Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: May 2015

Here's a quick peek at what is blooming in my garden right now.

The white blooming kousa dogwood tree is lifting up its chartreuse flowers that will slowly turn white over the following weeks. Barnaby loves to stand under this tree; A dog with his favorite dogwood tree.

The purple rue has lifted up to over five feet tall this year. I've noticed pedestrians stopping to enjoy the flowers.

Chive blossoms delight me at home and in The Hazel Dell School and Community Garden. Here's a feature in The Columbian on our school garden and Barbara.

The Pagoda Dogwood is my favorite shrub in my back garden. I love how it grows out in layers. Right now it's frothy with flowers.

A beneficial predatory fly hunts on a hardy geranium blossom.

This is a burnet flower. Burnet is an herb that tastes like cucumber and I grow it in all of my gardens for salads. I normally chop it back to the ground by now for new delicious leaves.

This aphid photo-bombed my bleeding heart shot.

Um, Barnaby, can I have my favorite garden hat back now?

Don't forget to stop by our bloom day hostess, Carol of May Dreams Gardens. Have fun out in your garden!

Info

5 Comments

28 Days Later

Twenty-eight days ago, My Pirate returned home looking like a zombie after helping a friend build a new shade structure on his hunting property up in Klickitat, WA. A one sentence text the night before had warned me that he had accidentally rolled a 4 wheel ATV without wearing a helmet and that he was fine. He was not fine.

A quick trip to the ER confirmed what I suspected, a mild concussion. We were reassured that he would be back to work after a week of healing, but that hasn't happened. My Pirate's bruised brain has taken more time to heal. He's been unable to drive and he drives for a living. So, he's been home with me.

Now, My Pirate is an awful patient. The first time that I discovered this was when he had a hand surgery. While I was out picking up his pain pills from the pharmacy, he took out a sawzall and cut out a large rectangle out of our living room wall for three new windows. I spent the rest of the day installing windows. So, I've had to keep a close eye on My (concussed) Pirate to keep him out of trouble.

He's on the mend and has found his smile and sense of humor along the way. So, he's no longer a concussed humorless zombie, but he has a ways to go. Caring for him has been like babysitting a five year old that has access to power tools. It has been challenging. I've closed doors, turned off the barbecue, and graciously accepted every thank you for something that he just did, but forgot about.

Barnaby's been helping My Pirate rest and relax.

And somewhere between all the naps, doctor and pt visits, we've grown closer through this injury. And once he's all healed, I'm going to get angry and yell at him, but in the meantime I hold him close and whisper in his ear, "Helmets are sexy."

P.S. I'll share all of my new garden projects and recipes with you soon!

Info

11 Comments

Happy Easter

“Easter is…
Joining in a birdsong,
Eying an early sunrise,
Smelling yellow daffodils,
Unbolting windows and doors,
Skipping through meadows,
Cuddling newborns,
Hoping, believing,
Reviving spent life,
Inhaling fresh air,
Sprinkling seeds along furrows,
Tracking in the mud.
Easter is the soul’s first taste of spring.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich

Info

4 Comments

Dark-eyed Juncos' Nest Building Troubles

Early spring in my backyard is punctuated by the alarm chips of a pair of Dark-eye Juncos nesting in my pergola. I even keep my backyard messy to provide materials for their nest building. I enjoy watching the birds build their nest.

A Dark-eyed Junco calling out alarm chips to me last spring.

Last summer, we moved our pergola and chopped back the Akebia vine that encased it.

Their attempts are certainly ambitious with an old hardy fuchsia stem. I watched them work together to wrench it out of the raised bed. But will it stay in place?

So far, the Dark-eyed Juncos have tried building a nest in three spots and windy rain/hail storms have blow it out. I caught My Pirate picking up the nest and putting it back in place. Part of their nest landed on my primula. I don't know if the final corner of the pergola will protect the nest from the elements.

Should I intervene and install a box on the final corner? Or should I let them move on to a safer spot? I welcome your suggestions.

Info

4 Comments

Winter Walk-Off 2015

I enjoy reading the participants of A Tidewater Gardener's yearly Winter Walk-Off meme. Les encourages us to "rise from the couch, cast off that musty Afghan, grab a camera, and get out of the house to show the rest of us what their part of the planet looks like."

This year I decided to join in for the first time. I threw my blanket aside, nudged Mr. Barnaby off the couch, and we headed to Pacific Park. Pacific Park is a beautiful fifty-sixty acre park, two miles from my house. We regularly visit the off leash dog park to support Barnaby's social life. I also have a plot in the community garden and help plan and teach a series of Master Gardener workshops on natural gardening in the Natural Garden Area.

Barnaby just can't get enough love from Jamie.

You remember Jamie don't you? I showed you a picture of her last summer.

Let's see if this shot jogs your memory.

Squatting down besides Barnaby is dangerous because he will sit on your lap and down you'll go. Jamie almost fell again during our walk, but she caught herself. Nice catch, Jamie.