Safe Haven

Standing under the Flowering Pear tree this morning without giving you the sound and the fragrance too, does not show the completed picture of what nature was offering . First there was the sound of a thousand bees buzzing harmoniously while doing what they were made to do.., making love to the blossoms. Then the fragrance.., filling the garden with the sweet scent of honey. I suppose it was the pollen.., but it smelled like honey. What a heady combination it was.

Together with the morning sunlight I stood there looking up into the blossom filled tree and the world became a happier place than it had been all week.


The Grape Hyacinth is blooming and the flowering Quince, bought last year, has a few blossoms on it. My first tulip has opened up. It's a green one with pink tips. Very unusual and , although I planted red ones too, I bought these because I thought they would be beautifully different. They are. I love this one.

Carl was watching the goats.., wishing he could herd them around a bit. He would bark and they would just look at him and then go right on eating the wonderful new grass. Freckles always thinks that the grass on the other side of the fence is greener. Brownie never even looked up...


When I drove home from "C"s Wednesday night I was being chased by a huge storm. I left Sacramento just as this storm started moving across the Central Valley. When I got ahead of it out on Florin Rd. I pulled over and took this picture of some beautiful horses against the stormy sky to the west. The green grass, the dark sky, the mustard flowers( a bright yellow streak in the distance) and the curious horses wondering what I was doing was a perfect photo shoot.

I beat the storm home and just as I pulled into the garage, the wind came and the hail started.

What does home mean to you? For me it's a safe haven from the storms of my life. It's being greeted by The Prospector and the Pupster. As always.., it was so good to be home and as we quieted down to listen to the intensity of the rain falling outside ,we sat on the sofa with Carl between us, and cried for our old dog that had to leave us. Now she is buried at the top of the hill above the orchard but her spirit will always be curled up on the floor next to us in our living room.

A few Words

Words always seem so pitiful when death comes. I haven't much to say except that today is filled with tears. Sweet Maggie died Monday evening.
The vet came out to the house. She went peacefully, on our front porch, in the late afternoon sun. The Prospector dug her a grave, surrounded it with rocks and we will make a sign with her name on it soon .
I got home late last night from my friend "C"s.
This morning I cut some daffodils and took Carl up to the hill above the orchard. The Prospector was laying rocks around Maggie's grave. It was beautiful up there. Maggie always loved to run up the road to this spot.

We will miss this wonderful old dog. I think Carl is wondering where she is. He had such a serious look on his face up there. One I haven't seen before.
Goodbye Maggie, we will miss you so..., be good and run, again, like the wind.

The final lesson took a while
But finally she understood...
"Is it three days, not counting hols?
Then come and meet me in the wood." ~anonymous~

Our Maggie

OUR MAGGIE
May she rest in peace somewhere over the Rainbow Bridge.
1996-2010

Oh Brownie

"Hi Brownie. How are you?"
"Good Farmlady. What are you doing up so early?"
" Well, I'm leaving this morning to spend a few days with a friend who needs me."

"Oh,..., well then..., see ya."

(Bart came over and whispered in Brownies ear.) "Brownie! Be nice."
"Bart, she's always leaving. What's to say."
" Just be nice."
"OK!...,have a nice trip Farmlady. Send a postcard..."

Yes, I'm leaving again for a few days. My friend "C", who had the knee replacement, needs some help because her daughter had to fly back home today. Brownie doesn't understand these things.
I will be gone until Wednesday or Thursday, but I will try to post from "C"s house. I will have her do a "guest" blog while I'm there. Have a good weekend!!!

Happy Birthday Karen! If you are still reading my blog I want to wish you a wonderful day. I hope this birthday finds you in good health and happy. I think about you a lot and wish you well.

Blue and White Memories

As far back as I can remember this is the set of dishes that was on our table in my parents home. When Mom passed away last August I was going to give the whole set to the Goodwill Store or a consignment store in Walnut Creek. Something said "NO"..., so I boxed the set up and brought it home with me.
Well, sometimes you need to listen to your instincts and wait before you give something away that has so many memories. When I got the box home, I decided to use the set as my everyday dishes and I lovingly washed them and filled my cupboard with this wonderful set of memories. I cannot tell you what a good feeling it is to use these dishes and take care of them.

I think, of all the pieces in this set, the little pitcher is the sweetest. I can remember Mom serving milk for our cereal in it and, even more wonderful, a small bouquet of flowers on a tray when we were sick. I can see this pitcher on our dining table on Sunday morning with warm syrup in it for our pancakes.. We never had the store bottles on the table or "tubs" of margarine. Always butter and always the pitcher. How could such a small piece of china have so many good memories tucked inside? I'm so glad I didn't leave the set at the thrift store. The money I would have made at the consignment store would never compare to having the set here in my home.

