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

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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

The WORD on Wednesday: Love

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

Love does not demand its own way.

Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up,

never loses faith,

is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance.

Love will last forever.

~
I Corinthians 13: 4-8a KJV

-

Blessings,

Aimee

-

Photo:

My baby granddaughter and her mom--a beautiful picture of love.

Four Things That Smell Better Then One Annoyed Skunk

1. Quinoa-

red quinoa to be exact.

Red quinoa smells a lot better then a skunk

and it tastes good too.

(if you haven't tried some you should)

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2. Paperwhites-

paperwhites smell a whole lot BETTER than an annoyed skunk.

And they are much better houseguests.

-

3. Lavender--

freshly picked, dried, still in the fields or in products--

lavender smells much, much, much better then a stinky skunk.

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4. A winter bouquet. Actually I don't remember if the roses had much of a fragrance to them... but almost anything smells better then one angry, annoyed, scared skunk.

And that is a blessing.

Aimee

Life With A Skunk (My Growing List of Skunk 'Facts')

1.

Sometimes skunks find their way under people's houses and other places. When they do you will find they are very rude guests and no matter how long they stay, it will be too long.

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2.

When they do find their way under your house, you are in for nights of listening to the skunk shuffle which will drive all your little, super cute, white fluffy puppies crazy (and you too). You will start to worry over important things like wiring, insulation and other stuff you know are down there. You will find yourself wondering just how BIG this thing is that lives down there; you will find yourself wondering if there is anyway possible he can eat or claw through the flooring between you -- and his new home. You will think about the possible disgusting diseases it may have. You will wish he had--at the least-

picked a better place than under your kitchen to bed down in.

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3.

Skunks under the house will make your home smell rather strongly at times. In fact, if they are only moderately annoyed it will smell like something is too hot or on fire--you may even find yourself checking on things. I know, I did. If they are greatly annoyed, the results will be -- something you will never forget and you won't be checking on anything because you will know, for sure, where the odor originated from.

-

4.

Speaking for 'our' skunk...he
(yes, it was a he; males are larger than females I am told by an expert)

preferred junk food to nutritious food like apples.

His favorite food?

Marshmallows-the cheapest, most disgusting ones available.

--
5.

A humane "box" trap is one of the greatest inventions ever--but it doesn't discriminate and is capable of catching anything or nothing at all--for days and weeks even.

6.

Taking a photo of said trapped skunk, without perfuming everything, including yourself, requires great stealth but can be done--not that I am recommending you try it. A blind (or something that works like a blind) serves well--most, but not all, of the time. Needless to say I didn't use my best camera--I had no idea how I would clean it if THAT happened

(besides no camera shop is going to want to work on something that smells that bad)

-
Hints:

If the skunk lifts its tail---you will know it is not happy at all.

Never be downwind of (or anywhere near) a skunk that is not happy at all.

You'll know if you are ever downwind of a skunk that is not happy at all;

you won't have to ask.

You will find yourself very thankful if this happens outdoors because gradually THAT smell will dissipate--gradually being the key word here.

On the other hand,

this odor may serve to deter unwanted solicitors from visiting.

-
7.

Seeing the skunk in person 'creeped' me out BIG TIME-

maybe it was because I knew what he had the power to do to me?

-

8.

There are some people that you just want to hug,

even if you have never met them before.

--
9.

Being skunk-less is a happy state of being and that is a FACT.

-

Thank God for my new skunk-less state:)

~

Blessings,

Aimee

-

Disclosure:

as you have probably guessed, Aimee is no wildlife expert,

so please check with one if you do have a skunk problem.

Of Swans and Geese

Not too far from the northern end of the beautiful King's Valley Highway is the incredible Baskett-Slough NWR (National Wildlife Refuge) which none of us had seen before either! We arrived there when the lighting was wonderful (much better then these photos indicate) around dusk (they say early AM and around dusk/sunset are the best times to visit). BTW--this refuge isn't too far from the town of Dallas, a town I first visited in early summer of 2010,

so it isn't far out in the country--but it seems like it is.

