Oh the Sweet Smell…

…of Lavender

Lavender and Clement Robinson
(Handefull of Pleasant Delites, 1584)

Lavender is for lovers true,

Which evermore be faine;

Desiring always for to have

Some pleasure for their paine:

And when that they obtained have

The love that they require,

Then have they all their perfect joie,

And quenched is the fire.

Next weekend is the Lavender Festival in Sequim on the Kitsap Penninsula. I’m thinking about going and checking out the fields early on Friday with hopes of taking our summer visitors there the week after the festival. I’ve never been and would like to know what to expect before I haul a car full of visitors over there. I’d also like to inquire about how long the fields are full before they are cut back.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Sarah Bernhardt Peony~

 

I started with a Sarah Bernhardt and I have been bitten! I want more Peonies in my yard. I’ll be on the lookout when the time is right to plant some more.

On Sunday I bought a hummingbird feeder. My first of those, too. I want to set it somewhere out my computer window because a sweet hummingbird comes to visit everyday.

My neighbor found Mr. and Mrs. Ducks nest. It’s in one of their planters. There are 8 eggs in the nest. Mrs. Duck was sitting on the eggs when the neighbor showed me the spot. So soon we’ll see some little ducklings. I wonder how soon….

My week is thankfully starting slow but will move into hyper-mode soon.

Dear comes home tomorrow from a 6 day business trip to Chicago, yippee!

World Cup begins on Friday! No…really people, do you understand the magnitude of that for this soccer fan?!

Friday night my daughter’s boyfriend arrives for an 8 day visit before he heads off to bootcamp.

On Saturday after we watch the U.S.A./England World Cup game we head to Bowman Bay for a 3 hour kayak tour.

On Sunday my daughter will be walking in her graduation ceremony from the University of Washington!

Life is rich!

So for now I’m just letting this Sarah Bernhardt Peony intoxicate me with it’s fragrance.

James 1:17

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

Thanks for stopping by and blessings on your week.

Outdoor Wednesday ~ Descanso Gardens

Last Saturday my daughter and I were in the Los Angeles area and we met some family members at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. It was a beautiful day in Southern California and not too hot. Please visit Susan at a Southern DayDreamer to see more of the great outdoors.

 

Our Daughter Katie

My niece Melissa, Katie and my sister Kathy

Niece Melissa and daughter Katie

My niece Michelle with her husband Ryan

Their son Jackson

 

Their daughter Avery

My sister Kathy and me

Kathy with her granddaughter Avery

Hope you enjoyed Descanso Gardens and I recommend a visit when you are in the Los Angeles area. I think March is one of the prettiest months there or early April.

I’m Not Tired…

…of tulips, are you?

I do believe the pink ones are my favorite. Which are your favorite?

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Tulips!

 

Row upon row yellow, pink, red, purple.

 

I took a quick trip North last Thursday because we were promised a window of time without rain. I wanted to see the tulips before all the crowds started coming.

 

It was dry for my hour drive up until I took the exit for Mt. Vernon to head to the tulip farms. Then it started pouring!!

 

Most of my photos had to be taken out of my car window.

 

I was amazed at the beauty of this lovelies blooming row upon row.

 

 

 

 

 

It was wonderful to get the effect of a sea of tulips when you didn’t focus down the planted rows.

 

 

 

It really is a treat to see and if you ever are in the Northwest in April make sure you make it to the Skagit Valley!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

More to Come…

…a little tease of the wonder I saw today.

 

I’ll show more on Saturday or next week after Easter…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Have A Little Sunshine…

 

I hope you find some sunshine today!

“…He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…”

I’m tying up all the loose ends and packing my car for an early morning take-off on Saturday. We’re taking a few days to get home with some fun destinations and meetings along the way. I’ll share later next week when we get settled at home.

Congratulations to my Canadian friends and the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team for their win last night! That goalie deserved a shut-out!  I wanted our U.S. team to fair better but by the end of the game I told Dear that the Canadian Goalie earned the shut-out!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Finding Beauty ~ Fresh Flowers…

Time to visit Claudia at Dipity Road to join in on Finding Beauty on Friday.

Just click on the badge above!

I love fresh flowers. They always stand out and brighten a room. They don’t have to be expensive, either. I’ve been eyeing the daffodils that are showing up at Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores this week. I will put off getting a bunch until I arrive in Seattle for a 10 day visit next week. I dare you not to smile when you see a bunch of daffodils!

 

Daffodils

by William Wordsworth

I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed — and gazed — but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

San Pedro Cactus Flower!

After some googling I found out this is a San Pedro Cactus. Aren’t the blooms pretty?

Since I’ve come back to Southern California it’s been nice walking in the mornings with my Bloggy friend Willow. We walk in her neighborhood that butts up to the northwestern edge of the Santa Monica Mountain Range. It was fun to see this beautiful cactus flower popping out of the side of this San Pedro Cactus.

The days since this walk have gotten hotter and hotter here. We had to skip our morning walk last Friday because the heat was so oppressive.

We walked this morning earlier then usual to try to beat the heat. We saw a lot of deer out early, too.

 

With the fires burning in Southern California the air quality has also been unhealthy. We are praying for cooler temperatures around here and for stamina for our Fire Fighters who are risking their lives. Our hearts go out to the families of the 2 Los Angeles firefighters that have died in the line of duty.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Sky Watch ~

 

Clear skies again in Southern California without a cloud anywhere to be seen. This was taken on Wednesday of this week at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California. If you scroll down past this post you’ll see a photo tour of these lovely grounds.

For more Sky Watch photos head over to Wiggers World.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!