A few weeks back a good friend came to visit. She had a very belated birthday present for me. ( My birthday was in Dec. and we had not been able to get together until now.) It was this beautiful vintage cookie tin with the same pattern as Mom's set of dishes. What a wonderful gift. It must have originally held cookies because the lid edge has what looks like tape marks all the way around the tin as if it had been sealed at one time. The design is by Liz Floding 1984. It's so perfect. I will use it often. What a sweet gift Janet. Thank you.
Please remember to check all the vintage loving blogs at Colorado Lady's site. She is the host for Vintage Thingies Thursday and if you love Antiques and Vintage things you will be in 7th heaven here.

Wordless Wednesday:Mushrooms

Opps, sorry. This is Freckle's ear.

Coffee in the Garden

Bonjour! Hope you're having a good day. I thought to take these pictures after my morning cup was almost empty. It was then, when my brain was sharpened by the caffeine, that I went out onto the porch and decided to let this charming cup, that my daughter
in-law gave me years ago, be the center of attention.

We are having a beautiful Spring. One day we have rain, the next day the sun comes out. It's as if nature is in perfect sync with itself right now.
I took a walk, in the rain, yesterday. I was getting that house bound feeling that tells me to get outside no matter what the weather. I'm a person who needs a lot of space. When I feel confined I start to shut down. I get fidgety and cranky.
Someone once told me that I didn't focus very well. I disagreed with them. I do focus..., only everything comes at me at the same time and it has taken years to distinguish one thing from another. I still find a bird singing outside the window at the same level of mindfulness as someone talking to me in the house. It all feeds in at the same intensity and I'm use to dividing my attention into parts and then having to choose what to listen to and what to ignore.
...so I went for a walk in the rain. For someone who hears the grass moving, this can be an experience of overwhelming passion. The sound of the rain, the color of Manzanita trees darkened by the wetness, the green grass covering the hills and glistening with water, and the wind moving the oak trees slowing as if they were dancing..., and then a bee, a bumblebee I think, flying overhead, following me. How odd, how wonderful, from the top of the hill all the way down to the house..., buzzing.., flying above me, as if he had some purpose with me. A fellow creature looking for answers?..., or a flower?.., or, I'm pretty sure, my red raincoat.

Today the sun shines and everything in the garden is all glitter and sparkle. I sit and watch Carl running around like the crazy little puppy that he is. I hear the chickens discussing the weather. A red-tailed hawk flies over head.
I keep my shadow from intruding into the photos as I obsessively take pictures of a coffee cup and I drink the rest of the ,now, lukewarm coffee with a tiny bug floating in it, being careful not to sip the bug into my mouth. The rest is thrown to the dirt below the stepping stones and I return to the house to write this post in the silence of my guest room without the distraction of this intensely beautiful day.


"Coffee. Garden. Coffee.
Does a good morning need anything else?" ~Betsy Cañas Garmon~

Gratitude

...for finding the first wildflower of the season.

..,for long walks with the pupster and the beautiful place that I live.

...for the daffodils blooming in the garden..., for the phone call from my youngest son telling us that he has finally gotten a job after being laid off for over a year..., for my friend "C"s slow but sure recovery from her knee replacement surgery..., for the ability to see, to reason and write about my world..., for the sound of my grandsons laughing when they play together..., for a husband who loves me in spite of my obsessions and inability to clean up the garage clutter..., for the phone call from my oldest son, just to talk and see how we are..., for my sister and her kindness and love..., for my friends..., for life..., and for the owl, I heard last night, calling from the oak tree below the vegetable garden..., I am so thankful.

The Attack

It was 3:00 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The Valentine candy was completely gone. Not one cookie was left in the cookie jar. This was an emergency situation.....
So I ran for my cupboard and grabbed the quickest, easiest recipe I could find under "desserts", in the little recipe file.

This recipe has saved many lives in our family. It's quick and within 45 minutes your sweet tooth will start to calm down and life returns to almost normal and..., the house will smell wonderful.
Just preheat your oven to 350 degrees; mix all the above ingredients together in a bowl; POUR the mixture into a buttered( or Pam'ed) pie pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool slightly. Get a fork and "Mangia".
If you want to maintain some sense of dignity or you're having company.., or you don't want to set a bad example for your kids.., you can serve the wedges with whipped cream or sprinkle the torte with powdered sugar after baking it. But.., for an emergency just get a fork and dig in.
Now, I know this is not CANDY, but folks, it's time to start making the transition to "better choices". (OMG! That sounded like my doctor.) The purpose of all this is to give you quick, almost immediate relief from the stark realization that the holidays are done and the candy is gone.
This was a rather bad attack..., I even removed things from the freezer and checked the corners, thinking that I might have stuck some candy in there under the mistaken notion that the frozen candy would be eaten more slowly. Sound familiar?
For the moment I'm in ll cielo dolce (sweet heaven) and my grandmother's words are coming back to me from across the years...
"Chi s'aiuta, Dio l'aiuta."
Which translates to...God helps those who help themselves.

