Finally, Roses!

Before I moved to my present house I never grew roses. I thought they were complicated, high maintenance flowers. I also believed I would have to use sprays and other toxic things. Now I have studied roses and realized there are a few key things to consider. One is the location of where they grow in your garden. They need lots of sun! Another is the type of roses to purchase for your zone.Winterizing them is another crucial part of their growing success. These are roses which are hardy and get lots of early sun which is why we are seeing blooms so early. The one at the top and above is a William Baffin. It is a climbing shrub rose which comes from Canada and is well-known for being winter hardy, disease resistant, and a repeat bloomer. Those are the words I like to read about a rose. The second rose is a Betty Prior which is a florabunda with the same characteristics. Other favorite hardy shrub and florabunda roses I recommend are John Cabot, Nearly Wild, and Lemon Zest. My mom has been happy with the hardy Fairy Rose and is trying the Rainbow Knock-Out rose this year.
a close-up of the Betty Prior blossoms

Famous

Here is another favorite poem that didn't make my April poetry post collection.

Famous
The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,

which knew it would inherit the earth

before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds

watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom

is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,

more famous than the dress shoe,

which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it

and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men

who smile while crossing streets,

sticky children in grocery lines,

famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous the way a pulley is famous,

or a buttonhole,

not because it did anything spectacular,

but because it never forgot what it could do.

- Naomi Shihab Nye

Little Ann Living Up to Her Name

a quiet morning before the action started

When I bought my springer spaniel she came from registered parents Steptoe's Dante and Ms. Pauleen of Bishop Hollow. I had never had a registered dog so I decided this puppy needed a famous or dignified name to match her parents. I brainstormed place names, girl names, dogs I remembered from books, and went to baby names online. At that same time JEJ was reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. The dogs in that book are hounds, but I remembered how Little Ann was a strong female dog character in that book. Even though my puppy was a spaniel the name had been decided. Her registered name became Little Ann of Bloomfield Farm. We just call her Annie.
This week-end Where the Red Fern Grows came up again. My niece Z2 was visiting and had the novel in a lit book to read over the week-end. It led to conversations about the power of that book with children, when we first had it read aloud to us, or when we sat down and read it to outselves. Mom inquired if students of mine still read it. Raymond Pert had never read it again after fifth grade and wondered if it would be as emotional now. " It was for me," I explained to him, remembering sitting down one afternoon to read that classic one more time and not being able to put it down. I also had kleenex ready as I cried through the end of the book.

(If you are not familiar with this classic children's book, the boy and the hounds romp the Ozarks hunting for raccoon. He enters a hunting contest with his dogs also.)

I was awakened this morning with JEJ coming in to get a flashlight. " There is an animal under the deck," he muttered as he headed for the back of the house. By the time I got out of bed and shook the cobwebs from my brain the animal had headed up a tree.
look closely to see the raccoon


Annie lived up to her name. Little Ann of Bloomfield Farm treed a raccoon. It was a young raccoon that could climb very well. Annie just sat under the tree obsessed with the raccoon. Once we got the dogs contained, the raccoon found safety.

How often do events occur like this? From naming your dog, to Where the Red Fern Grows, to Little Ann living up to her name. I love it when these connections just happen in the course of week-end. By the way, if you haven't read this book, add it to your list of must-reads. It is a classic favorite!
Shelby, our Australian Cattle Dog helped with herding the raccoon from under the deck, but then watched her sister Annie in puzzlement from a chair. She was thinking," Is this what herding is in England...just standing under a tree? In Australia we herd our animals around the corral!"

Sunday Scribblings: Simple Pleasures

Today's Sunday Scribblings prompt is simple. You can find other posts here.

What immediately came to mind when I saw the prompt was simple pleasures. I look forward to week-ends when my family is able to visit. Friday I hit the jackpot! Silver Valley Girl and two of my nieces ( yes Princess....we miss you and your dad) drove up from Kellogg and brought my mom with them. Saturday Raymond Pert arrived after spending a few days in Kellogg. I couldn't think of a better way to spend Memorial Day week-end.

