Peonies and Purple Blooms

Time for ABC Wednesday and the letter P! Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and the whole ABC Team!

I love all the shades of purple that are growing in my yard right now. My lilac blooms are almost full.

Pansies and the ground cover have purple blooms.

I have the promise of more peonies this year than last.

More perennials that are purple.

And here’s my Bible Verse Card for the Letter P!

And on the subject of peace here are some words from the Prince of Peace, Jesus;

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

I’m continuing to enjoy a peaceful week at this old house. We had some very warm weather here on Monday. It reached 76 degrees in our town. Tuesday is another story. Hopefully I’ll be able to mow the lawn before the rain comes in.

Do you have promises of more blooms in your yard?

She’s Not a Gardener…

…but she can dig a hole and put a pretty plant in it!

Last year I planted these after they were wilted in their little pots. This year they surprised me popping up and showing me their pretty smiling blooms! God is the best gardener and I really do depend on Him.

Luke 12:27 (CEV)

Look how the wild flowers grow! They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of these flowers.

On Saturday I added these Primroses that I’ll be able to see from my kitchen window. It makes me smile.

We had a few hours of dry weather on Saturday and Dear worked in the garage organizing more “stuff” and I did a little work in the yard. It felt so good working outside. It didn’t take long for the weather to turn on us and we experienced some lion like March weather. Sunday started cold but bright. Such a nice change. Blessings to you on this first Sunday in March!

Late Bloomers…

Here’s proof that things are taking a lot longer to bloom this year…

These photos were taken on July 9, 2010. Hydrangeas, and lavender blooming nicely and apples nice and round. This next mosaic are photos I took today July 10, 2011.

Just one bloom on my hydrangea bush. We have maybe a total of 12 apples on our tree and they all look a bit deformed. The lavender is just starting to show some purple.

Here are other slow bloomers this year…

Blueberries still green…

Lilie’s being reluctant to burst open.

Speaking of late bloomers did anyone watch the U.S.A. vs. Brazil Women’s World Cup Soccer game today? They kept me guessing but late into overtime during 3 added minutes Megan Rapinoe delivered a beautiful ball into the box and Abby Wambach headed it in to tie up the game. The women went on to win the game in penalty kicks! What a game.

And if that wasn’t enough soccer excitement for me our own Sounders beat our arch rivals the Portland Timbers in a back and forth game where we came out one goal ahead! We beat them 3-2. You should have heard the whooping and hollering in my family room today! Yes soccer is my favorite sport…

I’m joining Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

My Window View…

The view from my computer window has changed…

Does anyone know what this plant is called?

Happy last Saturday of winter to all of you! We are headed to Snohomish, Washington for breakfast and a little antique shopping.

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.

It Was a Great Day…

…for a walk in the neighborhood.

The hydrangeas are really blooming dramatically right now. This one is such an intense blue.

Beautiful lilies blooming.

A lighter blue hydrangea. I really enjoyed how the sun was shining on these blooms.

The next photos are from my own yard when I returned from my walk.

My blueberries are getting ready and I have to be fast to beat the birds to the ripe ones!

Our pears are getting bigger. They usually aren’t ready until late August or early September.

I didn’t plant this Foxglove but it’s blooming in my yard. Such a pretty flower.

It’s wonderful when the weather encourages us to get out and about and enjoy the scenery. I really need the extra exercise and I’m thankful for the motivation I get from the good weather we are having in the Northwest right now. Tomorrow I’ll share the great Yard Art I encountered on my latest walk!

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I appreciate it.

Oops forgot to link up to Susan at The Southern DayDreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

An Award and Ruby Tuesday!

First I’d like to acknowledge an award I received from the Teach. I do so appreciate you and this award Mary!

And now to Ruby Tuesday that Mary is the mastermind of….

My Blueberry Bush in Washington that has changed the color of its leaves to this nice Ruby.

From our walk on the beach in California on Sunday ruby bushes in the background of my shot of these Sea birds which are called Kildeer.

For more Ruby vist Mary at Work of the Poet.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site. All my photos that I stored and uploaded from that site are now big ugly black and grey boxes with a message to pay big bucks to get them restored to my blog. It will take me a long time to restore thousands of posts.

Ruby Tuesday ~ Neighborhood Walks

My Ruby Tuesday Photos are again from one of our neighborhood walks.

The plants in the top row are Coleus. I’m not sure what the rest of the plants are called. Happy Ruby Tuesday everyone (even though right now it’s Monday). Next week Maryt is challenging us to find a photo with just a little bit of red in it. Fun!

For more Ruby Tuesday click over to Maryt’s at Work of the Poet.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I posted on my blog from 2007-2015 hostage and replaced them with big black and grey boxes with threats. So discouraging…as I’m slowly trying to clean up thousands of posts!

When I was Little My Mother Gave Me Castor Oil

Were you ever given Castor Oil? Saturday on our walk at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura we found a Castor Bush with clusters of seed pods. When we opened up the pods we found these Castor Seeds. These are what they make Castor Oil from.

We also saw and smelled the Fennel plants. Sweet Fennel is so much more appealing than Castor oil. I’m not sure what the second yellow plant is and the sweet lavender colored plant is either. It was another great early morning walk on the beach with wonderful views of God’s creation all around us. This next shot was a special treat for us as we walked back to our starting point.

I’ll be posting more photos from this walk. We saw other herons, godwits, and gulls, all together but this heron seemed to be standing alone for us to appreciate.

Ruby Tuesday ~ The Beaches On Saturday…

We took an early morning walk at Emma Wood State Beach on Saturday morning where we found some Ruby and then we headed South to Huntington Beach for a family gathering and found more Ruby at the Huntington Beach City Pier.

Emma Wood State Beach. This wild ground cover is a shade of Ruby this time of year.

One of the State Beach Campers taking 3 dogs out for their morning stroll. He had to stop and explain to us that not all the dogs were his…

The building at the end of the Huntington Beach City Pier is donning some Ruby, too.

The Prickly Pear Cactus is blooming in Southern California right now, too, with these interesting Ruby bulbs. The top right photo are some roses.

For more Ruby Tuesday click over to Maryt’s at Work of the Poet.

They Survived!

Two solid weeks without watering and these plants survived. Amazing. They are a little brown around the edges but I was expecting them to be completely withered up under the Southern California Sun!

I did bring a silk unwiltable plant for my front porch just in case all my other plants had died. I bought this at Goodwill in Washington for $5.95.

So how’s your Monday and week shaping up? I forgot that this week is going to be another busy one for me because my daughter is arriving today. I leave at 9:00 this morning to go pick her and her boyfriend up at Long Beach Airport. Tomorrow they are going to Disneyland and some of my family will be meeting up with them there, too. I’ve decided to finally meet up with the Disneyland crew, too. It will be a reapplying sunblock day for me. Have a great week everyone.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Plants