(Official) Spring in the Garden

The last day, of the strange yet wonderful winter of 2015, found my best friend and I toiling away in the garden and after months of virtual neglect we had much to do! During the 4 hours we worked we pulled out blackberry vines that seem to LOVE all rural PNW gardens, removed some of the naughtier, most unruly running bamboo and we weeded, raked and watched the burn pile grow.

 

A lot done and there's a LOT more to do!

Somehow though it seemed quite pleasant working under a blue sky and temps

 that seemed more like early summer or late spring than winter.

 

Of course there's a lot of blooming going on right now because of our VERY abnormal winter temps.

the sunny yellow blooms of forsythia, daffodils and Oregon grape,

the lovely white of a magnolia, pieris, other daffodils and many fruit trees,

the always pretty pink blossoms of one of our bleeding hearts and azaleas,

and the unexpected small blue blossoms of the brunnera and light purple of the rosemary.

 

The blueberries and evergreen huckleberries are in bloom as is our most lovely native kinnikinnick. In the bud stage is one peach colored rose and there are buds not quite showing color yet on some of the other roses. Our prairiefire crabapple's buds are right on the verge of opening and yesterday I noticed that our one and only beloved trillium has emerged from the ground (yippee), as has it's nearby neighbor, a hosta. Some of these plants are about a month ahead of schedule I think and others are pretty much on time or a bit early. Our forecast is calling for cooler temperatures for a few days and rain (yea, yea, yea) so maybe things will slow down.

Well I should be in bed (or doing the dishes my hubby, who just came out for an early morning snack, says) but I am, as usual, not tired yet so I'll share some photos...be forewarned the lighting was not the best and I still had on my zoom lens from our last trip with Small One. Anyway here goes!

 

Oregon Grape

 

Resident toad who offered to pose for a picture--

ok he didn't offer and I took much more than one picture :)

 

Camellia--a japonica

 (our camellia sasanqua finally decided to stop blooming after some 5 months of color)

 

Fruit tree blossoms

(I think this is one of our pears)

 

 

Pieris

(borrowed from a post I made 2 years ago. One can only take so much bad lighting you know. LOL)

 

 

 

Brunnera Jack Frost

(also borrowed from an older post.

 I love the leaves and forget-me-not type flowers on these shade loving plants).

 

Oh my! There's the most wonderful violinist playing on TV right now.

Dreamy...

I have thought for the longest time that the violin most closely matches the melody of my heart--

well at least the sadder tunes.

I think the flute captures the peaceful, happier tunes.

 

What instrument would you say is most like the melody of your heart?

 

Well I guess I'd best get to sleep as I am officially exhausted now.

 

Blessings + Happy Spring (or Autumn) to you!

Aimee 

 

A favorite couple of verses for your springtime...

(even if it's not Wednesday)

 

For, lo, the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth;

 the time of the singing of birds is come,

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

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

 

Of Unexpected Blessings: Pt II

From awhile ago...

Our early spring continues with many days of blue skies,
blossoming fruit trees and other plants
AND
lots of yard work still needing to be done!

 

So today, instead of dipping our toes in the sea

or watching one of my favorite rivers in action,

we...

 

pruned and pruned some more,

weeded,

turned back on our external water system

(then had to turn it off in a few days because of the cold night temps),

raked leaves

(yep, didn't do that this fall)

and watched a red tail hawk flying over us.

 AND

the best part

(other then all of the above)

was we didn't see ANY of the slithery ones!

Now, that's what I call a perfect spring-in-winter day:)

 

  (Update: but this last weekend lucky me had the

first snake sighting--CLOSE up of course)

 

But this post isn't about today--

though it was filled with unexpected blessings--

it's about Valentine's Day weekend and our trip up into Oregon's coast range.

 

 Now most visitors and residents  take one of the main highways that cross the mountains that run north to south between the Willamette Valley and the coast.

But there's some of us that prefer the quieter, (usually) less traveled and

MUCH more interesting back roads.

 

 

It's a beautiful little drive -- with lots of pretty things to look at...

 some white water

(if you know where to look for it and where to park so you can take a photo or two).

 

 

A pretty meadow with a river running through it and a favorite spot of mine!

Looks peaceful doesn't it?

What you may not know is that it hasn't always looked the way it does now.

In fact if you had been here in the very early 60's,

before November 20, 1962 that is,

you would have seen a beautiful lake here.

 

But on that day, the historic dam holding back those waters failed.

 

I would not have wanted to be downstream of that dam on that day.

Though no one lost their life, it must have been scary knowing

that a lot of water and debris was headed your way.