All of our lives have been very busy lately. I have struggled with a terrible cold bug. My niece Z2 was also feeling under the weather when she arrived and was worn out from a full week at middle school. Raymond Pert was able to take a deserved break from student papers and teaching at LCC , Mom had been watering, planting, cooking, and organizing to get ready to come, and Silver Valley Girl just tries to keep her head above water with the the business of raising three daughters, working, writing, performing, and fund raising. I decided we needed a retreat week-end. I purposely didn't do my usual event planning making sure we had excursions, activities, and a schedule to follow. Instead I have sat back and enjoyed the simple pleasures of having many of the people I love at my home for three days. Kiki Aru did a good great job of reminding me not to forget the plan "Spoons" and JEJ was a grand garden tour guide and kept peace with the dogs, cats, and family members! The picture above is a simple pleasure. The rhubarb that had gone to seed in the evening sun just before everyone arrived. Other simple pleasures were:having our first peonies opening up to greet our visitors, serving locally roasted coffee in the morning (This is Meyer Falls Blend sold at a local organic market of the same name),and a geranium in full bloom after a winter in the greenhouse.
I love that my nieces are low maintenance and can create a makeshift bed just by rearranging furniture!


Another simple pleasure in the morning was having Silver Valley Girl make breakfast. She used her Pampered Chef (a little plug for the product) apple peeler, slicer, corer to do potatoes.
She has created this incredible potato recipe that I insisted she make while visiting. You can get the recipe here. It was one of the best breakfast potato dishes I have ever tasted. Everyone couldn't get enough of the breakfast of eggs, those Special Potatoes, lemon muffins, and melon. Actually, this may be considered more than a simple pleasure... perhaps a very complex pleasure! Here are some other simple pleasures the day created. Annie taking a rest with Z2.An evening that began with a traditional game of " Spoons" . Next we moved to a rousing game of Yahtzee which always includes chanting "Scratch My Yahtzee". Our dad used to shout that then immediately scratch him armpit. It was fun to teach my nieces the tradition. The evening was rounded out with Rice Krispie Treats and a hilarious game of Scattergories which pitted siblings, mom/grandma and nieces in a fun competition. It is a simple pleasure for me to play board games with the group. It always builds fond memories.

After all our incredble food Silver Valley Girl and I took a quiet walk at twilight to shed a few calories!

I had to end this with the picture above of the blooming Thanksgiving/Christmas/Valentine cactus. Now I guess we can call it the Memorial Day cactus... or perhaps the holiday cactus. Such a simple pleasure gathering around the table with family sharing good food, enjoying games, and gazing at this beautiful plant. I can't wait to see what Sunday will bring.

Sibling Assignment # 22: Remembering Grandma West

Our sibling assignment this week was to write about our Grandma West. We did an earlier piece on Grandma Woolum, so this was a request from our mother. Grandma lived in Orofino, Idaho and the family took a vacation trip to visit every year in August. Raymond Pert's is here. Silver Valley Girl's is here.

We didn’t get to see Grandma West as often as Grandma Woolum. In many ways the two were alike. They both raised their families without a husband present most of the time. They were close in age and were both were passionate about gardening, canning, cooking, family, and creating a comfortable home. The two women loved seeing each other. I remember one Christmas when we went to Orofino we took Grandma Woolum. I wished secretly that they would become close friends and see each other more. Because neither of them drove and the distance between Orofino and Spokane at that time seemed to family members like a “real journey” it didn’t happen very often.

Visiting Grandma West’s house was a contrast from our own home. Our home was crowded, noisy, and busy. Grandma’s house was quiet, orderly, and homespun. She always had an afghan on the back of the couch that she had crocheted. Doll clothes, hanger covers, and beautiful pillows were other items she carefully crafted. We shared a common love for the color lavender. It was the color commonly used in her threads and yarns.

