Sweet, Sweet May and Sweet Sixteen

"Sweet May hath come to love us,

Flowers, Trees, their blossoms don;

And through the blue heavens above us

The very clouds move on"

- Heinrich Heine -

The Camassia is blooming. 

Camassia is a native wildflower with bulbs that were an important 

food source for native people's in the Pacific Northwest. 

The green bell flowers are wild 'fringe cup'. 

Buttercup blooms below. 

Salmon Berry blossoms and fruit. 

These grow along the edges of the lawn. 

The flowers are so pretty. 

The ripe berry is 'salmon' colored and edible, but bland.

Robins love these and I've watched them comically 

'hover' over them to retrieve the berries. 

The branches are too spindly to hold their weight. 

Red Elderberry blossoms and unripe fruit. 

The fruit will turn bright red and is toxic to humans, but

loved by birds, especially our beautiful Western Tanager.

We always have a nesting pair. 

Red Elderberry (15-20 ft. tall)

 are very pretty and graceful with their frothy 

white flowers and later, large clusters of bright red berries, 

growing along the edges of the forest. 

These are growing  'down back', not too far 

from the house. 

Thimble berry's beautiful 'wild rose' blooms, growing along the drive. 

The rose colored berries pull away from the core

forming a little 'thimble' when picked.

We recently took a beautiful May drive to celebrate a 'Sweet Sixteen'.

Our new Granddaughter, Samantha has reached that magical age.

We have been blessed with two new, beautiful granddaughter's
through the marriage of my daughter Jennie to their father, Steve,
last summer.

Do you remember that magical age?

Oh, to be sweet 16 once again.
Innocent, yet wise.
Not quite a child, not quite an adult.

Sometimes, it's not so sweet.
xoxo

At every age, life has its sweets and sorrows.

A wonderful opportunity to grow and learn.
No matter how 'old' we are.

16 year old me in my hand-sewn pantsuit :)

I think back on that magical age.

So long ago, yet, only yesterday.
My advice to my 16 year old self
would be to 'honor who you are - be true to yourself'.

"To thine own self be true"
-William Shakespeare -

So, my advice to all those 'Sweet 16's'
is to always, always listen to your inner guidance
and never doubt it.
Always be true to yourself.
xoxo

What would your advice be, Dear Friends?
xoxo

"I thought that spring must
last forevermore; For I was
young and loved, and it was May"
- Vera Brittain -