July 25, 2013 - Changes in the House

New flooring is finished!

Of course, we had to move the furniture...

New carpet on the stairs

Smoke filled sunset

Some days the best possible thing to happen is that the house gets emptied out (or at least a portion of it does) and you get to deep clean, and enjoy all the space!  That's been our house for the past few days.  Everything in the fridge got moved to the camper fridge...so the home refrigerator got thoroughly scrubbed.  Everything in the kitchen, dining room, and family room got moved out in preparation for new flooring.  Which means as everything moves back it gets scrubbed a bit more thoroughly than it might normally get.

 

We're going to need to do some touch-up painting.  1/4 inch of plywood had to be removed, which means the baseboards no longer match the paint.  Oh well, that just means we can paint behind the baseboards, and get a more complete job done there, too.

 

I'm playing with a new camera today.  I picked up one for use underwater, kayaking, boating, etc.  It'll take me a bit of time to get familiar with it, but as I used a similar one in Hawaii, I'm hoping the learning curve won't take too long.  I will, of course, share the results with you!

July 23, 2013 - More Sights Out Back

Orange globemallow

Yellow salsify

Yellow salsify

The top photo is of one of our loveliest summer-blooming perennials.  Few things manage that in the very dry climate here.  The bottom two are of a common weed that has an uncommonly lovely seedhead.  I remember being enchanted with the flower when I first saw it as a girl - a bright yellow star, blooming out of a crack in the sidewalk.

 

Today was filled with experiences that were delightful.  I went kayaking with a good friend - and oh, the things we saw!  Of course we disturbed quite a few carp.  Then we saw three different groupings of pelicans, busy fishing in the shallows and gulping down fish right and left.  (Probably eating baby carp...)  Closer to Foundation Island, we watched the cormorant colony, then spied three black-crowned night herons.  And yes, the Canadian geese continue to flock up.

 

Later my covenant group met for good food, wine and conversation.  It's always good to get together with this group that's been meeting for...what...I think about five years now!  It's hard to believe it's been that long.  We e-mail each other weekly (or almost weekly) but try to meet in person once a month. 

 

Finally, back home for conversation with my husband, for the fun of opening a couple of packages that came (my new water camera is here!) and for clearing out a couple of rooms so we can get new carpet tomorrow.  That might not have been so much fun...but the results will be!

July 22, 2013 - Out in Our "Way Back"

Milkweed

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Migrating geese

Dragonfly

Milkweed pod

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Ladybug on milkweed

Dragonfly

I allow milkweed to grow out back because I hope it will provide necessary food for monarch butterflies.  That said, I haven't seen a monarch anywhere on our property...but I keep looking.  Which is why I headed out back today.  No monarchs, but dragonflies of so many different colors and sizes!  A few white butterflies were in the area.  The ants seem to love the milkweed flower, too.  And one ladybug.

 

The geese flew over about halfway into my visit out back.  We've been seeing them begin to flock up already.  It's only July...one would think they would want to stay on summer holiday for a bit longer.  But I expect we'll hear flocks going over every evening and every morning, very soon.

 

Back to the dragonflies.  I am wondering the purpose of having so many colors, so many different types.  I know the kingbirds like them all - the bigger, the better.  There was a green one I didn't get a photo of, and the grey one was quite shy.  Actually, they're very sensitive to movement, which is understandable, when you're the favorite prey of flycatcher.  So...now I need to learn a bit more about dragonflies - they've piqued my curiosity!

July 19, 2013 - A Promise of Things to Come

Corn soon...and corn later

English walnuts

Hazelnuts

I love looking at the garden to see what is going to ripen that isn't yet ready.  There is a special quality about the process of waiting...waiting for the first blossom, the first hint of fruit, the first blush of color, the first fruit to come from the plant.

 

So, I am waiting for corn, tomatoes, peppers, walnuts and hazelnuts.  Everything else has had at least an initial introduction to our table - but none of these are ready, as of yet.  (Oh...and the watermelons and cantaloupe!  Can't forget them!)  The lettuce and radishes are gone, the onions and garlic have been pulled, the summer squash and cucumbers are in full production, as is the basil, the green beans, the chard, etc.  But a few things hold back, making us wait until late July, or maybe even August, or in the case of the nut trees, at least until September, if not October.  The extended harvest is a blessing in and of itself.  Always something new, always something for which we are waiting, always the anticipation of what is yet to come, while being thankful for what has already been.