Every afternoon while we visited she would come in to rest after working in her garden most of the morning. The house was cool. Grandma would sit in her rocking chair stitching or crocheting another project. I loved that time of the day. I could stretch out and read a book. It was a break from the hot sun outside. Grandma often dozed off a bit. I think I acquired that love for naps from her.

Mom was an excellent cook, but we still had stuff out of the box sometimes. At Grandma’s everything seemed fresh, wholesome, and homemade. Fresh picked raspberries were waiting in a bowl in the morning to go on our cereal. Cream from the Creamery a block away was always in the old refrigerator on the sun porch to pour on top. The family would sit on that sun porch for dinner ( even though it was very hot) and pass around home grown menu items that included a steaming bowl of fresh picked green beans, juicy slices of fresh tomatoes, and corn on the cob that had been picked that morning. Grandma always sliced her corn off the cob because she had false teeth. I wanted false teeth also because I loved to eat my corn just like Grandma did. She would also make pies ahead when it wasn’t so hot and have them waiting in the freezer in the basement. Then some evening for a treat out would come this amazing homemade apple pie and ice cream (also from the Creamery) .


As Grandma tended her garden I saw her exhibit patience, determination, and a love for beauty. As I stood in the sunroom in the morning I had a perfect view of her garden. I was in awe at the rows of brightly colored gladioli. Every time I see a gladiolus to this day I think of Grandma West. I never saw these flowers in Kellogg, but they always grew in Orofino. Grandma and my Autie Lila had blooms in every color. Once a week Grandma would tenderly harvest the glads, bring them in and place them in cool water, then arrange them for the Christian Church across the street and the Methodist Church she attended. She always enough left to place in a special vase that sat on a table by the front door. That table just seemed right for those glads. Grandma had other beautiful flowers, and a productive vegetable plot, but the glads are what I remember. I did discover as I grew older that these beautiful flowers did grow other places. My mom has grown them. I now have them in my garden each year.

Grandma left us in 1990 at the age of ninety-six. Tears streamed down my face at her funeral as I heard these words from the song “In the Garden”.
“And he walks with me
And he talks with me
And he tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.”

I am blessed to have known Grandma West. I certainly inherited her love for beauty which I have worked to weave into my garden. The fancy needlework will need to be carried on by somebody else, unless I get a sudden change in skill and craft patience!! I see Grandma West’s determination in my own mom when she gardens. She also works outside many hours in the morning sun, but then takes a rest in the cool of the house in the afternoon. Sometimes I think she may sneak in a nap also.

Spring Bouquet #8 and #9 and Tips for Prolonging the Life of Garden Flowers

This first bouquet is held in a beautiful window vase I received from a friend for Christmas. The silhouette of the bouquet sets off the clear aqua color of the vase.









The combination of spring flowers always makes for an exquisite bouquet in color and scent. With this combination of iris, dame's rockets, columbine, and cat mint you have the best of both color and scent.



I love having cut flowers for my own home, but I 've also sold them at farmer's market and provided bouquets for church, a friend's bed and breakfast, and casual celebrations. People often ask how I prolong the life of flowers from the garden. Part of it always depends on how mature the blooms are when they get to the bouquet. It is best to pick flowers when the bloom has just opened. This is easier said than done. If there is a beautiful rose in bloom I will add it to a bouquet even if it is mature. It just won't last as long.
Actually there is a debate on whether it is better to pick flowers in the morning or evening. The flowers will be less likely to wilt if cut in the morning. The evening is better for me. The plants have been photosynthesizing all day, the stems contain more carbs, which makes them last longer. It is best to wait until the air has cooled.
When you get the flowers inside fill a vase halfway with tepid water. Cut 1 inch from the stems and strip any foliage that will be underwater. Put the cut flowers immediately in water. To prolong vase life you can use this homemade flower preservative:
To 24 oz. of water, add 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and one crushed aspirin tablet. Change water as needed.
I think a bouquet of fresh flowers can bring the garden in to any room in the house. Even if I only have a few flowers blooming I get creative and look for interesting herb leaves, branches of shrubs, and tree leaves to add to a bouquet. The possibilities are endless.