A Walk on the Wild Side

 Well you didn't think I could walk on the wild side 

without first fortifying with tea?

A very special oolong was shared on the dock

at the Columbia Slough by Whitaker Pond.
It was a 28 year old Buddha Hand Oolong.

 Living in the city you would be surprised to find this amazing

trail about a 5 minute drive from my house.

It is also close to the Portland Intl. Airport.

But here we are!

A plane flies over from time to time, but in between

there is peace.

 I love spotting wildflowers along the trail

and of course trees!

 Glimpses of the pond from time to time appear along the trail.

 At the far end of the pond was a nesting area for turtles.

We didn't see any, but a teacher and her small class told us about

seeing one live one and one dead one. They were very sad about the dead turtle.

 There were plenty of ducks and ducklings in several areas of the pond.

 More blooming plants!

 And canoes too!

 A beaver dam!

There was plenty of trees with signs the beavers had visited,

but I didn't see a beaver.

 The bees were enjoying the wild roses.

And to tell you the truth I loved seeing another glimpse of Camas Lilies

Spring time here in the northwest has been particularly prolific this year.

Many wildflowers and wild things all about.

Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends!

Go out and see what you can see!

Tea with Steph

Tea time is definitely in my blood,

tea runs freeing throughout.

But spending time over tea with a dear friend

makes it all the more special.

Last week there was a very special time with my friend, Stephanie,

of Steph's Cup of Tea at Lovejoy's near my house.

Tea was ordered and in my cup was a yummy Darjeeling tea.

Now that would have been enough right there,

but someone stopped by our table and asked if I was Marilyn.

What a surprise to meet Linda, someone I know online in a tea group,

but had never met. Serendipity always makes a day more special.

I always love sitting over tea with Steph. It was a very good visit.

Then having yummy sandwiches, salads, and scones were all amazing too.

This is the first tearoom I have been in that serves cabbage coleslaw and a lettuce salad

with their sandwiches.

We had ham and English mustard, chicken salad with walnuts, Branston Pickle Chutney
 with cheddar cheese,and hummus sandwiches.

A scone with jam and cream, then topped it off with a small lavender shortcake cookie.

Lovejoy's opened in March and seems to be doing very well.

This makes me smile because we haven't had an English style

tearoom inside Portland for a long time.

Do you love to spend time with a special friend?
How do you like spending that time?
As I do, is serendipity a special treat in ones day?

Garden Quotes 2019

Just yesterday I was welcomed to Lucy's garden.

She had said, "come and photograph my garden".

Finally, I was there in this secret space full of delight.

Enjoy! And find a quote or two along the way.

 "The bonsai is not you working on the tree;

you have to have the tree work on you."

~John Naka

There were many bonsai in Lucy's garden.

 There were many varieties of geraniums too.

A sweet rose.

"Is time that involves itself in the moment,

that focuses on the soaring stateliness of trees

and the minute scale of the tiniest blossom.

Garden time requires daily attention

but does not require that everything be done in a day.

Come apart from your busyness

to be renewed and refreshed

in the company of growing things.

It won't take long,

but it will feel like a day in the country."

~Emilie Barnes

Spending time in Lucy's garden felt like time spent in the country,

a respite from the world outside the garden.

Tea by the Sea

Growing up near the Pacific Ocean I realized that my heart belongs there.

Right there by the sea.

When, at a younger adult age, I lived in Kansas the thing I mourned was the sea.

My heart just has to take me there every once in the while,

to walk or sit and be quiet, letting the sounds of the sea wash over me.

Recently I could hear it calling; so a day trip was planned.

Of course my teacup, a nibble, and hot water went along.

The nibble was a granola bar, which I enjoy making occasionally.

The tea was Darjeeling in a teabag for the simple reason

it just makes it easy.

The day was a bit cool, but refreshing as in the city it felt like summer.

Others were called to the sea also.

Do you have a place that calls to you to come on occasion?

For me it is the sea.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Follow your heart!

Garden Quotes 2019

 Normally I go for soft pinks and whites in the garden,

but these Welsh poppies have fascinated me for several years.

I tried growing them from seeds to no avail.

I have looked for plants to no avail.

But when visiting the Joy Creek Nursery recently they were spread

throughout their garden.

But did they sell them, why "NO".

Still looking. I love the way they just fill in barren spots in a garden

and we do need a few of those spots filled.

 So a walk in the gardens at this amazing nursery was very special.

Every gardener knows that under

the cloak of winter lies a miracle.... 

a seed waiting to sprout, 

a bulb opening to the light, 

a bud straining to unfurl,

And the anticipation nurtures our dream.

~Barbara Winkler

Happy Monday from the garden!

A Mighty Fine Day

Do you ever have just a normal, everyday sort of day

and then suddenly it turns into a mighty fine day?

Wednesday I went to the gym,

something I try to do regularly.

It was a normal sort of day.

On returning home I needed to go to the market;

but I took a detour and found myself strolling

through the Lan Su Chinese Gardens for a little respite.

Well you know I do that sometimes;

so it was still just a normal sort of day.

And then the docent greeted me and pointed out some

gorgeous flowers.

Well you know that lifts my spirits.

So I decided to stop at the teahouse for some tea.

I was greeted by the manager, well she knows me,

and told me they had a special Competition Style Dong Ding oolong.

Rather than look at the menu I asked her to bring me this special tea.

Traveling alone I thought I would just sit at the table that faces the

garden and enjoy the sunshine.

There was a woman sitting nearby sketching.

After she put her sketch book away we started chatting.

Isabella was from Belgium and she loves to travel a lot;

so you can tell where our conversation went.

When she retired she decided her money would go into travel;

so she lives simply and takes pet sitting jobs all over the world.
The chat brought back travel memories for me.

And just this little detour in my day and

a chat with a stranger made it a mighty fine day.

I love when I put myself out there and take a detour in my day.

Happy Weekend, dear friends!
Take the detour, you will be glad you did it!

Just Last Saturday

With sunshiny weather and the need to get out,

my adventure encompassed some delights that tickled my heart

and just made me smile.

When the camera comes out my grandson can't resist a pose.

We were off to the plant sale and he was on the hunt.

 No, it wasn't flowers he wanted.

Not even some strawberry plants for his garden.

But a venus fly trap was calling to him.

Isn't that what any little 6 year old guy would want?

 Now I spotted teacups and teapots for the garden.

 There were 6 rows like this and most of them were packed.

 Each of us came home with a plant.

Then after the grandson returned home,

my "live-in  gardener" and I took a little hike.

He had never viewed the camas lily; so I showed him where to find them.

 There were meadows and fields full of them in glorious beauty.

And a few trees here and there too.

Now if you look really close between the trees you will see Mt.Hood,

a volcanic mountain about an hour drive from Portland.

But the soft glow of blue and pink wildflowers was what we wanted to see.

I love this trail and it is an easy walk.

If we looked here and there more flowers appeared.

How it delights my heart to walk through fields of flowers 

and spending time with one special guy at the plant show too.

Excuse me for slowly adding posts.

For some reason the internet at my home is quite slow lately

or maybe it is blogspot.

Blogspot doesn't want to load more than two or three pictures at

a time; so I must persevere.

Take time for an adventure each and every week.