Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to say Happy Thanksgiving a little early before I leave for Kentucky to be with Scott, Shannon, Mason and Mitchell. Thank you for following along, offering comments, sending encouraging E-mails....and just lurking out there anonymously. I'll be back in early December to pick up where we left off. In the meantime, happy anniversary to my sister and her husband.....soon to have been married 37 years on Dec. 3.

Marcia and Neal cooking and hosting at Mom's 90th birthday barn dance party! Thank you again.

Quote of the Day...

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." Marcel Proust

I love reading Melody Beattie's words: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

That's What Happens!

It's A Boy!

Congratulations Amanda and Josh Blankenship....it's a boy!

The Pilgrim's Heart!

Dedicated to my fellow pilgrim sojourners!

The pilgrim’s journey begins in the heart……that search for our own authenticity, the power of fitting into your own skin and knowing you came here to be the best possible you. Home begins in the heart and ends in the same heart…… paradoxically and simultaneously, joining us with nature and other human beings in a Oneness that is the sacred mystery of really feeling at home. There is a magic here……we touch this authentic home within our singular hearts…..who we are in the world…..when we are completely in touch with one another and with the world we all live in. Thus the journey home that begins in the heart takes us out of ourselves and into a sacred exploration of our relationship with wild and untamed landscapes, animals, and a conscious intimacy with other diverse humans. For me there is a love of the soil…..growing things, harvesting things, enjoying the beauty of gardens and the color of landscape….the feeling of the earth on my fingers and the grass beneath bare feet. There is an ecstasy about lying in a meadow watching the clouds float by and feeling so connected to heaven and earth. There is joy as an artist to reproduce the colors and textures of the heaven’s and earth.

In finding my home here on earth I have given up steeling myself against harsh reality….the grittiness and clenched jaws that have helped me survive some of the worst experiences. The trouble with steeling yourself against anything is the same steel that guards and protects us, is the same steel that keeps the best stuff at a distance. Letting go of the steel allows my soul to open up and be transformed by a sacred magic that is my true heart’s home…..the love that flows and provides that deep peaceful trust that anything that comes my way will not be more than I can handle. I no longer protect myself from pain…..or joy or love……I do not steel myself against what might be or what has been…..but open my heart and embrace the process of living and trusting each day to be touched by the Divine Dynamics that life itself comes from.

Trusting the pilgrim’s journey is not finding something or someone in the world that is trustable to take us there……it is retrieving that part of ourselves that is trustable….our authentic powerful self in this sacred time and space that leads us there. The deep longing, homesickness and restlessness of our spirit prompts us to come home to this place of peace. And until we arrive there, no globe trotting, diverse friends and relationships, multiple degrees or money in the bank can satisfy our longing for that sense of well being and finding our welcome home sign. We know when we have arrived home…..when we trade in the anxiety for joy, isolation for connection, despair for hope and homelessness for embracing this sacred time and space.

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Morning Planets.

Watercolor.....30" x 24"
Our planet is just a speck on the Universal scene....and worth taking care of and fully enjoying.

Quote of the Day...

" Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life." ~Rachel Carson

Silent Spring is a book written by Rachael Carson, a pioneer in bringing attention to what chemicals do to our environment. Published in September 1962, the book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement. Perhaps it is worth a retrospective read and another look at what we are still doing to endanger our planet.

A Hand Holding Kind Of Thing!

Try this around the Thanksgiving table while holding hands.....

"May the love that is in my heart pass from my hand to yours while we give thanks together."

Gooooooooooooo Boise State Broncos!

Another win this weekend....Boise State Broncos beat the Idaho University Vandals......45 - 10. This is a great college team to watch.

Quote of the Day...economic advice.

"When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other." ~Chinese Proverb

Add to that a great bottle of wine! This week I enjoyed a great bottle of Fetzer Gerwerstraminer....a little sweet, but wonderful with turkey.

I'll Plant More Of That!