Some of the surrounding terrain.

Our first sighting of birds--

hard to see I know

(sorry)

next time at a NWR I will definitely use my zoom lens:(

These are swans;

I have a thing about swans--

maybe it was the Ugly Duckling story of my childhood,

but I LOVE swans so it was quite exciting to see these!

Another view--

we were at the kiosk/visitor area off the highway

but there is a road that goes through the wetlands

and there is at least one trail open in the wintertime

(be forewarned---you cannot just go anywhere in the refuge in winter;

this is to allow the geese and swans a chance to rest

before they migrate northwards in the springtime).

Geese---I am thinking these might be the Dusky Canadian Geese

they were talking about but am not sure. I need to look at the guide again.

Another photo of the geese we saw--there were loads of them!

Hoped you enjoyed our little visit to the NWR:)

Blessings,

Aimee

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time Aimee had a dream

a dream of a perfect valley located near her beloved coast range.

A valley which had trees draped in silvery moss

and green moss too

a place of evergreen trees and a clear blue sky above

a place of beauty in all seasons --

even in the middle of winter

a magical place full of mystery

And she dreamed and dreamed of such a place

until one night,

thanks to the wonder of the Internet,

Aimee found there was such a valley and so soon

she set off with family and a friend to explore it.

It was a perfect winter day for traveling.

.
And when they finally reached this perfect valley,

everything was even better then she had dreamed of--

for besides the beautiful moss-

the wonderful forests-

the incredible view of the coast range-

farms-

animals-

hills-

wetlands-

and many other wonderful things-

there also just happened to be an old covered bridge there.

And Aimee loves covered bridges!

It was a wonderful bridge which had windows

that overlooked the river it was built over.

A bridge which no longer knew the feel of cars across its plank flooring,

but knew the sounds of happy children and families eating and playing there

And then the dream ended,

and Aimee woke up.

But her dream wasn't really over,

it was actually just the beginning

and there was a lot more to see.

(To be continued)

~

Blessings,

Aimee

---

All photos taken January 2011 along the King's Valley Highway,

NW Oregon.

Miss Camellia--Thank you!

Every autumn through part of winter

she is there for me.

-

Tall and graceful,

evergreen;

beauty in the season of darkness.

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And as she opens each of the rosy pink blooms given her by the Creator,

I smile,

despite the gray clouds and rain,

because it is so like our God to create beauty even when we see only gray.

-

And I just need to say--

-Thank you Miss Camellia

and

THANK YOU Lord for this blessing!

-

Blessings,

Aimee

PNW Flooding

As I have mentioned, the PNW has been hit by a lot of rain this year; that combined with with a large snowpack in the mountains followed by a warm streak with lots of additional rain means flooding and other problems.

We are now looking at forecasts for drier weather (YEA) but needless to say some damage has been done. The area (mountains, valley, coast) has had a number of landslides, a sinkhole, downed trees, flooding, road closures and other problems related to the weather. This is true in both Washington and Oregon.

Here is a video of the flooding along the Sandy River near Zig Zag (Lolo Pass Road, Mt Hood, Oregon). It makes me sad to see the destruction and in awe at the same time. It also makes me wonder what my family and I would do if faced with something that knocked out our water, power, telephone and our road to the nearest supplies. I know I've made some preparation in this area, but what if it was for a prolonged time?

What would you do for water and food?
Do you have another way to prepare hot food?
Could you keep warm without electricity or gas?
Are you prepared for a natural disaster?
Do you have a neighborhood plan in place?

Link to video: http://vimeo.com/18921387
Video: By Tyler Malay & Alexandra Erickson.

Be safe & be at peace,
AImee

The WORD on Wednesday

Praise ye the LORD.

Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise Him in the heights.
Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts.

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Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

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Let them praise the name of the LORD: for He commanded, and they were created.
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass.

