Spring Moments 2014

Well another couple of months have passed filled with so much more then I can even begin to share.  Life is full, what can I say.

Now I am sure I had told myself I wasn’t going to garden or do flowers this summer as I knew I had a lot of other work projects that really needed attention, but once a gardener always a gardener, I just couldn’t stop myself.  In the greenhouse I soon had it filled with every pot with starting seeds and creating hanging baskets.

Soon the rains came along with melting snows and rising waters.  We had our road washed out at one point and lost a stretch of our fencing which we had only replaced a few years ago,  other then that we were lucky and not major damage.

Another year older and a beautiful birthday was spent having breakfast on the deck, then going for a bike ride just up our dirt road.

I am a very big recycling person and am so glad to see our dump include all types of plastics now as well as milk cartons and many more plastics and styrofoam's.   Our dump will hopefully last for many more years.  We have a really great dump for recycling so many different things.  It takes a bit more extra time cleaning the cans, glass and stopping at the different locations at the dump to empty your recycling.  Just wish more people would take the time.

Well is wasn’t long after returning from our winter home down south that soon all our woodsy friends starting appearing to greet us for the spring.

Now I know many of you are probably wondering what is happening with that little acreage we bought last winter.   Well amazing how life’s paths can change.  Seem our tenant moved out of our rental in town right on the river that we have own for 20 years and we decided to not rent it anymore and was thinking we would sell it.  Well after spending a couple of nights and enjoying the private backyard and being right in town yet right on the edge of nature we may just have a complete change of retirement location.  We haven’t even had a chance to spend at the new property as any extra time is now spent at the house in town cleaning it and trying to get the yard green again.  Many repairs need to be done there.  News and photos of there coming next blog.

When the days warmed up and the grass turned green life was good here at the ranch with all the fruit trees blossoming and the garden ready for planting.

What ‘s spring without some spring flowers and this year I was blessed with many.

My flowers don’t even begin till almost middle of May as our season is so far behind.  But when it does come all the planting I spent years doing suddenly paints my landscape with so many different colors.

By middle of June it is time for the first harvest of rhubarb which I bag and freeze it all for later use in the fall for wine and jams.  During the summer lots of rhubarb crisps are also made.

Sheaba’s world is forever changing, upon returning back to the ranch, she was fearful and hesitant for a while.  But since the weather has warmed and sunny days with no wind she is much happier.  She now comes to us while we are sitting to be pet and snuggled with her tail wagging.  I am now trying to teach her to lay down.  Even with treats it is a fearful moment for her to be asked to do something, but today she laid down with a gentle nudge on her back.  With all the flies and mosquitoes out now she again prefers to spend all day in the house between her walks.  She showing so much more affection for us even though she can still run away when feeling fearful.  But with all her lying around she is gaining too much weight.  I think I will have to cut her food down.  But so many people always comment how beautiful she is and what a healthy coat she has.  I do spend a fortune on her dry dog food.  But cancer and many other problems on the rise with our pets I believe the food is a great cause , along with environmental exposure. 

Our animals all seem to have some sort of social problems.  Siriun our cat is now 8 years old and is the laziest cat I have ever met.  I have to throw him outside.  He used to be a great hunter when we had our other cat Wildflower, but without her outside as well he doesn’t want to go out. So he sleeps, sleeps and eats and sleeps.  He never even gets active in the house.  We have a new to us couch and he does enjoy now snuggling next to me while I am sitting there working on my laptop. He really needs to go on a diet.  But his only joy seems to come from eating.

Well the summer flowers are blooming now and I have taken a trip to Oregon for a family wedding, and so many other projects and gardening activities keeping me so busy this summer it’s hard to get a blog out, work on my greeting card project  or even less time to visit.  I find more and more it is easier and faster to stay up to date with my long blogging friends on Facebook.  But I will continue to try and get a blog out here now and then.

So as I say goodbye to spring and now summer is in full swing, with a visitor now and then we take a break from all our work and enjoy the moment and view.  May you also take a moment now and then to enjoy the company of friends and take in your surrounding and be thankful for all the wonders that life has to offer.
And have a
Good Morning…   Good Afternoon…   Good Night…
Whatever it is to you.
Photos & Words
by
Here I Am Carrie

Summer Has Arrived

With it all the color and green that the warm weather and rain brings.  We have only been back at the ranch for 2 months yet seems like so much longer. 

When we returned the weather was still very cold and continued to get frosts right up until middle of June so I went to work in the greenhouse.  Starting seeds and preparing my flower pots that are now on my deck.

 

 

Once I could start work in the garden I began moving half my rhubarb and raspberries to a new bed.  I am taking a bit of a gardening break this year to work on some of the beds so only planted half the beds this year.  I will soon be ripping out the entire strawberry bed as wild variety has taken over and the old variety never did well.   

 

When we arrived home Momma deer was here to greet us along with her twins from last year.  She stayed around in the yard till around the 1st of June when I know it was time for her to have a new baby.  I haven’t seen her since.

