Pages

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Hello Spring!


Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you are feeling a renewed sense of 
hope and happiness that at least, it is finally, officially spring. 
Although...spring can be fickle, I know, and takes its own sweet time. 
Much like me, these days! 

For every beautiful, sunny day, there are equally cold and rainy ones, 
but that just gives me an excuse to get some housework done, 
and catch up with all of you!







 My local grocery store has a full garden center, 
(I know, how lucky am I?),
and I've been collecting a few pansies 
every time I go, to pot up for my deck. 

I just love those sweet little faces.





Don't you just love crocus, too?

 I keep them in tubs because rodents
eat the bulbs if I plant them in the ground. 

Out-witting mother nature is sometimes a challenge! 


And, of course, there's daffodils! 
These are at the entry gate. 
I planted these years ago, 
and they are still making me smile. 

The device on top of the post is a solar panel for the 
automatic gate. 
I just hit the remote and it opens for me! 

 I don't have to get out of the vehicle and manually open it 
anymore. That was a nightmare late at night. 
(Theme song for 'The Twilight Zone', here :)
We have regular cougar and bear sightings. 
I would get such anxiety when I had to come home after dark! 









Little drops of sunshine. 


I planted these miniature daffodils last fall. 
Every year I try to plant a few more. 
The best part is that the deer and rodents won't touch them! 
xx
I planted deer-resistant wildflower seeds in the fenced in area behind them and you can 
see some are already coming up. 




Of course, I am never alone! 
This is not a garden hose...

This healthy-looking guy was sunning himself at the back 
of the garden and didn't seem the least bit 
afraid of me. 

Luckily, I noticed him, and quickly finished up so as not 
to disturb him. 
He's a simple garden snake who likes to eat slugs, so he can stay. 
After that, I decided I needed to go inside and soothe my nerves 
with a cup of tea! 


I've added a few Easter decorations here and there. 
(You can see Ramblin' Man's honey-do list on the table :)


Just a few of my favorite things.
xx 



Everyone needs some gingham eggs, don't you think?


Beatrix Potter. 
Some of her stories were a little macabre! 
But the illustrations are so charming. 



I decided to add a little bit of pink to all the green, 
so, I crocheted another tiny garland. 








I kept the wreath and straw bag from St. Patrick's Day but added the sweet sheep picture.

It's a little bit crooked, I see :) 


Of course, it wouldn't be Easter without a few bunnies :)




Another woolly sheep and chickee dishes. 


I found these at Hobby Lobby last year at an after-Easter sale.



More chicks and my favorite bunny. 


Isn't he so dear?

I made him a little Easter basket. 



It's a biodegradable plant pot wrapped in burlap ribbon
with a crocheted flower. 

The Mr. added a wire handle. 
xx


I'm hosting Easter dinner this year. 
xx


We had lovely wild plum display until a storm that brought
 high winds, rain and blizzard conditions
in the mountains.



We lost power at the height of the storm and were 
sitting in front of the fire, reading with our head lamps
when all of a sudden, we heard a huge 'boom - boom, boom!' that shook the house. 
It was dark and we couldn't see clearly, but we 
could tell that a tree had fallen on the roof over the library. 
We took flashlights and went out into the driving rain and wind
and took a look around and it looked bad. 

Then the roof started leaking. 



This is what we woke up to. 







We've had a dead hemlock that has been coming down in pieces 
every time there's a storm. 
This is the second time a piece has hit the roof. 

I truly believe in angels or the hand of God, 
because, considering all of the things that could've happened
we've been extremely lucky. 


Most of the tree hit the ground, but this one section hit the roof, missed the woodstove chimney, 
rolled off, hit my little glass bistro table and landed on the unscathed deck! 
The only casualties on the deck were the table and a couple of my inexpensive pots.
The bistro chairs survived with one of them folding onto the floor of the deck. 
My beautiful, blue glazed pots came away unscathed.  


The only structural damage - three broken branch stubs embedded in the roof.
The leaks ran down to the top of the glass doors and dripped from there, 
so, the wood ceiling was undamaged. 

It rained hard for another day and finally cleared enough for 
the Mr. to get up and patch things until he could 
hire someone to fix the damage.  
That stopped the leakage. 

