Category Archives: Flowering Plants

This and That

It was a beautiful day on Friday and we did some mowing since the ground was still somewhat wet from rain we had into Thursday that means not as much dust kicked up. After mowing the front we worked on the back and we moved on to weeding and clearing some areas of rock. We didn’t hear the commotion on the road.

We had several law enforcement agencies show up after a car ended up in a ditch on our road.

I brought in the first of the peonies that are blooming. We have a total of 5 bushes of this deep blush variety.

The Columbines are opening up. We have at least three different color varieties.

The Hostas are filling out nicely.

Thankfully these visitors don’t like to eat Columbine.

We enjoyed leftovers for our main meals on Friday and Saturday and then cooked up these shrimp for something different. Delicious with sweet chili sauce.

Sunday was our oldest sister’s 75th birthday so us sisters sent her a bouquet of flowers delivered on Saturday.

We were so pleased that the bouquet was as advertised and shown on the website. Our sister was celebrated well and it was fun to see all the special things she was treated with.

This is a busy week coming up for us here in Colville. Hope you all had a good weekend and your new week goes well.

Smiles and Connections

We took a quick trip to Spokane on May 7th and the Fred Meyer Garden center was hopping and the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile was front and center. It’s always fun to see one of these vehicles and it prompts my mind to start singing that jingle…Oh I wish…

On the highway drive to and from Spokane these fields of yellow were a fun thing to see, too. There has been some debate on what kind of crop it is. Some felt too early for Canola also known as Rapeseed.

This past Wednesday after Dear worked on taping and mudding some ceiling drywall in the Shop we decided to head to Chewelah for early dinner (real early) and after our meal we stopped by this relatively new establishment on Main Street in Chewelah called Mountain Market on Main. We were glad we stopped. So far there are three separate shops in this old restored schoolhouse, Gather, Flora, and The Nest.

We had a nice long conversation with the owner of the building and came to find out we had mutual friends and connections from our times living on the west side of the Cascades. It’s a small world after all. There are plans afoot to expand the services offered in this great building. This will be a fun destination for family and friends who come to visit our corner of the world.

Spring at Our Country Bungalow

This very pregnant mama deer was lounging in our yard for a full day last week.

I think she’s going to have twins.

We see this hawk flying above our area regularly. I had to zoom way in to capture it sitting at the top of a tree.

Our resident swallows have returned.

The rhubarb bush has exploded!

The earliest of our peonies that will flower are the red ones.

It has been fun to see these Johnny jump ups appear all over our property. They are such a sweet flower.

Hope May is bringing some sweet blooms in your corner of the world.

Daffodils from the Past

Back in 2010 Dear and I drove north from our former home in Kenmore Washington to see the daffodils. Neighboring fields will be full of tulips come April.

I didn’t find any daffodils in the stores yesterday. I did find a bunch of tulips but instead of bringing them home they found a different home.

We are off to grand sit. There will be lots of round and round today. Have a good Saturday.

Stars and Stripes Weekend

How cute are our little grands sporting their 4th of July matching outfits??

On the Fourth this year we gathered at Jamie’s Uncle’s home for a potluck barbecue. I didn’t take a photo of the salad I contributed but it was from our Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog and here’s the link. A refreshing summer Watermelon Cucumber Salad from Bev.

Before we left to the 4th of July gathering I worked on our backyard planters weeding. Our front planters need a lot of work still and I hope to get to them this week.

A walk about the yard taking photos of all the pretty things and weeds that are blooming.

Our day lilies are in their glory right now as is this Clematis.

After a wonderful 5th of July service at church honoring God and country we took a Sunday afternoon drive up Aladdin Road all the way to the Washington US Border with Canada. On the way back we took a side road to check out Deep Lake. I’m not able to upload the photos from this spur of the moment road trip yet.

We are expecting some out of state visitors this week. Looking forward to that. What is up in your corner of the world?

Peonies

This bush is a white Peony. It’s the largest of our Peonies.

These Peony bushes above are the ones we will need to transplant. The one on the left is a pink Peony. All the others are the deep red ones. The deep red ones bloom first.

By the time we return to our home these white Peonies will be bursting forth in all their glory.

We are sojourning with our Coast Kids for a few days where I can upload as many photos as I want. I’m in uploading heaven.

We have already enjoyed hugs from our daughter and her husband who we hadn’t seen since Christmas. It is good to be together. Our oldest son and DIL are hosting us and we were with them last on Mother’s Day weekend. It was clear sailing all the way to the Steven’s Pass in the Cascade Mountain range where we finally encountered rain.

