Saturday, March 26, 2011

Spring Colors

Hi! Please enter, my dear friends.
Jewel, your hot chocolate is ready. 
Just as promised, spring has arrived. Life has returned to the garden. What colors do you see? Bright yellow, white and medium purple are everywhere at my place and probably in your neighborhood as well.
The star magnolia has been covered with large pussies all winter, but now the flowers have finally opened. Since the tree is about sixty feet from my library window, the flowers look like cotton balls. I still think the tree looks unattractive at this stage without its leaves. But, guess what I did. I picked a branch with partially opened buds and put it in a vase by the kitchen sink. Now, that's the way the star flower of the magnolia should be enjoyed.
Another white I see is the pieris bush. They are completely covered with the little Lily of the Valley flowers. Next will come the new growth in bright red leaves on this bush which is another phase of spring.
The yellow I see are daffodils and forsythia, both are so bright and vivid, I'm not sure which is the brightest. I keep my forsythia tightly pruned so that it is a thick bush. You have probably seen those that look wild and not maintained or unkempt. That is a little pet peeve of mine.


 I see lonely daffodils in a vacant field across the street where a walnut orchard once stood. I think it is time someone picked a few. I promise I'll leave most of them for the neighbors to enjoy.
    The purple are heather, daphne and miniature rhodys. No comments here except I love the scent of daphne. Do you? It is so sweet. I put a branch of daphne flowers in the vase with the star magnolia. Great combination!
      I have a book in my library called, “Color Me Beautiful”. God has certainly given us so many beautiful colors to enjoy. Enjoy your view today!

Juanita

Saturday, March 19, 2011

God Bless America

Welcome!  Afternoon tea is being served.  If you prefer, I'll be glad to fix coffee.  My husband buys great (expensive) coffee from Caribou Coffee on-line. 

Plaid!  Our American flag was red and white plaid this morning.  I had never seen it hang this way .  The wind had flipped it over the angled pole once, producing a bias fold.  It was soaking wet, making it look sewn that way.  But you know what happened when the wind came up again.  It will always fly!  "God bless America!  Our home, sweet home."
 A flock of European starlings just landed center-stage.  I grabbed my bird book to verify their name.  Every library needs the "Field Guide to Birds by the Stokes"  This husband and wife team likes to study birds together.  The starlings in my yard do not stay long, probably two minutes at the most.  They come by the dozens, eat everything in sight, then on signal it seems, they immediately depart.  On their list of food is weed seeds and snails.  I wish they came more often for that meal.  Wouldn't it be great if they ate moss too?

I have a new email address:  folks7777@gmail.com

Let's talk again next week.
Juanita


Saturday, March 12, 2011

Jets and Filberts

 I'm so pleased you came for a visit today!

The Willamette Valley has very cold, but sunny weather this morning. I just finished reading chapter nine and my china tea cup is empty. 

Do you ever watch a jet stream?  I have seen them many times, but never watched them. There's a difference, you know.  I'm watching one right now from my library window.  The jet is flying south, probably to California.  There is not the slightest breeze in my front yard, but it must be windy high in the sky because the white stream has floated east and is almost blown to pieces.  All that happened in about two minutes. 

Keep looking up or you will miss something important!

If I were looking out my library window sixteen years ago (no library then), right now I would see our filbert orchard in full bloom with their soft, yellow tassels.  That is the closest they came to having flowers.  I can forgive them for that because I love the nuts, especially the sweeter male nuts.  We had one hundred trees all around our house, but in due time, the harvesters, our kids and the neighbor kids, grew up and moved away.  

It was time for a change and my husband just happened to have a back hoe.  Imagine that!  The filbert orchard became firewood for our Fisher stove.  We created a  lovely garden with a six-foot tall waterfall, meandering creek, and a fish pond that I can  always enjoy from the library window.  

How are your blueberries bushes?  Ours are red with new growth.
Another promise of spring!

See you next week! 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

A Note from the Past

My mother-in-law passed away more than thirteen years ago, and today she gave me a note. She was proficient at keeping records. It is my quiet time in the library, and as I was fixing our tea this morning, I decided to use loose tea. I remembered seeing a 'tea ball' that belong to Thelma, so I decided it was about time I used it. I knew right where it was – in the camel-shaped teapot. When I took off the lid of the ball, there was her note to me. She said her mother gave it to her in 1937, and it had made a lot of tea for many people. Her little message brought a smile to my face. I wish she and I could have tea together today, but instead, you and I can.

Yesterday was a wonderful, warm day! Instead of looking out the window at yard work that needed to be done, I was doing it. The row of Lavender has grass growing in it, so guess who is going to transplant them? My dear husband and Daisy dog helped me. Do you want me to bring you up to date on Daisy's diet? Maybe you do not, because it is gross! Daisy was eating stuff in the bark dust. Craig proceeded to tell me that Daisy just loved to eat it. No, it was not carrot peelings this time. He said it was deer droppings, but he said Daisy thought it was chocolate-covered raisins. See, I told you it was gross!

Who or what is a “bird watcher”? Is it someone who hides in the bushes with his binoculars and takes close-up pictures of birds? I am not a bird watcher, but I enjoy watching the birds fly in the air, hop around the lawn and eat worms. Right now there is not a bird in sight and I miss watching them. It is relaxing to watch the birds do their thing. It is surprising how thirty minutes can pass so quickly in five minutes. I call it a great way to waste time or to stall doing what is 'important' such as dusting.

The other day in my library, I read this in the book of Numbers:

"May the LORD bless you and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace." (NLT)

See you next week!

Your friend,
Juanita
folks777@aol.com