Out & About

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

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

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

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

during a trip we made.

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

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

in the path that went around the pond;

a little bit of serenity in an urban area.

One of the ducks we passed.

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

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

Beautiful.

I love these days of late winter/early spring!

Blessings,

Aimee

Responsibility...

I long to stay on blogger and to play-

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

So to work I must go--

though it pains me so, so, so

(ok it only pains me a bit)

:)

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

~

Blessings,

Aimee

Before and After

Not long ago a certain woman walked around her garden

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

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

see?

yea I could not believe it either!

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

and she was grateful for them but...

~~~BEFORE~~~

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

beautiful and delicate frozen ice crystals-

and so did a lot of other PNW'ers.

~

And then one day,

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

the heavens opened,

and instead of the usual rain,

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

~~~AFTER~~~

And Aimee smiled as she strolled around her yard

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

~

And she kept saying 'ooh' and 'ah'

as the silent song of the snowflakes filled her heart

with happiness and gratitude for this wondrous gift from above!

~~~BEFORE~~~

and the song continued as she found gift after gift

~~~AFTER~~~

See?

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

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

BEFORE:

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

and now...

AFTER:

lemony goodness and an upside down snow cone:).

~~~BEFORE~~~

And throughout the gardens

the magic of the snow's song continued

making what was beautiful before

into something even more wonderful!

~~~AFTER~~~

And the magical melody still continues,

though darkness has long since fallen,

for we still have snow outside!
~

From the winter wonderland of the PNW,

I bid you peace on earth and blessings from heaven,

Aimee

The WORD on Wednesday: Love III

Master,

which is the great commandment in the law?

-

Jesus said unto him,

Thou shalt love the Lord

-

thy God

-

with

all thy heart,
and with

all thy soul,

and with

all thy mind.

~

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it,

-

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

=

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

-

How often I have failed at these two commandments;

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

--

Blessings this Wednesday eve,

Aimee

A Look Back at 2010: A Little Bit of Christmas

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

it must be time to post some Christmas photos:)

Our yummy smelling Christmas wreath--

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

yea for our humid winters!

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

-

My best friend always makes my wreaths-

we work together on the design I want each year;

this time I was into a semi-natural look.

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

I was very happy he at least tried them!

-

We also had pickled herring (love, love),

pickled beets (yum)

and Swedish meatballs (big time yum)!

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

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

but that didn't happen due to some circumstances,

so next year?

More food:

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

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

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

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

Pickled beets--store bought but oh so good!

I also bought an assortment of cheeses and goodies,

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

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

-

Blessings,

Aimee

Life in the Garden: Early & Late February

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

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

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

at least that's the plan.

Here goes--will you join me?

Not the clearest photo,

but I love the color.

This is one of the newest pieris.

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

I love it!

Look at all the kinds of lichen and moss.

Amazing and really beautiful in the morning light,

per my best friend.

who was over here this week helping me.

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

You should meet me---

it is really frightening how much I talk.

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

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

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

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

The Shiro and Satsuma Blood.

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

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

Irish Moss and camellia sasanqua petals.

I can't show you the whole path

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

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

(of course we might be wrong--

it might have been a gopher--

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

that are all over the Japanese-style garden.

Our viburnum--Spring Bouquet.

These clusters will open to white flowers in spring,

hence the name -- :)

I belive this is one of the evergreen huckleberries--

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

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

This was really hard to post---

I'm sure you can see why...

but behind the ugly but very wonderful landscape fabric--

which my plants adore--

are daffodils.

This type is a fancy kind.

Another photo of my beloved evergreen huckleberry--

Pacific NW native and friend to all berry loving Aimees.

Not shown but with buds opening or other changes--

daphne (heavenly smell)

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

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

an unidentified plant with white flowers

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

Pussy willows are emerging--yea

and more...

Happy Valentine's Day soon!

Blessings,

AImee

The WORD on Wednesday: Love II

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

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

and

washed His Disciples dusty feet.

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

and
the 1 who Jesus knew would betray Him shortly.

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

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

-

Lord,

help me to love others the way You love them.

Amen.

~~

Blessings,

Aimee　

~

Photo: nandina in winter

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)

-

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.

-

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.

-
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.

-
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.