Proud Of My Garden

 It rained Saturday night. Blessed Rain.
Took the lingering smoke from the forest fires out of the air.

 I planted all of my sunflower seeds over a section of the garden and they ended up somehow, only in two places.


This fuzzy sunflower and it's 'friend', L'escargot, are in fine form today.

Thankfully, Peter Rabbit and his twin did not eat these seedlings. Or, did they dine on some?
They really liked my squash and pumpkin seedlings.  Good thing rabbits are cute.

 I'm really liking this dahlia and it's red spurs, randomly placed. I am a lazy gardener at best, and I don't dig my dahlia tubers for the winter. The blessings of living in the mild Willamette Valley.

Sometimes I lose some, sometimes they come back.

Everbearing Strawberries

  Look! at my amazing amaryllis.

I threw these used bulbs outside in this very sunny exposed bed in the garden years ago and they are thriving.
Since they are thriving, I meant to toss the last ones from Christmas here as well. But in the winter, I don't know where these pink ones are.

 My Fireworks Dahlia. I think I bought this tuber in the store in town and I don't think it's got a name but I might dig this one up for winter. Maybe.      I hope it comes back next year.

 Nasturtiums, cucumber vines and Dill. Yes, a weird combination. But they seem to like each other.

 I put this fence in over 25 years ago. My garden area is about 50 feet x 50 feet. The fenced area is about 25 x 25 ft. To keep the rambunctious dogs out. Haha. Those dogs loved strawberries, raspberries, peas. But it did keep them from running through new plants.

It does not keep Peter Rabbit and his friends out.

The bare ground is where I am digging my potatoes. The plants have died down and they are through growing. That's the hangar back there.

Anyway, I grow my peas and cukes on this fencing. The perimeter is not  whole anymore after many years of rototiller adventures and kids and dogs. Not to mention the wildlife I choose not to see.

 The runway is over to the left in this photo. Strawberries in upper right side. Sunflowers in upper back. Cukes and nasturtiums in front center

Garden path. We have pavers in front of the hangar which is to the right in this photo. The strawberries were all along the right edge of this paved path and jumped ship a long time ago to a happier place. Now I grow sedums where the strawberries used to be (righthand side of path).

Also a small Japanese maple tree.

 Strawberry leaves all dewy with rain with sunflowers and dahlias providing a pretty background. The raspberries are behind that providing a bit of a windbreak.

I don't always keep up with my garden but I rearranged things in my life a bit and managed an awesome garden this year. Usually the weeds get the upper hand *fast*.

I'm hoping all these cool sunflowers reseed themselves.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I felt like blogging today. Yay me.
This spring and summer has been an upheaval of sorts as I re-prioritize my busy life.

I continue to work forced overtime but there seems to be a break coming up.

Those beautiful red flowers are called Monarda aka BeeBalm. I try to make my yard bee friendly by using very little chemicals. My auto-immune (SIBO) seems to do better if I limit my chemical exposure too.

I had a couple of family crisis's that made me very sad for the choices those members are making. The bright side is they are able to make those choices. They are not my choices and it's difficult to separate out the feelings they invoke. Sadness  seemed to be the June feeling of the month.


While I'm happy at last to have a name and diagnosis for my auto-immune, it's long-term and chronic and progressing. I have a drive to do everything before I am unable to. And I want to do it all. I have no interest in giving up yet.

Like biking to work. I don't have to, but utilizing different muscle groups is not only healthy for my heart, but those muscles help support my joints as the chronic inflammation takes over.

This year has been super duper on the berries with several batches of jam/jelly made and berries in the freezer for the winter.

By letting blogging go by the wayside, I have that little bit more time to spend in my garden. Allowing my bare feet to connect with the earth really helps my stress levels.

I biked into town to see the 4th of july parade.Lots of live music, kids running amuck, and a Volkswagen Van for my friend's DIL - pink!

I had the pleasure of standing next to some seriously awesome kidlets. One in particular was the youngest (3 years old) of several boys. His mama softly urged him to share some of the candy he collected from the floats with other nearby kids  and it was such a joy to see this boy willingly picking up a life lesson in sharing. So easily done by an amazing mom.

Do you recall those potatoes I planted in April? We had a very cold and wet spring so planting was delayed. Now look at them. They are flowering and will soon set those teeny, tiny potatoes for summer salads.

 And, then, of course, the funeral and the wedding.

This is the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen. I've always wanted to be cremated, but this cemetery on the steep hillside, looking out on the southern Oregon hills might change my mind.

This was a beautiful ceremony for a family member. Definitely filled with family choices that make me sad. It took a few weeks to acknowledge that sadness for the choices people make and allow the feeling to be. What it is. Learn from those choices. I can always be a better person.

The wedding was the direct opposite in the joyful feelings for this beautiful neighbor girl. All grown up now, she played with my kids. Her family actually lived quite close to my older sister for a while until the airplane her dad was building in the garage outgrew it's space.

My nephew. And Mt. Jefferson. Photo credit: my son.

This spring, feeling quite overwhelmed and not knowing how to find time, I stopped blogging. I stopped sewing. I need these things as they are positive creating that helps counter-balance the enormous load of stress at work.

I was also sad not doing these things to make time for those aforementioned family crisis's.
But time has a way of moving quite fast and you get through those things.

I have actually thought about sewing twice this week, so I am going to see if I can putter around in my sewing room tomorrow. Touch some fabric, maybe sew. Or, maybe just dust.

Tomorrow is the first Sunday (laundry day) that I have had free in what seems months. No obligations. No expectations. No helping others.

Mindfulness is something of a trend in a fast-paced world helping to slow you down with meditation and being present in now as opposed to worrying about the future or continuing family feuds from the past. My current job, while stressful and with too many hours, is an excellent tool to learn Mindfulness. Live in the moment - no use worrying about tomorrows schedule.

I'll quit rambling and leave you with my first blooming dahlia.

Summer Excess

The Summer of Excess.
Bumper crops on  both the Raspberries and Blueberries and the Fabric.

I may have had a moment at Fabric Depot last night.
I had seen a new line of airplane fabrics when I was there a few weeks ago and I lusted after them.

I already had to go to the fabric store for some thumb hooks to attach a strap to a bag.
The sheer 40% Off All Fabrics overwhelmed me.
There was no contemplation at all of what I will make with these fabrics.

Not exactly what I was looking for but the cheapest. $1.89 each. This is why I cut hardware off bags I find at garage sales.

This is my favorite -- the biplanes and the postmarked letters. Done in my favorite color combo of aqua and orange.

This is a line by Riley Blake in the same color combo featuring old comic book advertising.
----Just because I had a dog named Rocket - which I will never repeat because that dog zoomed off like a rocket.
---just because I like airplanes and other things that fly....

 I covered my blueberry bushes last week and did the first picking this morning.

It's been cool and wet and humid this week. They will reach their peak in the next week or two.

I need to go to the store this morning and buy plain yogurt to make my Blueberry yogurt muffins. I can't eat them but everyone else loves them.
Someday, I might try to make it a gluten-free, no dairy, no weirdness recipe.
For covering, I look for bridal netting at garage sales or buy some at Joanns/Walmart. Secured with clothespins.

 We still have some straggling strawberries to pick.

My final piece of fabric was found at the cutting counter. From wide stripes to thin stripes - she was making a maxi-skirt for her daughter. Having no control at all last night, I bought some too.
It will look good for the 4th of July party.