Category Archives: Nature

Signs of Spring…

On Monday when I stepped outside I had a nice surprise in our front planter. My Lenten Rose is showing promise of blooming just in time.

Such a nice day to be out in the yard. I was able to do some long overdue raking of leaves and cleaning out some of the planters. It was wonderful to see little evidences of new growth here and there. After filling our yard waste bin my only regret was that I did the work outside after my shower instead of before. Oh well, at least I looked more presentable as I labored in the yard!

Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing.
~Albert Laighton

Hope your week is starting well. I’m preparing for a trip to see Mr. Taxman tomorrow. Blessings!

Multiplying Residents!

Oh dear, how many more of these are there hanging out nearby? This is the first time we’ve seen this one roaming our yard and the neighbors yards in the daylight. When our daughter was living with us before she married and moved to the east coast with her Marine her headlights would capture them as she drove into our drive at night. She also spotted bunny footprints once in the snow.

They are cute little pests. I tried yelling out at this one to “EAT THE DANDELIONS!”

Time will tell if they outgrow their tolerance here at this old house.

Dear is on vacation next week. Before he gets all tied up with completing the siding we are talking about an adventure. So far my brain isn’t coming up with something appropriate. I’m sure by Monday something will kick in. On Saturday we are participating in Community Serve Day. Several area churches team up with volunteers to spruce up our local elementary schools for the new year. We help teachers in their classrooms and clean up the outside areas of the school, too. I’m excited to be going to our kids elementary school. It’s been 20 or so years since I’ve been there. Dear will be pressure washing and I’ll be racking or scrubbing desk tops!

Any plans for your weekend?

Apple Blossoms

Apple Blossoms are so lovely and are around for such a short time. They’ve really opened up this weekend and with the sun shining it was fun to snap away. We are having some warm sunny weather in the Seattle area. Everyone is out and about and there are smiles on faces everywhere. We barbecued on the weekend to add to the celebration of warmth and sunshine.

The roofers are still here and the whole job will probably be wrapped up on Thursday once the rain gutters are installed.

I’m debating about attending a book signing event close by to see the Pioneer Woman tonight. Time will tell if I’m up to fighting the crowds. How’s your week going?

Hospitality…

Even though I put the food out for the birds this furry little guy/girl gets the benefit of my hospitality…

It was so good to get out and about today and run all the errands I couldn’t run last week because of our snowy icy roads. It was sunny and dry, too.  Hope your day went well.

November!

Can you believe it’s November already?

Lately when I sit at the computer I see this lovely burst of color on this bush in my neighbor’s yard. I had to zoom way in to get this shot because it’s across a drive and on the far side of her yard. That’s why the bush right outside my window is blurry.

I’m thankful for my view. I like to see neighbors coming and going, birds flying in and flying away, leaves falling, and the mail being delivered.

Boy did we have a steady stream of Trick or Treaters last night. We only have a few candies left and I bought a lot.  My sister called and said they ran out of candy and had to turn the light out. It was one of those years where the weather was great and more people decided to venture out. I loved hearing the stories from the little ones. “I get to have one or maybe 2 candies when I get home”

“November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.”
–  Elizabeth Coatsworth

Have a great Tuesday everyone.

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.

The Earth is the Lord’s ~ Happy Earth Day!

Psalm 24: 1, 2, 10

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.

For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.

Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
he is the King of glory.

Seems to me since it belongs to the King of Glory we should do our part in taking care of it. Not worshiping it mind you but taking care. The Lord gives us all good things to enjoy.

So on this Earth Day 2010 I spent 6 hours at the condo watching 3 packers pack our belongings. They were a great crew and we were able to joke and laugh about all my dishes!!

Tomorrow the Moving truck comes to load everything up and ship it out.

It really is tiring sitting around watching other people work!!

I have a little work left to do at the condo to clean up and patch up. Tonight I’m headed to one of our favorite spots in Camarillo for Happy Hour and dinner. Last night Willow and I had dinner at an Italian restaurant in town and it was really good. We got some good conversation in. Good times.

Hope everyone is doing well. I hope to get some computer time in later this evening. I won’t have any connection tomorrow…

How Can I Share…

what an incredible experience this was with only photographs…

 

Bear with me because this post is going to have lots of photos! We found out that Snow Geese like to congregate at Snowgoose Produce in Conway, Washington. We were in La Conner and Conway was on our way back home. We decided to try to find this spot. As we drove on Fir Island Road I spotted a sea of white to our right. Dear turned down the country lane and stopped in front of these Snow Geese grazing in this field.

 

I watched them hoping maybe some would get tired of sitting and would fly. I had been told it’s amazing to see large groups of them in flight.

 

A few of them got excited and started to fly…

 

Then I heard a loud indistinct noise coming from the distance. I looked to my right and exclaimed “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Dear here they come, they’re coming” He jumped out of the car to stand with me as we observed this amazing sight!

 

Geese that at first appeared like locusts were swarming to this little spot where we were standing.

 

We started to hear the distinct honking fill the air. Very loud coming from the thousands of birds approaching.

 

Our excitement mounted as they got closer and closer.

 

 

 

 

They were flying over our heads and I was praising the Lord for this special birthday gift to me! Thank you Lord!

 

I wish I could share the audio of what this sounded like. It was so much more amazing in person.

 

This truly was one of the coolest outdoor experiences I’ve had!

 

Snow geese are harbingers of the changing seasons. They fly south for the winter in huge, honking flocks that may appear as a “U” formation or simply as a large “snowstorm” of white birds. They spend the colder seasons in southern coastal marshes, bays, wet grasslands, and fields. Their diet is entirely vegetarian, consisting of grasses and grains, grazed from damp soils or even shallow water

You can hear what we heard here http://vimeo.com/3856735

I’ll be linking up with Outdoor Wednesday. So visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer on Wednesday to join in…

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.

The Night Before…

the Blue Moon I took these shots. I wanted to be able to photograph the Blue Moon event on the 31st but we were clouded over and rainy all night long…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is my last full day in Washington State. We fly back to Southern California tomorrow. Back to reality! I’m putting Christmas back up into the attic and doing a little dusting and washing some linens. Then I get to decide what to pack to take back to the condo. Katie’s car is all fixed from her accident. Dear is one handy guy. He pounded out, replaced the bumper and the tail light and primed and painted and it looks like new! Yesterday and today we’ve gotten some good gusts of wind and lots of rain. We just might have to take the patio cover off today.

So I think I’ve decided I’ll be calling 2010…twenty ten. How about you?  My brother has been writing it MMX.

That’s it for my Saturday ramblings….enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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!