We see something that makes us smile……an elderly couple holding hands while on their walk together…..a walk they have taken together for a lifetime. Or a young and in love couple kissing on the park bench……and we think…..”Wish that were me.” Without realizing it, we have just made a request of God/Universe who is always listening and wanting to give us our heart’s desire. Beginning to notice the things we are attracted to……opens our heart to enjoying the present and inviting more of our heart’s desire into our experience. I often whisper under my breath with a smile on my face….. “I’ll have some of that please.” Making room in our heart is an adventure….a playful way to dream and stretch our unlimited spirit and choose what it is that we really want to include in our life. I was sitting in the waiting room while my aging Mom saw her doctor and seated on a little couch in front of me was an elderly couple….his arm was around her and he was gently massaging her shoulder with his fingers……going round and round with tenderness while she was sharing with him an article she found interesting. “I’ll have lots of that,” I said to myself with a smile. We are the co-creator of our experiences…..our mind is creating 24 hours a day….even in our sleep. To guide those thoughts and coach our mind, body and spirit into playing as a team and settling the inner conflicts, we must gently direct our attention to our heart’s desire. So often we pay attention to the negatives, what we don’t want, what is bothering us, the problems we have, the sorrows of our heart, the annoying people in our lives, and the relationships that just are not satisfying. Perhaps turning that focus toward what we do want is more creative……because there is a law of attraction at play here. What we focus on we get more of…..what we are thinking and concentrating on, we attract. We create our own experiences and design our lives, thought by thought, word by word, and experience by experience. Think of life as a giant garden…..everything we want can be planted there…everything we don’t enjoy can take root as well. There is tremendous contrast and that contrast teaches us how to deliberately choose and define our desires. It teaches us how to weed out the things that choke out the things we do. Notice! Notice! Notice! Pay attention……a life well lived takes complete attention….not looking back and not looking forward, but staying present. “I’ll have some of that please.” “Definitely I want a lot more of that please.” “No thank you…..that does not interest me at all.” “Mmmmmmm, that is delicious…...I’ll plant more of that.” Taking the time during the day to notice what we like and invite it into our lives is a magical, romantic journey…a treasure hunt. “I’ll have some of that please.” It is a sure fire way to set our intentions and sweetly creating our heart’s garden. So it is and always will be.

Even the trees have eyes!

It is delicious to know we are noticed,

that nothing escapes the eyes

of the aspen grove fairies.

It is peaceful under their careful watch.

Angels carved their eyes into the white bark.

We are not alone!

From my watercolor sketchbook.

Autumn garden color......

Flowering kale is the best selection for autumn color and will withstand mild freezing temperatures for most of the winter in the Pacific Northwest. They mix well with pansies and come in a variety of colors and textures.

Giggle for the Day.....

A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this," She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

Not so long ago..............

"On Nov. 14, 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16."

Turkey idea of the year goes to Shannon Lisk who has a very entertaining family album of pictures called the "Retarded Family Album". Those photos of family that show their retarded qualities seem much more interesting than the posed smiles. This year's turkey photo award goes to two cousins, Mark Lisk and Chad Blankenship. You gotta' love a family with a retarded album.

Mark needing caffeinated coffee at brunch!

Chad enjoying the food at the barn dance!

Quote of the Day...

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice."

-Meister Eckhart

Good Read.....

On this day in 1851, Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville about the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod, is published by Harper & Brothers in New York. Moby-Dick is now considered a great classic of American literature and contains one of the most famous opening lines in fiction: "Call me Ishmael."

I read this way back in a summer college class in American Literature....but was given a book by my sister Marcia entitled, Ahab's wife....written brilliantly from the perspective of Captain Ahab's wife. Good read....I passed it on which should be the plight of most good reads perhaps.

Thanksgiving dinner recipe!

My favorite cranberry sauce recipe.....thanks Judy Stallcop.
Serves 10-14

4 cups fresh cranberries
12 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
1 1/4 cups orange juice
1/4 cup Amaretto
1 firm pear diced
1 tsp of grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Place cranberries, sugar, orange juice and spices in a thick bottomed pan and stir well. Cover the pan and bring slowly to a boil over gentle heat. Simmer for 10-12 minutes until cranberries have burst. Put the sauce in a serving bowl and cover until needed. Serve warm or cold.

Grandpa Bolles could have said this......

