Good Fences

Sometimes you just need a good meme to set your mind at ease.

This week I’m joining

The Run Around Ranch Report for Good Fences #5.

Some of these photos will look familiar to some of you but these views only come once a year and they are worth repeating. These were taken on April 7th at the Roozengaarde Display Garden in Mount Vernon, Washington state. (not to be confused with the Mt. Vernon estate of President Washington!)

If you’d like to see more tulips and tulip fields scroll down for my other posts about our trip to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April.

Roozengaarde Display Garden

Besides the great experience of strolling through the tulip fields during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival there are garden options for touring, also. These are some shots from the Roozengarde Display Garden.

After we were done at the tulip fields and gardens we drove a short distance to the picturesque town of LaConner for lunch at Seeds Restaurant. We also did a little shopping at Re- Feather Your Nest right next store to Seeds. That’s where I bought this little sign…

This is my last post from our tulip excursion this year. It really is something that I enjoy taking the time to see every year. As I said before, if you are ever in the Seattle area in April this would be a worthwhile side trip.

Meanwhile back at ~~the ranch~~ this old house…

Suitcases line the entryway. Piles of clothes neatly folded to go into said suitcases are on our bedroom floors. Emails are exchanged back and forth about possible meet ups with blogger friends along the highways and byways. Tears pool up from the stress of planning so much for the 25 days I’ll be gone from this old house. I don’t mistake those tears for anything but what they are…my body and mind are on overload. My heart is content. I’m looking forward to the unexpected traveling mercies from my loving God along the way and the joy of new sights and sounds. I do wish I had a medium sized suitcase instead of just small and large.

What’s on your mind?

Tulips Galore

If standing in fields of tulips is a dream of yours you really need to put a trip to the state of Washington in April on your bucket list. It’s way more affordable to travel to Washington than Amsterdam. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is outstanding and never disappoints. Mount Vernon is 60 miles north of Seattle with easy access just off Interstate 5.

I’m linking up to Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper today!

I’m breaking up my tulip posts by color and I’ll also include one post with photos from the world class gardens at RoozenGaarde.

Katie out standing in her field. (Sorry couldn’t resist!) Some years I jump in my car and head to the fields all by my lonesome. It was fun to have a traveling companion this year. After we tromped around we went to lunch in the nearby town of La Conner.

More rows of different colored tulips to come soon. Here’s a hint of the colors to come.

We’ve had a very productive few days at this old house. We took Katie and Andrew’s car in to get a good overhaul so it’s safe for our road trip. We had a bathroom consultant in to give us a bid on gutting and remodeling our main floor bathroom. I managed to mow the lawn while Dear reorganized our garage to work more efficiently. We had a barbecue with Josh and Laura joining us to watch the Sounder’s Soccer game on Saturday evening. We came from behind and beat F.C. Dallas, yippee. Church on Sunday morning helped set our minds right as we get ready for Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Now we are relaxing. I’m going into this week with the following prayer…

O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate on you,
and a life to proclaim you;
through the power of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(St. Benedict c.480-547)

Inside a Tulip…

Donna’s personal Photo challenge this month is Close-Up/Macro. I just happened to take some photos of the inside of the tulips my daughter and I bought at Roozengaarde Tulip Farms in Mt. Vernon, Washington and decided to join in the fun. The Skagit Valley Tulip festival is on during the month of April.

We were truly in awe of the details of God’s creation in these tulips. The color blue inside this one was such a sweet surprise. My daughter pointed it out to me and I grabbed my camera. We bought 4 bunches of tulips and got a 5th bunch free, 5 bunches for $20.

I have to also add one I took of my apple blossoms yesterday at dusk.

I used my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 on the intelligent auto setting.

Hope to get around and see everyone’s photos between mowing the lawn and barbecuing today.

M is for Mt. Vernon…

“Mount Vernon sits at the center of Skagit County, a true slice of Pacific Northwest heaven located halfway between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. About 25 miles wide and 95 miles long, some of Washington’s most scenic and pristine landscape is found in the Upper Skagit’s North Cascades National Park. From there the land flows like the Skagit River through nutrient-rich farmland to the shores of the Salish Sea.”

In April people from around the world descend on Mount Vernon and the Skagit Valley for it’s annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Here are some photos to show you why. My daughter Katie and I headed north form our house to see the blooms on Monday. We enjoyed a wonderful 70 degree day and got a little sunburned as we tiptoed through the tulips!

It’s best to wear mud boots when you go to the tulip fields!

Beautiful daffodils bloom here, too.

Later this week I’ll be posting more of my photos from our Monday in Mount Vernon!

ABC Wednesday is a weekly meme that originated with Denise Nesbitt and now others keep it rolling along.

I’m also linking up to Outdoor Wednesday hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

The Tea Drinkers…

A tea table would not be fun without guests sitting around it so I’m showing you my guests before I show all the tables. On Wednesday I’ll be posting all about my table for Kathleen’s Let’s Dish Challenge.

