Friday, March 4, 2016

Spring Scenes - Five on Friday


Hello Friends, I hope you are having a good week! 

We have had a stormy week with lots of wind, rain, 
and a little bit of sunshine, too. 

Today I would like to share with you, five scenes 
that made me smile this week. 

1. One morning I woke up early and caught 
the sunrise on Mt. Rainier. 


The river valley was full of mist 
after heavy rain the night before. 


Beautiful alpenglow. 


Every moment a different scene. 


 Full illumination. 


2. Another view of sunshine, late in the afternoon
looking out my glass kitchen door. 


Beautiful shadows.......


Potted Iris and primrose catch the light.


3. Looking further we can see that the wild plum trees are blooming. 
Kai says hello! 


With a closer look we can see it is very windy. 


A Steller's Jay enjoys the view. 


Clouds moving in.....


4. In between rain showers, I ventured out 
to see what was blooming in the yard. 

Here we see more plum tree blossoms. 

The property has many of these - progeny from 
a long ago Italian Prune Plum that was broken in a storm. 
The new shoots reverted back to the original rootstock. 

The fruits were smaller and loved by the wild pigeons
and have been spread far and wide,
much to our delight. 


The holly has a similar story. 
They pop up here and there and of course
we love them dearly. 

You can see the Hellebore (Lenten Rose) 
is blooming beside it. 


Daffodils are ready to bloom. 


You can see the mossy rocks - a testament to our 
very wet and mild winters. 


A wider view. 
 A lovely ground cover is spreading beneath
the bench. Native plants and ferns fill in behind. 



Two blooms nearby. 


Kai enjoys the garden, too. 

The twiggy shoots are Salmon Berry 
which have lovely pink blossoms in a few weeks. 


Primrose are also blooming. These are still in pots, 
but I planted them soon after and forgot to take a photo. 

You can see the slugs have been at the leaves, 
so I have put out pet-safe, 'Sluggo'. 


5. Lastly, I wanted to show you the land we just had cleared
by my son's childhood friend. 
I've know him since kindergarten, but now he 
has a son old enough to help him out! 

Where does that time go?

Ramblin' Man wants to build a storage/wood shed. 

Only the young alder trees were taken down. 
They were damaged in an ice storm in 2012, 
losing most of their branches and were starting to fall. 

Left standing are Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Hemlock. 


You can see the very large pile of branches that 
needs to be chipped. It is taller than I. 

Kai investigates an interesting scent. 

This area was cleared years ago 
but had become overgrown. 
It was once a paddock for my children's ponies. 

We will seed it with wildflowers and grasses. 


Whitey Bear and Kai check out their new playground. 
Sad to cut the trees down, but they were not healthy and a danger.
Now we have plenty of firewood to last for a while. 


One thing that didn't make me smile this week....
 this very large Hemlock that blew over in 
 high winds and is caught up in the trees. 

Of course, Ramblin' man is away at a Sales Conference. 
We only get big storms when he is out of town, 
it seems :) 


You can see the back of my Ford Ranger
to the right of the photo which gives you
perspective of its size. 

It's always something.......
Hopefully it will fall in the next storm. 

It will just miss Ramblin Man's lawn equipment shed. 
 That is something to smile about! 

xxoo

I hope you have something to smile about, 
Dear Friends! 

xxoo

"Psychoanalysis on the basis of one's woodland is out of place. 
But you can't help thinking that there must be something
written there, if only you knew how to read it."

- Geoffrey Charlesworth - 
The Opinionated Gardener (1988)

 Today I am linking with: 


49 comments:

  1. What wonderful images to share with us. That hemlock sure knew just where to fall - no damage to place or person.

    Diana

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  2. You are certainly blessed with such beautiful views, stunning. It was a delight to scroll through the amazing pictures of your garden, a real delight.

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  3. I'm sure the mountains at different times of the day draws the eye to that wonderful view. I've enjoyed walking around your woodland grounds and seeing the work that is going on there to maintain it. The hellebores are a lovely colour and look at home in the mossy spot under the trees.

