Finally a Hot Weekend

Finally some hot weather and it feels like summer.  Early mornings are still very cool but by mid-afternoon, out in the sun, it's actually hot.  The house stays cool - in fact, very cool, although it's so pleasant with bright sunlight streaming through the skylights.  The (faux) Mediterranean colors I have in the kitchen look actually like true Mediterranean colors in the "true" sunlight (as opposed to the usual "water-filtered" sunlight we usually get).


The garden is doing its best to hang in there, but it seems like it needs some bolstering so I bought more flowers to beef it up.

I discovered that peacocks like to eat slug bait.  After finally finding a quite effective slug deterrent, I could not believe the peacocks would come right behind me, as soon as I had sprinkled it liberally all around the flowers, and gobbled it all up!

Another Sunny Sunday

Inspired by the birthday gift I got for Julia, I went out and got the same for myself - some little pots to grow herbs in on the kitchen windowsill. 

No use trying to grow herbs outside for the slugs. So I painted the pots bright colors, then planted them with curley parsley, Italian basil, lavender, and nasturtium and put them on the windowsill.

Well, yes, they are a little circus-y, but they do brighten up the kitchen.  Though, come to think of it, the kitchen is already pretty bright.  Mostly because I'm always trying to create a Mediterranean ambience in the heart of the temperate rainforest of Mt. Hood.

That's the nasturtium.

Suddenly (it seems) it's the end of the sunny day...

Evening is here already.  My evening routine is to make the rounds with the watering can to water my little colorful garden.  Here is what the flowers look like tonight, just before dark.....

These are some of the magical creatures that inhabit my yard.  These creatures totally disappeared one Easter and then surprisingly reappeared in the fall.  The grandkids blamed it on the dog but I don't think the dog had anything to do with it.  I think it had more to do with the adventuresome world children live in.

The Fourth of July and It's Still Cold!

But at least it's not raining! After cleaning up the thick mud that covered my porch and flooded my garage, we had enough non-rain weather to actually plant some flowers. Here's the humble beginnings of my attempt to "beautify" my frontyard. With a little luck and a little sun I'm hoping these plantings will turn into flower gardens.






Because the front of the house faces north and lots of tall trees surround the yard, sunlight is minimal. That usually limits my choices of flowers to begonias and impatiens. Luckily begonias are really beautiful and come in lovely colors. But I have longed to be able to have a little more variety, especially given the vast array of summer flowers that adorn Portland yards and gardens.















So I have ventured into a few petunias, geraniums, zinnias, and nasturtium. We'll see how long that lasts.......

Then, of course, I added some decorative features.  Maybe a few too many?

Growing Things and Adding Color

This butterfly is not usually the kind of thing I would buy. It's a little too cutesy for my taste, but when I bought it, I was in the market for something that would catch the sun, sparkle, add color, and lighten the spirit. Somehow. it seems to do all of that. And, in the rain, it glistens.

This is part of my slug-proof garden. By using containers, I'm able to sprinkle slug bait (not poisonous to other critters) around the base of the containers. So far, the slugs have stayed away, although some winged plant-munchers obviously aren't staying away.

This is a Topsy-Turvy tomato grower. The idea of hanging a tomato plant from a roof's edge sounded like a way to avoid slugs - which is always my first consideration in planting anything here in the slug haven of the planet. So far, the slugs have stayed away, and even though the plant doesn't have any blossoms on it yet, I'm still holding out hope that I might get some tomatoes this summer.

We're working on making a pathway of hand-painted flat stones here. It leads to my "debris" pile....which is more like a debris mountain right about now.

July Morning on the Mountain

Pick of Today - 4 July 2009 - Sandy, Oregon