 

I don't recall ever hearing about this dam break as a child;

my hubby was the first to tell me about the existence of Meadow Lake and to show me its location.

I do recall the horrible Columbus Day storm that preceded it by more than a month though and I do recall our family enjoying a picnic or two at another earth-filled dam not too far from this one.

Ah, the memories of childhood...

funny what you remember and what lays hidden deep within your mind.

 

You can still see the big boulders of the dam,

although there's a lot more moss and

undergrowth since my Hubby was here with his Dad in the late 60s.

That's how he knew about Meadow Lake.

Some of these boulders are quite large--the size of a car.

  

 

I didn't want to venture closer to the edge...at this time of the year I wouldn't trust the area.

  

 

Lots more to see up here--

lots of views of the valley and even the Cascade Mountains.

A drive by, not so great photo of Mt. Hood 

(one of the two snow covered peaks we saw that day and they were stunning in person)

 

 

a photo of the valley.

There's a somewhat hidden viewpoint near here that we've visited before.

 

A pretty little valley that you pass.

Yep, it's a beautiful back country byway and one of my favorite places.

Perhaps sometime this year I'll share photos of the lovely river canyon that you drive through on the "main" route, but until then you can check out the links below for the alternate mountain route that we've taken several times.

 

Now it's back to work. Our sun has gone away and they're calling for rain,

but Friday is looking good! Meanwhile the blooms are multiplying outside and

sometimes it almost feels like summer-in-winter. Truly amazing!

 

Blessings, Aimee

 

Links (I included quite a few as my search feature isn't working correctly and I wanted a list of posts from this area to refer to quickly):

Posts:
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2013/04/springtime-in-coast-range.html
(Bible Creek Rd, Lake, etc.)
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-different-kind-of-exercise.html
(Bald Mountain/Bible Creek Rd Route)
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/09/into-unknown-of-fear-and-detours-pt-2.html
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/08/into-unknown-of-fear-and-detours-pt1.html
(Bald Mountain/Bible Creek Rd Route--first time)
 http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2011/12/advent-journey.html
(Meadow Lake area and more)
 http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2010/08/mountain-retreat-for-soul.html
(Meadow Lake area, viewpoint BLM)

Meadow Lake Dam Info:
http://photos.salemhistory.net/cdm/ref/collection/max/id/3790
(several photos available here of the lake before and after 1961)
http://www.yamhillcountyhistory.org/media/August2008WestSide_-_FINAL.pdf
(awesome history of the lake and dam that I found)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19621121&id=adozAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4867,4010582
(newspaper report about the event and other problems caused by the abundance of rain that fall. Includes a very short witness account of the dam's collapse)

(Updated 3/11) Brochure and video of Nestucca River Byway:
http://traveloregon.com/trip-ideas/grants-getaways/nestucca-river-byway/
(video)
http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/files/brochures/Nestucca%20River.pdf
(printable brochure with a map of the byway)

Other (just for me because it took me FOREVER to find it this last time)
Fear + Mountain Roads by Lakes
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2009/11/thursday-thanks-giving-mountain-roads.html   

Of Sandy Toes + Rocky Beaches

Saturday saw Farmer Boy working in our yard...

pruning, weeding, burning (ick),

raking, hauling and watching a red tail hawk in the skies above us.

So much still to do, but there's improvement--yippee!

 

 

Sunday found us here--

watching the wave action against the north jetty of Tillamook Bay,

 

 

Admiring Twin Rocks from a little different perspective.

(Here's the more famous view--http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012_09_23_archive.html)

 

 

Watching our youngest grandchild write letters in the sand...

 

 

and get her toes all sandy.

 

 

Hiking a bit in the Tillamook forest where there's lots of moss and...

 

 

the beautiful Wilson River!

 

 

It was a pretty incredible day -- a day filled with lots of time in God's gardens

(which are always my favorite gardens).

 

 

So much to do this week.

How about you?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Oregon North Coast

Tillamook State Forest

Of Unexpected Blessings: Pt I

 

Who would have ever thought that in mid February our plum tree would have its first bloom?

And our garden would also be seeing daffodils, daphne, camellia and pieris blooms too?

And who would have ever thought that my Farmer Boy would be mowing

our yard on a sunny, dry weekend?

Certainly not I.

 

And who would have thought their wish would come true and they would be standing looking at this beautiful coastal creek -- all because of a little girl's request and a traffic jam?

 

Or that a certain big girl would be blessed with seeing sights she had never seen or be able to touch and walk on the rock that has enchanted her for a long, long time--

but has always been just a little out of reach?