July 18, 2013 - The Line of Wine Barrel Planters

 

 

I have a line of eight half wine barrels along the back of the fence, right in front of the vegetable garden.  Each year I fill them with lots of different annuals (and a few perennials) and wait to see what does well.  It seems to vary with the year.  Last year, the verbena was outstanding.  This year, it's the petunias and the lobelia.  Okay, and the millionbells, and several others...but the verbena almost has gone missing!

The barrels were a gift from my husband, who also helped set up the drip irrigation system for them.  (He did the main line, I did the fine-tuning.)  Each year, they've been a delight, filled with enough color for an old country garden.  Each year, I replant them, occasionally adding plants that volunteer from seed heads I didn't get around to cutting off the previous year.  (The pink salvia comes back from seed beautifully every year - usually in the vegetable beds.)

These require so little care, so little attention, I almost feel like I'm cheating.  How can anything produce that abundantly with no extra fertilizer, and only one deadheading a year?  But they do, and I'm thankful!

July 17, 2013 - Visitors in the Garden

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Butterfly

Mayfly

Today while I was out mowing the lawn, I noticed both a red and a blue dragonfly.  I decided to go out and see who I could find when I had the camera with me.  Of course, there were lots of other visitors, as well.  The mayfly was actually the first one I discovered.  (My husband started talking about the fly pattern he'd tie to imitate it.)  There were lots of bees and bumblebees, and the occasional wasp.  And the whiteflies are thick...but as they're a pest, I wasn't interested in a photo.  The mayfly, dragonflies, and butterfly were all fun to watch...busily sipping nectar, flying from place to place.  All except the mayfly, which was stationary.  I took photos of it several different times as the light changed.  He never moved.

 

The butterfly was something else again!  I have a very large screen, and in the photo I've posted, you can actually see the butterfly's mouth.  He was busy fluttering from flower to flower, filling up with nectar.  The dragonflies were mostly focused on flowers, as well, though they'd occasionally land and just sit for a moment.

 

I heard a bit of an article on NPR talking about butterflies as "flying jewels", and the mania for collecting them in the past.  I have no desire to collect - but if I did, that mayfly and those dragonflies are as jewel-like as anything I've seen, with veined diaphanous wings and vivid colors.  

July 16, 2013 - Sunrise to Sunset

Sunrise off the back deck

Columbia Gorge - driving home

Fire on an island in the Columbia

The hills near sunset

Sunset over the Columbia

Sunset near home

Today was quite the day.  It's been one year precisely since my accident - and a friend drove me to Portland to see my retinologist. (The two things are not related - that's just how the day settled out on the calendar.)  Driving on this particular day is an act of courage - in itself, a thing of beauty.  But the beauty on the drive!  The first photo was taken at home, off the back porch.  All the rest are "through the car window" photos, documenting just a small sample of the beauty that surrounded us today.

 

First and foremost, it seems vital to say that the eye appointment went amazingly well.  My vision has improved to 20/25, so is no longer marginal.  To celebrate, I had injections in both eyes, and will continue to get them every two months.  A very small price to pay for the privilege of seeing.  And it seems to me it is a privilege - everything I look at, all the possible views, every bit of color becomes more and more precious to me as I both celebrate the reality of this improvement, and continue to stare into the fact that there is, as of now, no cure.  But, those injections not only are keeping the disease at bay - they are also working well enough in me that my vision improves almost every time I have an injection.  So, for me, they are "shots of hope".

 

I think the colors in the sky today were put there for my enjoyment, and for the delight of anyone else who would take the time to look.  The variations in the hues was astounding, and changed from one mile to the next as clouds alternated with sunshine, finally settling into a dazzlingly beautiful sunset.  I took many more photos - the joy of digital photography!  Just keep shooting and hope that something will turn out the way you hope!