When my son, Dustin heard what happened, he convinced his Dad 
that they could fix the roof themselves. 
We had some leftover shingles and Dustin had some plywood, 
so, all they needed was some of the waterproof paper to go underneath. 

It took two days of steady work.
 
I was in charge of keeping them fueled :)
Egg salad sandwiches for lunch, oatmeal spice cake, 
and Chicken pot pie with plenty of hot coffee. 



Up on the roof completing the job! 


Two of our grandsons stopped by to take a look 
with their Dad.
 (You can see him behind the Mr. with the yellow hat brim)
He brought a dehumidifier to dry out the leak. 
Look at how tall the grandsons are getting!  


The finished project. 
You would never know...


Thank you to my wonderful, hard-working, very tired guys! 
So grateful for you! 
xoxo 


I saw this beautiful rainbow on my way home from the grocery store
the other day.

The signs are from our local veterinary clinic.  


The sun is now setting past our little mountain and giving us this 
gorgeous light show in the evening.

It looks like there is a road passing through, but it is actually 
high tension power lines. 
I've watched as helicopters drop lineman in baskets to 
inspect the lines. 
There are no roads out there, except for logging roads that are gated.  




The last of the light. 
Can you see the jet illuminated by the sun?
It's headed south-west. 
Someplace warm, I'm guessing. 
It's 35 degrees here. 
And it's hailing! 

Hey - wait for me!! 
xx

I hope that you have a lovely Easter Sunday, dear friends. 
And Happy Spring!
xoxo








"It is Spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."
- Rainer Maria Rilke -

"That is one good thing about this world...
There are always sure to be more Springs."
- L.M. Montgomery -
'Anne of Avonlea'

"In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather
inside of 24 hours."
- Mark Twain - 








 






 

16 comments:

  1. I was just about to say it's so exciting seeing all the colourful Spring flowers again after the Winter when I moved on to the next part of your post! Oh goodness what a mess the storm made. Good job you have such a handy family to make everything just like new again.Wishing you a very Happy Easter. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am sorry for those bad happenings but glad your adorable family could resolve it. Amazing and inspiring post! That snake scared me... Wonderful photos! Happy Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Goodness me the storm did leave you with a mess to sort out ... but sort out you did!
    Well done to everyone.

    Now settle down and have a very Happy Easter.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my goodness! What a storm! I’m so thankful that you two are okay and that the damage was fixable and not worse! Sheesh…Scary! I so enjoy seeing your Easter decorations, everything looks lovely. Your plants are just beautiful, love the pansies. I wish I could crochet, your work is so sweet. I know that automatic gate is a treat, how great is that? Your little boys are getting so tall, good to see, and your ‘big’ guys are just wonderful …and so helpful. I wish you and yours a very, happy, happy, HAPPY EASTER!
    Welcome April, no fooling…xo Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your Easter touches look really nice with all the green you put out. I especially love those white fluffy chicks. And your flowers are blooming wonderfully. Oh no, that big tree fell on the roof and onto your deck. So glad there wasn't that much damage and your pretty pots didn't bread on the deck. It did make a mess, and so good of Dustin to help fix the roof with dad. That rainbow is beautiful. And I love the photos of the lambs. I'm still feeling a bit wonky from this awful virus, so I will leave you with wishes for a Happy Easter Karen. It's always such a pleasure to see the happenings around your neck of the woods.... your home, your garden, your crafts and projects, and that beautiful mountain you see in the distance. : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. All your pansies, crocus and daffodils sure look beautiful, Karen. Of course, your home inside is always cozy and charming and changes with the seasons. What a mess you had to clean up, but what amazing father/son team did in repairing the roof! The rainbow was a beautiful glimpse of God’s creation. Happy Easter to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ooooh that mark twain quote, brilliant for this spring. we are experiencing storms, not like yours, but a lot of storms and power outages just the same. i just about cried when i saw your deck, you always keep it so beautiful, what a heartbreak!! but focusing on the fact that you are ok is much more important!! i'm glad you gave us a peek inside the house, I ALWAYS LOVE SEEING the inside of your home. easter looks wonderful...if you want to see scant, stop by my place, that's scant!! i enjoyed all of the views, our trees are just starting to show some color. rainbows are so delightful...i hope you found the pot of gold at the end of it!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy April, happy spring, happy Easter, dear Karen!
    Thank God the storm didn't cause worse damage.
    Big hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  9. As I'm going through the start of your collection I'm thinking, what a peaceful set of photos. Love that kitchen table. And thoe checkered eggs are so stinkin' cute. So peaceful. Then comes the damage and wow, lots of it. Then the fixing and we end with a rainbow. Happy Spring. Happy Easter. Cheers, Ivy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello dear Karen! I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Easter. :) I'm living through you with your glorious Spring flowers. Daffs are just the most cheerful flowers, aren't they? But yikes about that storm! Thank God you were all ok and it wasn't worse. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been. Thank the Lord for wonderful folks with the skill to fix and heal when things are broken. Your grandsons are getting so tall!! Life just moves too quickly. sigh. I pray no more bad storms and I hope I will have my own Spring flowers to share before too long. Blessings xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad your survived the storm and made it to spring, dear Karen. How nice to enjoy these beautiful blooms in your cozy home (I adore it!) after all your hard work.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. Precious friend Karen!
    I am sorry for the roof damage by falling tree! I feel so grateful just like you that God kept all the bad possible things away my friend and damage remained minor and repairable πŸ₯ΉπŸ™

