Rain !

Days of extremely high temperatures have left me wilting . All my time seems to be spent watering the gardens and livestock, only to begin again. It's too hot to bake or can the fruit and veggies . We don't have air conditioning except in our bedroom... and tempting as this is, I cannot justify spending the summer days there.

Yesterday thunderstorms rolled in bringing with them abundant rain. Today is a very fine day for baking and gazing out the window, and I am loving it ! "For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receive a blessing from God." Hebrews 6 : 7

March Musing

March is almost over for us here in the Pacific Northwest , of course April has begun for almost everyone else in the world by now. March has marked a few milestones for us this year. Whimsy , our German Shepherd puppy is 9 months old and we are loving her even more every day .

 March is the month here at Cedar Pond for new, bouncing spotted lambs ! ( Below is one of my older ewes with her newborn lamb. )

This year we have a bummer lamb ( lamb without a mama ) we named Stormy. Stormy is growing quickly and enjoys his bottle every few hours. He has begun to nibble on alfalfa leaves too. His little face appears crooked because of his markings and he has beautiful long eyelashes.

Did I already mention new lambs ? I spend an awful lot of time outdoors just watching the lambs play. If you're feeling down in the dumps just get yourself to the closest farm with new lambs and sit a spell , watch, and laugh for joy. The joy of life !

 It has been the wettest March in recorded history here in Western Washington. We have had 9 1/2 inches of rain this month. Our ducks are loving this weather but our land is squishy with mud and oozing water everywhere. Thankfully our home & buildings are high and dry. Our prayers go out to our neighbors to the north of us in Oso where the wet March brought  a small mountain of earth sliding down on a small community wiping out  everything in it's path and taking many lives .

The hummingbirds have returned and Blizzard our cat spends many hours watching them at the feeder outside our living room.

March also is the month this granddaughter celebrates another year of life. We were blessed to have her spend the weekend with us. Granddaughter and the fairy are playing in the herb garden where this granddaughter and her sister made me a few fairy homes.

Every March we celebrate the birth of 2 of our 6 granddaughters. We rejoice in the birth of new lambs, chicks and ducklings. The birds are building nests all over the property , the ducks and chickens have increased their egg laying. The frogs chirp, our bees are buzzing over every precious new bloom. Ella, my Sebastopol goose is faithfully sitting on her clutch of duck & goose eggs while her partner Fella guards her,never leaving her . Some time later this week if all goes well I should expect hatchlings from the pair. What fun March is. It brings us joy, hope, new life and celebrating spring. "This is the day that the Lord hath made we will rejoice and be glad in it." 

Tea In The Garden ~ From The Porch

 Today ( Tuesday) is Tea In The Garden  time hosted by Terri * and I am so excited to be able to participate in this. I marked this event on my calendar as soon as she announced it. I had big ideas I'd already begun putting into action when events in my life decided against my plans. I had thought to set a romantic tea table near the new fountain my husband & I bought as a gift to each other in celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary coming up very soon. Oh what plans I had...

 ....but the pounding summer rains and life-demands not anticipated dashed those plans. The gardens are squishy wet and the trees, bushes, and flowers are drooping with the weight of the raindrops. Priorities needed to be honored in right order. Thusly, tea-time diminished but did not disappear.  

 I settled for Tea In The Garden ~ From The Porch. This is our table in a corner of the front porch where my husband and I sit in the mornings drinking our coffee and watching the birds at the feeders. We have our bird books here, the binoculars, a notebook to record the birds we see, writing paper & pen for me, gardening magazines to read, space to eat meals together, a place we love to rest and reflect on God's bounty. Perfect for tea don't you think ?

 I chose to make a simple dinner to accompany tea. Freshly gathered from my hens , these eggs will be tasty scrambled with chives from my herb garden.

 Asiago cheese bagels with cream cheese & chives ( I love chives ) with the scrambled eggs and grapes...yum.

 The binoculars are always on the table because you never know when the antics of the squirrels or a new bird at the feeder will need closer examination. My home-sewn black toile tea-cozy keeps the tea in the pot hot, and the issue of Tea Time magazine I picked up at the post office today sits nearby ,just waiting to be read. Can you believe it ? Here I set a blue & white tea table and this issue is all about blue & white teacups & settings , I can't wait to read the magazine !

 But first, there is dessert. Ah, dessert !

Tea in the garden from the porch !

 

I hope you join Terri today to enjoy Tea In The Garden* !

