Maple Is as Maple Does...

maple tree in Carbonado

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We can learn a lot from trees: they're always grounded but never stop reaching heavenward.

~Everett Mámor

Keep reaching!

A View From the Bridge...

over the Carbon River

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To the waters, and the wild, with a Faerie, hand in hand,
for the world is more full of weeping ... than you can understand.
~W.B. Yeats

Have a wonderful day!

Writer's Challenge, #20

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Writers, your challenge is to write a story, poem, play, article, report, micro-blog -- something -- anything -- about this picture. You may write your piece to any length, as long as it doesn't exceed 50 words. The shorter the better, of course. If you want to write a Twitter length story, give it a whirl but don't exceed 140 characters.

Try your hand at micro/flash work and feel free to post as many tiny pieces as you'd like in the Comment section below. Your work is yours, you own the copyright -- we're just making a spot available for you to share your creativity with the Sunflower Ranch visitors. You can experiment here and tweet them or post them or even use them as seeds for longer, more involved work.

Let's have some fun and start the weekend with a new little activity to spark your imagination. May you be inspired to make your writing soar and produce some wonderful work! Check out last week's Writer's Challenge and add your interpretation of the photo there as well.

Your comments are always welcome, too!

Historic School in Wilkeson

Wilkeson Elementary School
click to enlarge

The quaint town of Wilkeson is nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Range of Washington. Settled as a mining town in the 1870s, the town retains the feel of a very closed, tightly knit community of autonomous residents. At Wilkeson's heyday, thousands lived and worked in the town and surrounding area -- but sadly, it has dwindled to less than a thousand residents and degenerated into bickering and infighting between the town "boosters" and the resident environmentalists. Not very attractive, once you get digging into it!

However, one landmark that stands out, and seems to be untouched by the town squabbles is the Wilkeson Elementary School in the White River School District. Built in 1912 of local sandstone and other materials, the school has been upgraded and modernized over the years and has been put on the National Historic Registry. It is the oldest continuously operating elementary school building in the state of Washington and it is simply beautiful!

The day we toured Wilkeson, we stopped in front, snapped the above picture and drove off to continue our quick tour of the town. What the picture can't capture, though, is the quiet of the scene. Living in a more populated area, we grow accustomed to hearing the hum of traffic, industry, air traffic, sirens, and other random noises. But out there, when I rolled the window down to snap the photo, what struck me was the utter quiet, punctuated by the pitter-patter of a light rain and the distant sound of children laughing. We couldn't see the playground, which must have been in the back of the school -- but we heard them. Their voices carried across the grounds to us, like a concert in the park on a summer day, and we heard the unmistakably happy sounds of a lot of kids having fun.

When I heard those sweet and playful voices, the imposing stone structure suddenly seemed friendly and inviting -- like a welcoming Grandma's house. Of course, by it's age, approaching 100 years, for the age of the children on the playground, it would be more like Great or Great-great Grandma's house!

This old school brought back memories of one of my own elementary schools and how it was closed and used as a book depository for the school district until one dry July 4th a lone firecracker brought the whole thing down in flames. It broke my heart to see the burned out brick shell and gutted classrooms. Sixty firefighters couldn't save it.

It also demonstrated this was a community that, despite their extreme political differences, would try to work together and do their best for the children of Wilkeson. If the beauty of the restoration of the school is any indication of their goals for the future, there is a very good chance the school will stand another hundred years!

Thanks for visiting the Wilkeson school today!

In a Rush...

rushing through life

Has your life started to look a little like this -- one big blur of movement and color? I know for a fact that mine has. Well, cheer up! There is hope for busy people! Here are some great quotes on the state of being "busy." I hope you find these inspiring quotations just the little kick you need to understand your situation and have a little chuckle, too!

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
~Henry David Thoreau

It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.
~Mary O'Connor

Steady as a clock, busy as a bee, and cheerful as a cricket.
~Martha Washington

Stay busy, Cricket, & have a cheerful day!

Click here for additional "busy" quotes. And here for more great online quotations.

Can You Spot The Deer?

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When my sis picked me up for our outing to the "country" we set out with a few ideas but nothing concrete except to have a bit of fun, take some pictures but not be pressured, maybe see some deer and oh, of course, have lunch in a quaint place. Seemed simple enough. We were on our way, though in a slightly annoying rain, we were anxious for our little adventure.

