Thursday, August 28, 2014

Late Summer Walk - and a Tour of the Grounds.


Come along with me and we will take our morning walk.

We step outside to a warm and sunny morning - the last of the above 80 degrees days. 
Already I see that I need to sweep the stepping stones
after Whitey buried his morning treat. 


Who me? That's not dirt on my nose.....Hey, you're blocking my limelight! 


Moving along we see the hydrangeas have put on quite a show this year. 
I have filled many vases with their giant blooms and also used them for bridal shower and rehearsal dinner arrangements. Later this fall I will cut them for drying.


This is where Ling Ling the cat likes to sit in hopes of having a birdie lunch. 


Don't be fooled by that angelic looking face! 
(This is why she wears a pretty bell)


Bird houses recommended by Ling Ling
^^
oo
x


"I was only trying to be kind....."


"Besides, it was all Maggie's idea...."


"Oh, I'm so tired of her lies! 

Everyone knows I only like mice! 

That's why I don't have to wear a stupid bell!"


Champ is bored with all this cat chat and wants to play fetch!
So let's go....


The Tansy is blooming along the front of the tool-shed. 
Clumps of Sedum are turning rosy on the lawn. 


No matter how hard I try to tie it up, 
it wants to flop. 


Its bright button blooms bring sunshine down to earth. 

I'll harvest the leaves for moth sachets before the first frost. 


I have a bountiful apple harvest from my dwarf apple trees. 

They are not quite ready - still a bit sour. 


But the blackberries are ripe and I really need to pick some
 before the bears discover them! 


As we walk along we see the leaves are starting to fall from the cottonwoods. 

We have had a very dry summer. 


Soon I will be raking these monsters from the ground - 
the leaves of Big-Leaf Maple. 
You can see how large they are by comparison to my Mr.'s hand. 

We have several large specimens of these magnificent trees
and I use the fallen leaves as compost. 



The wild plums are also ripe and falling on the ground. 
They are the size of large cherries and very tasty. 

We rarely get any for ourselves, as the birds and woodland creatures 
gobble them all up. 

They have proliferated in the woodlands around our home, 
putting on a lovely show in the spring when they flower. 


We spy a snail making its way up a cottonwood tree. 
Escargot anyone? (Bleck!)


We come to the gate at the end of the driveway and see the neighbor has cut his field. 
Last fall we saw a couple of bull elk here, 
and a cougar was spotted by my son as he left one evening after a visit. 

Yes, I always keep my faithful dogs with me everywhere I go. 


Peeking through the fences, we see the next door neighbor's horses. 


A Douglas Squirrel chatters from above as we head for home. 


Another view of the hydrangeas against the picket fence. 

You can see a little break in the pickets 
where a bear knocked down the fence once.

(Whitey and my old dog Little Bear, chased it away)
My Mr. repaired it with a wire fence behind. 

I need to remind him to replace the picket one of these days. 


I just painted the picnic table and moved it in front of the tool-shed. 
My Mr. loves having this place to hang out when he is puttering around up there.
An old rusty woodstove, coal cart wheel and birdhouses (suggested by Ling Ling :) keep him company.  


My children's former playhouse - now a dog house in a fenced in kennel. 
We only use this for the dogs when we have 'company'. 

The rest of the time the dogs have free reign and sleep inside the house. 

The old picket fence runs alongside. 


A pretty feather from a Dark-Eyed Junco. 


Peeking at the side of the house...
The potted Cyprus trees started out as tiny 6" 'Christmas' trees, and now stand guard in front of the dog pen leading down from the deck. 

At night the dogs have access to this pen from a pet door in the kitchen leading out to the deck. 


A wider view from the woods. 


My new Japanese Maple waits to be potted along the walkway. 


Time to go inside...

I hope you enjoyed our little walk-about. 
Thank you for coming along with me! 

xoxo

Linking with Good Fences

32 comments:

  1. you live is such a gorgeous place! tons of work went into it and tons of love, too. :) love your critters! and berries! and apples! and hydrangeas! :)

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  2. Hola amiga querida ! Tu vives en un lugar maravillosos lleno de naturaleza ! Que bellas hortensias,,que tenga un óptimo viernes
    Besos

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  3. Thank you for taking us with you and your sweet pets on your walk through your garden. I love those beautiful blue hydrangeas. And your place looks quite near heaven!!