"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. " ~H.L. Mencken

Most family events as I grew up were accompanied by heated political discussion, remarks and all out shouting matches with his brothers and sisters. Although many of the arguments were not logical or factual...nevertheless, they were lively. Mom, on the other hand, just stayed out in the kitchen and cooked, trying to stay out of their way. I could hear him dancing in heaven at the results of the last election.
I think I took after Mom at Thanksgiving time....making sure the cranberry salad was not left in the refrigerator by mistake, and the turkey was stuffed with sage dressing, apples, onions and parsley. As they got older, the discussions were gentle...shall we draw names for Christmas, how many kids would participate in the "fish pond" fracas and who will make Aunt B's Watergate salad or Grandma's plum pudding? Although my ears love a good hearted discussion of politics....pundits be damned....pass the turkey!

Economic crises?

"When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity." ~John F. Kennedy, address, 12 April 1959

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." ~Thomas Fuller

" Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith. " ~Author Unknown

" The gap in our economy is between what we have and what we think we ought to have - and that is a moral problem, not an economic one." ~Paul Heyne

The Last Stand......

Always the entrepreneurs, this picture was taken many years ago when Mark and Scott decided to earn a little money for Christmas.....and thus, a late season lemonade stand was their imaginative solution. So, when you feel the economy has gotten you down....there is always, always a way! They both have moved on from the homestead driveway to better solutions.

Happy Birthday coming up for Marcia!

Happy, happy birthday to my sister Marcia, born on Thanksgiving Day just a few years ago....and now a Grandma!

Hang it up!

Thanksgiving in history...........

William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1623


"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on he Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all his blessings."

Garden poetry for today.....

If what began last spring is nearly,

Held in winter’s dream as dearly,

Then when season’s life is o’re.

I’ll still be begging for more.

If autumn time and space recall,

This gardener’s joyful summer ball,

I’ll rest with schemes of next years blooms,

Of seeded patch and greenhouse rooms.

If all the moments were just one.

My time reduced to half the fun.

Let laughter be throughout all time.

Glassed clinked with sweetest wine.

The sun warmed smiles, the misty dew,

Garden dance with jeans of blue.

Has left a softened, warming heart.

Happy at ending….as was the start.

Nature's decor..............

Bits of berries, leaves, dried flowers, pine cones wired and hot glued on a grapevine wreath form makes a wonderful welcome at your front door.

Mosaic of autumn colors!

Quote of the Day...

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all."
- Stanley Horowitz

Tucking in your garden......

I raked another pile of leaves into the street to be picked up by the city....carefully raking between the perennials and removing the dead foilage. The hosta leaves were golden yellow and they pulled out of the ground easily. They'll be back next spring. Tucking in the perennials is easy....just pull off the dead foilage and make sure there is mulch that covers the crown of the root system. A friend wrote and asked if she should prune back her roses....and the answer is no. Cut off the old blossoms......but pruning is done in early, early spring when little buds start showing. Tucking in your garden is like pulling up the covers for a long winter's nap.

Time to start an amaryllis!

Amaryllis plants for the holidays are like watching a miracle....they grow by inches each day and then burst into spectacular blooms on the end of a sturdy, single stalk. They come in a variety of colors....and grow in a tiny bit of moisture and fiber. In about a month from now you will have the results and a holiday bloom that will definitely impress Santa Claus. Available in garden stores, Home Depot, Lowe's, on-line, flower shops, and grocery stores....the bulbs are plentiful this time of year. For tips go to www.amaryllis.com

Next stop......ye olde Kentucky home!

I'm packing my suitcase in wild anticipation of visiting the kids in Kentucky for Thanksgiving. Kentucky is beautiful....dry stacked limestone fences that have been in place for hundreds of years, horses that prance behind painted rail fences, rolling hills and quaint history. This year will be the first time I get to visit two grandsons that are both in college...one a freshman and one almost a senior. How the heck did that happen.....I remember when they were born....not so long ago. They have always been fun, playful, smart and handsome.....lucky me to be their granny on this journey. I have visited Scott and Shannon in many places, Alabama, Texas, Italy, Idaho.....but my favorite trip is always to Kentucky, great food, great friends and lots of fun and activity. Thanks for the invitation....I can hardly wait.

Quote of the Day...

"Good heavens, of what uncostly material is our earthly happiness composed... if we only knew it. What incomes have we not had from a flower, and how unfailing are the dividends of the seasons." ~James Russell Lowell

"Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart."
- Sarah Ban Breathnach

In honor of soldiers who have served.