It was mid-day and the roads were almost completely deserted. About eight miles from home the road took us past a few houses with sweeping lawns alternating with thick stands of 100 foot tall Douglas fir trees. When we came up over the crest of a small rise and rounded the corner, we came across the home above. Sis said, "Look at the deer statue!"

"It's moving! Look there's two more! Wait! Stop the car!!"

She did, lowered the window and whispered. "OK. Take the picture."

"No, you're closer, you take it."

"I can't get all three of them in one shot."

"Back up the car."

"We're on a curve, but ok," and she slowly backed up, then snapped a few shots. We still didn't get all three in one shot. Can you spot the deer? Here's another one:

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These regal creatures didn't bat an eyelash, or raise their heads from grazing. The one in the driveway continued to slurp up the material under the tree. [We wondered if those items were nuggets of commercial food scattered there by the homeowner or small fruits or seeds dropped from the tree.] We were parked slightly off the road, about twenty feet away from them. These three deer were either does or a doe and her two grown fawns. Beautiful! And a rather rare daylight sighting. We felt pretty smug we'd sighted deer within the first half hour of our trip.

After all the driving around we did following this incident, we saw no additional deer. It was on our list to see and do, we saw, we took the pictures, we moved on. A lot like life -- in the "been there done that" mode. We had our hopes up the rest of the trip that we would see more, since these three had presented themselves so sweetly not long after we had begun the quest. We thought there would be more along the way. But like many opportunities in life, we only had this one chance encounter and then there were no more. When we arrived back at my home hours later, it was the deer sighting in the first half hour of our adventure that had impressed us the most. We had taken that opportunity and enjoyed the moment.

Life can be like that.

More tomorrow. Thanks for visiting today.

Have a great week!

Watching the Leaves Turn

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"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."

~Elizabeth Lawrence

A few days ago, my sister and I were on a drive through the back country roads leading to Mt. Rainier, to check out the colorful vegetation and look for deer, and of course have lunch in the country. We drove to a quaint town with meandering, narrow roads and tiny houses packed closely together -- neither of us had ever been there -- to have lunch at a saloon open since the 1880s. We couldn't find it, asked a gentleman chopping kindling for directions, and learned the owner of the saloon had been murdered recently. Uh-Oh. Apparently we were the sixth carload of people asking for directions. "I wish they'd take down that dang sign out on the highway," he said, picking up his hatchet, and rubbing a thumb over the blade.

We have no idea if he was serious or just having a bit of fun with the tourists, but we got creepy vibes from him and quickly escaped that strange little hamlet. Sis put the pedal to the metal and soon we were free.

I shot this photo from the car on our way closer to the next town. To my surprise, taking the photographs had a calming effect.

In the next few days, I'll be adding a few more photos from that day and the next day when I accompanied my niece on a trek to a huge Asian market in Tacoma. But for now, enjoy the subtle colors of rural Pierce County, Washington.

Oh, and you also might enjoy reading about Elizabeth Lawrence, the gifted American garden writer, plantswoman and landscape architect. What a life she lived!

Thanks for dropping by -- and as always, you can use the photo for computer wallpaper or anything of a non-commercial nature.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Writer's Challenge, #19

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Writers, your challenge is to write a story, poem, play, article, report, micro-blog -- something -- anything -- about this picture. You may write your piece to any length, as long as it doesn't exceed 50 words. The shorter the better, of course. If you want to write a Twitter length story, give it a whirl but don't exceed 140 characters.

Try your hand at micro/flash work and feel free to post as many tiny pieces as you'd like in the Comment section below. Your work is yours, you own the copyright -- we're just making a spot available for you to share your creativity with the Sunflower Ranch visitors. You can experiment here and tweet them or post them or even use them as seeds for longer, more involved work.

Let's have some fun and start the weekend with a new little activity to spark your imagination. May you be inspired to make your writing soar and produce some wonderful work! Check out last week's Writer's Challenge and add your interpretation of the photo there as well.

Your comments are always welcome, too!

