Bloom Where You’re Planted

I just can’t help it, I love flowers.  Last year Russ requested that we take a break from yard work so we did not plant one thing…not a petunia or a snapdragon or an impatiens.  Although our lawn guy put in a couple of tomatoes for me, I planted NOTHING! 

So now we are home and will probably be here for most of the spring and summer.  Therapy is tucked away in her little cabin and we have been working on getting her spic and span for our next trip, whenever that may be.



I just can’t go without flowers two years in a row! So for the last two days we have begun to work on the flower beds.  We almost missed the peony blooms while we were gone but there are still a few that aren’t totally spent.
I love these bold and showy blossoms but they sure don’t last long.  


We planted 51 flower starts today…and that did not even finish one bed!  Yeah, we got a ways to go yet.  But we’re getting there.

Thankfully I had some volunteers from two years ago.  These snapdragons are supposed to be annuals but they just keep coming back, for about three years now.



See all the dead leaves and crud around the plant?  That is what it looked like all around the sweet gum tree. 



This is what it looked like today after we finished planting.



In a few weeks, hopefully, we will have a nice bed of pink impatiens…with a few snapdragons thrown in just because I like them.

It’s probably been more than 25 years ago now that we were visiting Russ’s parents in Mill City, OR.  They lived in a mobile home park and Russ’s Dad was always busy mowing all the neighbors lawns and the common areas.  They always had a big garden and his mom managed to always have some colorful flowers as well.  As we were leaving their house after our visit, I admired some little plants that were fighting their way up through the gravel of the parking area.  I didn’t know what they were but Russ’s mom went and got a baggie and dug up one of those little plants and I carried it home in that baggie.  From that tiny little start, this large shamrock plant has grown.  It’s an old fashioned plant and some may not think it is worth much.  But it means the world to me because of the kindness of Russ’s mother on that day.  Each year it grows bigger and as the weather warms it becomes covered with tiny pink blossoms that open up each afternoon.  The bees love it and I like to think it provides delicious nectar for their honey making enterprise.  Russ’s mom has been gone for many years now but this plant lives on as a constant reminder of how a little kindness can go a long way – and can even outlast your lifetime.



By the way, I have always called it a shamrock plant but I’m really not sure.  It doesn’t look exactly like any I have seen pictures of so if I am mistaken, please let me know. 


So for a while we will not be using the picnic table for al fresco dining!  Russ looks a little worse for wear, doesn’t he?  Poor hard working fella!!



I think we might have a small problem here.  There is something not right about this photo of the patio cover (yea, I know, it’s filthy.  Pressure washer will be working overtime soon!)



But still, there are some parts that are looking pretty good!



Wherever you go in this journey called life, always remember to bloom where you are planted!

How Many Things Can Be Crammed Into ONE Day?

Quite a few if you work it right.  We had some chores and repairs scheduled for this week but somehow they all seemed to happen on the same day. 

I started the day early by baking pumpkin bread.  The electrician was scheduled to come and put in a plug for Therapy and plenty of hot pumpkin bread had somehow entered into the negotiations on the final price.  I’m not a great cook but I do make really yummy pumpkin bread.  The loaves are NOT flat as they appear in this picture!



The roofers were supposed to come on Tuesday for a minor repair on the carport roof but they got delayed and showed up about the same time as the electrician.  There goes another loaf of pumpkin bread! 

We had also scheduled Therapy to have her windshield replaced on Wednesday so we took her in and dropped her off.  Then we went for a drive while all the hubbub was happening around the old homestead.  We found a few things to take photos of out in the country.

First stop – no surprise – the lake to let the dogs walk and enjoy a bit of freedom.



From bright pumpkins to colorful old wrecks, there is always something to see in the country.



We enjoyed the look of this old barn…



… and the sentiment expressed on this entry gate.




We got back home to find the roof repair completed and the electrical plug in place.



So now Russ gets the bright idea to have some gravel delivered.  He calls the place and they say they can deliver it yet this afternoon so Russ completes the order.  Right about then the call comes from the glass place that Therapy is finished and we need to come pick her up.  So we left a sign for the gravel guys (dump gravel here), went by the yard and paid for the gravel and went to get our Therapy.




So Therapy is no longer cracked and the gravel is in the driveway.  Three yards sounded like a lot more than it turned out to be!!



