beautiful year round but especially in the spring and autumn), a Viburnum (Spring Bouquet--photo of bloom on right side of screen) and a privet. Some of the main ground cover we're using in the shade are: Irish moss (for the emerald green lovin' Celt in me!), creeping phlox (scarlet flame) and native (as in born on our land) NW moss -- something we cherish and treat with all the love it deserves :) These I'll all post photos of at a later date as they're planted.

This is a flowering crabapple tree--it's located very close to the shade garden so I'm including it here. It's a Prarifire and everyone seems to really love it--I definitely do:) Today we planted it and now need to choose some plants and possibly a small bamboo fence to surround it.

Well that's it for now--hope you enjoyed your walk in the shade. I'd love to know what plants you use in your shady gardens! Have a blessed week.

Blessings, Aimee

Photos:

• Brunnera 'Jack Frost"
• Fern
• Part of the shade garden-plants: Bleeding heart, hosta, fern, trillium, Pioneer Silvery Pink rhododendron and more:)
• Hosta, bleeding heart 'Alba', native NW fern
• Japanese Maple (acer palmatum)
• Crabapple (malus) 'Prarifire'

Note: If you are from the NW another native, shade to partial shade loving plant I have grown is salal. This is an evergreen plant with beautiful green leaves florists use in arrangements, flowers and berries. It is really a nice plant and will spread in time.

The Promise of Things to Come

Our beautiful spring continues---many fruit trees are full of blossoms still, but some now have the start of what will be juicy fruit in just a few months. It's fun to walk among these trees in our small orchard, checking them over for every little change that mark this season. It was even funner tonight to do it with my hubby who grew up on a small farm who pointed out the 'baby' fruit already evident in what is left of many blossoms.

In our transitional garden, where my love for edible landscaping is most evident, the rhubarb continues to grow larger and lingonberries, an evergreen huckleberry & our four blueberries all have many blossoms.

Soon, we will be enjoying the bounty God has blessed us with this year;

already we are enjoying the beauty He's filled our land with.

As you enjoy the bounty at your table,

remember to give Him thanks

for

He truly is a GOOD God!

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"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day."

Genesis 1:11-13 KJV

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Blessings,

Aimee

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Photos:

apple tree blossoms

baby fruit on plum tree

rhubarb (taken about 2 weeks or so ago)

A Vision in White

Maybe I've been spending too much time looking at the ground or gazing straight ahead of me. Or maybe I've just been looking in the wrong place in search of my beloved white lilac blossoms.

You know it was just a few days ago when I was in search of their seemingly elusive flowers that I saw this...

and today, when I was standing on a raised area,

this was the view in front of me.

Come to think about it, maybe it's none of those things.

Maybe it's just that spring is here and everything seems to be in bloom.

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Blessings, Aimee

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Photo: White lilac bush--a few days ago & now.

Homesteading Dreams

Wrote this awhile back

OK--I know that I should be a responsible adult and go to bed but I have one more topic on my mind and that is homesteading. Many, many, many years ago I took a series of classes on homesteading that was taught by a family that had actually done it. It was fascinating and the dream to do this has never gone away...though the books I purchased from them seem to have disappeared (deep sigh).

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But though their books seem to have walked away for awhile, I have many, many other books that I've collected over the years on subjects such as organic gardening, fruit, vegetables, herbs, raising chickens, homesteading, building log cabins and much more. And the dream I've had for so many years still lives on.

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We will see where this leads ...but I am learning to be very content where God has placed me NOW and use this land to it's fullest to bless us and others. And now I bid you all a good night:)


Blessings, Aimee

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Photo: rural NW barn

And a sweet sighting in the making!

This weekend I saw--

• two snakes (there were two more near me that I didn't see)
• two frogs in the pond
• two Canadian geese flying right over us
• one koi 'flashing" (leaping way out of the water)

and--this is a biggie for me...

blueberry blossoms!

These blossoms mean that, God willing, I'll be feasting on beautiful, juicy, sweet blueberries in only 2-3 months from now! YUM!

I so LOVE gardening:)

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Note: we have several different types of blueberries--this is probably our Earliblue which is the first blueberry we have to ripen. Because I can never get enough blueberries (and I'm not alone in this), I'm thinking of adding another blueberry plant this year. I am told Ivanhoe might be a good choice as I like my berries a bit on the tart side -- I'm always beating the birds to ours:) I might also consider one of the latter blueberry type and maybe several of the 'dwarf' type berries--depends on whether I can find room for them.

Besides the wiki link above which has a lot of info and links of its own here is a website I just found tonight. It is sponsored by several of the NW universities (ID-OR-WA) & the USDA-ARS. Looks good and it has info on some other fruit crops grown in the NW including some more of my favorites!

Blessings, aimee

A good sighting

My hubby has an uncanny and sometimes unnerving ability to be able to sight animals and things which, try as I might, I cannot see --- even if he points them out to me.

One of the things I actually saw--on my own--today was this guy (actually he had a friend close by too)-

Now isn't that TOO neat?

And the really sweet thing about it was that not only did I see them, but they even stayed posed while I ran into the house to get my camera, walked back to the pond and while I shot several photos of them for you all!

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Blessings,

Aimee

A Quiet Weekend Morning

One morning I was in the shower;
relaxed as I stood under a warm stream of water there

When all of a sudden there appeared,

seemingly out of nowhere,
a strange shadow --

right on the shower wall.

It had long ears-
two of them

and

a very strange shape.

And then the shower curtain moved,

just ever so slightly

and

something...

I’m still not sure what to call ‘it’,

peeked past the curtain there.

