Bloom Where You Are Planted

It's been so long! Life has been busy and taken me in other directions than photography and "Flower of the Day" e-mail and blog posts. I have taken some nice photos over the summer, as I was reminded when I finally uploaded them to my computer today. I hope to eventually use some of them with word art.

These lovely violas were blooming in the crack of my neighbor's driveway earlier this summer. Sometimes I feel like these flowers, isolated and in the middle of a rough place, and I can only hope that I bloom as prettily as these tiny flowers. Maybe I won't make a huge impact, but perhaps I will brighten someone's day. Maybe if someone looks closely enough they will be blessed by what they see.

Probably most people who passed this driveway had no idea that these flowers had taken root there, but I had the luxury of being able to walk and observe what was around me rather than rushing from place to place and so I noticed them.

What are you taking time to notice?

Today I had the opportunity to notice how thoughtful Levi is. He got up before me (chalk that up to me being awakened by the puppy in the night and needing a little more shut-eye in the morning.) He asked me if it would be OK to put the tea kettle on to heat up some water to make himself oatmeal. I said it would be OK, just be sure to be careful. By the time I got up and put Sage (the puppy) out for her breakfast, he had made each of us oatmeal and some tea for me. He had it all set up on the table. What a sweetheart!

Sharon

Word art by Jody McNally

Important Direction

I sent this photo out in my e-mail yesterday or the day before (it seems like a long time ago.) Today Josh Cramer preached a message on Directions at church. It was great.

This photo was taken up at my brother's house last fall. I loved the texture and lighting of the photo. I know it's not a flower, but I thought it was cool anyway.

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day.

Sharon

Credits: Elegant WordArt by Bethany (word art)

A Happy Mother's Day

When I was asked what I wanted to do on Mother's Day afternoon, I told Tad and the boys that I wanted to go to a park and take some pictures of the family. Believe me, they reminded me more than once that it was my idea and not theirs, but they went along with my idea and I did get some nice photos. Only one photo of the 4 of us turned out very well, but I got some nice shots of the boys separately and together.

The photos were taken at Owen Memorial Rose Garden. None of the roses are blooming yet, but by this time next month it will start looking real nice. There were a couple nice dogwoods in bloom and a type of magnolia tree that I hadn't seen before.


After the photo session at the park we headed back home and Tad fixed a barbecue dinner for his parents, brother, niece and us. It was really nice. I didn't have anything else that I really wanted to do at the time so I helped get the salads ready even though he protested. His brother brought angel food cake with strawberries and cream. Most of us played a 9 "hole" game of golf, a card game. They let me win. (Well, I don't think that was really their intention.)

It was a nice day.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing you all a very happy Mother's Day!

Magnolia from our Easter Day visit to the Magnolia Garden in Springfield.

Blessings,

Sharon

Happy Ending

I thought this was a neat quote, "Happy doesn't have to have an Ending," and I just happened to have some tulips that were very near their end.

Sharon

Credits: Bethany Harty of Elegant WordArt (quote)

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

Hope you enjoy the photos from our trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. These photos were taken on Friday April 24 when I took the boys to the farm on our way home from Portland. We loved it. I wish we had gone earlier in the day, I could have stayed a whole day if I had the chance. They were having their festival, but we didn't really participate in any of their activities. We just enjoyed walking in the fields and looking at all the beautiful flowers. The boys did have a little bit of time to play in their playground.

Mount Hood was visible to the east. Lovely. When Tad and I visited the farm 2 years ago it was not as perfect of a day. On Friday we enjoyed the sunny and mild weather.


One of the "wilder" varieties.

I think these pink tulips called Judith Leyster are some of my favorites. Especially when they are planted so densely.

A view of the "mix" field.

Lovely purple.

Levi age 7.


Cole age 13.

Me.



A budding photographer. (I also let him use my good camera for a few shots.)

I loved this lily shaped pink tulip and thought it especially pretty with the sun glowing in it.


Hope you have enjoyed this tiptoe through the tulips with me.

