Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries ~ Ambassadors Of Summer

 It's that busy time of the year again, summer. The berries and cherries are ripening faster than I can keep up with them but the birds aren't complaining, they snatch up any I miss picking.

 I set aside today, normally Tea-Time Tuesday here on Cedar Pond, to make and can jam from the berries piling up in the refrigerator. But first I picked the newly ripe raspberries before the day got too hot.

 

 I set up my canning area on the back porch. I have worn out 4 stoves since we built our home because I do a lot of canning and dyeing wool, and my husband & I also love to make a lot of food for people we love. The newer stoves can't seem to hold large cooking pots without suffering for it. A few years ago we bought this camp stove for all big cooking & canning jobs and I love it ! I also appreciate canning on the shady back porch, near the kitchen, while NOT heating the house up anymore than necessary. I make the jam inside, then after filling the hot sterilized jars I process them outside. ( BTW, the stove is mighty nice for camping too.)

I made blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry jam today and the canning season has barely begun. Tomorrow I am trying a new recipe, Strawberry Margarita Jam. The pantry shelves should be full of sweet fruit jams and canned fruit by the end of August, then apple season begins and hopefully the green bean harvest from our garden will yield a big crop too. "Berries & cherries , whether harvested from brambles, bushes, patches, or trees, these tiny ambassadors of summer sweetness share one thing in common - rich, exotic, and intoxicating taste." Canning B.H. & G.

Can't Stop Blogging After All These Years

 Five years ago I began blogging while waiting for our youngest grandchild to be born. We have 8 grandchildren , the youngest and oldest of the eight are our only grandsons and both share July birthdays. I can't believe our youngest grandson is going to be 5 and our oldest is going to be 14 ! ( our daughter's 4 children are shown here on our day trip to Alder Lake last week )

 Youngest grandchild, Little 'J'. His birthday always marks my blog birthday.

 Oldest grandchild, "Bugs", he and I share a chicken blog.

 Blogging has been such a rich experience for me over the last 5 years. I have made friends through blogging, learned many new & wonderful things, shared joys and sorrows with sister-bloggers, prayed for them, been prayed for too. As I watched these four grandchildren play in the lake I  realized just how quickly life changes . Little boys and girls grow up fast ! I am thankful I began this blogging adventure because putting my thoughts into words along with pictures of my day-to-day life has given me some perspective and an even greater appreciation for this life I have, right here, right now, in the good, and the not-so-good.( But mostly good ) I publish my blog every year , believe me, I am so glad I do because I have forgotten a lot !

Blogging is a joy for me for so many reasons, but when my grandchildren open my blog books ( they often do ) and get excited about one of my previous posts, when I read a post and remember "Oh yeah, that duck WAS funny !" or " Wasn't that tea-party fun?", then I am reminded how quickly life flies by and thankful for this opportunity to record snippets of my life here on Cedar Pond through blogging. I know I can't stop blogging after all these years. Thank-you for reading my blog !

*In celebration of 5 years of blogging I will be having a give-away this month. I will be giving away a flock of 3 Wee Little Sheep .If you're interested in possibly winning the flock simply leave a comment and I'll enter your name.There will be a drawing for the winner July 31st.

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* !

 

 

Can I Blame My Sister ?

Blizzard, our cat, was subdued and had hidden himself away. I should have realized Thursday morning when he did not open our bedroom door ( yes, he can open firmly shut doors ) to let our other cat Miss Marple  precede him into our bedroom so they could jump into bed with me after my husband left for work , that something was wrong. Our home was too quiet and I did not have him sprawling on my lap as I watched the news on t.v. the previous night.

When Blizzard vomited his food and paid no attention to all the things he loves to do I was concerned. Later, when my grandchildren were holding him they discovered small puddles of urine wherever he had reclined. Blizzard is a very conscientious and tidy cat when it comes to such things so I immediately suspected he was in need of veterinary care. I made an appointment yesterday morning with the vet. Before I left for the vet I watched him for awhile. He would jump into his litter box and seem to strain to urinate. During one attempt he yowled and screamed in a way I had never heard from him. Blizzard was in pain and not able to pass urine. I carted him off to the vet after he crawled into his crate. Blizzard loves the crate. Blizzard was easy to examine. He is very friendly and the vet's office did not scare him at all. Not much scares him. He seemed mighty happy when the vet took him away to the back room for a few hours of observation.

One of the questions the vet asked was if there had been any changes in our home, any upsets, any big differences ? Wow, I realized then that Blizzard must be missing my sister. Bliz fell in love with her and spent many hours watching her, carrying her hair bands around ,stealing her pens and pencils, her phone charger, and at night he would open her door and jump into bed with her.( Surely she would love a 16 pound cat sleeping on her ? ) He would stalk her anytime she was home. My sister moved out this month into her own home and I noticed the first few days she was gone he would stay by her door and watch. I think it finally sunk in that she was not coming back here to stay. If a cat could be despondent, Blizzard was the perfect example.

