Remember

 Memorial Day, a time to remember and honor the many men and women who lost their lives in military service to our country over the years. I come from a military family and have many family members who've served in the military. Some still do. We are fortunate to have not lost any of them to death in warfare even though so many have fought in wars. My heart hurts for those families who have. It is a tragedy when a serviceman or woman loses his /her life, but the family left behind has suffered a great loss too. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives & children will live the rest of their lives without someone they love. There really aren't words adequate to express their loss. Remember, just remember them, and pray for the families left behind.

 "Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand , the spines of others are often stiffened." Billy Graham

 " As we express our gratitude we must never forget the highest appreciation is not to utter words , but to live by them. " Joseph Campbell

" The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them , glory and danger alike , and yet notwithstanding , go out to meet it. " Thocydides

Thursday Tea In The Garden

 Thursday tea in the herb garden is a time of sitting quietly, sipping the herb tea I brewed in my pink teapot, eating the crackers smothered in cream cheese blended with chopped chives and chive blossoms from this very garden while soaking up the sights, sounds and scents of spring in full bloom.

 "Tea is quiet and our thirst for tea is never far from our craving for beauty ." James Norwood Pratt

 "Doing nothing is respectable at tea. " Sasaki Sanmi

 After a generous tea time I walked around Cedar Pond checking out the gardens as I watered them. The garden shown above is the vegetable garden my husband plants and tends. The garlic, onions, strawberries , and peas are coming along quite nicely. The slugs have been giving him a hard time with the beans and lettuces. He has to re-plant them, dang those slugs.

 Our rhododendrons are amazing to see from a distance. These bushes are taller than me !

 "Tea is a divine herb." Xu Guangqi

"Perhaps it is while drinking tea that I most of all enjoy the sense of leisure. " George Gissing

Tea in my gardens is a blessing and a pleasure I don't take for granted. All I need do is brew a pot of my favorite tea , choose a pretty teacup, take them to the garden ,forget the weeding and garden chores for a short while , sit down and enjoy !

Gardens Thrive With Sweat & Rain & Sun

 Rhododendrons thrive here on Cedar Pond.

 They grow wild in our forests, but the blooms are not as colorful there as the typical rhododendron found in landscaping in city & town.

 Snapdragons are doing well in our gardens and our flowerboxes.

 Pots of hostas, hens & chicks, phlox, snapdragons ,  and Campion are sitting next to our garage awaiting planting in other parts of the gardens.  

 Columbine sprouts, grows, and thrives everywhere here. We have several colors of Columbine , white, pink, purple. We did not deliberately plant it, but somehow this lovely wildflower found it's way into our gardens and we've grown to appreciate it.

 The kiwi arbor my husband built in front of our dovecote has finally been accepted by the kiwi. We actually have shade from the kiwi vines this year and the kiwi grows so quickly I know we'll enjoy shade from the hot summer sun here this summer.

 Fuzzy Harwood kiwi. We have a thriving male and female growing here . Each has it's own side of the arbor but they seem intent on meeting. Ah, romance ! We hope the romance of the male & female kiwi will produce fruit for us , but for now their joining producing shade is a good thing too.

 The grape arbor my husband built is greening with the grapes he planted  and I know we'll have a bountiful grape harvest if I beat the birds to it. Last year I made grape juice from these grapes and boy oh boy, my home made grape juice was so good ! I need to quadruple my grape juice canning this year because it  is so good we ran out of it quickly. Beats any commercial grape juice in taste for sure.

Flower box under the kiwi arbor between the chairs. Snapdragons, lobelia, and a red geranium.

 

All of the gardens on Cedar Pond thrive because my husband has worked hard to prepare the soil they are planted in. He has used the manure of many generations of our chickens, goats, & sheep composted and tended to produce rich soil . Rich soil that was hard clay in places and in other places  rocky & barren when we first moved here years ago. Rich soil produced with the sweat of hard work . Hard work that reaps it's harvest after the abundant rains we enjoy give way to sunny summer days . Yes, gardens thrive with the sweat of hard work , abundant rain, and glorious sunshine.

Rainy Day Flowers

 After a busy few weeks tending the gardens , poultry, & livestock during the very ( unseasonably )warm sunny days the rain I love has finally returned ! Now instead of endless watering and weeding outdoors I am cultivating indoor flowers . Fanciful flowers I needle-felt onto wool balls I've made using the wool fleece from my sheep.

 I added a few fanciful bees too. None of the flowers or bees are crafted to be realistic, but they are meant to be fun. Some of the balls have jingles inside. My cats love the jingle balls. So do my grandchildren.

I enjoyed spinning up quite a bit of yarn on the porch during the warm days. I can watch my sheep and the birds at our feeder from the porch. I watch my ducks waddle by on their way from the pond to scavenge any birdseed the wild birds scatter under the feeders. Two of my dogs are always at my feet as I spin wool into yarn. Contentment and thankfulness are my constant companions during these times.

Whether cultivating indoor flowers or working hard outdoors , I am always mindful of the blessing it is to be able to do this work in and around a home provided by God through the love and hard work of my husband and family. Thank-you Jim !

There Be Little Folk Here

 Look, a little door leading to ... ?

I think there must be little folk here !