 

And who would have thought that the tide would be so kind (LOL)

as to reveal more of the magic that is THIS beach...?

 

 

Not I, not I.

But there was even more to come on this special weekend of love.

And it involved a return to a location that was changed because of weather that was not nearly as wonderful as our weather has been...

 

 

In other news,

the G Room bed has been finished and has officially been slept in by a

 certain, much loved Small One.

I will soon be calling upon all of you very gifted crafters to

advise me on a certain idea I have about it...

 

How was your weekend?

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Satsuma plum bloom--just in time for Valentine's Day:)

Neskowin Creek looking inland

(two creeks come together on what is considered by some a very romantic beach;

kind of like two hearts becoming one...)

North portion of Proposal Rock

(yep I really like this romantic Valentine's Day weekend theme I got going here)

Looking south towards Cascade Head and part of the "ghost forest"

More "ghost forest"

(an earlier post with a link to a wonderful video)

Part of the finished Scandinavian Style daybed with storage

 

Time for bed. Lots of garden work to get done today:)

 

DS's Pork Verde Recipe

Oh, oh! Aimee's making a recipe post while watching a special on her favorite place on the coast (or at least one of them) Astoria...this should be interesting :)

Dear Son's Pork Verde:

Ingredients:

• pork shoulder, 4#, cubed
• sweet onions, 2, peeled, chopped
• jalapeno peppers, 2, seeded, chopped
• poblano peppers, 2, seeded, chopped
• garlic, a few small cloves, peeled, chopped
• tomatillos,  1 1/2#, peeled, chopped
• chicken stock, 1/2 box (no salt)
• chili powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons
• oregano, 2 teaspoons
• cumin, 1 teaspoon
• green chiles, 1 can
• hot sauce, if desired
• kale, 2 bundles, chopped
• cilantro, 1 bundle, chopped
• 2-3 limes, juiced

Directions for Pork Verde:
1. In a skillet, sear cubed pork in hot oil. Season the meat with salt either before or during the searing process and sear it in small enough batches so that the pan is not overcrowded at any time. Place meat in crockpot once you have finished seared it.
2. Using the same skillet, cook onions low and slow, scrapping pan to remove any browned bits of meat leftover from searing the pork cubes.
3. When the onions are mostly caramelized, add peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes before you add the garlic. (Chef's note: if you have a gas stove, you can skip this step and char the veggies including the tomatillos. If you char the peppers peel or scrape them after you do this).
4. After removing the veggies, deglaze the skillet with chicken stock. Add all veggies, chicken stock and remaining ingredients to the crockpot except the kale, lime juice and cilantro (you'll cook the rice separately).
5. Cook pork mixture in the crockpot for 6 hours on low. Add kale one hour before serving; cilantro and lime juice a few minutes before serving (Chef's note: adding these close to serving time gives them a more pronounced taste.)

Rice:

• brown rice, 4 cups
• 2 limes, juiced
• cilantro, 1/2 bunch, chopped
• chicken stock, 1/2 box (no salt)

Directions:
1. About an hour before the Pork Verde is done, cook the brown rice in a separate pot according to the rice package directions.
2. Add lime juice and cilantro when the rice is done. You can also use the leftover chicken broth as part of the liquid needed to cook the rice.

Serving Suggestions:
To serve, place rice in individual bowls and top with a generous serving of the Pork Verde mixture. You can top this with sour cream or plain yogurt if you'd like. Another idea is to serve the pork with warmed tortillas, finely diced onions and cilantro.

Notes:
I didn't include full information on how to prepare tomatillos, etc., so if you're unfamiliar with a certain item please check the web for information on how to prepare it or feel free to ask questions in the comment section below and I'll ask my son for you. Also, if you see a possible error let me know as I wrote this up from various texts my son and I sent each other over a period of several days :) Yep, you got to love that modern technology!
Enjoy. It's very, very yummy!

Blessings,
Aimee

Of Garden Surprises + More

Last Saturday found me--

not on a lovely sandy beach nor on snowy mountain slopes I'm sad to say.

I did see a lot of the bathroom floor I was lying on for quite awhile though.

Sigh. I hate being sick.

 

Later that day, and on Sunday too,

though still a bit shaky I was able to get outside and explore the gardens.

 

 

Our wonderful and very dependable camellia sasanqua is still filled with pretty pink blossoms.

 

 

A bit closer.

Probably should have used a tripod on this shot.

 

 

A bit further along, the candytuft is starting to bloom.

Hey, what?

We are still in January right?

Yep. The calendar still says we are.

 

 

The Oregon Grape looks like it might be preparing another garden surprise also...