Scott served in Desert Storm while his wife, two little boys and his family waited with wildly beating hearts until he got home safely. For those who did not come home safely, my prayers have always been with your families.

Dear Soldiers….
You have seen much…..
The sights have
carved deep images
into your
courageous
souls.

We are a part of all that you have met.

You have seen
the valley of
death
where wars
were fought and
millions of
tears cut
canyons of
ancient wisdom
into freedom’s
mind.

All you have met becomes a part of our freedom.

May protective mountains
surround your heart,
their peaks giving you
a better view
of the
world than the battlefield.
May their
cliffs lauch
a thousand
flights…
the dreams
of peace.

May gleaming oceans tides bring the nations together in global peace.

The collage of memorials on
Flanders Field, at the
Vietnam Memorial and
At Arlington National Cemetery
Has made us all hungry
for a safe harbor.
Come home safely and
be held in
our hearts,
our arms,
our prayers.

We honor you today!

Election thoughts......on Veteran's Day!

Recently, pivot points have become more visible…the turning away with a sharp spin from what does not serve our nation's spirit. America is witnessing a pivot point….and much as her symbol of freedom the eagle…..with a slight curve of its feather, changes directions and flows with the currents of air that will carry him to its destination without tiring...this country is changing directions. There are memorable points in time when pounding on locked doors is so exhausting that we pick ourselves up, dry our tears, calm our rage, forgive our history and dance through open gates. The times in our society when injustice became so blatant there was no denial, no excuses, no shoving it under the rug and we say, “Enough”! We have recorded such times down through history….both in community and in our singular conscience. This is another historic time.

The past election was one of those stunning pivot points….an intelligent, articulate, visionary black man was elected President of the United States of America. Let us dance together with him through the open gates of hope, putting behind us the slammed doors, the inequities, the glass ceilings, the subtle insults of injustice, the rage and our indifference to the internal terrorism of gender and racial inequality. We have been asked out on the dance floor….and with a resounding YES WE CAN, Americans are learning to dance together with the rhythm of a new song moving us to greater harmony. We will learn the steps, forgiving our stumbles and stepping on each other’s toes. We will hear the music, follow the beat and know the beauty of the gracious dance of coming together, blending and flowing together. May we have this dance!

Quote of the Day...

"The best portion of a good man's life - his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." ~William Wordsworth

Julia's Iris....

Friendship garden!

One of the most rewarding parts of any garden I've ever had is the friendship garden....and everywhere I go I collect little pieces of my friends' gardens and transplant to mine. A snippet of this and a start of that from friends have been planted in many of my gardens. It's like having them with you always. The white peony reminds me of Judy and her big colonial house in Idaho, the Bergenia's heart shaped leaves remind me of Aunt B, the Columbine reminds me of Colorado and the chicken and hens will always be a memory of Mom's garden. I had an English neighbor in Colorado with a total gardener's heart. Julia and I talked over the fence almost everyday and soon "bits and bobs" of my garden made their way to her house and daylilies and iris from her yard were planted in mine. A special friend was her mother-in-law that lived across the street who walked by everyday and we got acquainted as she took a rest and chatted while I worked in my front yard. One day she invited me to come across the street and see her miniature doll house collection. It filled an entire room and she had made fantastic little items that were encased in tiny little rooms. Then, she snipped off a piece of her orchid cactus with a simple hand gesture and gave it to me. Her smile was a little shy, her 80 plus years of wisdom delightful....and we became friends. The orchid cactus came with me and thrives in a tall basket in the window here in Oregon. Thank you Jean for your friendship.

Dancing Inspiration!

A sweet note from cousin Pam disclosed that she and husband Mike were so inspired from the square dance at Mom's 90th birthday party that they have put on their boots and petticoats and are back dancing again. Gotta' love a good do-si-do! Yahoo Pam and Mike! Who says the kids have all the fun?

Monday's gardening lesson!

Gardening mistakes are a given for anyone that has planted even one package of seed, or taken one trip to the nursery and come home with plants that have seduced them with visions of a beautiful harvest. Sun or shade, how much water, rich soil or poor, fertilize or prune, plant in rows or scatter.....lots of opportunity to choose. I always giggle when I hear the term, "Master Gardener". It simply means they have had more experience and have made more mistakes than the rest of us. Perhaps those two words go together....experience and mistakes.

