Picture Color- Day 3 {Changing of the Guard}

Noticing how one color shifts to another.

Today I leave you with flowers for Mother's Day...

weed, weeded, weeding

I spent a good bit of the day weeding (i'm generally opposed to the word weeding {for myself} because it holds so many assumptions, but for the life of me I can't find another word for the job. tidying up? two words. yard work? possibly, but still two words. i'm working on it. i have resorted to using the word weeding over the last two weeks for lack of a better word and because I think it is fairly descriptive of what I have been doing, whether I like it or not...) again and am glad to see that my back and neck aren't having quite the same problem they did a few weeks ago when I first began tidying up the back garden area in earnest. I keep doing it because I really want that area cleaned up and logistically easier to care for, but I won't say I wasn't concerned my body wasn't going to be as into it as my mind seemed to be. My mind jumped at the chance. And the two of us- my mind and I- have been working on the garden area one thing at a time (i keep reminding my mind when it gets ahead of me and i feel overwhelmed with the task. one.thing.at.a.time. don't look beyond that lest i feel too overloaded to tackle any of it.)

(and why divide us all up like that- body, mind, me?- just for the fun of it. and frankly- to account for some of the disparity i experience when i try too hard to sum things up into one experience.) (and to sort of indulge that disparity a bit. i read somewhere a few years ago that one way we as a culture are dysfunctional is that we are taught we shouldn't feel more than one way at a time and as a result, we have a difficult time reconciling different and conflicting feelings....)

I'm happy with how it's going. I spent quite a bit of time with the strawberries and am pleased with how many we now have. I transplanted a few and cleaned up around most of them. I'm now trying to decide how to keep it um weeded more easily. The nursery people suggested cardboard around the plants and then dirt on top of that. It seems like that would work well with rows but my berry plants are all hodgepodge like, with very little rhyme or reason. I don't really want to go the way of hemlock mulch around them because I don't believe it really is sliver-free (and eva walks out in the garden a lot. it has to be eva-friendly.) I'm not sure which way I will end up going. One project at a time. Right now I'm working on the area in between the raised beds, covering it with newspaper (i actually bought one!) and then medium cedar chips, with rectangular pathway slabs on top of that. Eva is thrilled and mentioned how fun it will be to walk around under the sunflowers later in the summer.



I love how the purple kale has yellow flowers. It's such a nice contrast. Never fear- this kale is from last fall. There is more spring kale in the other bed. Always plenty of kale.

easter

{Textures and colors from our walk this afternoon} We've had sunshine the last few days for at least part of each day with yesterday being mostly sunny all.day.long. I was surprised to wake up to rain this morning, not being someone who normally checks the weather report {with any regularity}. I guess the Easter Bunny didn't check the weather report either (either that or he was overly optimistic about how waterproof our plastic eggs were) because we lost more than a few jellybeans to water log. No one wanted the squished together jelly beans (or the chocolate eggs, for that matter) after they'd spent the night in a leaky plastic container outside. And who could resist an egg hunt outside when the weather has been so perfect?




On Friday, one of my children told one of my other children about the Easter Bunny. And each one of them spent time feeling sad {for different reasons} for a good part of that afternoon. (And one even into the evening.) I feel pretty good about my part in the matter, showing up and being present as best as I could. Explaining what I could in a way that I felt good about (the spirit of Easter and Springtime inspiring each of us to celebrate and enjoy this time of year...) I'd been thinking about this for a while now, preparing myself for what I would say but everything really is a dress rehearsal until you actually say those words out loud to your child for the first time. And I wanted it to be good and kind and gentle. And real. In it's own way.

It felt awkward at times this morning, the kids not knowing what to say about continuing the same rituals that had so obviously been altered just a few days before. It seemed they didn't know quite how to proceed at first and it took them just a bit to get in the groove. Once there, though, they seemed to enjoy themselves {as usual} and it looked like we could stumble along to find a newish way. I'm curious about the magic that I'm sure will linger.

We've been going to the farmers market regularly since it started last month-



And- I made a cheesecake {for Eva} for Easter. Imagine the cutest, sweetest puppy. Walking down the street, enjoying life and the smells and joys of a dog-filled day. That level of cuteness is exactly how delicious this cheesecake tasted.

outside

We've been able to get out and about a bit lately, what with all of that Springtime in the air and all. My only sadness is that Jack isn't able to join us for much of it. He joins me on the patio, in our backyard, for a bit of sunshine and Springish smelling, but is really needing to rest after his recent hip injury. I'm hoping that after a little more rest and some of the treatments he is receiving, he'll be able to take a short walk down the street again {soon}. I'm afraid walks in the woods are out for the time being and I have found that I have been {unconsciously?} choosing places that don't allow dogs. I used to feel sad when we went to those places without him but knew he couldn't join us anyway. Now it seems to assuage my spirit a bit. I know he can still smell the woods on me when we return. I'm sure in his good-hearted-doggieness that he understands {mostly}. While I'm sad I can't take him with us now, I am happy that I took him as often as I did in the past.