    Your dear son and sweet husband did great job indeed!!! They both look happy on their accomplishment!
    Yes by the grace of kind God your grandsons are growing fastπŸ™♥️
    I can imagine how satisfying it is for you to see family together doing something special for your one of the most beautiful and special home on earth πŸ₯Ή♥️

    Love has such intense gravitational force that keeps things glued and empowered to create unmatched harmony among them πŸ₯Ή♥️ visiting your heavenly place deepens my faith in love and God who is all love Himself!!!
    Glad you have control system for your entrance now πŸ€— when we have moved from smaller house to this bigger home 3000 ft square) I would found walking to open the main gate annoying and tiring but now I am habitual to it πŸ˜‚
    Thank you so much for brightening my day with your delightful flowers πŸ₯°πŸ‘
    Your wisdom shines through everything so beautifully πŸ₯°
    All arrangements of pretty blooms look so awesome πŸ‘Œ♥️
    Peaking at your Easter decorations is lovely,loved the rabbits and sheep,wreath and vases,so elegant and gorgeous ♥️
    Your crochet flowers are so pretty and cute ♥️
    Thank you dear friend for sharing your light and beauty with us,it’s really a blessing to be part of everything you bring πŸ₯°♥️πŸ™

    ReplyDelete
  13. You were lucky -- if a tree making holes in the roof is lucky, but yes, it could have been so much worse and I'm glad the ceiling wood wasn't damaged. How lucky you had handy help and were able to fix it yourselves. That remote control entrance is pretty cool, too. I don't think I would have liked being open target for a cougar or bears. And yes, a cuppa after the snake, even if friendly, would be a good thing! I know I say in every post, but I adore your kitchen (and home). That table is the best, and seeing the Beatrix Potter plate as you have it, really makes me smile. (Love that plate rack -- I've not seen one like that.) All your Easter decorations are just beautiful. I leave bunnies up for rather awhile after. They are spring to me. And the pansies. That's what I was going to start with because I am such a pansy fan, but oh my! You have me beat by at least a flat or two! They look spectacular. I always start out well, but once it gets super hot, they fade, so to me those, too, are spring. Whenever I visit here, I feel so enriched when I leave.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So many lovely flower pictures and sweet spring decor. So sorry to hear about the damage caused by the storm.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My goodness, that tree really did some damage, but so thankful that nothing major was hurt, and that your husband and son were able to fix it themselves! That is incredible! These storms are so scary, and we get them too. Your Easter decor is so beautiful, I always love the views of your kitchen. I adore the mountain views you get and the rainbow is so beautiful! Many Spring blessings to you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You certainly were lucky. They did such an amazing job with the roof. You have a very happy home. The green teapot is beautiful and the bunny certainly is very adorable. I am sure he/she enjoyed the basket.

    -Soma

    ReplyDelete

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