So, we have another gift from the garden....knowing that we will make mistakes...there will be circumstances and events that we cannot control....choices that we made that do not yield an abundant harvest....weeds that were left to suffocate plants that we would rather cultivate....and yes....colors, shapes and design that we need to transplant to a spot where they have the chance to grow into what they were meant to be. Experience is the only way to have good judgment and mistakes give us experience.

The garden invokes experience....how to nourish, encourage and cultivate healthy, blooming seasons of our life....one day at a time....in sunshine or rain...in warmth or in the dead of winter....we learn to grow, thrive and produce an abundant harvest. I have several garden fairies, angels, cement snails, frogs and turtles that remind me I am not out there gardening alone. The tinkling of a wind chime reminds me...angels are attending.

Quote of the Day...

"The way we choose to respond when others make mistakes can cause them to feel ashamed or can allow them to remember our kindness and share our stories with future generations."
-- Michelle Sedas

Congratulations smurf turfers!

Congratulations to the Boise State University Broncos on breaking the top ten BSC standing list as number 10 after a win of 49-14 against Utah State. That's a 10-0 win loss record! Fun to watch! Go big blue!

Artists in the family....

It's always wonderful to browse Mark's photographic expressions, son in good standing. This one from his coffee table book Owyhee Canyonlands. He and Jerri, wife in good standing, are artists of the best kind....committed to their talent and designing a lifestyle that really works for them. Can't wait to see the Grand Canyon pictures from the most recent trip. I am so very thankful for having two sons and their beautiful families as a part of this journey.

Time to hang a wreath!

Attitude of Gratitude.....

There is a marked difference between a strengthened heart and a hardened heart…..one can expand, the other breaks. And what makes one heart expand and another break....I think it is living life with a grateful heart. This time of year we are reminded to be thankful by a nationally set aside holiday where we eat ourselves into oblivion, watch football until our eyes glaze over and gather together with those that we have made some sort of peace. Living with a grateful heart is more than a holiday and it takes the courage of David facing Goliath some days.......courage without the turkey and gravy. I have a Goliath list.......

• I appreciate great contrast.....the moments of distress and betrayal that in the long run proved to be groundless fears and gifts that help build character. I am thankful for those who profoundly taught me the evilness of evil and the goodness of good.
  
• I remember with thankfulness the people I have met that have given me a glimpse of my own value and meaning and for those who have shown me the true meaning of human dignity in the face of less than politically correct behavior or any trace of loving kindness or social grace.
  
• There is great gratitude for the dreams that have haunted me.....God-given dreams from which I have drawn inspiration that sustains my spirit and feeds my soul.
• With humility, I give thanks for those that sought me out in my aloneness and gave me a sense of assurance that human kinship confirms life and is a gift of abiding hope.
• And thank you for the fruits of the labors of others, which I have shared as a part of the normal experience of everyday living.
• Most of all, I remember the blessings of beauty.....those things I have seen, heard and felt and touched that have come unheralded across my path, warming my heart and expanding my joyful spirit.

Let every fragment of grinchy, grasping, bitchy, self-absorbed ingratitude be loosened from my mind and swept away by counting my blessings with every beat of my heart. Let me float on the prayers of thanksgiving.....trading in the ticket stubs of ungrateful, stubborn resistance to life's gifts. Let me fly on the quivering vibrations of appreciation, and land with solid affirming gratitude, smack in the middle of this chosen wonderful journey.

Quote of the Day...

"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." ~Johannes A. Gaertner

The Bread Pudding Secret Recipe.....

It is beyond me why Scott, dear son that he is, will not give me his bread pudding recipe. There is no other bread pudding that comes close to this delicious dish that he makes every Thanksgiving. Shannon is on my side and we scheme to find the recipe.....which is safely locked away with his cuff links and other finery that we are not allowed to sniff out! Soon, I'll be visiting them again for the fun-filled, feast of Thanksgiving and the manipulation will be ramped up a notch or two. However, learning from our history together, I will not be privy to his specialty. Sure is fun trying though and if any of you want to aid me in this adventure....please do!

Quote of the Day...

