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.

Garden Quotes 2019

More than half a century has passed,

and yet each spring,

when I wander into the primrose wood

and see the pale yellow blooms

and smell their sweetest of scents...

for a moment I am

seven years old again and

wandering in the fragrant wood.

~Gertrude Jekyll

Yellow blooms earlier this spring coming up through the snow

delighted my heart.

Now primrose sit in one corner of the garden,

not always noticed but sitting there in quiet repose.

Happy Springtime, dear friends!

Tea by Candlelight

The weather warms and beckons me outdoors.

Both tea and flowers are my delight.

The moonlight is rising into the sky.

Candles lite, it is time for tea.

A dreamer is one

who can only find her way by moonlight.

~Oscar Wilde

 So moonlight it is!

 The Way of Tea:

Follow it, and ever deeper it goes;

Like the field of Musashi

Where the moon is limpid,

With depths that draw us onwards.

~ Rikansai

So the moon creates the ambiance,

tea beckons by candlelight.

Come sit awhile and sip with me.

Poetry we read.

The night is young,

the birds quiet in the evening light,

and now we smile with satisfied delight.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Go out and find the moon,

sit awhile for spring is here.

I am

I am:

a photographer
a writer of dreams and whimsy

a mom

a wife

a sister

a tea lover

a cat lover

a nature lover 
a flower lover 
a tea lover

an artist

a light spirit

a gyspy

a fairy

a strong woman
a speaker of truth

When I started this list a couple months ago
it really hit me with such power in thinking these things of myself.
Have you acknowledged who you are?
Just making the list will give you power in your soul.

I challenge each of you to do so and if you share on your blog,
let me know.
Writing them down, even just for yourself is a good thing.
I can review it in my mind now
and know I am all those things and more.
It has given me confidence in myself.

Garden Quotes 2019

"Earth laughs in Flowers."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

All pictures from my garden this spring.

Hunting for Wildflowers

Balsam Root in particular was what I wanted to see.

The adventure began along the Columbia River Gorge in Mosier, Oregon.

Yesterday was in the mid 70's and for two that don't often

hike more than one or two miles we did just fine.

There were a few aches and pains after the 3 1/2 miles,

but we did it and loved the experience of hunting for wildflowers.

There was the beauty of a gorgeous day

and the scenery was amazing!

My "live-in gardener" on the trail just ahead.

Can you see the tufts of yellow?

We made it to the top of the plateau. Hooray!

There was much to reward the climb.

Balsam Root is in the sunflower family and it was everywhere.

There were some lupines too.

I was thoroughly delighted to spot this swallowtail butterfly too.

I can imagine butterflies would love this place even more than myself.

This view was so worth the climb!!!

Does anyone know what this pink tinged wildflower is?

There were a few scattered here and there.

Oh,  amazing creativity went into designing wildflowers.

Do you see the crow landing on the top of the tree?

 We think this was wild dill.

At the beginning and at the end of the trail was a historic graveyard.

Rather a lovely spot surrounded by the wild things.

Spring time adventures are so rewarding, especially when you see the delights of the wild.

Apple Blossoms

If you have followed me for awhile you will know

I am drawn to this orchard at least once a year.

The place of apple blossoms with their tinge of pink

and the grass growing underneath.

It is planted deep in my heart.

Memories of my childhood.

 Ahhhh! The pink!

 Some white blossoms too!

 But it was the pink ones I was after.

 I was a bit too early, but still I swooned.

The orchard is a historic one on Sauvie Island, not far from Portland.

It is not the one I grew up with, but a perfect substitute.

The one I grew up with is in California, too far for a quick jaunt.
The picture below is the orchard where I grew up.
Picture taken in 2017, the last time I visited.

Do you have outdoor memories?