If in doubt, paint it white!

Well, it's finally painted. I just need to stain the floor and find a rug to put down. I am going to look around for a chandelier to hang as well. Last fall I created a flower bed all the way around this, but the plants are all very small and will take a year to really get going. How I acquired this structure is a great story. One day my husband got a call on my birthday from a woman he shoes horses for. I heard him say, oh she would love that! No, don't worry about it, she'll just paint it white anyway. About an hour later, a truck with a large trailer pulled in the drive and a loader behind it. On the trailer was this gazebo. Lita decided it would look good in my garden. She has admired the garden for a long time and always calls me to say how pretty it is looking. She found out it was my birthday and wanted me to have the gazebo as a gift. I cried when they were unloading it. It had been built on her place as a place for her visitors to gather, and was on a slight incline so it leans a little. But to me it's perfect. Since I didn't know I was receiving such a wonderful gift, I had to decide rather quickly where to place it, as her hired men needed to get back to the fields. It was comical watching the loader driver maneuver between trees, shrubs, and beds, to put this in the spot I knew I would want it to live. They probably thought this was going to be easy, 'go drop off a gazebo to the birthday girl'. Ha! Of course they were very good sports about the whole thing. I still can't get over the generosity of this wonderful lady and the joy that this has brought to this garden. Thank you Lita!

More spring blooms...

I love this new little 'Brandywine Crabapple' we planted last fall. It's very small right now but will grow into a large, lovely tree. I love the huge pink blossoms. They look pretty with the newly painted gazebo.

My white iris are in bloom. I love these because they rebloom. The other iris in the garden are evidently waiting to bloom until these are through showing off.

Even hubby's patrol looks good when it's framed by blossoms.


Are you sick of seeing garden highlights yet? And I'm just getting started. Hubs helped me put out the concrete statuary yesterday. That stuff is so heavy. He has made me promise that I will not get any more concrete statues or pots. Because our temperatures get as low as -20 degrees here in winter we cannot keep them out, which means we have to put them away in the shed before it snows. Hubs says I can get all the iron I want, but no more heavy concrete. That, or I will have to hire a strong man to put them away. Oh Beau, what are you doing around December 1st? Soon I will be able to post some photos of the beds, but right now they are still not very photogenic. I will take some photos of the newly painted gazebo as well. I wanted to paint it white and hubby and a couple of the children said that I shouldn't, that it should stay natural. I knew I would love it white and I do. But then, I love everything painted white. I did get my vegetables planted. I planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and corn. I would still like to plant a few potatoes and green beans. I can't wait for all the fresh produce. Nothing beats the taste of home grown.

Beautiful Earth...

Don't you think the Lord must have had a wonderful time creating this beautiful earth? When I think about all the lovely plants and flowers. All the amazing animals and creeping things. The beautiful people, all shapes, sizes, creeds, and colors. I can hardly take it all in. My heart is not big enough to express the joy that living in such a world brings me. I am in awe today at the beauty of the earth. Many things to be thankful for today.

I've been working in my garden and loving every minute of it. I have so much work to do in it, that sometimes I try to run faster than I have strength. I have to remind myself that there is always tomorrow. I am planting my vegetables today. In my part of Idaho, we typically don't plant until June 1st. I may be sorry, but they are going in today. I will have to keep the frost- cloth handy.

I hope you enjoy some of the things blooming in the garden today.

A day to remember...

I am thankful that we have a day set aside in this great nation to honor those who have kept us safe and free. Those who died in the service of our country and those who served and were able to return safely to their loved ones. These pictures are of our little cemetery, 'the hill' some call it. You can't tell in these pictures, but there are flags on all the veterans graves. The flags dotted the place, reminding me of the brave ones who left this little valley to serve their country so that I might enjoy my peace and comfort here at home. Oh how I love them for that!

Tulips and honey-dos

My tulips are blooming. I thought I would show you a couple of my favorites. These are later bloomers than some I have in my garden. The daffs have all faded now and it's time for the the tulips to shine. I love the pink one. It makes a very sweet bouquet. The creamy white ones are 24" tall. I love the the way they command attention in this bed. Tulips are iffy here in my space because I have a lot of voles that love to munch on them in winter. I don't plant many because they are expensive and some years I've lost almost half to those icky little critters.