Not Exactly the Hanging Gardens of Babylon...

click here to enlarge

This rather crude method of protection worked to save my fuchsias. As you can see, they are sheltered somewhat by the roof, but their open side has a Northern exposure, facing West toward the trees.

These poor plants faced freezing temperatures when we first brought them home from the nursery in April, several 90 degree heatwaves in the Spring, several 100+ days in July, and a long dry August. Finally in September, they started to perk up again when the nights grew cooler and the days were not excessively warm. A nice dry and moderate October had set in to close this year's growing season -- until an early round of sub-freezing temperatures were scheduled a few nights ago.

Here's what we did and it seemed to work. We decided to leave them hanging to preserve the long and branches and blooms. Last spring we  took them down each afternoon, set them on a tarp against the wall of the house on the porch and then created a small tent over them with another tarp and the porch dining chairs. Then in the morning we uncovered them and re-hung them. We did that several times over two weeks as the temperatures dipped below freezing. They had doubled or tripled in size over the summer and hubby decided it would be too difficult for our ailing shoulders to lift them too many times. So I wrapped them in plastic on the outside of the porch and layered newspapers over the plastic and around on the side facing the porch. I stuffed paper in at the top and made tent like coverings for the longer offshoots. It's a wonder what you can do with a black plastic yard waste bag, a pair of scissors, tape and a stack of newspapers.  For an additional photo, please click here.

The cold snap lasted for three nights. The first night, the temperature went down to 29. The next night it was 26. But during the day, it warmed up a bit more and the third night it only dropped to about 35. Fuchsias prefer temperatures no colder than 40, but we decided to unwrap them for the third night. In the morning they looked fine and we watered them lightly.

If you have tender plants, protect them as long as you can before Nature reclaims them. We are only stewards and it's a privilege and a joy to nurture them and be a part of their lives. They give us so much for so little!

Good Luck!

Along The Wall

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"October"

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow,

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away.

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes' sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes' sake along the wall.

~Robert Frost

from A Boy’s Will, 1913

For more poetry by Robert Frost, please click here.

Thanks for visiting!

Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus coat of arms

Americans, celebrate this Official US holiday by flying the Stars & Stripes and enjoying a special meal with your family. Be thankful for your many blessings and strive to make your life and the lives of others better by sharing your time and talent with them. Take a page from the life of Christopher Columbus and never give up -- keep trying to achieve all your goals and never stop searching for the new horizons in your life.

Forget the negative speculation about what he did and thought and behaved and who really discovered America. Go for the intent, the enthusiasm, and the conviction of this man and live your life to the fullest! Who knows, you may discover a new world in a microscope or a telescope or in the human heart. [But of course if you uttered something un-PC at anytime in your life, you will have shelves of books written about it and speculated on for centuries -- but I say, go for it! Risk the controversy! Just do it!]

If you are of a certain age, you may remember this poem from elementary school. Share it with the youngsters in your life who might only know that Columbus mistreated the native populations of the lands he visited and that he brought syphilis and tobacco to Europe and that he was an evil entrepreneurial capitalist. [Lest we forget, he also brought cocoa to the "civilized" world. But of course, that has brought on terrible obesity five hundred years later.] But I digress. Here's the old ditty:

In 1492

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

Celebrate the Day!

For more information visit: Columbus Navigation

Spooky Halo over Moscow -- Oh My!

What is this?

October, though awesomely beautiful with the changing leaves and brilliant skies, is the spooky month, hands down, when the winds howl and the branches scrape the windows eerily. Traditionally we conjure up thoughts and visions of ghouls, zombies, vampires, and other monsters. Well, I don't scare easily. Those "creatures" are just either too funny or make me wonder how the technicians created them. There is no psychological kick to that kind of conventionally "scary" product.

I have to admit, what really gives me the creeps [aside from US politics, ghosts, Hannibal Lecter, and Al Qaeda, of course] are these unknown things like the halo formation that popped up over Moscow last week. The meteorologists will tell you -- it's a cloud formation or it's an Aurora Borealis or a halo cloud -- something easily explained by our current understanding of nature. That's the scientific explanation. No problem.

But -- what if?