 

 

Alice In Wonderland Teacup ~ Tea-Time Tuesday

 When my husband drew up the plans for our home here on Cedar Pond we knew we wanted most of the windows in our home to look out on Cedar Pond. Now we have a view of this pond through our front room window in all seasons, and we love it. Today the view showed me a stormy day.

 A perfect day to stay inside and sew.

 I am sewing a patchwork quilt of fabric one of my granddaughters chose for her bed. I gave her a 4 X 4 inch cardboard square to trace and cut out squares from fabric she chose  for me to sew her quilt. My granddaughter  traced and cut out hundreds of little squares for her quilt and today was a perfect day to sew  the squares together because there was no other work demanding immediate attention after I fed my animals. I could not garden in the down pouring of rain. I made myself a cup of peppermint tea and drank it from this teacup, a gift from my sister Karen, as I sewed many squares of fabric together to make a patchwork quilt for a granddaughter.

 The teacup is from Disneyland , but I think you could have guessed that as soon as you saw the photo. The quilt is barely begun in this picture. The puzzle for me is how to bring the differing fabric squares together to make an over all pleasing design for my granddaughter. I need some more tea and time to think about this.

 I have many friends & family who love Disneyland and all things Disney. I have never been to Disneyland, but I hear tell they love it and visit it as often as possible. My Alice In Wonderland teacup is from one of my sisters who also loves the magical land and especially sharing it with her granddaughter. I am honored she chose to give me a teacup that is a token of her good times in Disneyland.

Peppermint tea in a sweet teacup on a very stormy day spent sewing a quilt for a beloved granddaughter. A very good day for me.

When I look out my windows and see Cedar Pond I remember the many good times here with family & friends I love. I know I am blessed. Sip a cup of tea in your favorite spot at home and remember you are truly blessed !

 

Tea-Time Tuesday is hosted by these ladies , pop in and spend some time with them !

 ~Rose Chintz Cottage *

~ Martha's Favorites *

~ Artful Affirmations *

~ Bernideen's Tea-Time Blog *

~ A Delightsome Life *

 





 

I Love A Rainy Sunday !

~I love rainy days, especially rainy days we are able to stay home. Sunday was just such a day. The type of day I long for so many other days of the year. It was not too cold, the rain was constant, I had a good book on CD to listen to while I plyed my yarn. I put a pork roast with vegetables in the oven , and with the rain beating on the sky lights and the view of the rain falling on our yard and pond from my comfy spot in the living room..I was so happy ! I think this red legged frog at the edge of our pond was happy too !~Rain beckons me, calls to me. I love to sleep with my bedroom window open on rainy nights. After plying yarn for awhile, I decided to venture out in the rain. Everything is so fresh ! Here the hostas by the front entrance sidewalk seem instantly refreshed. The Lady's Mantle and sedums grow quickly after summer rains.

~"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." Langston Hughes April Rain Song 

The downspouts gurgle and make little streams.

The little birdbath set amidst the ferns and rhododendron is filled with the rain water.

Thorin and Bombadil do not share my love of rain. Thorin peers out at me from his perch in the goat house. They go to great lengths to keep their feet and faces dry. They will jump from board to board to rock, sometimes with difficulty to avoid getting themselves wet. You would think they melt in rain the way the behave. ~The ducks mill around. So many choices for water loving ducks on a rainy day. Puddles, streams, the pond ? Or just hanging out on the water soaked lawn. The slugs are out in full force today so the ducks can graze on gourmet ( to ducks that is ) food without much effort.As much as I love the rain, I'll pass on a little boat ride around the pond.
~Rainy days fill me with energy ! I can accomplish so much while it rains. When there have been too many rainless days I get depressed. I also pine away for rain when I am visiting other places and states that do not get much rain. To me, a rainy day is to be cherished, like a vacation of sorts. I guess I am weird that way. ~One of my favorite passages in the Bible is where God answers Job out of the whirlwind and addresses the audacity of man to question his creator. Here God speaks of the rain and weather. "Who has cleft a channel for the flood, or a way for the thunderbolt; to bring rain on a land without people, on a desert without a man in it,to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the seeds of grass to sprout ?Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew ?..Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of water may cover you ? Can you send forth lightnings that they may go and say to you 'Here we are?' ...Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or tip the water jars of the heavens, when the dust hardens into a mass as the clods stick together? " Job 38; 25 -38 ~~~

~And there is one more reason I love a rainy day , an unknown author says it perfectly ! "God made rainy days so gardeners can get the housework done ."~