We’ll se how far it goes once we start to spread it in the RV shed.

Got a lot accomplished on Wednesday…oh and it was also garbage day, the pool cleaner came, and the lawn guy showed up as well.  Busy day?  Yeah I guess you could say that.  Now it’s time to get the gravel spread, get Therapy cleaned up and loaded up and go on a trip…somewhere…anywhere…I don’t care…. I need Therapy!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

I’m not quite sure what that means but my mother used to say it when she didn’t get something done on time so I’m using it tonight.

As you have probably figured out by now, I am way behind on blogging about our journey.  Several reasons for that…sometimes I didn’t have internet and sometimes I didn’t have time…and sometimes I just plain was not motivated!  I haven’t been feeling all that good on top of everything else.  How’s that for telling it like it is?

So we are home now, and I still want to blog some about Madras and the Crooked River and the rock place and Sisters, but for today, I just want to blog about …today.

I confess, it has been a struggle being home.  I did not want to quit traveling this time.  Everywhere we went we had a million and one things we wanted to see and do and we only got maybe 4 or 5 (or fewer) of those goals actually accomplished.  I guess it is better to want to go back than to get burned out on an area.

I haven’t been doing well with my back for several weeks and just can’t seem to get rid of the (hate to use this word but…) PAIN.  So I’ve been a little discouraged and grumpy.   We’ve been doing a thorough cleaning of Therapy and LOADS of laundry.  Today we decided to get out with the doggies for a bit.

We took them to Valley River Center to walk along the river walk.  There is one really easy place to get down to the water and Rusty was loving it.  We liked the looks of these trees growing on their own little islands.


That’s a pedestrian/bike bridge in the background.  One thing about Eugene, we sure have a lot of pedestrian/bike paths and it seems there are always more going in. 

I don’t know what this tree is growing by the river but I liked the contrast of the purple and green leaves, the white berries and the cloudy sky.



And this is just a weed seed pod but I liked the shapes and the way the sun was lighting all the little tendrils and seed pockets.















We saw a TON of school kids walking the path, broken up into groups of 20 or so.  We were very surprised when we got out of the car just as our granddaughter, Cailin, was walking by with her group.  She saw us before we saw her and we got to give a big wave and howdy but she had to stay with her group.  One of the adults said there were about 400 kids out walking – must have been the entire school – I don’t know what it was all about.  As we were headed back to the car we saw these two stragglers at the end.  They saw us looking at the hat and the boy that didn’t have the hat on called out – “That’s MY hat!”  I told him it was a great hat and asked if I could take a picture.  “Sure,” he said as he snatched the hat off his friend’s head and placed it on his own.  They were having fun.



After that we wanted to check out the Delta Ponds as they have been doing some work there.  The ponds were lower than I can ever remember seeing them.  We were tuckered so we didn’t walk far but we did find this great Buttercup.


Hard to believe most of the flowers are gone for the year but the fall colors will be here soon to compensate.  The pond was calm today, providing a great opportunity to capture the reflection of the sky on the water.



It appears the city has been working on the path.  We saw new concrete and a new overlook.  I think the path is being extended to go all the way to Valley River Center, thus connecting it to the main Eugene/Springfield bike path.  Cool!!

That’s all we did today other than more cleaning.  I am doing semi-annual stuff like oiling all the wood, putting a seal/polish on all the counter tops and on the shower walls, and washing all the rugs and blankets.

I'll write some more about Madras and Sisters in the next several days.  We did see some neat things in that area.  Don’t know when our next trip will be but you can be sure that whenever we can, we will be in Therapy!


P.S.  Almost forgot...Got this in an email from an old friend the other day and thought it was funny...hope you get a laugh out of it.

Yesterday I was at my local COSTCO buying a large bag of Purina dog chow
For my loyal pet, Jake, the Wonder Dog and was in the check-out line when a
woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
 

What did she think I had an elephant? So since I'm retired and have little
to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the
Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because I ended up in
the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an
intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in
both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a Perfect Diet and that the way that it
works is, to load your pants pockets with Purina Nuggets and simply eat one
or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it
works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that
practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care, because the dog food
poisoned me.  I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff a poodle's
butt and a car hit me.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was Laughing so hard.

Costco won't let me shop there anymore.

Better watch what you ask retired people. They have all the time in the
World to think of crazy things to say.