My family have been here visiting this week. Season and her husband and five children, Ember and her little boy, Ellis, and Haylee and her little one Maddie. A houseful for sure. It's nice to have all seven of the grandbabies about. Season's husband, Beau has been doing all kinds of 'honey-dos' for me. The ones that Hubs has been putting off. Beau is too sweet to say no, and Hubs loves it. Things are starting to look good around here. I wish Beau and Season could stay till the list is done. Someone else wishes it even more than me.

Have a wonderful Memorial weekend!

My Heaven on Earth...

I love this little piece of Heaven. It' s 40 acres of lush green aspens, willows, and alder trees. It's on the back waters of a reservoir about 20 miles from where I live. We pasture our horses here. I love looking out from my little 'shack' and seeing them munch away on the grass with their tails whipping at the flies. We have a building in the trees that we have made into a little hideaway for my husband and I. We don't usually spend time together there very often, because it is not equipped for Landon. Poor Hubs, I have it decorated very girly , but he still enjoys his time alone there. I'll have to go up and take some pictures so I can show you all. We've owned this property for years now and it's always like a dream to me that we were so lucky to get it. It used to be owned by my husband's great aunt. And his grandfather before that. I remember the first time I saw this place. My husband and I were dating and he drove me up this canyon where his grandfather had a large ranch. Several hundred acres. He used to help his grandfather on the ranch in the summers. He then drove me to this place and I was enchanted by it's beauty. It's about a mile and a half from the main ranch and is split in half by a gravel road that goes around the reservoir to the boat docks. A few years later we drove past again and stopped and let the children get out and play awhile. I cannot express in words the feeling I had while walking among the trees. It was an amazing feeling of peace and wonder. It was as if someone was telling me that this would be a refuge for me and that I would have many happy days spent here. I told my husband of the feeling. He thought that we needed to call his cousins and see if they would be willing to sell. By this time my husband's grandfather had died and his grandmother had sold the main ranch. His aunt had also passed away and left this place to her two sons who lived in California. Other family members had approached them about selling, but they were not ready to give it up. When we called them later that evening, his cousin said that he would be interested in selling if his brother was. And he was. All 40 acres for $3,000. So of course we bought it. So now we have the privilege of being the care takers of this wonderful place until we are gone. I have an almost spiritual connection to this place. I really don't know how else to explain it. How is one ever grateful enough for little miracles that come into our lives?

My mom...

Mom, as a child

Mom, her mom, sister

My brothers, sister, and mom

my mom now, at 80

I was one of those blessed children. A child born to a woman of the fifties who loved her husband and family more than any other thing in the world. My childhood was enchanted and it was my mother who made it so. She was beautiful and talented at homekeeping. Our home was definitely a haven for all of her six children and her husband. She was passionate about making her home cozy and beautiful at the same time. I remember that we were not allowed in my mother's bedroom.(except nap time with mom) It was her space and she had all kinds of lovelies in there. My mother and father went dancing every week on a particular night and that was the only time we were allowed in her room. My little sister and I would sit on her bed and watch her get ready to go out. Sometimes she would put her lipstick on us before sending us out of the room. My mother was one of those women who made every meal an occasion. She was an amazing cook. The table was always set as if we were expecting company. I never did get the hang of that. My mom loved animals and I swear we had every farm animal you can name on our little acreage. My sister and I were talking the other day about just how lucky we were. We both feel that our childhood was magical. My sister and I are a year and a week apart and our birthdays were always celebrated together. Mom always made our birthdays special, always making us feel very important and loved. Every holiday was an occasion at our house. And could my mom keep Christmas. She was a tree trimming, light hanging, fruitcake making fool. Mom, if you are reading this ( and I know you are) I want to thank you for giving your whole life to your family and making my world a safe and beautiful place to grow up. Have a happy Mother's Day. I love you.