"Walked for half an hour in the garden. A fine rain was falling, and the landscape was that of autumn. The sky was hung with various shades of gray, and mists hovered about the distant mountains - a melancholy nature. The leaves were falling on all sides like the last illusions of youth under the tears of irremediable grief. A brood of chattering birds were chasing each other through the shrubberies, and playing games among the branches, like a knot of hiding schoolboys. Every landscape is, as it were, a state of the soul, and whoever penetrates into both is astonished to find how much likeness there is in each detail."
- Henri Frederic Amiel

Dancing Leaves Day!

There is something so fairy tale about watching the leaves dance on a crisp, fall day. The shower of yellow, orange, red and amber drifts down, frolicing in the autumn air and happy to let go of their summer's hold on skyward branches. Each of them seems to have their own spirit...the energy that trusts what is on the agenda for the day....they happily float on the currents of the season....with no argument. It is pure delight watching....standing in the misty shower....letting the brilliant leaves fall on your shoulders in the midst of shrouded ghostly clouds bumping up against the solid deep green forested mountains. Just before I went to join the leaf dance, I put a turkey in the oven stuffed with seasoned cubes ofwheat bread, chunks of apple, onion, celery and lots of sage seasoning.....made a sturdy stock with the gizzard, liver, heart and neck with carrot, onion and celery......the prerequisite to a steaming bowlful of gravy.

In between rainy spurts, I'll get the rake and begin adding to the mound of leaves piled in the street. The city of Beaverton is so kind as to come along with a machine with a big mouth, chew up all the pine needles and leaves and spit them into a companion truck and carry them away for us. I'll miss them....the dance, the drifts of color beneath the trees, the bursts of brilliant color against the blue sky. Psssst! They'll be back!

Have a colorful day....the leaves are beautiful!

The day began with quilted color,

My mood was dull to even duller.

But how could I remain so drab,

As morning’s rays shone on this crab.

I hit the floor with bounding grace,

Smiled in the mirror and washed my face.

How blessed I am to have this day.

To garden, love and learn to play.

I shut the door and turn the key,

The clouds were dancing there for me.

Mountains tall that rimmed the hills,

Heard birds that sang in joyful trills,

So who am I to grump and groan..

Or drag my feet or whine or moan?

Life is sweet and there is choice.

To hum sad song or just rejoice.

Always there are peaceful sounds,

As leaves are falling, life abounds.

With each day I learn to see,

God’s gifts of grace surrounding me.

Sharing bounty, gardener’s gift,

The dance that gives that pleasant lift.

Quote of the Day...

" Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~John Muir

Of rocks and water......

From my watercolor sketch book.....

When does rock surrender to water,

I need to know, to teach my daughter.

Does constant flow of rippling streams,

Convince the stone to open seams,

Until the seams become a crack,

And then a chasm back to back.

So which is stronger would you say,

The canyon walls or waterway,

That curves and carves its way to sea.

The solid rock gives quietly.

The years of constant wearing drip,

Swirling current on rocky ship,

Where solid bow and stern must shift.

Against the frothy churn neath cliff.

I bow to water’s liquid ways,

The sparkling wave of sunny days,

That catch the light and sing their song,

Smooth stones beneath in polished throng.

The elements of brook and stone,

Each have a strength to call their own.

Majestic jut of basalt walls,

Are only there when river calls.

Repeated rush round river’s bend,

Becomes the crash of currents blend…

Of froth and foam that’s dashing wild,

Creating cliffs that so beguile.

We cannot choose that which is the best,

The stream with fish, the cliff with nest.

We simply marvel at the scene,

The canyon’s peace, the water’s gleam.

Quote of the Day...

"Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed." ~Lewis Gannit

It's true.....pulling a weed in a restaurant flower box, reaching to eliminate a weed at a friends house while the invitation was only for tea.....a sickness I admit to. Most of my companions and friends understand this and try not to pay too much attention to my addiction for weed pulling and dead heading wherever I am.

First Things First!

Wherever I move, one of the first things I find is a great nursery...the hunt begins! A few of my very favorite nurseries are noteworthy.

Edward's in Boise, Idaho
Greenhurst Nursery, Nampa, Idaho
Farmington Gardens, Beaverton, Oregon
Paulino's in Denver, Colorado