The Busy Days Of Summer

This is only a fraction of the amount of crab cocktails that were consumed in our 36 hour stay in Bandon. Shameful and gluttonous are excellent adjectives to describe our devotion to Tony's crab shack, and his divine product.



These are but a sampling of the abundant starfish along our early morning walks while the tide was playing elsewhere. When it comes to starfish and anemones, seeing one does not mean that you have seen them all.




Sigh...



A dog show at Bandon High School. Who knew? We were delayed by the French bulldogs for quite some time. When they love you up...they purr. (Sort of. I'm sure it's a nasal passage inadequacy.)



And here is the latest on the garden. Thriving is a lovely term. It is the calm spot in all of the juggling.It hasn't been the quietest June. We've had guests, concerts, leaps and bounds in our business, dog skunkings, and the rest of what felt like chaos is jumbled in and stirred around enough to be somewhat forgotten.

And We're Off...

Last week's 32 degree lows have past. All the plants are in. I've saved some room for some gems I might come across.

Beans: Stringless Bush, Masai Bush, Yin-Yang pole, and Dixie Speckle Lima
Squash: Acorn and Butter Boy Butternut
Cucumbers: Pickling, Market More, and Burpless
Tomatoes: Mr. Fantastic, Mr. Stripey, Better Boy, Black Prince, Amana Orange, Sweet 100, and the elusive "Ground Cherry"
Eggplant: Classic, Purple Rain, and Japanese Long
Swiss Chard
Thyme
Chives
Cilantro
Basil
Peppers: Serrano, Hava Zana, Jalepeno, and Thai Hot
Sweet Peppers: Golden Sweet, California Wonder, and Orange Glo
Perfecto Radish
Purple Dragon Carrots
Chiogga Beets
Flowers: Snapdragons, Nicotania, Stock, and Delphiniums


Like I said, I'm sure I still have space for something else...

Low of 32 degrees

Ranger is doing what we all seem to be doing this last week...looking for the sunshine. Today we are experiencing a high of 43, with low of 32. Hibernative and sluggish seem to pair well when you have winter in late May. And if you don't have time to hibernate, or be sluggish, grumpy seems to work just fine as well.



Here are a couple of pictures that at least make me think of Spring. This was a beautiful little jam jar full of assorted tulips...



This is my birthday bouquet, taken with my birthday camera. A Cannon Powershot SL90.
It makes the dyed hothouse grocery store daisies sing.

We Love April.

It was a perfect April day ten years ago today. The weather smiled upon us, with a beautiful, sunny spring day. The garden was amazing.




If you look close in this picture you will see the snow. The weather wasn't so kind this morning. But we were smiling at each other...



Happy Anniversary Scott.

Comes In Like a Lamb..

March introduced herself, very light and delicate and warm.





She wanted make certain we knew her...and then she let her true colors show.

Middle Winter

The mid-January early February timeline around here has made for very little worth sharing.
The hills have an occasional frosting, but for Southern Oregon standards, the weather is gray. Medford seems to love to share its fog. We divide our time between the office, and generally feeling like we constantly need a nap.
The normally moderate YMCA is busy with persons you have never seen before, and will probably not see again after the middle of March. Although we did see a new phenomenon this year. It seems January was a little unrealistic to begin your resolutions, so February 1st seemed a collective "get in shape" date.
The garden has changed location this Spring. It's moving from the raised bed digs of the Scenic community gardens, to the established plots of Hersey community gardens.
I stopped by the old bed to make sure everything was in order for the next person.
I was rewarded with a brussely gift.

A New Year, and Celebrations

December 31st found us on the freeway in a Chevy Tahoe upgrade, driving our thirsty sofa up to Portland to see Sirena, and celebrate Scott's sister Kasi's wedding.
We checked into the Embassy Suites downtown, and were greeted to a very geometric view from our room.




Scott and I were rewarded for our journey that night by a very fortuitous cab. (They're hard to get on New Years in downtown Portland.)It whisked us up to the Pearl District, where Silk Restaurant had a table waiting for us. (Harder to get than a cab on New Years in Portland.) We enjoyed some much needed pho noodle soup, and cocktails. The cab back to the hotel was a little harder to land. The celebrations downtown were in full swing. After about four blocks, we managed to muscle our way into one in the middle of a busy street. We were back in time to ring in the new year with family, and get a much needed night's sleep.
New Years day was quiet, and filled with breakfast at the Bijou, and family and friends.




The wedding was a ceremony joining Kasi and Dan and the family. We then joined the cheesy DJ, and much merriment was made on the dance floor. I think Sirena found the gelato bar most enjoyable. We lost count on her fourth scoop of toffee chocolate banana.




Sirena returned to Ashland with us, after a quiet, nice night spent at Eagle Crest with Mom and Marion. We enjoyed great food and even better company.
Once home in Ashland we balanced work with play. The Wii got a workout, as did Sirena's new ipod Touch. Movies were seen, crispy tofu and burritos were eaten.
We extended Christmas in the house and left the decorations up so we could continue to enjoy the holiday feeling as a family. It was hard to say good-bye. If you look close in this picture, there are the beginnings of tears.



Ranger is waiting for his snuggle friend to return.