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  4. Gorgeous sunrise at Mt. Rainier. Love all the lovely flowers and the beautiful scenery around you. You are blessed with a wonderful place.

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  5. Gorgeous photos! I especially love the one with mist in the valley below. xoxo Su

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  6. Amazing sceneries! And the iris and the primrose <3

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  7. So nice to see your flowers in bloom. Ours are not ready, yet!

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  8. Your photos are lovely and certainly made me smile. I like the look of your little summer house. B xx

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  9. your upper pics seem out of the world dear loved these blue flowers and white flowering tree too

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  10. Good morning, you do have lovely views out your window. I love the pretty potted irises and the helebores! I am so glad the tree did not do any damage when it fell. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

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  11. You have the prettiest property with the woods and the view! It must be so good to see those blooming plums. We had some in our very small woods years ago, but for some reason they have all died out. Not sure why:) Have a great weekend!

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  12. So beautiful where you are. Send a little spring my way, K? :)
    Hugs,
    Lin

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  13. You have captured some stunning photos this week of your beautiful area. I loved seeing all your spring flowers, too. I love the hellebore but do you think it would grow in southern California? And, Kia and Whitey Bear are adorable. Sending you hugs, Pat

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    1. Hello, Pat, thank you for stopping by for a chat! To answer your question - I think they might grow there if you have a cool, shady spot with plenty of moisture. They can take dappled sunshine, so under a tree or deciduous shrub would be ideal. Lots of compost would keep them happy, too. Hugs xo Karen

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  14. Love the photos, you have capture light beautifully.

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  15. Your photos made me smile. You have some spectacular scenery surrounding you. It must be amazing to wake up to those views every day. Don't you just hate slugs and they're masters at hiding.
    Have a wonderful weekend :)

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  16. Very pretty pictures! Thanks for giving me a gorgeous glimpse of the other side of the country...I am over here in the northeast!

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  17. Oh, your hellebores look so beautiful! And that misty sunrise - so beautiful too! So thank you for sharing these lovely scenes with us! xoxo

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  18. You have such a lovely mountain view and your place seems secluded and lovely!

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  19. Lovely moments, especially the mountain views and the blooming. I love the iris, one of my many favourites.

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  20. How wonderful, Spring is already dwelling in your home and in your garden and woods !!!
    Have a wonderful weekend, sweetest Karen, blessed with the light of Joy
    sending much love to you
    Dany

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  21. What lovely moments from your week, especially the beautiful blooms and blossoms! I hope that all goes well with Ramblin Man's new shed and that no more trees come down while he is away! Thank you for sharing at Five On Friday, hope you have a great weekend. xx

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  22. I have Lenten Rose hellebore as well. I actually have two hellobores now and enjoy them. Pulled a few blooms off and put them in a bowl on our table, in a bit of water. We had quite a bit of wind and rain earlier this week as well. 1 part ammonia to two parts water in a spray bottle works well against slugs that like to eat my primroses as well. Just spray on your plants and they even like it as it helps them grow. Really works. My peonies are started to come back. My daughter gave me one for mother's day last year! I love when spring time appears and blooms pop out all over! Have a good weekend!
    Becky

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  23. Delightful images, sweet friend. Visiting you is like getting my daily dose of sunshine :)

    May you have a joyous weekend! Love and hugs!

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  24. I am always in awe of what you get to view outside your deck, on a daily basis....such beauty!
    Happy weekend to you, dear Karen. xo

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  25. What beautiful views, Karen. Blossoms are so welcome this time of year, so exciting. Kai is a cutie! Have a wonderful weekend.

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  26. What gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous photos- eah one a work of art!!! Love it. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. xo Diana

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  27. What gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous photos- eah one a work of art!!! Love it. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. xo Diana

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  28. What beautiful photos, you live in such a beautiful area.