Well it hasn’t been all work and no play.  We went on 2 camping trips to our favourite lake.  Where the scenes of the lake are always breathtaking.

  

Often enjoyed dinner while watching the sunset.

I did a bit of hiking and finally took up fishing as well.  No I didn’t catch anything.  I spent most the 3 days reading how to do my fly fishing lines and practicing casting on land as well as preparing my tackle.  I should fish from the canoe, but my back can’t take sitting in it.  I am thinking of getting one of those belly boats to float around in and fly fish.

  

I always enjoy those moments as
I gaze out over the lake.

  

Well hubby left me for 3 weeks and made a trip to Germany to visit family and friends.  Someone has to stay home and take care of the animals so my vacation was spent at home.  No cooking or cleaning so yes it was a vacation.  I did have all the yard work and lots of other projects to keep me busy.  But alone here for most of the 3 weeks has been heaven.  I had a group of old school girl friends come for a visit the 1st weekend.  What a hoot that weekend was.  Some I hadn’t  seen more then 2 times in the last 30 something years.  Didn’t take long for us all to bond again.

  

 

Also kept busy raising a dozen meat chicks for our freezer.  They will be ready to butcher in a couple weeks.

The robins have been nesting all over and Wildflower is so happy again to be able to go outside.

  

 

The weather has not been so good the last 3 weeks.  Many storms would come in and then just dump the rain.

  

 

But with the rain and then the sun the signs that
summer has arrived are now here to enjoy.

 

So work hard and play hard
and have a
Good Morning…   Good Afternoon…   Good Night…
What ever it is to you.

Photos & Words
by
Here I Am/Carrie

Wildflowers Journey

To all my cat friends who have been waiting to see and hear Wildflowers story. 

Her life with us began sometime about 14 years ago.  She is one of the many cats over the years that had been dumped on our road in front of our property.  She is one of the few who we were able to catch or came to the house latter and allowed us to finally grab her.  But before we did actually get hold of her we watch her for almost 2 months hunting in the fields below our home.  She was so shy we couldn’t get near her. 

Finally when the snow started to fall and hunting became difficult for her, she came up to the house looking for food.  As we had 2 large dogs at the time who often chased away anything that didn’t belong, she spent all her time under our deck.  I began putting food under the deck closer to the edge each time.  After about 2 weeks I was finally able to grab her.  She was so tiny under her big ball of fur which felt like rabbit hair.  So began her life with us.

As we spent our winters near Salton Sea California she learned quickly how to travel and adapt to a new environment. However even to this day she is very shy with other people and often for many years our friends weren’t even aware we had a cat.  She often would hide whenever anyone arrived.  Even with long staying company she would stay hidden and only come out when they had gone to bed.

Here she is in her early days sitting atop the cupboards we had in our house near the Salton Sea.

Original I wanted her name to be Wildfire as she is the color of flames. But the 1st Christmas she was with us some friend with small children were visiting and thought her name should be Wildflower.  So it stuck.  We often spent some time at our ranch when the snow would be on the ground before heading south.  She loved spending time outside even then.  Of course our dogs at the time quickly accepted her as part of the family.

She was soon a veteran traveler who even went with us in our Motorhome across Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and down the Eastern Coast to Florida then back west to spend the remainder of the winter in Salton Sea. 

We had lost her once during that trip.  We were staying at a casino campground that was at the edge of a very thick forest with swamps further in.  I was vacuuming the motorhome and had put her in the bathroom while I was working.  Later when done I went to check on her to find her gone.  We had been empting our holding tanks earlier and had passed a hose out the bathroom window and forgot to close it. 

I spent hours in the forest calling her, but couldn’t find her.  The camp host said no cat had ever been found again that escaped from any previous campers.  But I knew Wildflower was a survivor and knew her way around the wilds.

That night we went to a buffet dinner at the casino and when we returned about 11pm there she was sitting at the door wanting in.  Many times over the years and at the ranch she has disappeared for days to hours.  Each time thinking I will never see again, but somehow she manages to return.

Here she is stretch out on the bed of the motorhome.

Summer times at the ranch she loves spending time with me out in the garden.

In 2007 we got another cat which ended up not having a friendly personality towards Wildflower and also was so shy of other people, no one knew we had him.  That same year we sold our house in Salton Sea California, so now our trips south were in the motorhome with 2 cats that disliked each other.

Where we parked on our lot right next to the Salton Sea the cats were allowed out.  There was another stray cat that hung around our motorhome as well.  Wildflower began disappearing for short periods.  She wanted nothing to do with these other cats around.  She always return before we left to head back north.

But in the Spring of 2009 she did not return and we stayed another 2 weeks hoping she would come back.  The area if full of coyotes and packs of dogs.  But she has lived with them around her whole life.  We thought perhaps this was the end for her.  Our neighbours next to our lot had a cat they fed outside.  It was 2 months later we got an e-mail from them that they had seen Wildflower at the cat feeder. 