--Psalm 148:1-6 KJV

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~This week the PNW saw some beautiful weather--short lived, yes, but with 'hopes' (AKA hopeful weather forecasts) that it would soon be back! I was SO grateful to have a day that I could go out in the garden again with a blue sky overhead and wander about! It wasn't the gift of snow that I desire each and every year, but it was an equally treasured gift--the gift of sunshine in what has been an endlessly dark, dreary winter!

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When I experience a BIG blessing like this, it is easy for me to be thankful and feel joy;

but when the weather around me is stormy, it isn't so easy.

Quite honestly, I don't like the rough times in life,

they are painful to go through;

but they are the times when I tend to draw closer to God--

and for that I am thankful.

-

May you be blessed this week,

Aimee

-

Photo: part of the lower pond

A Look Back at 2010: Autumn in the Garden-Pt 3

In arranging flowers

and

in planting flowers

there is a rule

and that is to use odd numbers of flowers only.

Now there is probably the same rule for posting photos on ones blog--

if so it is about to be broken:)

a less then clear photo of ripe (and unripe) evergreen huckleberries.

These are highly prized in the PNW;

if you ever eat some you will know why!

You can grow them in the garden

or pick them in certain mountainous areas.

One of our lingonberries.

I like the shadows on the rocks but not so happy with the lighting on the plant--hope you can see the berries.

This was not a good year for my huckleberries or lingonberries...

with the very strange weather our plants were totally confused as to when to bloom and when to ripen. These are Balsgaard (I think that's the spelling)--they produce twice in the PNW--once in summer, once later in the fall.

This photo was taken in early October.

Our fuzzy ones-

kiwi.

BIG crop this year.

Yes, you can grow kiwi in the PNW and you can also grow olives (at least certain types) but that will have to wait for another trip post:)

Our lovely evergreen huckleberries and a few lingonberries...

these were put in our freezer.

~

Other fruit we grow are: gold raspberries, strawberries, various fruit trees -- most are dwarf or semi dwarf

(plums, apples, pears, asian pear, 4 way cherry), grapes,

caneberries and blueberries.

I really love edible gardening and heartily recommend it to people who may not live in the country. Some fruit, like grapes, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries can be grown in a relatively small place--for example our raspberry is growing in a wine barrel half as are our strawberries.

Blueberries are now available in smaller sizes too and are pretty all year long. We grow ours with some of what would be considered ornamental plants and they do fine.

Lingonberries and evergreen huckleberries do not take up much space--both of these have evergreen leaves which are nice to see in the winter;

they both seem to do well in the PNW.

I have seen urban gardens with raspberries in raised beds (they don't like wet feet so I thought that was a good idea) and grapes growing on arbors (nice shady place to put a bench for those warm summer days) and they looked great!

~

Do you grow fruit where you live?

~

Blessings,

Aimee

A Look Back at 2010: Autumn in the Garden-Pt 2

Ahhh! Pastels.

I love them no matter the season.

Here are some from autumn.

Cosmos--sorry but since this flower rates really HIGH on my list of favorites,

you'll be seeing a lot of them on this post.

Not a great photo--this is here to remind me what to plant in my baskets this year.

Begonias--love these little ones.

And that one single bluish one at the top?

Lobelia.

I love lobelia too

AND New Guinea Impatiens

(lower right corner, not blooming in this photo)

Oh surprise!

More cosmos.

They were big in our wildflower garden this autumn.

Autumn crocus.

Every year when I see it I am surprised.

One minute it is a grassy looking area

and the next--these!

I know you are getting tired of these C flowers,

but I am not--yet!

Bleeding heart.

We have an alba that blooms first then dies down later in the summer,

but this one keeps blooming into the autumn.

This photo was taken in early October and despite the quality (not) of this photo,

these are a really pretty light pink.

And to end this post--

what else?

Cosmos!

Next: fruit in the garden

Blessings,

Aimee