Blessings,

Sharon

Edible Flowers

Have you ever had edible flowers? I've had a couple salads with pansies or nasturtiums in them. I must say that I prefer looking at flowers rather than eating them, unless they are delicious sugar cookies like these that I made for one of Cole's classes.

More Tulips as Promised

One of my tulips after the rain. It's so neat that we can have rain and then incredible sunshine in the same day. Sometimes it even volleys back and forth several times during the day. You just never know what you'll get.



This lovely tulip photograph was taken in south Eugene. I had to take my car into Les Schwab to get a nail removed from my tire so I had 45 minutes to kill. Good thing I was on my way up to Hendrick's Park and had my camera in the trunk. Levi and I just walked around the neighborhood near 18th and Willamette and admired the spring flowers. Will share more later.

Blessings,

Sharon

Credits: Elegant WordArt by Bethany ("Kissed" word art), Jodi McNally ("tiptoe" word art)

Celebrate

Tonight we had a belated celebration of my birthday. We went with Tad's family to PF Chang's. YUM!

Just finished sending out my Flower of the Day e-mail and I was pretty long winded in it. I guess I just don't have anything else to say right now. Here's another are a few of the tulip photos. I have many more, just need to have time to upload them and share them with you.

The white tulip is one of mine. These open out pretty wide rather than stay in the cup shape. Love the intense lemon yellow in the center.


These red and yellow tulips were in a yard in south Eugene. Beautiful color combination.

These tulips grow in an old wheelbarrow in my backyard. I liked how they are glowing in this photo. I'm going to have to add more bulbs for next year's crop.

The tulip at the top of this post is also one of mine. I have a ring of these around the base of a dogwood tree. I'm crossing my fingers that the tree will bloom this year. Neither of our dogwoods have produced many blooms in the past couple years.


Blessings,

Sharon

Credits: Katie Pertiet (Celebrate word art) Unknown artist for the Laugh word art - the file information was lost with the crash of my hard drive.

Tulip of the Day

I'll bet that most of the time you view a tulip from the side. You see a beautiful cup shaped flower on a graceful stem. I am fascinated by the patterns on the inside of the tulip. They vary from star shapes to triangles and look as though they are part of a kaleidoscope. Sometimes it's midnight black, sometimes a dark blue, and other times a light color. Next time you see tulips blooming, get up close and look at the centers.


I still have lots of tulip photos to share, so come back and visit again.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Blessings

Have you counted your blessings lately? If you have trouble coming up with any (or many) read Psalm 103 and you'll be reminded. I'm sure that if I actually sat down with a piece of paper to write down all my blessings, I'd have to get out several sheets of paper. Do I remember that all of the time? No. Sometimes I get sidetracked, like anyone else, and think about "poor 'ole me". Today, however, I choose to think about blessings. Sunshine is definitely near the top of my list today.

Last night my little Levi (OK, so he's 7 and not so little anymore) blessed me BIG time! When I went to pick him up from AWANA he was pretty excited. It was "store night" and the kids got to spend all the points they had earned on prizes from the store. Levi had a small Lego set along with his Bible and AWANA handbook in his right hand. His left hand was clutching the back of his vest. I admired the Lego set that he got from the store and he told me that he also got something else but that I couldn't see it. So he walked all the way out to the car with his left hand concealing something under the back of his vest. When we got to the car he told me that he also chose something for me! He presented me with a case for my iPod. He said that when he saw it in the store he thought that I would like it since I have an iPod. He spent 30 of his 101 points to get it for me. That was certainly a blessing. (Some of you have also recently been recipients of his generosity, so you know what it's like.) He sure does like to give things to people.



It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL here this afternoon. I got outside with my camera and took LOTS of photos of tulips, both mine and the neighbors'. Today's photo was taken at my neighbors' house, they have orange, yellow and red tulips, colors that I don't typically grow. You can look forward to seeing more of the tulip photos.

