Blue Monday

Stop over at Smiling Sally's and see lots of other blue blogs. I think blue is a great summer color.

A Blue Jay sitting on a mossy old birdhouse . . .

A blue teapot - just right for cooler summer days and a pot of tea . . .

A cozy blue and white seaside quilt . . .

A nice corner of the seaside quilt - wouldn't this look great in a beach house?

A cute little boy helping fill a blue bag . . .

Oh - and a nice stack of blue dishes . . .

Ooops - this isn't summer - but a pretty blue ornament . . .

A blue quilt to comfort a friend . . .

And a tiny little blue bag for a summer treasure . . .

What do you like that is blue?

Mosaic Monday - summertime

Stop over at Little Red House to see more fabulous summertime Mosaic Mondays. I can't think of summertime without thinking of little boys and ice cream, swimming pools and playing games (with baskets on their heads) - flowers, donkies in the field, seagulls singing their songs and lovely summer days.

Hooked of Fridays - and flowers

There is a party going on - on Fridays - over at - Hooked on Houses come along and see the wonderful things other bloggers are hooked on.

My obsession right now is flowers - all sorts - all colors.

These bright little pansies are in a pot hanging on the porch railing. They survived the winter and are blooming like crazy - and have been for weeks. It gets really hot on that porch in sunny weather and yet they keep right on. Just recently I noticed that a stalk of bird seed was growing in the same pot - and the bird feeders are not nearby. I'll have to try and get a picture of it.

Foxgloves are one of my favorites - the name come from the traditional "folks gloves" - because the little folks in the gardens would take the single bells and wear them for gloves.

White against a purple rhododendron - what a combination!

And the lovely pink "folks gloves" - one of my favorites . . .

This white one was growing across the street, near the woods, on a slope. It looks like it grew upside down. The next day it had fallen over in the rain, I was glad I got a photo of it.

I love the freckles inside the fox gloves. . .and you can almost see the fairies putting their tiny babies to sleep in the flowers, rocking them to sleep in the breeze. . .

This sweet little fairy sits next to a new miniature rose on the porch - see the rain on the bench? We've not seen much of that lately - but hopefully more soon. The blossoms on this rose are so cute and sweet - again - I'll get a picture of them soon.

We dug these ox eye daisies alongside the roads in the country, this spring. Our oldest daughter helped me transplant them into our garden and they've gone crazy. They reseed quite well and I envision waves of them next summer.

And the larger shasta daisy - I got these in a barter group we belong to. They have grown to be about 6 feet tall and are peeking through the railings on the porch - 6 steps above the ground level, and Crow Crow is enjoying them.

Don loves to buy me bouquets and he couldn't resist this big bouquet of sunflowers from the farm stand a few weeks ago. They are so bright and cheery.

Up close and personal with one sunflower - such a pretty face!

A lovely bouquet of snapdragons - the brightest sunniest yellow possible. Do your snapdragons sing when you pinch the bottom of the individual flowers? Mine can't stop singing - some high, some low, always singing all the day long.

Listen closely - don't you hear that sweet music? Laaaa la la la laaaaaaa . . .

Two bouquets of gladioloas - Don's favorite flower and I get to enjoy his love of flowers too . . .

More pink and white - and just a glimpse of the purple bouquet . . .

Close-up of the purple - such colors!!

And the pinks - so lovely . . .

The white is spectacular, with just the fainest pink shading.

I am so lucky to have Don bring me bouquets - sometimes he picks flowers from the yard and brings them in to me also - and sometimes he buys the flowers - but however they come - I love them all - and Don too.

Happy flowers to you - what is your favorite flower?

A Midsummer's Scavenger Hunt

Amy-Lynn Bell, at Flandrum Hill is hosting a Scavenger hunt - let's all have some summer fun.

Here are the basic rules -

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to photograph five natural subjects that each captures the essence of one of the following elements. Each one is characterized by one or several colors that may be substituted for a literal image of the element. Post to your blog - and send a link to Amy-Lynn

1. Fire (Red)
2. Water (Blue or Black)
3. Metal (White, Gold or Silver)
4. Earth (Brown or yellow)
5. Wood (Green)

I love scavenger hunts - always did as a kid too - and I've had a grand time searching out some wonderful things in nature to photograph - and then choosing my favorites - I could have posted a dozen of each category - but here are my final five.

