GOLDEN CHRISTMAS WISHES, 2014

To all my friends afar and near,

 

 

A merry Christmas and happy new year!

 

(Consider yourself hugged)

 

Fall Colors

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the hydrangea leaves turn quite this color before, but they are as pretty in their own way as the flowers ever were.




Below is a bloom on the same plant at the same time.  It’s been resting on the path as is for weeks, as though suspended in time, preserved in this state of perpetual beauty by the cooler weather.  I’m wondering when it will turn.



Have a lovely day!

Pretty Little Lake

This is a pretty little lake on the edge of the sand dunes where we like to take Wally and LuLu.  Our favorite time to visit is fall and winter when we have the place to ourselves.  There’s a trail all the way around the lake, plus a trail to an upper lake which we frequently visit, as well.  These pictures were taken in January of this year.



Winter can produce a bleak landscape, or it can reveal hidden beauty.  I love this froth of bare snow-white tree branches with the russets and greens and the spruce-aqua color of the water:



Guess who else likes this pretty little lake. . .



I might have shared this photo before:



We’ve had a lot of good times there – great exercise, good outdoor air, and happy Golden Retrievers.  Thanks for dropping in to share it with us!

Whatever Happened to Wally and LuLu?

Hello!  In case you were wondering whatever happened to Wally and LuLu, I’m here to tell you they’re as happy, healthy, and adorable as ever.  I should have checked in a little sooner, but “overwhelmed” is my middle name these days and I’ve got no one to blame but myself.  I let the photos go unmanaged too long and ended up with more than a year’s worth that needed to be poured over and uploaded to online storage.  With that much accomplished I now have one year of photos on my computer which I’ll sort through for the yearly photo book and calendar.  That’s going to keep me busy in my spare time if I hope to have it done before the end of the year.  Can you believe how close we are to 2015?  Yikes!

I thought I would simply share a few photos as I go along through the sorting process.  Today I have some from November 2013 that I rather like but never got around to sharing.  Perhaps we’ll just work our way up to the present day.  These pictures look a lot like snow, but it was actually a late fall day in the sand dunes.  Here’s Wally absolutely joyous over a ball he found out there:




Wally and LuLu together, and this time LuLu has the ball:



A couple more pictures of pretty LuLu.





That’s it for today!  I hope to be back again soon with more.  Enjoy your day!

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

The Labor Day weekend which just passed marked 42 years with the love of my life.

 

Brace yourself for a real blast from the past.

 

Consider the times – early ‘70s -- and the fact that we had a very casual Reno wedding after driving all night to get there.

 

*****

 

 

In 1975 we made a brand new person.

 

 

1979

1997

And the story continues with more souls to love. . .

2014

We just keep writing new chapters.

 

Have a beautiful day!

 

A Bird in the Hand with Two in the Bush

See this little bird with its beak stuffed full of . . . something?



There’s a pair nesting in the barberry bush right beside our deck.  I mean, the bush grows over onto one of the chairs, for heaven’s sake.  We sit there all the time, have lunch, relax with the dogs.  We’ve been very careful not to disturb them, but they seem unperturbed by our comings and goings.  When someone is sitting in the chair the birds will go in the “back door” through the maple tree and into the barberry bush.  When I took these photos I was watering the flower bed.  The bird stopped to check me out, make sure I wasn’t a threat, and when satisfied hopped into the nest to feed two baby birds.  She (he?) is surprisingly well camouflaged in the barberry.  I wouldn’t have thought.



The nest is too well hidden for me to photograph it, and I wouldn’t want to intrude, anyway.  I have peeked in there several times.  They see me, but don’t seem to mind.  I talk to them sometimes and they listen.  Two years in a row they built their nest in an evergreen bush out front, and both years the babies fell out of the nest before they were ready to fly.  Mom and dad were very distressed.  I couldn’t find the nest to be able to put them back in, and I don’t know if the family would have accepted that.  I’m certain the babies perished.  I can’t tell you how much that upset me.  I think this is more safe on the south side, protected from the wind and the rain as it’s tucked under the eaves next to the house.

Keep your fingers crossed for these sweet, innocent creatures that their family thrives and grows up to build nests of their own someday.  They’re such a pleasant and welcome part of the garden.

Sunday is Doggie Day

On your mark. . . get ready. . .



Go!
























And a good time was had by all!  Enjoy your day!

A Little Garden, A Little Wally and LuLu

Frankly, it hasn’t been a good garden year.  I don’t know if it’s me, the plants, the potting soil, something in the air. . . but I’ve never had such a struggle with my flower pots.  Many plants just up and died, leaving empty pots and dampened spirits.  What the heck?  I mean, this just doesn’t happen!  Rich feels sorry for me and twice has come home with an armload of new flowers.  The new plants are doing well so far, knock on my little wooden head.

The wax begonias have thrived from the beginning, however.  This photo was taken in early July, and they’re much bigger now.  Thank goodness I have lots of wax begonias.



Wally again.  The purple petunias behind him died.



The snapdragons are pretty.  Love the two-toned pink.



These two make everything better.



And, of course, there’s always the hydrangeas.  This one is a particularly rich purple/blue combo.



I honestly do try to get good landscape shots, but they come out looking like a jumbled up mess.  I like it lush, and all the trees and bushes limit the camera’s view.  Here’s one of those jumbled up shots of one area along the south side of the house.



My eyes see it much prettier than this in real life.  I find it hard to go inside on my days off.  Here on the Oregon coast it’s rarely too hot to be outside and, consequently the housework, cooking, shopping, crafty stuff all take a back seat to the garden.  Can you believe it’s August already?  Gosh, I’d better hurry up and get outside!  Have a great day!

Butterflies on the Butterfly Bush

I photographed a couple of garden visitors the other day.  This velvety brown beauty is called a Mourning Cloak, or in Britain it’s known as a Camberwell Beauty.  It can live up to a year, so it seems surprising I don’t see more of them. 



Below is the same butterfly in its angel wing pose.



This next one is called a Painted Lady.



So pretty!  Enjoy your day!

Backyard Bath Time

LuLu needed a trip to the backyard beauty parlor.



You can see these flowers blooming behind LuLu in the first photo.  They were volunteers that came along with a shrub which we later removed.  I didn’t know what they were going to grow into when they first popped up around the shrub, but I knew they weren’t  a weed.  Turns out they’re these beautiful Alstromeria.  First time I’ve grown them, and if I’d known how easy they are I’d have planted them long ago.  Rich put a wire cage around them this year, but not until after the dogs had pounced after a ball into the middle of them.  No more of that!



Does this tail make my butt look big?  All fluffed up!



Have a happy day!