Eva by the creek and some of the first trillium of the season!



Eva checking the water at the Audubon Society for newts.



Samuel and our one brush with frog-ness on Sauvie Island. I think we missed the frogs this year. We did see several snakes, though, out basking in the sunshine with the rest of us.



Eva and Samuel at Smith and Bybee Lakes. We heard frogs here and ended up seeing dozens? hundreds? of tadpoles on one of the flooded paths. I tried to photograph them but they were having none of it. Who can blame them. The herons were also plentiful that day. We also saw two black tailed deer and a bald eagle!

Spring

Here's what I wrote about Spring a few days ago. I think the tone in the first paragraph lacks a certain Zing! (which is why I put off posting it. trying to locate that Zing!) I was looking for to convey the most recent Spring shift in the air I was feeling. Upon rereading it, however, I wonder if the tone was perfect for that day. I'm posting it now because it seems subtly different enough from how it feels on this day, that I know that things have already shifted again, which feels good to me right now. The {seeming} lack of movement in the season had begun to feel heavy to me, as though no matter how hard I tried to open my eyes, I was still yawning and sleepy after a long and rainy nap.

"Slowly. Imperceptibly. {Until it's not.} No longer winter-moving-toward-spring, but simply spring. Spring. And soon, she will move-as we expect her to- toward summer. But until then- until then- she is spring.

Just last week, I wondered at feeling warm again and when that would feel real. Difficult to fathom when Spring's hail and sleet continued to pound the patio roof. Surely, those first flowers signaled a break. A subtle shift. And now? No longer one flower pointed out as we drive past, but several pink and white trees fully lining the boulevards, leaving me hoping. Knowing. There will be dogwoods. There will be irises. Ducklings. Subtle shifting and suddenly, a noticeably warmer day takes us for a much needed walk in the woods and we no longer wear coats. We leave our hats in the car, forgotten for now."

salad

Today I finished up the last of the blueberries I dried last summer. Suffice it to say, I will definitely be drying more next summer. They take quite a bit of time in the dehydrator but are completely worth it. I still have several bags of frozen blueberries in the berry freezer and while we are enjoying them immensely, I wish I had dried a few more. Next time. The dried pears are also good, but not nearly as versatile.

My favorite way to eat the dried blueberries has been in salads, particularly the ones I have been making since the bitter spring greens have started in my CSA basket over the last month or so. Today I had dried blueberries, tangelos and pink lady apples in a salad with walnuts, carrots, scallions (the first of the season!) and our first radishes from the farmers market. All of this was chopped and tossed with fresh baby greens, also from the farmers market. I like salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil on my salad. It took me a while to get used to this simple dressing, but now I love it.

I love this time of year for so many reasons, not the least of which being that I can finally stop buying the California baby greens every week for the guinea pigs. I eat mainly local, seasonal vegetables from my year round CSA, which I love and am happy and grateful to be able to do. The guinea pigs, however, really love their morning greens and unfortunately, there are a few months in Oregon when there are no local greens to be found. Even the Romaine lettuces go away. While the greens and lettuces haven't returned yet to our grocery store, they can be found in abundance at the farmers market. This last week, the pigs have been enjoying their new local fare, but request that I hold the spinach and bok choi, please. They prefer dandelions. I don't blame them. I must say, I was excited to see if I had found someone who would finally eat the spring bok choi that starts showing up this time of year. Of course, I prefer kale.

Slice of Life Tuesday

{on Thursday}

This week's theme is Yellow. I'm obviously gaga for daffodils.

spring photos and one guinea pig

No alphabet today. I'm barely here, just popping in to upload a few spring photos.

F is for flowers

in all their fancy finery.

Be

All I could think of was beauty, when the sun shone through the clouds. And the color of the sky,bright blue, spanning half the sky, bringing with it suggestions of park walks and pea plantings (finally).

And bushtits busy in the blueberry bushes, watching as I approached.

A is for Ant

A is for ant. Or ants. With his friends. Curiously meandering all through my home...

The ant scouts came early- or so it seems to me now. It seems like I remember sunshine and a bit more warmth for their initial spring entrance, which is not the case currently. (Or is it more likely that I have one or two memories of ants and sunshine, in this house, and have glossed over the rest? Or is it simply rainier this year? Or, is this exactly when the ants usually show up- the perfect ant time? They certainly seem to think so.) Of course- the bit with the sunshine and the warmth- that also might be later, when they come out with their queens and high hopes of expansion.