1. Fire (Red)

I heard this Pileated Woodpecker before I saw him. His drumming was loud enough to draw my attention even indoors with the doors and windows closed. He was across the street near the woods and this photo was taken through the window so I wouldn't disturb him. I sometimes hear him calling from the woods, but this was the first chance I had to actually see him.

2. Water (Blue or Black)

The moon rising over the farm we lived on - the sky almost looks like water, with the clouds at the top of the mountains looking like surf, and even the air seemed blue that night. It was a magical night - the planet just above the moon showing up so brightly

3. Metal (white, gold or silver)

This little donkey is one of my all-time favorite photos. Taken in N. CA, she almost looks like an angel with the silver light reflecting off her back. We stood and talked for a long time, she seemed very interested in talking that day.

4. Earth (brown or yellow)

This cave appeared as we rounded a corner on a curvy country road. The brown above the mouth of the cave almost shone in the sunlight, with the nice contrast of the dark entrance. This photo could be for every element except red for fire. We see the (2) blue in the grasses on the left for water, (3) silver grasses on the far left for metal, (4) brown for earth and tiny yellow flowers, and (5) green in the ferns hanging from the ceiling for wood. Using our imagination we can almost see red at the top of the cave - almost.

5. Wood (green)

A funky old car in a farmer's field. We stopped at the barn for a yard sale and when we were parked we were right in front of this lovely old relic. The tree sprouting is an Elderberry, just finding a place to thrive.

I hope you enjoyed your travels with me on my scavenger hunt.

Outdoor Wednesday

It is time for outdoor Wednesday again - and I have some glorious flowers that I've seen around town.

Stop by and visit more Outdoor Wednesday entries - have fun!!

I'm not sure what these yellow flowers are - but they are everywhere - anyone have any ideas?

The azaleas are blooming at the houses by the lake - blooming like crazy!

Alld different colors!

Even lovelier close up . . .

And rhododendrons of every color - they seem to be in almost every yard . . .

purple and pink . . .
hedges of them . . .

I just can't seem to get enough of them . . .

And my favorite of all time - the Golden Chain trees - there are almost as many of these as there are rhododendrons.

Get closer - you can hear the bees . . .
Get right up in the tree - they are glorious!!!!

It's been a while - how about a trip to see some old barns?

It's been quite a month - since I last posted. I have posted on my other blog - about what has been keeping me so busy - Don's open heart surgery to repair the mitral valve. He got home from the hospital (after nine days in the hospital) two weeks ago today. His progress has been nothing short of miraculous. He's had almost no pain, and what pain he has had has been in the form of muscle aches, he is walking up to 35 minutes a day without tiring, and is planning to go back to work part time (with the surgeon's permission) on Monday. He'll try a few hours at first and see how that goes - he is so excited to be going back to work.

So - in celebration - I 'll share a little trip we made not long before the surgery.

When we are out for a drive Don knows that if we approach an old barn that I simply must stop and get photos of it. I often make up stories about the barns and the people and animals that have lived there - and loved the barns.

This sweet old barn sits rigth on the road . . .

The elderberries are beginning to take over - along with some other weeds . . .

Part of the roof is gone and the doors probably haven't been opened in years . . .

Haul that hay up there - watch that it doesn't swing out too far and hit the side of the barn . . .

After chores - a few games of basketball - shall we play "H-O-R-S-E"?

Lovely old hinges . . .

And a sliding door . . . the farmer was so proud as he pounded the last nails in . . .

Down the road just a little ways is a very long, sagging barn . . .

Sagging like an old horse, ridden too long . . .

And bits of the roof are beginning to peel in the wind - it never lets up on this hilltop . . .

A lovely old barn, used for summer recreation at a county park . . .

Another old barn, lovingly restored at a living history farm - there are animals to pet and antique farm implements to wonder about and even climb around on . . . and then a picnic . . .

This barn was on the property of a house we rented when we first moved to WA in 2001 . . .
Barn owls nested in the hay loft, and students from the university would come to the door and ask permission to gather the owl pellets . . .

And that winter it snowed - quiet and soft and calm - and oh so cold . . .

Hope you enjoyed the barns - do you have any old barns around your area? Do you take photos of them too?