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  4. I so enjoyed all your wonderful images! Clever you to put a bell on Ling Ling. The birdies love you for it! The hydrangeas are gorgeous. So much to see and savor! I was drawn to the sidebar where the image of the old books compels me to try to read their spines. Always. It must be an obsession with me. LOL

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  5. Thanks for the tour. Even though you have had a dry summer everything looks pretty good:) Seeing your picture of the wild plum reminds me that we used to have some on our property. I tried making jelly one year and it set up like concrete from all the natural pectin in it! They have since died out for some reason, but they were very pretty in the spring.

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  6. You gave me a good laugh over Ling Ling and her"bird bell", Karen. Too cute and too funny!
    Your place is just beautiful! You would never know that things were dry.
    I really enjoyed my visit here tonight.
    Have a blessed week end.
    Debbie

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  7. Hi Karen .......What a wonderful walk .thank you for taking us with you!
    Love all the pictures, specially from Champ and Whity and Ling Ling and Maggie ;O)
    The hydrangeas are georgeous ... you live in a paradise ....
    Thank you for a wonderful post!
    Wishing you a lovely and wonderful weekend,
    Hugs and bliessings,
    Claudia

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  8. Hi Karen, that was a lovely walk you took us on. Your garden is wonderful and so are your sweet furry companions and no doubt you all prefer not to keep company with the cougars and the bears. Yikes!

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  9. Hello Karen,

    What a wonderful place to live. We have so enjoyed our stroll with you and are fascinated by the amount of wildlife which is right on your doorstep!

    But, what a lot of responsibility you have by way of grounds maintenance. There cannot. Be an idle moment. Still, you have the most adorable furry companions to assist, or otherwise, you in your work!

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  10. Dearest Karen,
    How pretty the end of summer looks in your surroundings!
    Love the pets in those photos; happy bunch and even more important; very much loved!
    Enjoy it while the weather is pretty like this and your can harvest some more lovelies.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  11. Hello dear Karen,
    The birds here must be hard of hearing. Josephine wears a bell, but she has brought us two birdie "gifts" so far. Fortunately, she doesn't hurt them. Last week's gifts were a huge moth and a small toad. Good thing she hasn't discovered the snake yet.
    I was walking our pastor's wife out after a visit just as the large garter snake was crossing the path. I am not kidding when I say she nearly jumped into my arms then froze in place. Fortunately, I could bring her back in the front door and out the French doors or she would be here still!
    Enjoyed your post "extra much" this morning. Do you have snakes there?
    xxoo, m & jb

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    1. Oh, you had me laughing so hard, Maureen, picturing the pastor's wife when she saw the snake! Josephine must love you alot to bring you such tasty treats - Lol! Yes, we have snakes here- small garter snakes. I have only seen one this year. Maybe I am just not looking too hard - we have so much undergrowth that they could hide quite easily in plain sight. Ooooh! That's a creepy thought! Now I will be looking for them more carefully. Hope you have a nice holiday. xo Karen

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  12. Bountiful is the word that comes to mind. Such a lovely walk with so much to enjoy!
    Hugs,
    Lin

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  13. Karen,
    It was such a treat seeing pictures of your home. It is like an enchanted cottage with the forest surrounding it. Where do I start? Well, first of all, I haven't picked blackberries like this since I was a little girl. And those plum and apple tree are delightful. I love your white dog. I've had dogs my whole life, but none at the moment, but when it's time for another one, I would like to get a white dog, they're precious. That picture of the snail is great.

    Oh, I loved this post so much, and I'm going to have to come back to it after I have my morning coffee. Some people enjoy the ocean, but the mountains always bring me so much peace, and living like you do is such a blessing. Thank you for sharing these pictures. I appreciate it.

    love,
    ~Sheri

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  14. Hello sweet Karen! Your pets are absolutely adorable! You had me smiling with the cute pictures that you shared :)

    As always, your photos are a lovely treat to look at There is so much beauty around your home and every time I see a picture I am in awe.

    Have a blessed long weekend! hugs to you!