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  29. Beautiful photos!! Loved seeing your flowers! We will not see any flowers here for some time so it was a treat to see...
    Thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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  30. Gorgeous flowers and really looking like spring there is coming. Have to say though I totally LOVE that first shot! It is stunning

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  31. Dearest Karen,
    Oh my, there are trees that voluntary go down, like we want them to and others that go involuntary... Storms are always scary and on our early week's walk both of us were discussing the danger that some people let grow too close to their homes. In 2014 there was a tornado in our subdivision and we had not a single branch lost but so many of the rather shallow rooted big pine trees can cause quite some damage to the home
    You were lucky with that tree falling away from everything!
    It amazed me how happy Kai is looking so he completely overcame the traumatic move to his new human parents and surroundings. He found a fine big brother and loving people and living in paradise (with some dangers...).
    Enjoy all the natural changes, day by day.
    Hugs and happy weekend!
    Mariette

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  32. Oh how lovely a post. I have a soft spot for hellebores, and the one you shared with us is quite, quite lovely. And all your other Spring sightings. Such a treat for the eyes and heart.

    Thanks, Karen! Wishing you a beautiful weekend...
    Brenda

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  33. The view from your deck is stunning! What great captures of Mt. Rainier early in the morning. The potted iris and primroses are looking so beautifully spring-like. Isn't it a wonderful time of year?

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  34. Springtime around your home is beautiful. The views of Mt. Rainier were gorgeous. You made me want to plant some hellebores, yours are so pretty.

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  35. Such gorgeous pictures of the mountains!! How wonderful that you have blooming trees, none here yet but so looking forward to it. Such a wonderful idea to plant wildflowers in that area, that will be so pretty, hubby and I picked up some wildflower seeds last night, there is an area out back that doesn't grow grass very well so we are going to mix some of our compost with the dirt and see how the wildflowers fair there :) So sad about the tree, I know what you mean things happening when our hubby's are away, when my hubby was in the Air Force and always traveling I had quite a few adventures happen that I had to take care of, I sure do prefer him to take care of such things that is for sure. Karen I couldn't find an email for you, so I am asking here, if you would like to receive a card from me I would love to make one for you, if you could email me your address.

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  36. Karen, I loved seeing spring coming alive around your neck of the woods. It's raining here this weekend, but the blossom trees are already starting to bloom around here. I've never heard of the Lenten Rose before, so pretty. The pictures of the sunrise on Mt. Rainier are beautiful. And I loved the picture of the sunlight on your Iris and Primrose. Your dogs, Kai and Whitey Bear are delightful, and I smile every time I see them. :) That was so nice of your son's friend to help out and clear the land for you and your husband. My son's best friend since Kindergarten is also a dear friend to us, and I know how special that is. That's too bad that the large tree blew over, but maybe something lovely will take its place. Nature's wind is very powerful, indeed.

    I enjoyed seeing the spring pictures. It's always nice to see part of your world, Karen.

    ~Sheri

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  37. Thoroughly enjoyed your tour. With your wet weather, how do those puppy-dogs stay so clean? They're beautiful.

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    1. Hi Patsy, so nice of you to stop by! My doggies do get dirty, especially in that muddy new clearing, but they are mostly house dogs. They enjoy a good bath, so I am lucky! xx Karen

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  38. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  39. Wonderful nature photographed by his eyes. I smiled tambám , loved seeing the pictures!
    Karen , was wrong to send so rule , I'm sorry .
    A big kiss and m I am a happy Sunday !

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  40. It´s really a pleasure to visit you and your blog...I just love your pictures! Happy sunday, take care!
    Titti

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  41. So nice to see the first daffodils and primroses blooming!

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  42. Lovely to see all of your beautiful pictures. You sure do live in a wonderful part of our world.

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  43. Hi dear Karen ,, me encanta visitarte , siempr es nos muestras preciosas vistas de ese paraje ,, vives en un lugar privilegiado

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  44. I am waiting, so impatiently for spring. Such pretty images of your views, the primrose are especially beautiful!!

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  45. The five scenes you show us, look beautiful to me Karen: the mountains, the blossoms on the trees, the spring flowers...magical!

    Have a lovely new week!

    Madelief x

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  46. What lovely views you have - stunning shots too. And that was some work to clear that ground, hope you had a lovely weekend

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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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