 

I just noticed that both of the last paragraphs ended with the word "hope".  Apropos for the day, I would say.  It is indeed a hopeful day - new sight, improved vision, enough hope to live on for a good while.  Thanks be to God!

July 13, 2013 - A Bit More of Ashland

The Green Show - Brandon Beebe

The Path the Unity and Love

The Green Show - Meidoko

Meidoko

Meidoko

This year we spent several evenings at the Green Show while at Ashland.  (A third evening isn't pictured.)  These are free performances, often quite different from anything I can see or listen to elsewhere.

 

When I was child and into my younger adult years, the Green Show was always based on Elizabethan music and dancing.  I loved it, became quite the fan of madrigals, and wished I could dance like that.  When the shows changed, I wasn't happy.  (Who among us adjusts easily to change - especially that which we didn't know was coming?)  It took me a number of years to appreciate what I now enjoy.  It's a totally different experience - it rarely immerses you in Shakespeare's time - but rather it takes you across time, across cultures, around the world.  Given enough time, even someone like me can learn to like change.

 

We are back home, now.  We are, of course, debating among ourselves which plays we liked the best and why, which performances were most outstanding and (most important) what would you like to see next year.  There are two of Shakespeare's plays being performed next year I haven't yet seen - it may be time to cross them off the list.

 

As I sat at the Green Show, walked through Lithia Park, camped with my older sister and my husband, and enjoyed meals with my son, daughter-in-law, and her parents, I appreciated what a rich gift I'd been given.  Our parents started taking us to the festival when we were in elementary school.  We started our son attending when he was in first grade.  We all still love live theatre...we all still love Shakespeare.  And we all enjoy going together, sharing the bond of that particular beauty, that particular love.

July 12, 2013 - Serendipity

Late afternoon in the Columbia Gorge

Deer in Ashland

Madrona bark

Painting under bridge deck

The Path

A number of the family (seven, to be precise) spent the past few days at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.  One of the best things about being there (besides the plays, which were wonderful) is spending time in town, out of doors.  It seems like almost anything can happen - and often does.

 

For instance, one day we went to Lithia Park for a picnic, only to find we were serenaded all day by a string camp that was being taught in the park.  Those attending the camp were children - but not just beginners.  A number had real skill at their instruments, and there was singing, as well as playing.  This continued a good deal of the day. 

 

Then several of us went on a hike.  The madrona trees were shedding their bark - the contrast was beautiful.  Finally, later in the day, three of us went to meet the other four at a restaurant.  We were early, so poked around in some odd corners, and found the path and several paintings like the one shown above.  All were under a bridge, so we enjoyed the shade, the seating on stones fitted for that purpose, and the paintings. 

 

Serendipity - beauty is where you find it - and oftentimes you simply stumble across it, while not even looking!

July 7, 2013 - Back at Home, Lots Is Happening

Mimosa tree in full bloom

Mimosa and clematis

Visitors to the sunflowers

Bee and wasp

Could you gather any more pollen?

Some sort of bee...

It's always busy around the sunflowers, but last night I noticed that things seem busier than usual.  I had hoped to capture a finch on film, but was more than happy to settle for all these different kinds of beetles and bees, finding exactly what they wanted in the sunflowers that grow wild.

 

I appreciate the fact that a garden, though cultivated, still remains quite wild.  I can't (and don't want to) control the pollinators.  I can't control the pests.  (Well, maybe I could, but I choose not to - they leave plenty for me.)  I control for water, but not for sun and heat.  And though I control what I plant, there are always volunteers.  I don't bother to buy tomatillos - plenty will come up from last year's crop.  The same is true of dill, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes.  Today I even found a volunteer petunia in a vegetable bed.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised - I regularly have a favorite pink salvia that grows there.  The weeds, of course, I can count on to self-sow - I just try to keep the numbers down.

 

Another major self-sower?  The mimosa tree - I have lots of volunteers.  They're difficult to transplant, though...I appreciate the person who potted the one that now graces our back yard.  She has always been a skillful gardener - and I appreciate her skill more and more as I try to replicate the gift she offered me.