What if this thing over Moscow held something far more sinister than crystallized water? What if there was a UFO embedded in that beautifully mysterious cloud? What if they were going to do something very bad? It's the unknown and it's very creepy! Here's a video:

I have to admit -- these kinds of stories scare the stuffin' out of me. They aren't funny in any way, they pose no immediate threat to anyone just observing -- but when your imagination runs wild, you can seriously scare yourself.

What are your thoughts? You don't have to believe in space aliens -- but what if...? Is this fun for Halloween or what? Better than old fashioned ghost stories? Or not much different?

What fright triggers that heart pounding "fight or flight" response in you this time of year? Ugly goblins and vicious witches and ghostly ghouls? Or maybe something "out of this world?"

Thanks for your comments and remember to sleep with the lights on tonight! LOL

Sweet dreams!

It's What Sunflowers Do

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My sister grew these red sunflowers, probably the Moulin Rouge variety, though she couldn't remember exactly. They've been a conversation piece all summer long. Now, they are nearly spent. Their small to medium sized heads and easy to trim stalks were developed for cut flowers. A stunning addition to a simple bouquet, each stalk carries multiple blooms approximately 4 inches in diameter. The main stalk varies in height from 4 to 7 feet. As you can see, they are thriving in a flowerbed near the sidewalk, where they get plenty of sun throughout the day.

If you want to try your hand at an unusual flower that takes little care but produces great blooms, take note of this variety and give it a try next spring. You might be as pleasantly surprised as we all were when they came up early and so far, have stayed late, well beyond the early frosts. They've lent their cheery faces to many bouquets and stood cheekily up to greet sunshine, rain, light wind and a lot of visitors and passersby for months. For more information on sunflower varieties, click here.

Helen Keller understood their nature when she wrote, "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do." Excellent advice for these uncertain times, too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Writer's Challenge, #18

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Writers, your challenge is to write a story, poem, play, article, report, micro-blog -- something -- anything -- about this picture. You may write your piece to any length, as long as it doesn't exceed 50 words. The shorter the better, of course. If you want to write a Twitter length story, give it a whirl but don't exceed 140 characters.

Try your hand at micro/flash work and feel free to post as many tiny pieces as you'd like in the Comment section below. Your work is yours, you own the copyright -- we're just making a spot available for you to share your creativity with the Sunflower Ranch visitors. You can experiment here and tweet them or post them or even use them as seeds for longer, more involved work.

Let's have some fun and start the weekend with a new little activity to spark your imagination. May you be inspired to make your writing soar and produce some wonderful work! Check out last week's Writer's Challenge and add your interpretation of the photo there as well.

Your comments are always welcome, too!

The Farmer & The Nobleman

My sister sent the following story, and it's something I'd like to share with you.

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the farmer's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," he said. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the farmer replied, waving off the nobleman's offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

"Is this your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Aye, he is," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal," the nobleman said. "Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. He went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

It's National Friendship Week. Share this, and brighten someone's day.

Thanks for visiting!

An Apple A Day: Honeycrisp Apples -- Delicious!

Honeycrisp apple

Fall means apple harvest! Washington State is the No. 1 apple grower in the United States and produces over 60% of the apples available for domestic consumption. They are vigorously exported, too. My favorite apple is the Honeycrisp. I got hooked on these several years ago when my niece returned one weekend from Eastern Washington University. She'd stopped at a fruit stand and brought home several enormous apples. They were bigger than softballs -- almost a large as melons! Crisp, juicy and able to feed the entire family, we just marveled at these giants of the orchards. "These were too big to sell in the grocery store, so a fruit stand guy sold them. Two for a dollar." Five pounds of apple for a buck is a good deal, where ever you find them. Then and there I threw over my favorite apple love, the Fuji, for this newcomer. "It's a Honeycrisp," she said. "It's a new apple."

Well, yes, for the consumers of Western Washington. But this was an apple with roots in the Midwest -- Minnesota to be exact. An apple from Minnesota? That might mean a short but intense growing season and plenty of cool autumn nights to put the crisp into it. Of course, the Eastern Washington state climate shares some of those conditions, though quite a bit drier, so it isn't surprising the orchardists there have had success with them, and many other varieties.

Here's a little history of the development of this terrific apple. Every year since then, I've been on the Honeycrisp quest and managed to score plenty from the early fall through Thanksgiving, when they become slightly scarce. Of course I've never seen the behemoth-sized specimens again, just a much more standard size [perfect for store displays, vending machines, and lunch boxes] in every pattern of red and gold you can imagine. They all taste the same, though, and that is simply fantastic!