More from our road trip coming soon.

Hope you are all enjoying a good weekend.

June Spring Walkabout…

Our red Peonies are the first to burst forth in all their splendor. We have 5 bushes.

These sweet violas? seeded themselves in this planter. They pop up all over our property and I’m happy to see them.

This is a dwarf lilac that is deer resistant. I was weeding around it and it gives off those wonderful lilac scents!

You can see the shop in the background and we’re happy to say it is ready for it’s metal roof.

Our red peonies are fading. Our pink and white peonies are still ready to bloom. These were all the photos I was able to upload.

Some kind of wild rose?

What a wonderful time we had meeting as a church body again in our building instead of online. We are still having online services for those who are in risky health categories and who are still uncomfortable with meeting together. The singing was so robust and our pastor was on fire! It was good to be together again.

Our views on the way to church in the photo above and the views after church below.

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We had some good periods of rain which means I will not need to water for a couple days. I welcome that.

Quotes of the day from the sermon today:

The only cure for sin is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

You cannot educate sin out of people. 

We need to be reconciled to God in order to be reconciled to man.

Additional notes from gracechurch.org

Jesus is Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Even though God’s justice demands death for sin, His love has provided a Savior who paid the penalty and died for sinners (1 Peter3:18). Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice, and Christ’s perfect life satisfied the demands of God’s holiness(2 Corinthians 5:21), thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26). 

1 Peter 3:18 ~ 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

2 Corinthians 5:21 ~ 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Romans 3:23-26 ~ 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Is God calling you? Confess your sins and accept His forgiveness and new life in Him.

I hope your faith is in the One who can save you and give you a future with Him in Heaven.

A Walk About…

…our property to see what is blooming on Monday May 4th, 2020. In the midst of Stay at Home COVID-19.

In our front planter these pretties popped up.

Is it a variety of a daffodil?

The Hostas are breaking through.

The White Bleeding Heart.

Fern fronds.

Sweet Pansies.

Our crooked bush that the deer like.

A lonely daffodil with one of the rocks Addy painted.

The Red Peony. We have a few of this red variety.

The White Peony.

Goodnight Colville.

Our Star of Hope that shines every night.

We had a full day of rain on Wednesday. We were busy indoors and then had a babysitting date with our grands so our kids could have a couple hours on their own. Those grands are such a joy in our lives. I’m happy to be back to hugging. No kissing but the hugs are amazing.

The pain was real without those hugs. This photo was taken after his self-will was tested and his nap time was late and he was teething. A trifecta of pain. We love this boy!

Psalm 119: 9-16 (ESV)

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
    all the rules[a] of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.

This Little Piggy and Aronia Berries

So this little piggy came to visit and was grunting at Dear while he worked in the garage. Dear successfully shooed it away and it moved on to greener pastures. You never know what animal will end up in your front yard when you live in the country.

The Aronia Berry. We have a bush that produces these berries profusely. The deer really enjoy them and come to find out they have health benefits.

The aroniaberry (also known as a chokeberry) has proven to be one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants. In simple terms, antioxidants are a chemical compound or substance such as Vitamin E and C, found in foods, which are thought to protect the body’s cells from the damaging effects of oxidation.

  • Aroniaberries have higher antioxidant levels than other berries. Not only are they low in sugar, they also contain beneficial nutrients, such as quercetin, quinic, minerals, and vitamins.
  • Aroniaberries contain the highest levels of anthocyanins (the pigment in the berry that gives them their dark purplish-black color) and proanthocyanidins (plant-based super-antioxidants) when compared to many of the other well-known “superfruits.”
  • Reduction of inflammation and C-reactive protein levels
  • Proanthocyanidins offer a wide variety of health benefits as well. Science has shown that foods high in proanthocyanidin content may help:
    • Improve circulation by strengthening capillary walls
    • Inhibit enzymes that break down collagen
    • Reduce allergy production

In addition, the powerful components in the amazing Aroniaberry have been found to:

  • Improve function of the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems
  • Prevent gastric damage
  • Protect heart cells from cell membrane damage and DNA fragmentation
  • Protect the liver from chemical damage
  • Enhance overall wellness

It sounds like we have a miracle berry right in our own back yard. 🙂

We are going to pick them and freeze them and hopefully remember to have a few a day to improve our health.

In other yard news our grasses are taking over and in their glory.

I had my final follow-up after my eye surgery and all looks real well! I’m thanking God for that.