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Beauty … in the “in-between.”
I stepped out on the front porch early this morning as hubby left for work. All across the front flowerbed little icy crystals sparkled with beauty in the reflection of the house floodlights. It looked like hundreds of…
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Luxury Caps
Two weeks ago, I was surprised to discover these mushrooms coming up in the front flowerbed. My Seek Nature App informed me that these are “Luxury Caps.” I was in awe! I have never seen mushrooms such as…
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How much yield??
So … hubby and I planted only a few handfuls of wheat seeds. Our wheat patch was quite small, as you can see. And since this was our very first time attempting to grow wheat, hubby and I…
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Joy!
Today’s blog post is in honor of our very dear precious friends down in Portland – K&P. If there is anyone who embodies “joy” it is this couple! For the past two years this couple has been walking…
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Wheat on a sheet
Everything about harvesting, threshing, and winnowing wheat has challenged my perspective when it comes to cleanliness and food preparation. You can’t wash wheat. I knew this logically. But practically it has been challenging to let go of my…
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Harvest!
I went out yesterday evening to harvest the beans. And lo and behold, the tomatoes were ripe. So, I harvested them too. As I stood in the middle of the garden, surrounded by beans on one side and…
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Chaff … which the box fan blows away!
Hubby and I threshed and winnowed the wheat last night. I had been really looking forward to this part of the process … of watching the chaff blow away in the wind. The Bible speaks of chaff being…
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Busy!!
I had the best time watching the bees on the sunflowers yesterday morning! There were lots of bees! And they were all busy!! The saying popped into my head: “Busy as a bee.” I had never really thought…
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Fallen over sideways!
Believe it or not, this is one sunflower plant! One single sunflower stalk can produce many different sunflowers. I didn’t realize this fact until last year. This particular sunflower stalk was growing tall and straight and reaching high…
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Caught unaware!
So, I was puttering about the house yesterday (doing laundry, and running the vacuum) in my pajamas, with a white mineral mud mask smeared all over my face. The thought popped into my head: “Wouldn’t it be embarrassing…
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Different seasons look differently
Here you can see a photo of our garden this year. Hubby just harvested the wheat this past Monday. Our garden this year has looked a lot different than last year’s garden. For starters … our garden this…
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Wheat!
It has been so much fun to watch the wheat grow this year! Hubby and I have never attempted to grow wheat before. Part of the fun of watching the wheat grow is because the Bible has so…
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Legacy!
This past Sunday, our pastor shared that he had just met his brand-new baby granddaughter that week! He then shared a few words about legacy and generation. To sum it up, these were the thoughts he shared: * …
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Bloom beautifully … to win the prize!
This week hubby and I have been watching bits and snippets of the Olympics. YouTube has short 5-6 min. video clips of highlights where you can peruse different sports, and the gold winners of each event. We’ve watched…
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Sunday afternoon berry-picking
Bright and early Saturday morning hubby and I were cruising down the valley headed to our Forestry Field Day event. As we drove past the U-Pick Raspberry farm we were startled to notice the parking area was already…
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Bear much fruit!
Last night hubby and I took a walk around the neighborhood after dinner; and upon returning to the house, we decided to go check on the plum tree to see if the plums were getting ripe yet. I…
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Here today … gone tomorrow
Hubby and I and our daughter were driving back home from central Washington after a delightful getaway for the July 4th holiday. As we were nearing home we cruised past a strawberry farm where hubby and I had…
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“Knee high” by the 4th of July
So … after a dismally cold, rainy May & June, our garden has finally reached “knee high.” Of course, the phrase “Knee high by the 4th of July” is referring to corn: if your corn is “knee…
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Marriage is … like lettuce growing in a planter box.
Hubby and I decided to grow lettuce this year. However, I didn’t want the hassle of having to go all the way out to the garden to gather lettuce for dinner each evening. So I asked hubby if…
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A fence … for protection
Our bean seeds, zucchini seeds, and pumpkin seeds did not like the cold rainy May … at all! But the raspberries loved it! The raspberries have been growing like gangbusters! Here you can see our raspberries. They are…
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Ready for a wedding!
The wedding held at mine and hubby’s home this past Saturday was quite sudden. With only 10 days’ notice, there was no time to “prepare properly” to make sure everything was “just right.” The yard and the…
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The start of an exciting new adventure!
Hubby and I have decided to try our hand at growing wheat! The natural response of everyone whom we have told is: “And why?? Don’t you realize it’s cold and rainy all the time in western Washington. Wheat…
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It’s graduation time!
This weekend our dear friends had a daughter graduate from college! This week, as I’ve perused the photos of “This day in history”, the photos which have been showing up are of my own two kids graduating from…
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An anchor for the soul
Hubby and I planted our garden this past Saturday. It was a bright sunny morning as hubby tilled up the ground, and as together, we laid down the black weed-block fabric. Hubby cut small holes for each one…
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The Holly and the Ivy
The day before the wedding, hubby and I, along with our two kids, spent the morning having brunch with the groom and his family; after which, we spent several hours setting up the rehearsal hall. We had an…
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I didn’t know caterpillars could freeze during the winter too!
