Just me and Treasure, Alone at the Beach!

I couldn’t contain my excitement when I awoke to a warm sunny windless day.  I had some errands to do was my excuse to get out of the studio after days of packing up supplies for an upcoming conference/ trade show.   Mt. Hood was so glorious this morning that I used her as my 365 photo today.  I should’ve waited and used this one!  In all her glory, rising above Hood River she was heart-stopping, breath-taking downright gorgeous.

A quick look down the Gorge, I was surprised at how low the river was.  I won’t bore you with my every stop, I raced through each errand to end up with a little time on the beach with Treasure.  Sun shining.  No wind.  And NO PEOPLE!  Just me and Treasure alone on that wide expanse of beach below Mt. Hood on the shore of the Columbia.  Heaven!

When the river’s low like it was today, the beach seems endless.  Treasure had so much fun chasing birds, examining things on the ground (as only a dog can) at our every turn, chasing sticks I tossed for her, and running circles around me.

We walked, ran and played for an hour.  And still no people!  Then she decided to chase after a bird straight into the river!  She’d never done that before!!

I was glad she knew how to swim!!  And glad the bird got away.

One last look down the river and I had to get back to work.  Three major projects finished and almost out the door; but I’ve got a lot of catching up to do with small promised projects.  The future owners have been graciously waiting.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time….

Is it Spring Yet?

“It’s Sspprrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnggggggg” she screamed as she ran out the door into the blindingly bright Sunday morning.  Iris reticulata have opened, snowdrops are nodding their pretty faces, crocus glow in the sunlight.

Primrose smile their pretty colors, a few violets are nodding in agreement and half a dozen daffodils are very close to popping open, so it MUST be spring.

She was almost caught up with a larger than normal amount of work in her tiny glass studio and decided she MUST GET OUTDOORS before she could possibly move on to the next project.  It was too glorious a day to miss.

The warmth of the sun on her back, the mesmerizing color of those first spring flowers, and the birds chirping their background music … exactly what she needed.

The garden’s fall cleanup had been left behind because she never had time for it in autumn.  It now awaited her on this perfect, almost-spring day.

The gardener went through her large garden one section at a time, snipping off dried lily stems, cutting back dead stalks and leaves of perennials, mowing off stands of grass with her newly sharpened clippers.

Gazing up at the blue sky often for reassurance this was not a dream, but a deliciously warm March day even though the first day of spring had not yet officially arrived.  It was oh so magical to be in her garden, cleaning, raking, and tidying each of the many beds.

A truckload of chipped bark had been delivered by the county road department, but that would have to wait.  Today, she wanted to… no…. needed to touch her plants, the soil they were emerging from, and the warm rocks surrounding them.

Realigning the borders, thinning out overrun perennials, deciding where the new dahlias would be planted while carefully watching for new buds that she might have missed kept her moving from bed to bed all afternoon.

Yes, ever mindful to not strain her back, to not over-do this first day of gardening, she purposefully inspected each plant for signs of new growth and new offspring.

Camera in hand, of course!

Like many of you, I’ve begun taking my camera with me everywhere because I don’t want to miss any potentially great shots for my newest blog, 365 One Day at a Time.  A very old friend…(she’s not old, I’ve known her a long time!)…convinced me to partake in the Shutter Sisters 365, taking and posting a photo a day.

Without words, it’s fairly easy for me to post daily on that blog.  Because my daily photos are not always about gardening, this wasn’t the right place for them, nor was my work blog, so obviously I had to start a third blog, just for my photos.  A lot of nature, landscapes and wildlife; a reminder of what I enjoy each day.

I’ve fallen in with a group of photographers who lead me, push me, advise me and hold my hand down this new road of learning to be a better photographer.  In that vein, I found a site that I want to share with you, my fellow gardeners.  It’s a contest I know you’ll want to enter.  Epiphanie camera bags are gorgeous and sophisticated while protecting your camera in a not so obvious “I’m a black camera bag” sort of way!  Work is going so well that soon I hope to have one of my own!!

Oh…and what happened to the gardener in my story?  After a good day in her warm and almost cleaned up garden it snowed overnight.  Not necessarily a bad thing, because she had so much more work waiting for her in the studio.  Another day in the garden would’ve put her behind, but she relished that lone day and looks forward to the next warm sunny day when she can escape to her garden.

For now her garden sleeps again, a little more tidy, awaiting the first day of spring, and the end of too many projects that she said ‘yes’ to……

As always, thanks for stopping by, especially when there’s not much happening in the garden!  Until next time…..