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Recent Posts
- More Marvelous Than Fairy Tales January 18, 2021
- Red Dawn January 14, 2021
- Is It Still Winter? January 12, 2021
- Winter Skies January 4, 2021
- Happy New Year! January 1, 2021
- Stories Untold December 28, 2020
- Blink and You’ve Missed It December 22, 2020
- Chatty Mud Birds December 20, 2020
- Getting the Mail December 10, 2020
- Soothing is Good December 5, 2020
- When Life Returns to Normal, I’ll Miss Blue Skies December 1, 2020
- Blue Skies in November November 21, 2020
- Sunshine Is Just Beyond the Clouds November 17, 2020
- Winter Returns to the Hills November 14, 2020
- A Squirrel’s Fate November 8, 2020
- November at Last November 3, 2020
- November 1 and No Swans November 1, 2020
- First Frost October 23, 2020
- Too Wet to Burn October 18, 2020
- Eyes Wide Shut October 13, 2020
- The End of Flowers October 11, 2020
- 20201010 October 10, 2020
- Am I Growing the Wrong Grapes? October 6, 2020
- Fog and Less Fog October 5, 2020
- First Blush of Fall September 29, 2020
- A Perfect Fall Day September 27, 2020
- Blue Sky to Rain to Shaggy Parasol September 26, 2020
- Six Short Weeks September 24, 2020
- 317 Days for a Miracle September 23, 2020
- We Can Breathe Again September 22, 2020
- You Can’t Help But Be Sad September 13, 2020
- Duck Serenity September 6, 2020
- August is Coming to an End August 28, 2020
- It’s Easier with Another August 21, 2020
- Hottest Day of the Year August 16, 2020
- Morning Surprise August 12, 2020
- After the Rains August 8, 2020
- An August Morning August 2, 2020
- August Evening August 1, 2020
- When You Are Insane July 21, 2020
- Summer Is Here July 18, 2020
- It Blooms, It Dies July 15, 2020
- A Cool Start to Summer July 7, 2020
- Each Flower Has Its Own Strategy June 29, 2020
- Disaster Averted June 19, 2020
- Cool, Wet June June 10, 2020
- The End of May May 31, 2020
- Newer, Bigger, Better May 22, 2020
- Summer in May May 13, 2020
- Apple Blossoms and Magical Shoots May 2, 2020
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Monthly Archives: May 2017
Where Joker’s Hats Come From
Is there any doubt that whoever designed the first joker’s hat grew peonies? Someone, centuries ago, saw a peony seed pod and said, “I want to wear that on my head!” This time of year, beauty is on full display, … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
Tagged joker's hat, tomato buds, wheat head, yellow iris
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Love at First Sight
On a cool, Sunday morning, it’s refreshing to see the pink rhododendron in bloom. The dogs are off in the woods trying to find something to chase. I’ve come to the conclusion that dogs, at least our dogs, do not … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
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Summer in May
Summer arrived yesterday, a day of warmth and sunshine that a month ago seemed a hopeless, fanciful dream, something never to be. But here it was. From the first light, a sky without a cloud. Lilacs in bloom. The sweet … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
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Worth a Thousand Web Pages
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” I heard that a lot growing up. Pictures in books were few. Now we are surrounded in a world of pictures, and we need a new saying: “Being there is worth a thousand … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
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Be Here Is Better
The chickens have taken to the garden bench this year. It’s the place to be, especially on warm afternoons. I wonder if they’d let me sit with them and listen in on their gossip. Every day something new is blooming. … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
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No Overtime for Ruby
We humans invent the oddest things. Overtime. It’s a big issue in Japan as next year’s college graduates look for their dream job and companies are frantically recruiting them. It’s no secret that many Japanese workers whittle away the evenings … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Reflections
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Promise of Things to Come
The thimble berries are in bloom. Their delicate white petals promise of red berries to come. Among the eggs, small pullet eggs have started to appear. There is something charming about a hen’s first few eggs, like a child’s first … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Reflections
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The Yin Yang of It All
There are two main seasons in the Skagit Valley, November to early April when the swans are here, and April through October when the swans are not here. Those are the big seasons. Life yins and yangs with the appearance, … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
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The Sun Is All It Takes
A blue sky and brilliant sun is all that was needed to bring on the bees. I won’t have to worry about the apples not getting pollinated. The warm sun also made the arugula shoot up fast. Arugula is another … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
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Magenta awakes
While weeding and planting in the garden this weekend, I was assured to see magenta spreen sprouts. It has an impressive name, Chenopodium giganteum, and giganteum these tiny sprouts are, though they have the tiniest of seeds, smaller than cabbage … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
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