Our Afternoon Jaunt

Have you ever seen a flying duck land in a parking lot mud puddle?  We did today.  The mallard looked like it got some road rash, but it waddled right behind us as we entered The Crystal Spring Rhododendron Garden. We went to look at their gravel because I love the way it sounds when I walk on their paths.  I want to add the same gravel to our path and patio at home.  

While we were there, I stopped and sat on my favorite bench in my favorite garden room.  

I admired the blooming rhododendrons.  If you live in the area, you really need to visit the park this spring.  And if you are looking for rhododendrons, their sale on Mother's Day weekend is fantastic.  

Afterwards, I was feeling a bit peckish so we stopped for a grilled beer sausage ($4) at Otto's, the best sausage shop in Portland.

Mike has been serving up fresh grilled Otto's sausages for 10 years.  And Otto's has been in this location since 1929 and is still run by the same family.  A neighborhood jewel.

We savored our lunch and then continued on our way with major onion breath.  

Puppy Love

Today, I met and fell head over heels for our new puppy that we get to bring home this Friday.  His name is Barnaby and he’s a Harlequin Great Dane.  He’s a sack of potatoes at 5 weeks, weighing in at ten pounds.

My friend, Linda, messaged me his picture last night.  He was purchased last week and was abandoned at her veterinary practice when the new owners learned that he had developed Parvo.  Linda and her husband gave Barnaby life saving treatments and now he’s all-better. 

I’ve always wanted a Great Dane but I believe in adopting rescue dogs.  And Barnaby is both!  I have a feeling that my heart and my garden are never going to be the same after Friday. Let the countdown begin.  

Barnaby is our little nose biter.

It's Alive!

I no longer look like Lord Valdemort from Harry Potter according to My Pirate.  Such a sweet talker…sorry ladies, he’s all mine!   A strong course of antibiotics and a massive tube of antibiotic gel have helped my smile return and oh, how I have missed it!  I didn’t realize how often I smiled until my face swelled up. 

I have a new healthy respect for the microorganisms in my compost heap. It’s alive! My garden gloves are in the washer.  Super Charlie finished spraying the moss off of the roof and now the garden and I can dust ourselves off and move forward.  I’m sooo happy to put last week behind me. 

Poetry Post: Poem of the Week

carry your heart with me

by ee cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

                                                  i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

My Pirate and Super Charlie

My Pirate, my sweet darling husband, has an alter ego like all super heroes do.  By day, he is My Pirate and by project, he is Super Charlie.  Super Charlie is best described as a blend of George of the Jungle and Tim the Toolman Taylor from Home Improvement.  In the middle of projects, I watch my husband’s IQ drop and a wild gleam flares in his eyes as he obsessively fixates on finishing the project.  And in that moment, I imagine a large super hero cape billowing around Super Charlie.  

I first met Super Charlie when we started remodeling a Portland Bungalow, eleven years ago.  I went out for groceries and returned home to find that Super Charlie had torn the back of the garage off while I was gone.  I was completely bewildered until I discovered the antidote, his kryptonite, so to speak.  Rum.  One single sip of a rum beverage and POOF!  He transforms back into his mild mannered self once more.  And that is how he has earned his nickname, My Pirate.  Projects followed by rum are a necessity in our house.  

Several weeks ago, I bought My Pirate a pressure washer.  Sheer madness on my part.  I knew it at the time.  But, we have a huge moss problem on our roof, living under a shady fir tree and all.  And Super Charlie has done a fantastic job spraying the moss off of the roof.  He’s earned every drop of rum he’s enjoyed. 

As you know, spraying a carpet of moss off of a roof is messy. All the plants near the house are dirty and speckled with needles and moss.  And that’s when he gets into trouble…Super Charlie pressure washes plants.  As I was painting a project this week, I looked out of the window in time to catch him pressure washing my chocolate vine, akebia quinata, on our pergola. 

And did I panic?  No, I did not. I simply raced outside and calmly told him that it was time to come inside and enjoy a drink.  The vine will recover.  Super Charlie showed some restraint this time and even left some flowers on it.  And now you know how my hubby has earned his nickname, My Pirate.