These current ants are scouts, out wandering, looking for snacks, ever optimistic that sweet goodness will be found within these walls. My walls. Their walls. They make no distinction. Why should I. And truly, as long as they don't bring back long lines of friends, I mostly leave them alone (save to take one or two back outside to spend time with other friends). Even then, even with long lines of friends, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do much beyond sprinkling cinnamon and pepper around their trails. Then I'd bring out the caulking gun. (Just because they are here, doesn't mean they need to stay. But I'm friendly while we share a space.)

And, because I know I am friendly, I also make sure to keep juices and apple peels and all sorts of ant goodies picked up, cleaned up, and out of most spaces, because ants are quick and will come to stay, if given the right invitation. I've had run-ins with ants before and felt powerless in their presence, their large numbers taking over my kitchen, my laundry room, my pet food. Now I'm very clear. They are welcome. In {very} small numbers. And I'll do my bit to keep those numbers from growing.

I'm certain the ants are here because of the rain, too. I just found out that Portland broke a 130 year rain record by over an inch yesterday. So there are ants. In the house. To get out. Of the rain. {But no thunder, because it's Portland.}

spring weather

Well, unfortunately (for now) there was no Sweet pea planting today. Eva and I were sick and it was too cold for me to be out in the garden. We had one of those mixed-up Portland spring days with sunshine and hail that I love and look forward to. I thought for sure there would be a rainbow thrown in there somewhere. There is snow predicted here over the next couple of days. Now that I know the violets and crocuses can handle snow, I am looking forward to seeing if anything comes of it. I never did buy the kids snow boots this year. It would be crazy if they needed them now, just as I'm planting the first seeds in the garden.

garden news

I remembered two days ago while I was out in the garden that now is the time to plant peas! Yes, it's sow-your-peas-before-President's-Day time again and in honor of that occasion, I bought three packs {of different varieties} of Sweet peas to plant {hopefully} tomorrow. With names like Fairy Tale Mix and Extra Scented, who can choose just one? Last spring I planted my sweet peas too late in the season and I had very few that bloomed. I'm not taking any chances this year.

After I'm done planting the Sweet peas, I will move onto the other types of peas, mainly the edible variety, both shell peas and sugar snap peas.

spring-ish

It's officially springtime. (Despite the snow predictions later this week. And yes, I know, it is still technically winter.) Still, after spending time outside today, I would say that as far as the seasonal continuum goes, the scales have tipped in the direction of spring. At least for the time being.

Two instances of spring in the air today-



The Columbine is just popping up in a few places.



And- Eva brought me not one, but two small vases of flowers.

ants

It seems like the ant scouts have come out a little earlier this year-



At least someone enjoyed the tangerines.

snowy wood violets

We woke up to {a little bit of} snow this morning. I'm happy to say that the flowers who were blooming seem to be all set for a little surprise snowfall.

daffodils!

Eva and I went for a walk today to the park and lo and behold, we saw our first daffodils. I LOVE daffodils, so I took a picture for posterity. Yesterday, we saw the first crocuses in our own yard and on our walk we saw several others popping up in other yards, both yellow and purple. The snowdrops are also in full bloom right now, along with the wood violets. I still have quite a bit of clearing out to do in a few of the violet patches and would love to finish it all up in the next couple of days. We'll see if the weather continues to allow for that kind of time spent outside. My roses are nearly all pruned. It seemed to go so quickly this year and I was reminded today when I was clearing away some more leaves in the front yard that Eva pruned over half of them and most of them in the front yard!



Snowdrops in our front yard.



Daffodils on the way to the park.

outside

Gorgeous day spent outside pruning roses and checking out the bulbs poking out here and there. It has been such a relief to spend some time over the last couple of days outside- both out in the yard and on the patio reading. Eva and I took a walk around the neighborhood and saw an incredible amount of moss and heather in bloom. In our own backyard, behind the part of the yard most flooded by our recent deluge, we even found snowdrops in bloom! And wood violets blooming near the house...

I had some fun with the hipstamatic app. on my itouch out and about in the yard-



First growth on rose bushes and a big pile of pruned stems.



If you look very, very closely through the swampy growth, there are actual snowdrops beginning to bloom. I couldn't go much further in because there was at least six inches of water on the ground out there. My socks were soggy after I finished checking out the flowers and Eva's boots are still on the heater waiting to dry out.



Carrots in the garden with their tops nibbled off. The guinea pigs and I have been enjoying these carrots over the last week or so.



Eva and I found no less than five different types of bulbs already poking out of the ground. And yes! These are some of the wood violets blooming. The smell while I pruned the roses was amazing. I can never get enough of their fresh sweet scent.