I picked up a few Monday for $2.49 a pound. Probably too much to spend on an apple when the sale apples [small lunch-box sized Fugis] were going for $0.49 a pound. But such is my addiction, that I have to eat one or two everyday while they are in season. There will be plenty of time the rest of the year to return to my dear Fugis and another favorite of mine, Braeburn. For now, though, I'm faithful to my first love.

If you think the Honeycrisps might appeal to your palette, try one nicely chilled with your favorite rosé and cheese. Makes a wonderful dessert! Check out some recipes for more ideas. Or do as I do, remove from fridge, rinse, core, cut into bite-sized pieces and enjoy! Mmmmmm mmmmm -- good! :D

Thanks for visiting!

Have a delicious day!

For more information: All About Apples

Rotten Reviews: Walt Whitman

He was a vagabond, a reprobate, and his poems contain outbursts of erotomania so artlessly shameless that their parallel in literature could hardly be found with the author's name attached. For his fame he has to thank just those bestially sensual pieces which first drew him to the attention of all the pruriency of America. He is morally insane, and incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, virtue and crime.
~Max Nordau, Degeneration, 1895

Ouch! That's severe! But, actually, Nordau's assessment of Walt Whitman has held up in many circles for over 100 years. Of course many contemporary critics skewered him, too, including Francis Fisher Browne who noted in The Dial, in 1882, that "...his lack of sense of poetic fitness, his failure to understand the business of a poet, is clearly astounding." Beloved author Robert Louis Stevenson described him thusly, "Whitman, like a large shaggy dog, just unchained, scouring the beaches of the world and baying at the moon."

But the overwhelming response from authors all across the English speaking world praised his daring, innovative, bold strokes and common patterns of speech. You can read pages of contemporary critiques here. Since his death in 1892, he has been generally considered to be the most important American poet of the nineteenth century.

The Wikipedia bio is a good place to start for an excellent overview of Walt Whitman's life, literary works, philosophy, and impact. To read many of his most famous works in perhaps the most uncluttered venue for online literature [from many to choose from] check out this page from Readprint.com. But for the big-daddy mega source of the latest research on Whitman, the Whitman Archive is the winner hands down. I also found some extremely clever videos at YouTube. Here is the poet himself reciting "Captain, O My Captain," one of my favorites. Well, he's reciting it, sort of...



Love him or hate him -- Whitman has had that kind of affect on readers for well over a century. What do you think? Do you like Whitman or would you rather get a tetanus shot? LOL My own feeling -- I like a lot of his work. He could use some editing -- but hey, that's the pot calling the kettle black! LOL He was a poet. He was a man. He was an American. Nothing more to day... But what are your thoughts? Thanks for visiting!

Have a wonderful day!

Fall Fashion: What's Your Favorite?

Palladium Women's Bellingham Mid Calf Boot

Boots are my weakness as the days grow shorter, and the wind kicks up and the rain comes down sideways. I have a variety of boots and I wear them all! The boot pictured above is my newest addition -- the Bellingham from Palladium. [Purchased from Endless.com at half the regular price.] I love these boots -- I can wear thick socks inside and they're not tight but fit perfectly. With any pair of my favorite super comfy thick sweater-knit socks, I've had toasty feet in our recent cold temperatures. Boots are hands down my favorite fall fashion addition [or should that be addiction? LOL] Boots are my must have!

But that's not all -- I also love hats, caps, beanies, and berets and soon will be clamping one on every time I go out. Other fun accessories -- new soft leather gloves, extra long crocheted scarves and a big old leather bag. Of course, out here what would I do without fleece, flannel, and sherpa? Vests are another must-have and ... I could go on! I love all the fall clothes and accessories and footwear and the variety of jackets -- and more!

What is your favorite item or type of fall fashion you can't live without? Are you addicted to an old favorite or try the absolute latest every year? Do you have a snuggly old wool sweater you love and only wear around the house but wouldn't dare wear even to the grocery store? Or are you partial to GoreTex and Thinsulate? Would you make a statement with an old camo T-shirt and leather skirt, or is your unofficial Autumn uniform soft pintucked tunics in heathered wool paired with the latest leggings? Maybe you live in a place that doesn't experience extreme cold and your bow to the changing seasons is a light shawl in the evenings and early morning?