Blizzard's affliction is one they ( veterinarians & scientists ) think can be brought on by stress or change that disturbs a cat. If left untreated for very long ( a few days) it can be fatal. His problem has a long name, but is fairly common in male cats. Of course I can't prove it, but I know my cat, and I would say he is missing my sister. What do you think ? Can I blame it on her? :)

Blizzard had a lazer treatment to his bladder and is on meds. He is not a happy camper right now and I will be giving pills to a cat twice a day for several days. I love that silly cat though and hope he mends quickly. Besides, Miss Marple needs him to open our bedroom door in the morning so they can cuddle with me.

Tidal Pools Abound With Life At Cannon Beach

 The tide is out at Cannon Beach in Oregon and the tidal pools are filled with amazing sea life for easy viewing and close- up observation if you don't mind getting your feet and legs wet. Actually, most of the coastline of Oregon & Washington ( and their inlets and sounds) are chock full of sea life. And I am not even talking about the sea mammals and birdlife in great abundance.

 A team of people in red shirts ( they are also on hand to answer questions about the sea life ) come to the shore at every low tide and put up signs warning people not to climb Haystack Rock or tread too far out on the rocks. This is not only for the safety of the public , but also the wildlife, for obvious reasons.

 The rocks teem with barnacles, mussels, seaweeds, anemones, starfish...

 ....look closely. You can see 2 starfish here, but the rocks are loaded with anemones too. They are the things that look like olives with pink or green centers.

 I counted almost 50 starfish then stopped counting. There are starfish everywhere in, on top of, under, and around every rock. Most of the time I saw them wrapped around each other.

 My husband spotted this sun starfish, not as common as the others in these tidal pools.

 Sea anemones showing their brilliant color as they open in the water. Don't they look like flowers ?

I have been a distracted blogger lately. The gardens and livestock need a lot of attention and I have also been playing with our grandchildren. I love our life here on Cedar Pond but very often I think of Cannon Beach and the special times my husband & I have had there. The ocean is what draws us. The wonders the ocean and shore reveal are beyond words. When I seek calming thoughts my mind turns to the sea and although the sea is often stormy, turbulent, dangerous and unpredictable, the thought of the sea quiets my mind and causes me to think about God, His ways, His wonders. "Then God said , let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place , and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters he called seas; and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:8,9

Tea In The Herb Garden

 It was a perfect day to work in the herb garden. What better refreshment than peppermint tea after weeding ?

 I have been reading up on tea, especially herbal teas, and discovered the beverage I make from my herbs is actually called an "infusion". Real tea is made from the leaves of tea plants. (the tea plants are actually shrub sized trees )

 This is my new teacup.

 Royal Grafton Bone China, made in England.

 There is a lot more weeding to be done, so I had better get back to work.

"Mint ~ The savor or smell rejoyceth the heart of man, for which cause they use to strew it in chambers and places of recreation, pleasure, and repose, and where feasts and banquets are made." John Gerard

Spearmint & peppermint are wonderful for soothing a troubled tummy, and also good for colds & headaches. It is especially appreciated at the tea parties I have with my grandchildren, they will consume pots of this hot tea with pleasure. ( we won't discuss how much sugar they use to sweeten the tea )

Please enjoy the blogs listed below as they share their teatimes & teacups :

• Artful Affirmations *
• Martha's Favorites *
• A Delightsome Life *
• Tea In The Garden *

"Tending a bed or border devoted to these herbs ( mints ) can be as calming or soothing after a stressful day as a cup of the steaming brew or tall glass of iced tea made from their leaves and flowers." Susan McClure

Awesome Beauty Of Cannon Beach, Oregon

 This is the view my husband & I had from our room in the Cannon Beach Hallmark Inn on the Oregon Coast. I could truly look at this view every day and see something amazing and different. The sky and sea are always moving, changing, and awesome. ( in the true meaning of the word).

"Awe~ Reverential fear ; veneration ; solemn wonder." "Awesome ~Causing, or expressing of awe." Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

"...who enclosed the sea with doors, when bursting forth it went out from the womb; when I made a cloud its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and I placed boundaries on it , and I set a bolt and doors and I said, "Thus far you shall come but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop."  ( God ) Job 37:8-11

 

"Oh Lord God of hosts, who is like Thee, O mighty Lord ? Thy faithfulness also surrounds Thee. Thou dost rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise , Thou dost still them...the heavens are Thine, the earth is also Thine; The world and all it contains, Thou hast founded them." Psalm 89:9-11