Rescued Plants

After I harvested our garlic, there was a large void in the garden.  It was an awkward time to plant anything because summer was in full swing.  Plants that would enjoy the heat wouldn't have enough time to produce if I started them from seeds.  I needed starts--but the season for that had passed.

Behind one of my favorite organic garden stores I discovered some plant starts.  

The sign said FREE and there was a reason.  These were the leftovers...they were sad little plants, yellow leaves, root-bound in their containers, and hadn't been watered.

Free plants was just my bare plot needed--they wouldn't be any worse off and maybe they would grow.

Thanks to fluffed up soil, chicken manure, sunshine, and water---the neglected plants came back to life.

At the time of planting, I wasn't sure what I was even putting in the ground because the plants were no longer labeled.  I could tell generally that I was planting some kinds of peppers, eggplant and some vines...watermelon?  squash?  It was fun to discover what was actually growing.

Today the weather shifted; it is much cooler and we are going to have rain for several days.  It was time to harvest all the heat-loving veggies and fruit.

I also picked my flowers and made two lovely dahlia bouquets.

I'm so thankful for the rescued plants....

....and to have so much color to make the grey days cheerful.

Thank you Nanna for the gift certificate for the dahlia tubers.   And thank you Mom for the chicken manure.

Easter Eggs

Happy Easter!

Spring is in full swing, but the oak trees haven't leafed out yet so our kitchen gets flooded with a wonderful warmth on the sunny days.  I took this picture and then realized I was missing something important....

Lilcas!

Ours just started blooming.

I love the aesthetics of our tiny kitchen.  It's the only part of the house that has the original single pane windows.

I wish you could inhale this photo.  It smells divine!

Earlier this week there was a lot of Easter Egg decorating.  Jonah was enjoying dipping and seeing the colors stain the eggs.

Master egg artist at work.

 We used my Mom's duck eggs for this particular project.

This morning we went up to my Mom's mini farm in Underwood for an Easter Egg scavenger hunt.  She had made rhyming riddles directing Jonah to all the secret spots.

On the hunt....

Jonah loved it!

The cape was Jonah's idea.  It turned out to give him super finding powers.

Ezra got to "find" one too.

Afterwards, we got to have a 2nd Breakfast of bacon, rainbow salad, cupcakes and Easter eggs.

What a privileged life.  We are so thankful.

Then it was back outside to say hello to the chickens...

...and ducks.

Thanks for a very special Easter morning, Old Mom.

I hope you all have a lovely day too.

xo

-c

A Bouquet for Mommy

This is the first bouquet of flowers picked for me by sweet Jonah.

Last week, Jonah had been out walking with Nanna, and when they returned Jonah ran to me with this most special gift.  My heart melted.

In our family, the gift of flowers are reserved for "non-occasions."  Meaning, I never expect them on any of the traditional, commercial holidays, but rather, am often surprised by bouquets throughout the year randomly.  I love it and it is one of my favorite ways that Jesse shows appreciation.  I think that all of my most lovely memories are also those which were unanticipated.

I have received a lot of flowers over the years, but this bouquet might be my favorite yet.

So in honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share a story about our family that I treasure.  

Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo

Secret Trail

The Columbia Gorge is packed full of marvelous places to discover.  A friend recently told me about a Secret Trail that winds up the back side of the Mosier plateaus.  It is truly a gem of a hike during wildflower season.  

I took Jonah and Daisy with me a few weeks ago on a scouting mission.  We found the unmarked trail and immediately were delighted by the colors of balsam root, lupine, and indian paintbrush.  

Jonah's outfit happened to be color coordinated with the scenery.

Being outside is super fun for Jonah.  He gets pretty excited about hikes.  

"Hike, hike, hike" is a daily request.

There were fields of wildflowers in every direction.  And the hum of bees gathering pollen was so loud that I kept pausing to be certain I wasn't leading us right on top of a hive.

  

Jonah walked as far as he wanted, but we ended up turning around before seeing the trail end.

This morning when we got the "hike, hike, hike" request, we decided to try it again with the whole family...and a backpack.

This time the oak trees had leafed out and the lupine was in full glory.

Jesse lead the way (checking the trail for rattlesnakes).  We only saw one snake and it was a Northwestern Garter Snake.

The flowers were ridiculous.

   

And even more ridiculous was that we didn't encounter a single person during our entire hike...on a beautiful, windless day, during the weekend no-less, and over some of the most beautiful terrain I've ever experienced. Awesome!  

Almost there....

The view was just okay [wink, wink].

My two loves.

This was the best family shot....or perhaps the one that made me laugh the most.

After a little water break, we headed back down the hill.

I stopped to photograph a few flowering beauties.

Indian Paintbrush

 Lupine

Chocolate Lily

Balsam Root

Have a great weekend!

Spring

In The Gorge, the first wild flowers to bloom are the Grass Widows.  Snow flakes were falling yesterday, but Spring is making her mark.

I love this time of year....dashing outside in between rain showers for a walk in the bright sun.

Soon the Lupine and Balsamroot will be blooming too.

We love this little wildflower hike because it is so close to home and so pretty.

xoxo