Criminal activitiy.....

...is happening right under my nose! I caught the cats..almost...in the act of murder! We have had a bird house on our front porch for years. It is the home to the Swallow family and our cats can hardly stand it! We are very careful to bring the cats in the house when the babies are taken on their first flights.

Bart is seen here watching and listening for bird activity! A couple of pictures were taken of the babies and they show their curiosity to my camera! I stood back, zoomed in, so the photos are a little scratchy looking, but you can see their little faces.

We have counted three babies, each vying for a bug morsel, that their parents give them on a fly by! These are swift birds, capable of quickly depositing the bugs, and taking off for another hunt to bring back to their small babes! The parents keep a tidy nest, by taking out any waste that occurs from a house full of babies. There doesn't appear to be any rest for these swallow parents!

(Look on my header, see one of the swallow parents flying, on the left side of the picture).

Simon had his own busy morning hunting and yes, killing a small shrew. He found it to be very exhausting business! Cats don't eat shrews, simply because they don't taste good.
Don't you think Simon is a little big to be hunting a tiny shrew?

Each cat revels in several naps a day, and preferably the nap takes place in the shade. They can tuck themselves into just about any spot that they wish. You can see that Bart has found a good place for his paw between the rocks.

Life is rough!

Simple pleasures of gardening!

Annuals and perennials add so much color to the garden and fill in the bare spots quickly. Brown Eyed Susans, a perennial flower, are bold and colorful! They are just beginning to bloom, and will continue through the end of September. This plant below is in it's first year and will double in size next summer. Scattered throughout the yard are annuals such as: Lemon Gems, Tangerine Gems, Salvia, and Scented Geranium.

The wild daisies are tired and spent, but our perennial domestic daisies are in full swing.
This variety is one of our very favorites, because they stand straight, and don't tumble over. Daisies last a long time and brighten the outlook of everyone!

The barn is a familiar site and the daisies in the foreground give it another stage!

This last weekend was a busy one! It is good to have some days to get back to the garden, weed, mow, deadhead the flowers and harvest the produce. By the way, the zucchini are coming!! The zucchini are coming!! I'm off to find that chocolate zucchini bread recipe!!

Deer musing....

This morning, our pesky fawn showed up to nibble on the plum trees.

She noticed me at the kitchen sink and let me know it.

She wasn't too worried I was going to bother her but......

.... the camera was just too much for her delicate nature and off she went, back into the woods.

Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.
John Muir

May you see something of nature this weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, Dear One!

Today is the birthday......of a very important person in my life.......and it's a kind of big one! Happy Birthday, Dear One!!There is cake when you get home!!

A drive up the Columbia River Gorge

We had a fun weekend when friends came to visit. We took them for a drive up the Columbia River Gorge, and stopped at all our favorite spots along the way. Multnomah Falls was one stop, and such a beautiful place to take in!

Multnomah Falls is the second-tallest year-round waterfall in the nation. The water of the Falls drops 620 feet from its origin on Larch Mountain.
On the same scenic highway, several miles west of Multnomah Falls is Crown Point and Vista House , high on the bluff, and overlooking the gorge below.

This is an area I've posted about before and probably will again! It's an important part of Oregon history, as the passage way that Lewis and Clark came down so many years ago!

As you can see, the Gorge has been kept as natural as possible. Hopefully our government leaders will follow in the steps of past leadership, and keep it that way! There is a movement going on to put up a casino in this area, and that's a hard one to comprehend!

Feverfew and Hollyhocks

Feverfew is a perennial herb that scatterers itself wherever the seeds land, and fills in areas with their prolific daisy like flowers. They resemble Babies Breath but with a much larger flower head. Feverfew suits my free flowing garden plan and is a lovely addition to any garden that beckons handpicking. I've used this pretty white flower in wedding arrangements, and found it to be very sturdy, as well as long lasting.

Hollyhock, Alcea Pallida, unfurled this week to reveal it's delicate pink, scalloped edged flower. For the past couple of months the growth on this perennial has surpassed our expectation. We have watched the buds unravel, several flowers each day, for the past three days. Our experience with Hollyhocks has been one of frustration when they are planted next to the house. Bugs tend to migrate to them and chew on the leaves, making them less than attractive. This Hollyhock is planted in a pot,away from the house and protected from ground bugs.

I love the flowers this time of year! They put forth so much effort to show-off their God given beauty and grace. Have a good day and relish the flowers!

A day with Thomas the Train

No doubt many of you have spent the day with Thomas the Train, if he has come to your area of the country. My daughter and granddaughter accompanied me this week to Hood River where Thomas visits a couple of times a year. I had no idea what excitement Thomas brought to this little girl. After parking car and taking a shuttle bus to the train station, we entered the Thomas area, and could see him coming down the track toward us. My granddaughter began running to the fence yelling, "Thomas, here I am! Thomas, over here!" The entire day was worth watching that exchange between my sweet girl and a train!!

We quickly took our place in line to get a picture. The children were not allowed to touch Thomas and somehow that was ok!

Thomas has a conductor friend and here he is getting a fond welcome!

A Thomas tatoo was the next thing that we had to get.

The actual ride on Thomas the Train was peaceful and quite musical. There were speakers overhead blarring all the Thomas songs!

On the short trip we managed to down a peanut butter sandwich and a Clif bar.

The day ended well and there was one little girl who took a nice long nap! Her dreams were of Thomas!