We were thrilled that she was still alive, but wanted her caught and kept till we returned the next winter.  Being the smart cat she is it took our neighbours over 2 months to finally catch her in a live trap.  During that time they caught many other wandering or stray cats.  Caught at last.

We had another friend who could take and care for her till we returned.  But there she had to be confined in my friends bedroom only as she was afraid Wildflower would attack her cat.  Wildflower had learned to be more aggressive with other cats to survive during her time in the desert.  But in her new home she was loved, fed and brush.  My friend said when she brought her home she went under the bed immediately and didn't come out till she went to bed and turned the lights out.  Then Wildflower jumped on the bed and started purring and cuddling with her.  Just what she use to do with me.

So in December of 2009 we were reunited with Wildflower.  At the time we didn’t take the motorhome down and were staying in a friends trailer.  We still had our other cat Siriun, but Wildflower didn’t seem to back down from him now and stood her ground.  Respect had now been established finally.

Here is Wildflower in the trailer a couple days after being reunited with her.  She or Siriun was no longer allowed outside while at our winter home.  Latter that winter we bought another home there,  which gives both cats plenty of space to roam around when there now. 

 

Back at the ranch Wildflower was so happy to be back home and enjoying a warm place to sleep and the space and freedom of the great outdoors.

 

Again she always love to join me in the garden.

 

She loves to be with me as I walk around the house and yard area. 

Portraits of Wildflower

 

So ends Wildflowers story to date.  She and Siriun still have some problems and Wildflower sometimes chooses to spend time in our Garden house to get away,  where if some of you remember we have our TV so she gets company down there when she wants to be there.  But Wildflower is a wise and healthy cat who seems to have a few more lives still to live.

To all my friends I normally visit regularly I apologize.  Life has been very busy and when I do have time I wanted to get some blogs out and forever fixing stuff on my computer.  And of course still have all my reposts to do from Spaces.  Been so busy doing other things. 

I still have a few things left in the garden.   Last week I spent a lot of time there the weather had been so beautiful.  We just had a couple days rain so I got a new blog done for God's Garden of Nature in this Changing World  and this blog.  Today the sun did shine but the garden is still wet.  We are expecting beautiful sunny days the next few days.  Amazing we haven’t had snow yet.  1st time here that we didn’t get a little before November.

To all my friends and Cat lovers
Wishing you a purrrrfect
Good Morning…  Good Afternoon…  Good Night…

Photo & Words
By
Here I Am/Carrie

Home for Easter 2010

There’s no place like home. Surrounded again by mountains that create my valley.   It’s so good to be back looking over that familiar view and all the sights and sounds of nature. 

A short walk up my nature trail for a visit to the beaver dams.  Didn’t see any beaver but the calming sight of the waters was enough.  Surprised some deer that always winter here near our yard.  I make a weak crying sound that always stops them to listen to the sound. 

         

We left a small palm tree in our greenhouse for the winter as it’s getting to big to take to friends every winter hoping it would survive.  It was still alive and green with even a small nasturtium seed that had sprouted.  Except for the evergreen trees that’s the only green seen around here.  The bulbs are only just breaking ground.

 

But the one who I could see so much joy in was Wildflower our cat.  She has been away for a year and half and kept in doors for 9 months now.  I could just see it in her body how happy she was to be back here and outside.   

  She ran around the yard when I let her out of the car like a nut for about 10 minutes with her tail flicking and her hair all fluffed.  As you can see I have lots of winter branches and raking to loosen the grasses that were covered with snow all winter.  Everything is bare, not the usually green and colourful scenes of summer, but soon the buds and color will come.

 

In  the house she also explored with excitement.  Finally she was content to just sit and relax at the window looking out, knowing she was finally home..       

        

During the trip home the cats were so good.   Siriun stayed most the trip in his cat carrier even though it was opened at my feet.   In fact he spent most the winter sleeping in it.  His little cave.  I had no leg room the whole trip.  Wildflower was behind my seat on top of stuff with a view out the windows.  There was a litter box behind my husband seat in the truck they both had access to any time they needed it.  We just left them in the truck at night when we took a motel.  They were so good the whole 3 days of driving.

        

Here are a few special scenes from our trip home these are from Nevada, Idaho and Oregon.  We managed to get thru between all the snow storms.  But did encounter some flurries.  All photos taken from our moving vehicle. 

        

        

        

Home again what can I say.  My heart soars like the hawks that fly over my valley.  Home again…..

Easter for me new beginnings, the rise of energies preparing us to grow in our hearts and souls to know the love that God wants us to share.

 

I have missed you all sooo and thank you all for visiting here while I was unable to visit you.  Your notes, graphics and comments always warmed my heart soooo..

To Everyone

A Happy Easter

and

Good Morning….  Good Afternoon…..  Good Night….

Whatever it is to you….

Photos & Words

by

Here I Am/Carrie