Blessings,

Sharon

Credits: Dreamer's Magic Designs (clipping mask for photo), Natasha Whitely (background paper), Katie Pertiet (word art)

Life is a Journey

Enjoy your journey!

Credits: Elegant WordArt by Bethany (word art), Kristine Peacock (frame and ribbon), Carjazi Designs (background paper), Nicole Young Designs (clock and corner element)

Magnolia Park

Cole and Levi in front of one of the many magnolia trees at the 10 acre Wallace M. Ruff Jr. Memorial Park in Springfield.

Until last week, when I saw a notice posted on a bulletin board at HomeSource letting people know that the park was in full bloom, I had never even heard of this park. We drove over on Easter afternoon and took a walk through the lovely park. It was beautiful! Some trees are near the end of their blooming cycle and others are just beginning.

The weather was gray so my photos aren't quite as bright as I would have liked but I did get a few nice shots of the blooms. I'd love to go again next year so I'll make a note on my calendar.


These blooms (above) are HUGE! Some are about as big as a dinner plate and the trees are loaded with them.



Wallace M. Ruff Jr. bought the property that is now Ruff Park in the early 1970s, while he was a student at South Eugene High School. He paid for the land with money he earned selling the flowers he cultivated here.

Click HERE to go to the park district's web page to read more about the Wallace M. Ruff, Jr. Memorial Park.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very blessed Easter. We are truly blessed when we realize what Jesus did for us so that we can have eternal life with him.

The boys are looking forward to an egg hunt sometime today. We'll also dye some boiled eggs and then enjoy a traditional ham dinner. It's a gray day but we will just make it enjoyable anyway.

Blessings,

Sharon

More Iris Photos

Thanks for coming back to see the rest of the photos. I'm sure you can see why I am looking forward to their blooming season this year. Right now the foliage is just starting to "take off" and most of it is probably about a foot high. I believe they should be in full bloom in May and June.

By the way, I recommend a trip to Schreiner's Iris Garden. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it is full of all sorts of flowers. They have a festival in May and you can learn all about it by visiting their web page. Click HERE.

Iris From My Garden

I am SO looking forward to the blooming of all my iris plants. In May of 2007 I took Cole and Levi to Schreiner's Iris Gardens near Salem. We spent over 2 hours (on a drizzly day) looking at and photographing the beautiful flowers there. The boys were especially thrilled to find one with the name "Millennium Falcon", as that is the name of a starship in Star Wars. After much contemplation and changing of my mind, I placed my order for about a dozen rhizomes.

Once we had some good weather I spent 2 days cleaning up an overgrown iris bed on the side of our house, just out my bedroom window. Once my rhizomes arrived in the late summer I got them arranged and then waited.....

This is what I got the next spring. Most of the plants are bigger this year so I am anxious for MORE blooms.

My favorites are Swingtown and Sweeter than Wine. That probably doesn't surprise you, since they are "purple".

I will post the rest of the iris photographs soon.




The one labeled "Unknown name" has been in our garden for years and I don't recall exactly where it came from. I liked how it looked with the ornamental brown grass in the background. I had transplanted this iris to our front corner garden.

Friendship Blooms

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I’ll bet you were expecting another pink or purple flower! I thought I better mix things up a bit. Although orange isn’t

really one of my favorite colors (even though I once had an orange bedroom and my second car was orange), I just

LOVE California poppies. They are just so sunny, bright and cheerful. I’m pretty sure I took this photo in my front yard last summer.

I thank God for the friendships I have made over the years. I’m also thankful for being able to keep in touch through

e-mail since my friends are spread in many different directions.

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Rain

Most of the time I like to stay in when it’s raining, but every now and then it’s nice to get out and enjoy the freshness that the rain brings. And of course if we didn’t get rain here in the valley I wouldn’t have all the beautiful flowers to photograph.

Today’s flower was on some sort of bush or small tree up at Mt. Pisgah, just south of Eugene. Levi and I went up there recently for an art class. The class was for him, I just took my camera along.

Credits: Janelle Gustafson (clipping mask), Elegant WordArt by Bethany (word art)