Flower pictures, as promised

This doesn't give you a sense of the height, almost 4 feet, but my crappy camera could make the flowers look both good and tall.

This does show that I'm doing my part to support and encourage pollination and bees!

Everbearing Berry Bushes

Mmmmm, breakfast.

Yogurt, granola and strawberries I've been watching for three days, hoping to catch the right moment between actually red and ripe and slug devoured. This was the morning! And as an extra special added bonus a kitschy frog mouth soap dish.

perennials, a post about plants with no pictures, dumb huh?

So, this is summer number two in my house. It has been the summer of projects and patience and waiting for things to fall into place. It hasn't been bad, just strange. However, something that has amazed me, is watching the progress of my perennials.

About this time last year I visited a little nursery in south Portland. It's owned and run by a short jovial hispanic man and his wife who wears a floppy hat and plaits her hair in a way that seems to highlight her obviously indigenous heritage. The prices are amazing. Last year I made my purchased with a friend's input, not really understanding the potential of each plant, not really knowing what I was buying. But, I did pick perennials (and mostly natives), with the hope that they would come up and look even better than they did last year.

This whole progression of time and rhythms of nature thing is amazing. Sure enough, I put them in the ground, added water and compost, let sunshine and time do it's thing and ta-da! Flowers! Then, as one might expect, as it got cold, they all died. I cut them back and this spring they all came back.

And while I understand this is not shocking, it's just so cool. In February there was nothing. Now months later these have returned, succulents and flowers, red, pink, purple, yellow, natives and non. They've almost all come back. I lost a hot pink and yellow lantana, which is supposed to be impossible to kill and my step dad mowed over my goats beard, twice, as it was poking it's head back up. But, what has come back is large, healthy and prolific. I will post pictures of the echinacea, my current favorite.

I repeated the trip to the nursery (The Country Barn) today and again purchased a carful (a STEAL at less than $50). This year, I could visualize the spaces that need filling. The variation in height and color that, if this whole perennial thing keeps going, will make the garden seem wildly filled. The look of randomness that must be intentional which I find myself drawn to in other people's yards. I was so excited they were in the ground less than an hour after I got home.

Here's to faith and growing things.

Arcadia Beach

The view looking north from my favorite day trip spot on the Oregon Coast.





It's a dramatic combination of rock and sand a few miles south of Cannon Beach, which makes it approximately 104 miles from my front door.

I have been here three times this month.

First, with the best friend I found during first semester of college: she and her 4 year old bundle of excitement and energy and joy were visiting for "girls weekend". The little one had never been to the beach. As a side note, both dogs and kids react the same upon first exposure to the beach...they wiggle around with uncontrollable glee and run. We poked things, climbed rocks, dug holes and discussed how even though it wasn't sunny we needed to remember to wear sunscreen. We know better, we declared with all indication of learning from past mistakes. Apparently, we do not and I burned so badly I peeled.

Second, with the best friend from high school: she and I once were part of a three day beach backpacking trip out of "gasp" Forks, Washington. (The trip was so long ago we weren't even aware we should be looking for vampires) At seven months pregnant her reaction to the beach was remarkable dissimilar to dogs and little girls. She dug belly sized hole in the sand squealed because she could finally lay on her stomach and then slept for an hour. I walked south with the mutt.

Third, with my brother, sister, mom and step dad, and three dogs: We picked up rocks, and took turns acting (and sometimes being) impressed by on another's finds, we waded, the mutt suffered a strange bout of dementia and was running in the opposite direction, sure he would find me. My brother practiced acrobatic feats. It was beautiful and the tide was out exposing rocks and life and beach upon which the crazy girl boxer could practice her thoroughbred impersonation. A good day.

As another side note, all three days were cloudy and fueled by peanut butter and jelly.