Welcome March!

Welcome to March

in Vancouver, Washington . . . 

Yes, we woke up to a blanket of snow!!

Hope you had a great February!

Spring will be here soon,

but I do love snow.

Thanks for stopping by.

I'm still keeping busy at the thrift store.

~ Julie

Enjoying fall . . .

The leaves are falling . . . 

These are columnar Armstrong Maple trees,
and they line each side of our property {57 trees planted by The Captain}

The Pacific Northwest is so pretty in fall.
Hope you're enjoying your fall where you are.
Thanks for visiting.
~ Julie

Still Winter Whites . . .

Today we woke up to snow!!!! 

I know many of you are tired of your snow, but we rarely get snow;

and some winters we don't get any. So today was a happy day!

AND

the power was out, 

so Kevin built a fire, and we had hot chocolate 

cooked on the wood stove and sat enjoyed the quietness

(no tv, no internet, no heater or refrigerator running . . .  just quiet) 

by the fire.

The snow makes everything so quiet and beautiful,

and the brightness shines through the windows and fills every room with light. 

I needed the brightness today; a change from the darkness of gray clouds and rain. 

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of fresh fallen snow.

So . . . the first task of the day . . . 

walk through the snow and take pics so I can share them here, with you, 

and now I have a post for White Wednesday.

We only had an inch, and it's already melting.

I'm still dreaming of spring . . . 

Hoping you have a wonderful day!

~ Julie

Today I'm linking with:
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/white-wednesday-87.html 

It's a Beautiful Monday Morning

Brrrrr . . . 

It's cold here this morning. 

Our first frost. 

The gazebo is covered with a sparkly white frosting.

I think I caught the morning blue in the sky {which I discovered from another blogger ~ that just before sunrise and sunset, the sky is a beautiful shade of blue}.

 

And the sunrise making the clouds a pretty pink.

And

Ice in the bird bath . . . 

Sorry, birdies, no bath until later.

Blogging has changed my life . . . 

. . . . . I'm a photographer?? I carry my new (slightly used from my daughter and son-in-law) Nikon D40 camera everywhere. I love capturing moments in time on film digital. I stroll through the gardens looking for each flower's moment of glory, clicking away. My hubby couldn't figure out why his work camera was taking so long to download . . . Oh, I borrowed it before I got the Nikon :) . . . only a few hundred pics. I'm learning not to use a flash indoors and discovering new ways to take pics; waiting for daylight and finding the best light in the house, photo cropping and editing.

. . . . . My daughter and I can share our favorite blogs and inspiration, and, of course, those giveaways {we really want to win that stay in France . . . next to a castle!}.  And now we also share a love of thrifting, although she's looking for clothes, and I'm looking for vintage treasures.

. . . . . I am constantly inspired by all of you talented women in blogland and how much you get accomplished {sometimes I am a procrastinator on projects}.  Over the past six months, I have reupholstered a table and several chair pads, wrote three tutorials, made chair slip covers and pillows, setup tablescapes, cleaned about a hundred vintage linens, made a sheet music wreath and fall wreaths, finished redecorating and organizing our mudroom, finished the wood trim in a bathroom, reorganized the kitchen, started an antique and vintage resale business, and this month, I'm opening an etsy store. 

Giving thanks to you who continue to share your ideas and talents, inspiring us to get things done, beautify our homes, enjoy our gardens, pray, read the Bible, cherish family and friends, and enjoy each day.

I hope I can inspire you to do the same.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

~ Julie


Today I'm linking with Blue Monday
http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/2010/10/blue-monday-alligator.html

Okay, time for a bunny update . . .

We have this large wild white bunny (it is big) with brown ears and nose. I don't know where she came from. She just came visiting this spring. Of course, this is a great place for her. We live in a neighborhood of 9 houses, all on 2.5 acre parcels. Lots of room to roam around; there is flat grass land, flower gardens, vegetable gardens and a forest in our neighbor's yard. What more could a bunny want?

I know, most people are trying to keep rabbits out of their garden, but I welcome her with a smile. How much can one bunny eat???

Most of the time, she's just eating the grass . . .