The theme for our Friendship Tea this year was Snapshots. The church lobby had some great backdrops for photo opportunities.

Behind every snapshot there’s a story.

Our daughter Katie came early and was able to take some snapshots before the crowds came.

Our daughter in law, her mom and grandmother were able to come and share a place at my table, too.

Sisters by marriage and Laura’s dear friend, Shavonne.

Pat, Wilma, Laura, Katie, Susan (Shavonne’s mom), and Shavonne.

Me and Katie

All my guests at my table Susan, Shavonne, Laura, Wilma, Pat, Andra, Judy, Katy and Katie.

More to come from the tea…

Today we had a glorious sunny day and Katie and I took the opportunity to head north to the tulip fields in Mt. Vernon and then to have lunch in LaConner. We even got a little sunburned. Soon I’ll be sharing my photos from the fields, too. Here’s a little tease…

That wasn’t nice was it? Here’s a different view…

Hope your week is starting well…

Valentine Favorites

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! It’s time for Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. Here are my favorites from this past week.

1. A surprise snowfall last Sunday. Glad it all washed away on Monday. Sorry for those of you that really wish snow was in your past right now.

2. A safe trip back and forth to Canada on Tuesday to enjoy a nice lunch with some of the Mennonite Girls and a tour of Matthew’s House in Abbotsford.

3. Meeting some dear friends for dinner on Thursday at our local haunt. So good to see them and talk to them. I didn’t take a photo boohoo.

4. A beautiful bunch of tulips from Costco that we’ve enjoyed all week. They are similar to these that were growing in Mount Vernon last April.

5. A no pressure Valentine’s Day plan. I bought steaks for Dear to barbecue and we’ll bake some potatoes and have salad. No fighting the crowds.

This is the start of a long weekend here in the states and for some of you in Canada. We celebrate President’s Day on Monday. Hope you all have a great one!

Here, There and Everywhere…

I’m headed on a new adventure today with my girls. Here are some photos from the road this past week when we visited our son Dan and some other random shots from here, there, and everywhere!

The bridge over the Columbia on I-90 heading East at Vantage.

Friday turned out to be a glorious day in the Pacific Northwest.

The weather gave us lots of hope for future tulip days in April. But in March we always have daffodils popping up to make us smile.

Katie had 16 inches of her hair cut off to send to Locks of Love and she is now a vibrant red head! I’ll give you a sneak peek.

I’ll share the whole look later. As for me my hair is still the same with some grey covered up for now.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’m not sure when I’ll be posting again because of our whirlwind trip to the Los Angeles area.

Sunlit Sunday?

The fog has blocked out the sun in our part of the world for several days now so I decided to go to my photos from a year ago to show some sunlit offerings! We have also had a good stretch of days that start in the 20’s and just inch their way up, trying to reach the 40’s.

It’s hard to believe that just a year ago our daughter Katie and I were at a wedding show at the Seattle Center. Her and Andrew’s wedding ceremony was in March of last year. I decided to pick this photo for Sunlit Sunday because she just called yesterday letting us know she will be arriving in Seattle for a month long stay while our son-in-law Andrew has some cold weather training in Northern California. They currently live at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina. There is always a bedroom ready for visits from our kids!

To cheer myself up and to remind myself that the sun is shining but I just can’t see it’s glory right now I searched for more January shots of sunshine from last year…

Not real bright but the sun is breaking through. These are floating houses on North Lake Union in Seattle. If you look closely you can see the Space Needle in the background.

A lovely shaft of sunshine lighting up my bouquet of tulips from January of last year, too.

Hope the sun is lighting up your part of the world today!

I’m joining My Little Home and Garden for her Sunlit Sunday Meme.

Yesterday was our firstborn’s birthday so we’ll be enjoying a meal together for him and our dear daughter in love this evening. We love to celebrate our family. Speaking of celebrating, it looks like my blog will be having a big celebration real soon as my total blog visits are inching to 1,000,000 viewers!! I never imagined when I started blogging in March of 2007 that my blog would be visited by so many. I’m working on a giveaway for this landmark event to be announced this week!

Finding Spring

We are finally getting a little warm up in our weather and some sunshine. It will be good to have some dry days to be able to get the planter beds weeded.

I’m sure that many of you have been strolling around your local garden shops to see if there is something new to add to you gardens. We bought a new Rhododendron while we were at Meerkerk Rhododendron Garden that we are finding a spot for.

I am not a gardener. I mow the lawn happily but I always have a little skepticism on whether something new that I plant will survive. I am very thankful when our plants revive themselves in the Spring and Summer. I am conscious of the Master Gardener and the beauty He has created for us to enjoy. Just walking in a beautiful garden causes me to thank God for his creation. Sometimes it even makes me sing… out loud. Gifted earthly gardeners are very much appreciated by me, too.

I’m linking up with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. I hope to get around to see your mosaics. I’ll be on the road tomorrow so I might be late in visiting.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: Tulips