Let's have some fun here and see how different we all are. I'm looking forward to your fall fashion comments below. Don't be shy. [I told you about my passion for boots and thick socks! LOL] What are you enjoying wearing as summer fades completely and fall's firm grip pulls us closer toward winter?

Thanks for sharing!

Jessie's Autumn Flowers

from Jessie's garden

In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb color effects as from August to November.

~Rose G. Kingsley, The Autumn Garden, 1905

The sun came out briefly between showers a few days ago. The wind picked up and soon blew away the rain clouds. I had been chatting with my friend Jessie and marveled at how her modest bed of flowers sparkled in the sudden sunshine. Here it was October already, usually a month of high winds and damaging rains and sharply colder temperatures. I just had to snap her flowers while they were still flourishing.

She apologized for not having gone through this bed to "dead head" it for the pictures. I liked them just the way were. I hope you do, too. Here is a slightly larger version of the photo above and the full-sized picture I took them from. Feel free to use them for your personal use for your computer wallpaper or to send to friends with your own cheery greeting. Let's spread a little floral sunshine while it's still abundant.

Thanks & have a cheery week!

Birds of a Feather

geraniums, lawn & fir trees

This morning, while snuggled in my robe and still in a daze, having a normal Saturday morning and just starting on my first cup of espresso, I heard a commotion outside. I peeked out the window onto the porch. The fir trees, the front yard, the bird baths, and even the edge of the porch were covered with robins!

Though a few black-headed Western juncos flitted amongst the larger birds, the yard was just teeming with the plump robins, in every shade of brownish-grey and orange imaginable. I've never seen so many robins! I lost count at around the mid-20s, but it seemed like more, maybe as many as fifty. But there they were, having a good old fashioned field day -- hopping and running, hunting for earthworms and insects. I love it the way they stop, tilt their heads, then quickly stab the ground, gobble something down, and run forward.

A cat must have sneaked up on them, because all of a sudden all the birds retreated to the fir trees. They stayed there quite a while, until the cat lost interest. By then, I had turned my attention to other things and I went about my morning.

A few hours later, I saw them again, mobbing the grass. I keep the front lawn cut tall throughout the year, with all the clippings mulched back into it for natural nutrition. It's rich green grass with no weeds. Despite this summer's unrelenting heat, our front lawn remained lush and green, and a perfect attraction to all sorts of critters. [More about that in a future blog, though.] Now, still thick and inviting, the lawn was "birdland" and I grabbed my camera and tried to get outside quietly to snap a picture of them. I must confess, I am not much of a hunter. Though I thought I was being quiet and unobtrusive as I slowly and silently slid the glass door open and stepped outside to the porch in what I thought was a credible slow motion movement, I didn't get much to show for my sneakiness. None of my photos came out with a bird in it!

They had flown back into the trees bordering the grass. When I tried to take a shot of the trees -- they took off to other trees! [See photo under the title above. Birdless!]

It went on like this for hours -- I'd see them, try to sneak out the door to grab a shot and they'd disappear, only to return later. I finally gave up after one too many rounds of "Watch the Birdie." I want them here -- I sure don't want to scare them off for good!!

I did some research at my favorite bird website from Cornell University and discovered that robins do not migrate long distances. They form flocks and hang around their neighborhoods for most of the year. Check out this page for more fascinating facts.

Lesson learned for today: let the birds do their thing and enjoy them when they visit -- DO NOT force them to pose, because they are not interested in becoming little supermodels for the Sunflower Ranch blog. They aren't shy, they just value their privacy. I understand, really. I'm the same way, I guess. LOL So, look at the photo at the top of this post and imagine you see it alive with birds. That's the best I can do. [At least for today!] If you have had better luck, I admire your abilities!

Thanks for visiting!

Writer's Challenge, #17

challenge #17

Writers, your challenge is to write a story, poem, play, article, report, micro-blog -- something -- anything -- about this picture. You may write your piece to any length, as long as it doesn't exceed 50 words. The shorter the better, of course. If you want to write a Twitter length story, give it a whirl but don't exceed 140 characters.