She doesn't mind being in wide open spaces. Does she know she is white? and stands out like a snowball in the middle of summer?

She seems to like lying in the soft dirt of the garden.

Bunny bath time by the blueberry plants.

Our neighbor's forest on the other side of the vegetable garden.

[Sorry, for the blurry pics; these were on 12x zoom to get a good enough pic.]

I hope she stays around. I enjoy her humble existence, roaming around, enjoying life, eating whatever she finds, lying in the dirt, soaking up the sun, hiding under trees, enjoying the shade and hopping through flower beds. Maybe we can learn from a bunny; slow down (hop, don't run), enjoy what we have, soak up the sun, appreciate our shelter, eat what we have, stop and smell the flowers.
Have a great day!
~ Julie

Peonies & A Bunny

Fresh picked bouquet of peonies, and they are so fragrant.




















The bunny is back! I was so excited to see the big white bunny sitting on top of the sand mound. I had not seen her in about two weeks.  I left her some lettuce. I think she thinks she's a brown bunny; she would just sit there like I couldn't see her. When I started talking to her, she started hopping away. Hopefully, she will find the lettuce.

She is soo cute!

Here is the taunting blue jay that runs off the neighborhood cat.

Last night I was excited to see the white bunny in our front yard with a baby bunny. I think it is a female since I've seen a baby bunny with it twice. I put out some lettuce, but she didn't go for it.

Are Blue Jays aggressive? This morning we had a cat visitor, just resting happily in one of our flower beds being taunted by this Blue Jay. It would fly over it, around it, and land within 4 feet of it. The cat just laid there and looked at it, and finally walked away with the Blue Jay following it. I hope it found another peaceful place without the Blue Jay.

Flowers and a bunny

Big white bunny siting! It was too far away for a good pic, but it is white with brown ears, and sometimes it is roaming in our yard. I hope to make it more tame, but I'm not sure how. Should I leave out a pile of carrots? Does anyone have any suggestions?





Today we also saved another bird from our wood stove. We have had 3 birds and an owl come down our chimney pipe to our wood stove.





What is blooming now? Columbine, candy tuft, forget-me-nots (which I used to always forget the name of), and bleeding hearts.

Today it is sunny and beautiful, and I'm off to work outside. The snowball bush is in full bloom; ready to turn white. I will post pics of it soon, along with our pink bleeding hearts, which are now pretty in pink. We have had an interesting bunny siting . . . a big white bunny with brown ears, which appears to be domestic, but not tame. I will post pics whenever I see him/her again and can get a pic. We also have a few new mole sitings (hills), which my husband has been trying to catch (if that's the right word). Moles are so adorable; I wish they didn't have to be a nuisance and could have their own place to dig until their heart's content, and then they wouldn't have to be destroyed (sorry other animal lovers). Our dirt is nice and tilled, but they also dig up my bulbs and plants :(.

My first post

Today, I start this blog.

I'm not exactly sure why; but maybe it will become more clear to me as it goes on.

Today it is pouring down rain; and I would really rather be working in my flower gardens.

With 2-1/2 acres, there is much to be done in the gardens. They are beautiful this time of year with lavender and pink ground phlox, white candy tuft and columbine which we transferred here from my great aunt Wilma's flower garden in Wallowa, Oregon, along with pretty lupines which are budding and will be blooming soon, not the wild purple ones (which we have also), but pretty shades of pink and a few yellow. We never know what we have until they are all blooming. My ongoing goal is to have gardens in full bloom all spring and summer. This is the time of year I love working the gardens, weeding and transferring the plants where I want them; not always where the new seedlings fall. I really don't like a plant growing inside of another. It really bugs me, and I must move one of them. Just yesterday our pink tree peony bloomed out; which I must bring inside before the rain destroys them. They are gigantic blooms, 11" across (just measured), with dark purple centers. Just gorgeous! I just hope they don't bother my husband's allergies; that is always a concern when I bring flowers in the house. The lilacs must stay outside and be enjoyed in their natural habitat. If the sun pops out, I will try to dash outside and get a few things done before another rain shower; that is my schedule these days.

p.s. I saw my first hummingbird today!