Nature's Jewels

Hello, Dear Friends, and happy summer! 

To celebrate the beginning of summer, 

I would like to share with you

some of nature's beautiful jewels. 

Our own 14,411 ft. Mt. Rainier is a jewel in the landscape,

here in the foothills of the Cascade mountains

of western Washington State. 

 When it is finally revealed after seemingly months 

of clouds, it is a spectacular sight, indeed. 

Can you see the bird in the tree-top and the one in flight?

(The tiny black speck to the right of the mountain)

Mt Rainier creates its own weather, 

and you can clearly see the powerful forces 

of wind swirling around to form
a misty mountain necklace . 

I would not want to be caught in this swirl, 

and it is one reason climbers and small planes 

must use extreme caution. 

This tiny bird is another of nature's jewels

in the opposite extreme. Where Mt. Rainier is 

mighty in form, the diminutive Rufous Hummingbird is 

only mighty at heart. 

Here he is keeping watch over 'his' feeder and

 territory during a gentle summer rain. 

You can see the fierceness in his eyes......

He is fearless, and will go after and 'buzz' 

any intruders, no matter how large. 

Tiny raindrops (water jewels) gather 

on his head as he patiently stands guard.

When 'water jewels' are refracted by light, 

we have the beauty of a rainbow. 

No man-made prism can ever compare. 

Forget-me-not and butterflies 

go hand in hand - jewels 

of innocence in nature's garden. 

And what plant is not enhanced by a ladybug brooch?

Or perhaps a butterfly pin?

A bumblebee dangles from the heart charms 

of wild bleeding heart.

Fuchsia blossoms rival even the most delicate of earrings.

Maybe you would prefer a pair of thimble berry blossoms
to grace your ears?
Minus the little black bug?

Or a Salmon-Berry ring?

Nature is full of precious jewels if
we take the time to see......

And at the end of the day, the opalescence of 

mountain snows reflect the dying sun as it slips

silently below the horizon. 

xoxo

And the sky is filled with the glow of moonstone once more. 

xoxo


Hello, Dear Friends, I wanted to thank you for
your kind visits and encouraging words for
the Ramblin' Man.

He is recovering nicely and while he rests
I will sit quietly next to him while
visiting all of you.

xoxo

A Trip to the Farmer's Market

Hello, my friends, I hope you are enjoying 

these long summer days! 

Summer means fresh fruits, vegetables, 

and, of course, flowers! 

On Saturday, I drove down to the valley

from my foothills home, to meet my 

daughter, Jennie, for a day at the 

Farmer's Market. 

So, come along with me for a beautiful 

country drive on the way to the market! 

It was a cloudless, summer morning - 

already in the 80's - when I drove down 

through the farmlands on my way. 

I was momentarily interrupted by a herd of cows....... 

meandering across the road.....

To get to their pasture :)

If you look closely through the gap in 

the trees, you can see the Olympic Mountains, 

in the distance. 

The modern farmhouse has windows to take 

advantage of the views. 

This is what they see.......

Beautiful Mt. Rainier. 

This pretty farmhouse, was recently remodeled. 

This color seems to be very popular! 

Here, a vintage barn has been updated with a similar hue. 

And just down the way, this newly built home on 

a private air-strip repeats the trend. 

Can you see the airplane hanger peeking out from 

behind the house? 

Someone has a show horse, judging by the jumps 

and barrels in the front pasture. 

These people seem to have a charmed life! 

But, you know as well as I, that money 

doesn't buy happiness and we should

never make assumptions.

We see the Olympic Range off in the distance
across Puget Sound, as I descend to the valley.

Can you see the tree aura's? 

As we enter the historic town where my 

daughter lives, I spy this sweet little cottage. 

I asked Jennie about it when we drove by later, 

and she had looked it up on-line to find the 

price tag at $250,000! 

We live in the hottest real-estate market 

in the whole country. 

Houses sometimes sell the same day they are listed. 

My sweet daughter, Jennie greets me on her front porch. 

Her own little cottage just got a new front door 

and windows :) 

She ordered shutters to match the front door, 

but they haven't come yet, so I will 

be sure to take photos when they are installed.

You can see more of her 1910 cottage Here.

Weenie Baby relaxes in her air-conditioned
living room. It is shaping up to be the
hottest day of the year, so far - in the mid-90's.

I brought along my collapsible wagon, so
she can hitch a ride if she gets too tired
at the market. Dogs are always welcome there!

Some of you have asked me how she is doing
since she lost her life-long companion, Peanut.

She has a new friend, Buddy, a gorgeous
black shepherd, and they are inseparable
when they are together, which is most of the time.
Buddy is my daughter's boyfriend's dog.

So, Weenie Baby has had a 'Happy Ending'
to her sad loss.

On the way to the Farmer's Market we pass this
adorable farm stand.

And this wonderful little garden!

I want one!

The market was so busy - so full of people and dogs
and vendors and children that I couldn't get any photos
except this one, when the crowds all of a sudden
parted just for a moment.

There were so many wonderful booths of flowers,
crafts, and produce that we couldn't visit
them all.

Clearly, we need to go again!

We bought some flowers, and cherries,
and fresh snap peas, and I even found
a few amazing succulents.

This ancient ivy has been growing here
since the pioneer days, when it was
planted in 1864, against a little log cabin
all those years ago.

The 'tree trunk' you see,
(complete with little girl hanging from it :)
 is not a tree at all,
but rather the ivy base itself!

You can read more about this Here.

I think it is wonderful that it has been
preserved and nurtured all this time.

It was getting unbearably hot, so we
headed back to load our goodies
into Jennie's SUV.

We brought Weenie Baby back to her
air-conditioned home and then went out to lunch.

A cool drink was in order.....
Peach sangria.

Some yummy appetizers.

I forgot to take photos of the meal......
we were so busy chatting and catching
up on our lives!

Jennie works in the real-estate title industry
and just passed her test for an LPO license.
(You can read about this Here)

We are very proud of her.

Me being proud :)

Can you tell we were at The Olive Garden?
(Olive oil bottles behind me)

You can see that I have lightened my hair.

It was either that or go natural......silver......
or gold -
I chose gold :)
It is easier to hide the grow-out.
I was a dark brunette all my life,
except for a brief stint as a blonde
many years ago.

This was me and Ramblin' Man.....
all those years ago.

We were just married and I wanted a new look,
so I cut my waist length dark brown hair and dyed it blonde.

Time flies.....I had no idea then,
that someday I would be writing this as a mother of 4,
and grandmother of 2.

So many blessings.......

xoxo

All too soon our day was over and it was time
to head for home.

Mt. Rainier leads the way - shimmering under a cloudless sky......

Arriving at the gate.

Can you see Kai peeking through the fence?

The welcoming committee!

The beautiful bouquet I brought home.....

Lilies, peonies and Queen Anne's lace.

So pretty.

And a new hanging basket full of
nasturtium, petunia, red verbena
and creeping Jenny.

The hummingbirds love this!

I also got these wonderful succulents,
which I will plant in my Dad's toolbox and
my Mom's watering can.

xoxo

I hope you enjoyed coming along on our visit
to the Farmer's Market, dear friends!

Tomorrow, my Ramblin' Man goes in for
some hopefully, minor day surgery.

I'll let you know how it goes.

xoxo