Bon Appetito

Non sequitur

Can you see this? You are looking up through the skylight in my kitchen. Annabel got up on the roof again and won't come down. She has been there for 2 days. I guess she gets some warmth from the window up there. Carl doesn't like it. When he sees her in the window he has a barking fit.
She looks so pathetic up there but, as you will notice, she has gone to sleep in the middle photo. She will cry and act like she wants down but she won't come down on her own. We ALWAYS have to go up and get her. I don't know why she does this. It drives us crazy...

Murphy has been dancing again. I caught him the other day trying to show the other goats how good he is. Actually , part of this dance is to find another goat partner and play the MOUNTAIN GOAT STOMP. They rear up and charge each other and then they push each other back and forth until one of them gives up. It's a big game. But Murphy does the "rearing" the best. He's a pro...

This is the strangest thing. That chewed up old dog bone is standing almost strait up on that rug. I came in the front door last night and practically fell over it. I think the dogs have too much time on their hands.
Maybe it's a secret dog trick. Gary Larson could have done a great cartoon on this. It would have been two dogs sitting under the table watching a human fall over the upright bone and the dogs would be rolling on their backs laughing hysterically. It's kind of spooky to see a bone standing straight up on the floor in front of you. The Prospector and I were talking about this at dinner . Could it be that the dogs don't have anything better to do? We have decided that Maggie probably didn't initiate this little game. She's so old. She can hardly move anymore and she can't see very well. Carl, on the other hand, is always causing trouble and chewing on things..., so we're pretty sure that this was his idea. We gave him TWO walks yesterday. He had no reason for this little act of domestic mischief.
Neither of them are talking..., and Maggie threw up on the living room rug this morning. Poor thing..., she's getting too old for all of this drama.
The Prospector got the ladder and the cat has been saved from another night of roof sitting and cold overhangs.
Murph' is not dancing today. The fog returned this morning and the sun has disappeared for the day so he and the other goats are standing near their house looking like something awful is going to happen.
The dogs are asleep, but I'm keeping an eye on them....

Making My Own Heaven

My oldest grandchild and I are making traditions. We are making the memories that will be a part of him long after I'm cease to be a presence in this world..., and we are having so much fun. Like Burger King says on their cups: Have it your way. "Maybe you want a lot of ice. maybe you want no ice. Maybe you want your lid securely fastened, or maybe you want to go topless. Hmmmm? Maybe you want to mix Coke* and Sprite*....," That's what the Bean did. He wanted some Sprite* with a little Coke* in it. I like my Coke* straight.
Grandmas have lots of options. I get to "spoil" my little grandchildren. I get to have all the fun. It's like the "reward" for all the hard work of raising your children and sending them out into the world. It's like icing on the Valentine cookies.

Spiderman came with the "kids" meal and he got way out of control. We tried putting him in The Bean's back pocket but he escaped. Then he got in Bean's hair and tried to hide inside Bean's shirt. We couldn't even eat our lunch. It was like having Carl, the pupster,with us. Finally we put him in a zip locked bag and left him in the car. He was just fine in there. No wonder Spiderman likes to climb and jump from building to building. He's got a "puppy worm" inside of him.
After we had lunch we drove over to Martinez and went to the Marina. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. I was feeling kind of bad that we didn't take Baby Bean with us too but one grandchild is about all Noni can handle in one afternoon. So we will have to work on building memories with him another day.
The Bean threw sticks, retrieved branches from the lake, looked for duck eggs, ran a lot and kept saying, "Come on Noni, lets go down this trail." and " I want to go this way, Noni. Can we go here?" and Noni is saying.., " Bean! Wait! .., wait for Noni." , "Bean, you're getting you shoes wet.", "Lets sit down for a few minutes.", "Oh, Bean. Do we have to walk clear to the River? Can't we play right here?"..,and he would say, "Sure Noni, but where does this place go?" and he'd be off again.
If I took care of my grandchildren all the time, I would be skinny and I'd take a lot of naps. But we had a great time and I love this little boy. We are making memories and I wouldn't trade any of this for anything..., ever.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Valentine's Day to All

Wherever I May Go


You’re in my thoughts and in my heart

Wherever I may go;

On Valentine’s Day, I’d like to say

I care more than you know.


By Joanna Fuchs

On the Road Again

I'm leaving for a few days. I'm going down to my son's house. It's time to see my family and get my "bambino fix".

When I went to Stockton a few weeks ago the mustard was starting to flower inbetween the rows of dormant grapes. Today I'm sure there will be an abundance of yellow in the vineyards.

Winter on Lower Sacramento Road. Lodi, Ca.