 

 

The lower pond was a mixture of blue and white from our lovely spring-like day.

 

 

 

I LOVE this time of the year because I can enjoy the ponds and NOT run into the slithery ones:)

 

 

A look in the upper pond...

I LOVE lily pads!

 

And on the deck table

and on our bed

and in the G room work continued on the project...

 

 

cutting out the scalloped accent...

can't believe my hubby drew this freehand from a picture on my phone!

 

 

finials attached.

Any ideas what Aimee's dream was?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Terri~

My son said yes to sharing the recipe and so, after a bit of texting back and forth,

I have it written out and will post it here soon. Thanks for asking:)

 

Teresa~

Awhile back (November) you asked me for a bigger photo of the koi pond. I did get one this weekend. It's not the best because all the vegetation looks really dead and there are plenty of weeds too, but I can post it or try to get a better one for you once the pond plants come out of their dormancy.

 

Lorrie~

Back in September you asked me for the info on the organic fruit tree pest traps. I finally found it during one of my cleaning/sorting missions. Would you still like it?

 

 

Of Burnt Sienna Ponies, Pork Verde, Projects + Still Blooming Roses

 

Our Christmas rose-in-winter miracle has become our late January wonder.

There's something a little odd, but totally fabulous, about having
blooming pink roses at this time of the year!

Truly it's a blessing!

 

Besides admiring our roses,
I've been on a bit of a cleaning and sorting mission inside the house.
 

It's also been a trip down "Memory Lane"--

this tin belonged to my mom and was made in England years ago.
I bet some of you can recall the poem that goes with it:)

 

And this is Pokey and Gumby.

Anyone remember them?
I'll admit I have a thing for horses--
even those that are burnt sienna and don't eat hay :)

I have found there are two major obstacles in this sorting process.
First, many of these inanimate objects hold a lot of sweet memories for me...
of mom,
my grandparents,
childhood,
the kids when they were young,
of--
well a lot of things.

Can I really get rid of them?

Secondly, what if I someday need the item and it costs ten times as much or isn't available?
After all who ever saw food prices rising as much as they have in the last several years?

Sigh. Need to do this...
we just have TOO much stuff that we've accumulated.

Of course,
some items are easier then others...
as I was stuffing my huge collection of rubber stamps into drawers today,
my main thought was a LOT of these have GOT TO GO!

Hopefully I will find more items that I feel that way about--stuff I don't ever use or enjoy anymore.

 

 

Back to more pleasant thoughts---

the garden!

 

Teresa recently posted a photo of her budding daphne.

Of course, that made me wonder about ours which gave me an excuse to get outside for a bit.
I LOVE that the days are getting longer again and that we've had some rather sunny days!
I have been thinking a LOT about spring lately and can hardly wait for more flowers.
I've also been thinking a LOT about how much I need a walk on the beach or up in the mountains...

But there's more work to do before I can play.

As you already know the "G" room is done
and we're working on furnishing it.

 

My very talented Farmer Boy is working on a project for that room --
one commissioned by his always dreaming, Nordic loving wife and
one which will soon be finished because of his love for a certain Small One.
Dear Hubby has done a lot more on it since this pic was taken--
but can you guess what it is??

Of course, since we don't have a garage or shop, it did require our bed

 to be turned -- temporarily -- into a workbench. Lately it's done a lot of double duty and it may do more as I already have another project in mind:)

 

Recently our oldest son invited us over for yet another fabulous meal--

this time we enjoyed the most wonderful pork verde and rice ever!

And I would show you a picture but I never got a good one :(

 

Just close your eyes and imagine tender pork shoulder,

a mixture of peppers,

onions, garlic, tomatillos, cilantro, lime, seasonings...

YUM, there I go making myself hungry again.

  

While our son was cooking,

 we were entertained by his roommate who was playing one of those

modern interactive games.

All I can say is the video games we played when our kids were young --

games like Donkey Kong, Pac Man and others --

aren't a thing like the ones they have today! 

  

To finish this post here's the WORD for your Wednesday Thursday--

 

 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
For he shall be as a tree planteth by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river,

and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green;

and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit,

 Jeremiah 17:7, 8 KJV

 

Have a GREAT Thursday!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Of Roses In Winter, Christmas + Another New Year

When Advent started,
 I made a hundred and one plans--
most of which were changed when Farmer Boy decided

that Christmas would be a great time to finish some of the items on our seemingly endless 'to do' list. This would mean very little decorating and no baking, but it was logical in that he had time off from work and we would not be entertaining this year.
 