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  15. oh, and your angel blowing a kiss....I can't leave without saying how much I love her. :~)

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  16. It was a lovely walk Karen. I see little signs of autumn coming in here and there which is lovely. Your new pot is beautiful and will be set off so nicely by the maple, and vice versa! xx

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  17. Oh my gosh your post was fantastic. Filled with many, many gorgeous photos. Your dogs are sweet, I loved the dirty nose shot. You stole my heart Ling, Ling and Maggie, way to adorable the both of you. I just had a wonderful time reading your post and viewing your photos.

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  18. Hello Karen
    What a treat to walk with you around your garden - a sanctuary in the forest!
    However, I felt a shiver run down my spine when you mentioned bears.......... it was good to hear that your personal guards Champ and Whitey warned them off and told them they weren't welcome!!!

    The wild blackberries look delicious and ready for picking. It's great that there are treats like these and the wild plums for the birds (and bears) of the forest – who must always be searching for a sweet morsel!

    I loved meeting your animal family, and seeing your amazing garden!

    Shane x

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  19. Oh Karen! Your place is so incredibly beautiful! I LOVE hydrangeas, and yours are gorgeous! I also love tansy! The wild plums...everything, just wonderful! Oh Ling Ling doesn't want to be the "bad guy" kitty and tries to blame the bird stalking on the other cat too, but you can see right through him! :-) I'm glad you have the dog with you to protect against the cougar...he's out there somewhere! Hope he stays FAR out there! Great post! Enjoyed it so much! This place is so bloomin' HOT! I'm tired of summer, and we have another month to two months of misery to go!

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  20. I love your walkways Karen! They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Just look at those hydrangeas!! My goodness they are out of this world! And that shot of your furry kitty is priceless next to the angel!!! You did an outstanding job refinishing your picnic table! Such a piece of heaven where you are...there is something to admire on every turn! Wishing you a wonderful weekend lady! Nicole xoxo

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  21. Good Morning Karen, I loved our stroll around your beautiful home, those apples look yummy...It is lovely to wake up to sunshine, a little dull here in the UK this morning I'm hoping it will brighten up later... Have a wonderful weekend... Hugs May x x

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  22. Hi Karen,

    Oh, I just loved my morning stroll! I even got to sip my coffee while viewing your gorgeous grounds and pretty pets. Not sure how many calories I burned though ... LOL! I wish I could grow hydrangeas like that. I do have a couple, but they are still relatively small. Love your picnic table - a wonderful transformation. Have a great weekend!

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  23. Your cats enjoyed being part of the photo shoot! Looks like you're having nice weather for the weekend! Sweet hugs!

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  24. Wow, such a beautiful walk it was! You have a gorgeous place to live and i'm glad you share it with all the lovely creatures in such a nice way - so every day can be adventurous and fun! Thanks for posting - and have a fantastic weekend!

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  25. Your shared walk around your grounds was so lovely to see. To think that you have bears nearby makes me glad that you take your dogs with you! Ling Ling made me smile because we used to have a cat that would sit inside the bird house (one of those that has a roof above the table). He would see me coming and quickly jump from it making out that he was doing no wrong! Have a wonderful weekend xx

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  26. The gorgeous photo on Champ makes me smile - such a happy dog & cats you have - they keep each other company :-) Your hydrangeas and garden is so beautiful! Enjoy the moments outside, Karen!

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  27. Wow - what a gorgeous walk and such characters along the way.

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  28. What a wonderful post - beautiful and very entertaining! I wish our hydrangeas were as lovely, but they are lacecaps and are looking fairly bedraggled now at the end of summer. Your tansy is beautiful and I know is excellent as moth repellent! Those cats are - very catlike! Thank you for a "tour of the grounds". Do you ever wish you had a squad of gardeners to go with that phrase, or are you happy to have the place all to yourselves?

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    1. Hi Christine - thank you for your sweet visit! Yes, sometimes I do wish I had a squad of gardeners - oh, the things I could have them do! Then again, I look at it as a way to avoid high gym prices. Fresh air and hard work keep me young! xo Karen

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  29. I saw this post a couple days ago, and knew I wanted to have plenty of time to take what I knew would be a gorgeous walk. So I found some time this evening, and it was just as beautiful as I knew it would be! Loved seeing your animals and all your flowers and fruits and woods. You did a nice job painting the picnic table.

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  30. I love all your precious pets! What a sweet bunch! Your property is gorgeous and filled with so much wonder. Always fun to visit you! Thanks for the tour! Blessings, Anne

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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