Try your hand at micro/flash work and feel free to post as many tiny pieces as you'd like in the Comment section below. Your work is yours, you own the copyright -- we're just making a spot available for you to share your creativity with the Sunflower Ranch visitors. You can experiment here and tweet them or post them or even use them as seeds for longer, more involved work.

Let's have some fun and start the weekend with a new little activity to spark your imagination. May you be inspired to make your writing soar and produce some wonderful work! Check out last week's Writer's Challenge and add your interpretation of the photo there as well.

Your comments are always welcome, too!

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!

forest sunrise

With the recent killer earthquakes near American Samoa and Sumatra, and last night's small cluster-quakes in California, it's anti-climactic to mention the paltry 3.4 quake in my area last night. Comparing the jumbo quakes, and the tsunami aftermath, the thousands killed, injured or missing and the widespread destruction, with the one that occurred in a forested area near Shelton, Washington last night is like comparing the universe to a grain of sand. Our quake was nothing but a hiccup on the seismograph. But, after sending my prayers up for the safety of the survivors in those other quakes, I'd like to turn my attention to the quake that hit my little corner of the world.

With those recent quakes in the news, when the local quake hit, there was no question in my mind what it was -- "Earthquake!" Here's how it felt: After a very frustrating day on and mostly off the computer, due to 'Net connection problems, I took a break from playing any additional rounds of "Firefox Crashes Mysteriously" and settled in on the big old couch in the family room and to watch a few scenes from Twilight of Honor, on TCM. Nick Adams was doing a great job with his troubled character. I was really getting into it, leaving all my troubles behind and digging into the salsa & chips when boom! That heavy old couch moved! I thought it had been hit. It didn't knock me off -- but it did move me. Very scary. I yelled, "Earthquake!" jumped up and ran back to Hubby in his study.

"What happened out there?" he asked me. "Did you knock something over?"

"Heck no!! It must have been an earthquake!! Or a very large deer is banging on the wall outside trying to get in!" We went out to the front of the house, turned on the lights, and peeked out, almost expecting to see a huge buck or a hungry black bear making itself at home. Of course there was nothing. Everything was as totally quiet after the jolt as it had been before.

I phoned my niece, who wasn't home, but had been driving nearby. She didn't feel or hear or see anything out of the ordinary. When I checked various local news stations, they had nothing, either. So, I decided to risk playing "Let's Crash Firefox" again to look for info about the quake online. About ten minutes after the quake, the most preliminary report pinpointed the location and pegged it at 2.9. I again played "Let's Crash Firefox" but abandoned that to text some friends. When I went back to the computer hours later, the seismologist at the University of Washington had analyzed the data and upgraded the event to 3.4. Not too shabby.

Though there were no discernible aftershocks, it left me feeling rattled. One over-sized canvas on an inside wall in the dining room was askew, but hadn't fallen off the wall. No other damage. We're about 50 miles as the crow flies [or the earthquake radiates] from the epicenter, which was determined to be somewhere near Shelton. Outside of that small city is just Western Washington forest, similar to the photo above, with few inhabitants.

So, it was fifty miles away, one sharp jolt and then it was over. What's the big deal here? Well, I always personalize these events and I decided this was the starting point for me to return to blogging. My life has been so "rattled" lately, I haven't been able to focus on at lot of things, including blogging. I'm taking this jolt as a jolt to me to get back on the blogging track. Summer and all the attendant fun is finished now for the rest of the year and it's time to get serious about ... the serious stuff of life. I will try to get caught up with some of the events that gobbled up my blogging time from the past few weeks. As a small online seller, the upcoming holidays will bring their own set of demands, of course, but that's not the prime reason I have this blog. It's about life here, nothing more, nothing less. I am honored you are a part of it and I hope to pick up where I left off all those weeks ago -- actually weeks seem like years in "Internet Time" -- and share bits of the past with what's going on today. I can't promise a post everyday -- but I can promise I will do my very best to share some entertaining events from life at the Ranch with you. And I will also visit your blog. I draw so much inspiration from you and others who share the stories of their lives. Thanks for visiting today & see you soon!

Have a Wonderful Day!

For more information: Pacific Northwest Seismic Network