At first, I was VERY disappointed and stressed out, as I was looking forward to turning our home into a lovely winter wonderland...but because I wished to maintain my sanity,
I finally followed Elsa's good advice and "Let it go"--
well at least the winter wonderland part.

Now, looking back, I am glad I did because I'm SO happy to be done with more projects!

 

 

Finished:

 the G (guest) room, 

new handmade cabinet doors on a once very ugly storage area

and a few smaller projects.

YIPPEE!

 

Additionally, we were able to start cleaning and organizing the third bedroom that's been

used as a storage room for years now AND I found all my craft stuff --

some of which I had forgotten about--

candle and soap making supplies, ribbons, craft books, stamps (unfortunately way too many of these),

other card making stuff, scrapbooks, etc. Now to finish the job so I can use the treadmill and

work on the crafts I enjoy again. It would be a great way to start the new year off don't you think?

 

And that winter wonderland I dreamed about creating for this Christmas season?

Well there's a little surprise decorating project I am planning for that remodeled guest room--

in honor of Elsa and the Small One who loves her of course

:)

 

 

As I said baking was out this Christmas season,

but one of my sweet SIL's saw to it that we had a lot of homemade goodies to snack on during this time. Although this is a terrible picture, the goodies were indescribably yummy! And, unless my hubby Elf comes up with another project to work on, I still have a few days till Epiphany (January 6th) and a long list of Nordic goodies I want to make.

 

Speaking of indescribably yummy Christmassy food...

 

 

on Christmas Day our oldest son had us up to his place for a luscious dinner of glazed ham, green beans, mushroom gravy, a special potato-root veggie mash (sweet and russet potato, celery root, parsnips) and a lovely crostini topped with cream cheese, roasted beet and hazelnuts. It was SO GOOD that both hubby and I had multiple helpings and wanted even more!

 

 While there, in the lap of "civilization" (LOL) we enjoyed things we normally aren't able to do--things like watching a movie on Netflix (Skyfall--007) and doing Facetime with our granddaughter and son using an iPad. I can see why so many people love Apple products. My son used to do support for them and he has sung their 'praises' for years--LOL

 

As I have already mentioned, one of my Advent/Christmas dreams

had been to bake, and one of the items I had really wanted to try was lussekatter--

that lovely golden saffron roll Scandinavians make on St. Lucia's Day

(December 13th).

Here's one I shared with a good friend several years ago...

 

 

YUM. I can almost taste it now.

 

Doing it the traditional way was NOT going to happen due to all the remodeling and health issues;

a trip to the bakery I originally found these at was out of the question too.

But today, with no remodeling or cleanup happening and feeling OK (yea),

I was finally able to make an easy substitute...

and it did help satisfy my need for creating a pretty roll that reminded me a little of the swirls

and flourishes of rosemaling (Norwegian folk art) I love.

 

 

Since these were definitely not baked per tradition (no raisin or currant in the middle of the coils, no saffron, wrong type of dough, etc.), I also indulged my constant wintertime need for citrus with a very unorthodox orange icing that reminded me of orange sherbet.  These pseudo lussekatter turned out pretty well although next time I will have to alter the baking time +/or temperature as the bottoms were a tiny bit burnt.

As for the real thing...my son told me he will give me a private

 cooking lesson sometime soon and even provide the needed saffron :)

 

 

Around Christmas Day, I asked Farmer Boy to come with me up to Mom's gravesite and immediately started to gather a wintertime bouquet of camellia sasanqua (above photo) for her grave. Suddenly I heard him yelling that we had blooming roses. Roses? Blooming roses? Turns out we did.

 

All I can think is it must be some kind of miracle to have blooming roses here in winter and

that my mom must be smiling at God's little Christmas gift to me. She probably smiled at the fact that the deer that live near the cemetery would be happy to see the roses too:)

(my mom had a great sense of humor and deer love to eat roses)

 

 

Another Christmas surprise--

but not nearly as nice as the roses--

was the yellow jacket I found in the G Room this week.

Fortunately he was moving a little slower due to all the chilly night temps

 we've had recently

and I was able to convince him to leave the house without getting stung.

Roses AND yellow jackets in late December?

Strange but wonderful.

 

Finally, it being New Year's Day, I wanted to share my New Year's resolution here.

As I have been doing for the last several years, I chose some scripture for my goal.

For 2015 the following verses will be my resolution.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3: 5, 6 KJV

 

Wishing you all a blessed, peaceful and joy-filled 2015!

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Sorry about the less than stellar photos.

Many of them were taken with my cell phone or when I was in less than optimum conditions. Also, as usual, I am watching one of those wonderful cooking shows and--well you know what that means:)