Yesterday’s blog post was about how little wood frogs are able to survive the winter by freezing. I was amazed by this discovery! Every fall, just before temperatures drop and the frost comes, I always see little wooly…
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Did you know that frogs freeze during the winter?
When hubby and I were up in Alaska this past September, visiting our very dear friends, we stopped by Reflections Lake to walk the nature trail. It was a beautiful nature trail and we enjoyed it very much! …
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The “harvest” of a life
The sunflowers are done. Their brief lifespan is over. Hubby and I will now till them back into the soil of the garden where they will dissolve away. This is what our life is like. Our life is…
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Here but a moment … then gone …
I wanted to give you an update on the “Shaggy ink cap” mushrooms my son discovered in his yard last week. This photo was taken on Wednesday. This photo was taken 2 days later … on Friday. And…
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Here for a moment … and then gone
It’s mushroom season! How exciting! I came across these mushrooms 3 days ago. I was delighted! Today, just a few days later, I was out by the garden, and I noticed that these mushrooms are gone! …
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God’s glory … shining through flower petals!
I am in awe of these orange sunflowers with the yellow highlighting! It’s amazing how the tiniest tints of yellow at both the base of the flower petals and at the tip really add a dynamic pop to…
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And the rains came!
Earlier this Spring I wrote a blog post about how the parsley had decided to become best friends with my Hoopes rose. I shared this accompanying photo with that blog post. The parsley had evidently self-seeded in its…
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Almost … but not quite real
I shared a few blog posts ago how I have never much cared for peas. However, I did discover recently that snow peas aren’t that bad. In fact, they don’t taste like regular peas at all … because…
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Lessons from a Blackberry Vine
Today’s blog post (and accompanying photos) are from my son. Often when I work from home I try to take a short walk during lunchtime to stretch my legs. The nearby bike trail is the perfect place for…
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Seeds we sow
I love this view of the garden from my daughter’s upstairs bedroom window. As I stand and gaze out at the garden far below, it makes me think that this is probably what it’s like from Heaven’s view, …
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Hanging on for dear life!
I have never grown snow peas before. It has been fascinating to watch the snow peas send out little “tether lines” … looking for something strong and sturdy to hang on to. You can see these “tether lines”…
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True Lasting Friendship
The Italian Flat Parsley has decided it wants to be friends with my Hoopes rose! This past winter I transplanted my Hoopes rose to a nice big pot. I didn’t have quite enough dirt in the process, so…
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God will reward my effort for His Kingdom work.
I might sit in my house on my comfy couch, gazing out my back window at the garden, and pray for God to bless my garden. The time of planting comes … and then goes. The seed packets…
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What’s the point of life?
The trillium has reached the end of its “life cycle.” As you can see in the photo, its petals have turned a beautiful pink/purple. Have you ever wondered, “What’s the point of life anyway??” We might look at…
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Camouflage!
I went outside this morning to get some exercise walking loops around my front drive. On my first loop around I noticed a little slug on the gravel drive. You can see it below, in the photo on…
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Mushroom Breakfast Buffet!
I went out yesterday morning to spread bark chips and noticed that the slugs were having a fabulous Mushroom Breakfast Buffet! It seems word must have gotten around about the fantastic feasting opportunity available, for they were…
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Judge not, that you be not judged
I mentioned in the past two blog posts how that as I was growing up, and throughout my college years, I was under Bible teaching which reinforced what a “good” Christian was supposed to look like. As a…
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Looks … and expectations
It is currently snowing … big beautiful flakes! So pretty! I can only remember one other time it snowed in April. Here you can see all our little pots of Pacific Dogwood seeds. Dogwood seeds require a period…
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A tangled, thorny mess!
It’s March … and time once again to get outside and do some yard work! Last Wednesday (March 1) the sun came out briefly while I was outside waging war on the blackberry vines. In awe of the…
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Blessings in the Dirt: God designed seeds to sprout!
On Monday I came across the most amazing ice crystals in the garden when I went out to spread used coffee grounds. I was “oooo’ing” and “aahhhh’ing” and taking lots of photos, and I didn’t even notice until…
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Blessings in the dirt: Purpose … in every season!
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to pop into Starbucks to get a drink. And lo and behold, there by the front door, the “Grounds for the Garden” tub actually had a bag of used coffee grounds! Check that…
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Blessings in the dirt: God’s glory is there … in every season!
Our temps were down in the 20’s yesterday. I went out in the crisp cold afternoon to sprinkle my “prize” of used coffee grounds on the garden (that’s a blessing I’ll write about tomorrow!). As I was having…
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Something to disdain? … or a blessing??
On the forested property where hubby and I live there is a wide variety of shrubby groundcover and undergrowth: sword ferns, deer ferns, bracken ferns, Oregon grape, salal … … salmonberry bushes (which I call “nasty prickle…
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Seeds for the future!
In today’s background photo you can see the 50 Pacific Dogwood trees hubby and I are planting this fall. Dogwood trees take a long time to grow! Years! According to Google, it takes 18 months (or more) just…
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Footprints Across the Soul – Water plants in a cobalt-blue jar
Throughout my daughter’s high school years she worked in the dining room of an Assisted Living place. Here she developed many close friendships with many dear people. This cobalt-blue jar with water plants was a gift to my…