Another Pandemic Project....the Garden Bench

For years, the garden was begging for expansion, a sprinkler system, more flowers and trees, and....a new garden bench!  The property includes a forest of Ponderosa pine, Lodgepole pine, Larches and Fir trees.  The property borders on a million acre wilderness area--the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area (affectionately known as "The Bob") to the east and the Mission Range to the west.  If one follows the Mission and Bob Marshall Range north, one would find Glacier National Park.  A natural meadow is just behind the house.  We are able to watch all sorts of wildlife from the window.  This spring we watched twin Whitetail deer being born! That was very special.  On trail cams, we have caught bears, foxes, skunks and lots of deer in the meadow.  Neighbors say there is a moose living just beyond our trees in a wetland at the edge of the property.  And, we have not only caught on camera mountain lions, we have had an entire family end up on our deck about 3 weeks ago.  Mama and two kittens....really big kittens!  Pics of that in a coming blog! For now...enjoy more flowers and the Pandemic Garden Bench!

Barney's Garden

Barney is a special boy.  Some people have children, grandchildren.  We have a glorious golden retriever.  

Our golden retriever is the best dog in the world...as all dogs are to their dog moms and dads, right?  :) Lloyd decided that Barney did not have enough room to play in, so he created an enormous yard and garden for him.  Barney loves it!  He has room to run, play fetch the stick (his favorite game with Lloyd), and help me pick strawberries. Yes, he is allowed to pick his own strawberries!  To commemorate Barney's new space, he got a sign!

More Pandemic Project Pictures...

The garden has progressed from Spring to now, mid-Summer.  It has been a great season so far, with little indication that we will have a bad fire season, which is wonderful..so far.  The gardens are developing as planned, with some very nice showings by some of my old favorites.

The Gift of a Rose...

Back in 2016, I judged competitions at the MusicFestNorthwest in Spokane, WA.  I had the great pleasure to meet Linda Mielke, one of the organizers of the festival.  Her daughter is a fine professional flutist and the love of music flows through the Mielke farm family from east central Washington.  Linda offered to send me a cutting from her lovely robust William Baffin rose bush that had been a showcase plant on the farm for generations.  Here is a picture of the Mother Rose that Linda took cuttings from and a few pictures of the rose in my garden today!  The rose is a bright rasberry color.  It must be an old rose as it has survived not only the winters on the farm, but -35 degree temp. at the bottom of our garden!

2020 Pandemic Project Updates

I had intended to start a garden blog or website ages ago, but never seemed to get around to it.  This pandemic era, with isolation, has give me time to let my mind settle, to consider the world, and to really embody the feeling of "Be Here Now".  Most of my time, over the past few months, has been in the garden and working on Pandemic Projects.  Here are pictures from the past months.