'It' had a face only a mother,

or

a wife of almost 30 years...
could and does most definitely love so VERY, VERY much

(and always will)!

Yep, that would be my hubby playing a joke on me again!

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And because I know him so very well--

I could only do ONE thing

and that was to break up laughing---

and he, who knows me SO very well

knew that I would.

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Bless you my darling for filling my life with laughter!

aimee

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Note & disclosure:

These photos were actually taken in our reenactment of this morning's real life adventure--

I know that I shoot tons of photos, and take my camera almost everywhere,

but the shower isn't one of them!

Oh and seeking full disclosure here-

in the real life adventure I never saw the ear shadow coming!

I sincerely hope no one is offended by our little 'adventure'-

believe me

NO offense is meant or intended at all :)

--

Blessings,

aimee

-

"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."

Proverbs 15:13 KJV

A Moment in His Presence

A beautiful evening here--from my window I see some flowers and trees. So nice to look at and always a reminder of the goodness of God!

The Japanese-style garden is moving closer to being finished---well 'finished' being a relative term. LOL! Nevertheless, we are closer to being done then we were last week...

Today I was listening to my usual Christian reflective music and heard a song that made me cry. It wasn't a cry from sorrow or pain, but one emanating from a feeling of total humility and awe when faced with the perfect love, grace and mercy that God shows His imperfect children. And although I was sitting on the sofa at the time, my spirit was on the floor bowing before the only King---God. Truly He is an amazing God and Father to us!!

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God..."
I John 3:1 KJV

Some of my favorite songs/artists which remind me of God's mercy, grace & love--
"Ocean of Mercy", John Michael Poirier
"Kyrie/I Call to You ", Jeff Johnson/Janet Chvatal.
(and more....:)

Blessings always,
Aimee

Photo: Pacific Ocean (Oregon) No, this was not the scene I was looking at this day but it reminded me of the song "Ocean of Mercy".

The Encounter

It was a quiet day in our gardens and

a perfect day to get some things done outdoors.

My best friend had been out there working for 2 hours;

she arrived while I was still resting.

I decided it was time to help her.

---

She suggested several tasks;

I chose to clear the mess which has been under my son's window

for the last year or so.

You know boy things--like greasy clothes and other stuff.

I don't want to go into further details here--anyone who has had boys will understand and maybe even empathize with me.

I hope.

--
At first it was relaxing (while being strenuous at the same time)

pulling weeds, moving the rocks which border the path and bed there,

and picking up the garbage.

--

The day was on the cool side, but not cold--

perfect for this type of physical labor.

Recent rains had made the soil soft and weeds weren't too hard to pull.

I was making good headway;

AND

my hubby man would be pleased!

--

One lawn bag full;

by this time I was sitting down to pull the weeds out, being of the lazy gardener sort.

I was pretty comfortable--maybe too much so.

Thinking back that was a mistake--a grievous error even.

-

I should have known not to relax and sit down on the job;

should have known that wasn't a safe thing to do in the garden

at this time of the year.

I moved on to the next rock,

not too much more left to do.

--

But first a recap here:

The first thing I had asked my best friend when I came out to help was if she had seen any visitors today; she said no.

You see we'd been having a lot of trouble with uninvited, unauthorized visitors on our property lately.

--

I moved the rock, just as I had done all the others.

Odd.

There was this thing under the rock.

A thing with a stripe--an orange one, I think--and it was curled up,

kind of like a brooch jewelry sort of thing.

Maybe?

--

Strange. It wasn't moving.

Could it be some kind of weird overgrown snail or maybe a shed skin thingee.

--

Hum.

I thought about poking it; maybe I did.

I don't recall now.

Was it dead?

--

Things seemed to move really fast after that...in fact

I lost track of the exact sequence of the events around this time.

I sort of went into a state of shock...

but I do remember asking my best friend,

a much braver and more knowledgeable person then I,

to come and take a look at this

odd discovery of mine.

AND

it was somewhere during this time (or before she got there) that she said it was

and I realized it was

--

A SNAKE!!!

--

You've never seen an antique granny of five move so fast while making such loud noises.

Honestly.

If you were in our area today at about 1 PM I'm sure you heard it;

there was NO way you couldn't have.

I must remember to apologize for the noise pollution to everyone in a 10

or maybe 20 mile radius of our property someday.

I know they'll understand;

after all I'm the type of person who screams when I see a snake on the ground as I whiz by safely on our lawn tractor--so it's not the first time they've heard it.
--

Moral of the story:

1. Always be prepared for unexpected visitors; you never know where, how or when they'll show up.
2. Never, ever--under any circumstances--move a rock in the garden without being prepared for a possible surprise under it; most likely it won't be a hidden treasure you will find there.
3. Hip boots and full body armour are a good and proper uniform for a granny weeding on a spring day in the NW. And the most important moral....
4. A creature that looks like a coiled up, totally immobile, snake-skin-brooch-orange striped, hiding under a rock thingee is most likely (meaning absolutely) a VERY live snake.

The End--I sincerely hope (of this story)

--

Photo: a rock and weeds

And you thought I was going to post a photo of him???

Obviously you haven't read my snake posting policy here;

please understand that I'm a stickler for important policies like this.

I actually take personal pride in upholding firm standards and you really have to be when you are posting publicly -- I mean this is the Internet and this post is accessible by almost everyone.

-

. Besides if we had to recreate the event for a photograph my friend would have been calling 911 for me;.

an antique heart like mine can only take so many encounters of this kind in a day.

--

May your day be blessed with only flowers.

Blessings, aimee