2/15/13

Three Mountain Day



It's a chilly, but beautiful day out today.  We could see all three mountains when we went out to feed the birds.  The wind was blowing, and the windmill was generating electricity.  Before we erected our windmill, we worried about the noise it might make; but honestly, when it's spinning and making electricity, I enjoy hearing it.  It makes a quiet rhythmic sound that is somehow reassuring.

Smitty went out with me, and we filled the bird feeders and emptied our compost pail.  Then we went around and looked at the state of the garden.


Things don't look too bad, but the weeks-long period of frost definitely took its toll.  My poor little daphne has seen better days.  Still, I think it will recover, and it has buds on it, so it looks like it will bloom.


The poor heather doesn't look good at all, but it will recover.  We planted it because it blooms in winter with these sweet little pink blossoms.  The foliage should be green, and while it's difficult to tell in the image below, it is all tipped with black from the frost.


And then there are the mountains.


I never get tired of seeing them.

And look at this!  Daffodils!  


Some women at Curves were talking about their daffodils the other day, and I was sniffing that mine weren't up yet.  Little did I know!


And what's this?  Tulips!


The squirrels must have missed these last spring when they went on their feeding frenzy.  I thought they'd dug up and eaten every single one, but they missed these.  Oh well.  They'll be back this spring and these will be history too, I imagine.  I've given up trying to grow tulips.  I planted them in pots so that the deer wouldn't eat them.  Even so, I've caught the deer standing looking hungrily at them.  They just aren't willing to cross the concrete paths to get to them...yet.  Here are a couple of those buggers from last year.  What do you suppose she's looking at?  My tulips!


So I kept them safe from the deer, but then those pesky squirrels got most of them last year.

We didn't have Smitty then.  They better think twice before showing up around these parts this year, what with little Hunter Extraordinaire living here now.


He's practicing his stealth here.  He's looking at the bird feeders.


Or maybe he's admiring Mt. Adams.


We have a substantial amount of yard clean-up to do, but we never worry about that until the weather warms up some.  I tried for years to get foxglove to grow under the Japanese Maple trees and finally gave up and planted seeds.  Now that they've been here for a few years, they seem to have taken off on their own.  A couple of years ago, Mike mistakenly sprayed them with weed killer, which knocked them back.  I think this year, we will have lots...and in three different colors!


They are biannuals and they seed themselves from year to year.  We always just let the leaves lie where they fall all winter so that they nourish and insulate the soil during the cold, wet winters.  When it warms up, we'll rake them away and there should be foxglove by the zillions.  These will probably bloom this year.

So by that time, my hands were getting cold, and I went inside.


Smitty was just as glad.  He didn't want me to blow his cover.

The foot pedal came this morning.  It made absolutely no difference to my sewing machine.  The machine is working fine for now, so I'm happy enough.  I'll return the new one.  It was worth a try.  I imagine the problem will return, but for now, all is well.  And speaking of foot pedals, think I'll go put mine to use now.

Updated to say that I'll be linking this post to Sew Darn Crafty at:


23 comments:

Linda said...

I have a son living in Gresham, OR and he loves it when the "mountains are out". (I have no idea is Newberg is near there or not.)
We haven't really had much winter this year in south Texas so my roses have bloomed all winters along with some of my other flowers. We are bound to have a frost before Easter, but so far we've only had one! It was 30 degrees for about an hour one morning. (We don't have nearly as gorgeous a setting as you!)
Hopefully, you will not have any more problems with your machine!

WoolenSails said...

What a beautiful day to be outside and a gorgeous view.
No blooms for us, more snow coming in, tomorrow night.

Debbie

“Old World Goodies” said...

Can you say "beautiful", now there are some visitors and of course we can't forget handsome Smitty....
Thank you so much for sharing

Lyndsey said...

You are so lucky to have that beautiful view. When we take the Guides on camp to Switzerland I love waking up to the mountains, they totally take your breath away.

Unknown said...

Hi Barbara, have been mia for a while, but it is always a treat to see your photos, especially of those mountains. Smitty, well, he's the cat's-meow! Love seeing him outdoors exploring! Meow...
Purrs,
Loretta & Kitty

Cath said...

I can't wait to see it all when it burts into spring proper. Daffies and Tulips are two of my very favourite flowers.....but then I do have a lot of favourites!
Cath @ Bits 'n Bobs

Kate said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful view. Living on the plains, we see those sights only on vacation. Glad you were able to get out and about. It turned cold here today, but stayed sunny at least.

Dar said...

Beautiful vistas. Smitty is especially handsome. It's too cold here for much to be emerging from their winter sleep, but in a few weeks, I'm sure I'll see any dadodils and other perennials start to come up. My garden has lots of perennial weeds that come up abundantly before the flowers.

Brown Family said...

I never tire of your mountain pictures, either. We noticed the Daffodils coming up on our block, too. Not mine, I do not have any!

Diane Wild said...

I'm sooo looking forward to spring and your photos give me hope. It's snowing today and there is still an inch of ice on the driveway. I'll just stare at your mountains for a while. Thanks.

kathy-o said...

Brave little flowers....we still have snow & wind & cold here in Montana. Good grief...love your pictures!

Rachel said...

I love three mountain days! Smitty is looking quite fit (watch out little tulip eaters...) Missing Gracie, LOL, but it was probably a tad cool for her sensibilities :-)

Unknown said...

You certainly live in a gorgeous area! Such beautiful surroundings... and Smitty looks like a very able security guard! I hope you're all enjoying your weekend :-)

Snoodles said...

I can't decide which I like looking at most....the mountains, all of your lovely daffydils, or lil Hunter Extraordinaire! Such a great post, really enjoyed it! Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope your knee gets better!

greelyrita said...

Have you shown this windmill? I'd like to see it. I think wind power and solar will be the alternatives to oil. It will be a big step in the right direction. How much of your electricity needs does it provide, I wonder?

Nita said...

Thank you for sharing Spring today! We are under snow here and will be for awhile yet (until mid April). The leaves will come in mid May. Until then, I will lurk and enjoy your spring!

Anonymous said...

Well, darn, sorry the pedal wasn't it. I love the view! And the cat. Thanks for a tour of your yard. It was fun! My tulips aren't being eaten by squirrels - yet. They have too much fun running across the roof and the wires from my house to across the street and back. I was looking out the back door and one leaped off the roof onto the deck railing, giving me quite a start today. These must be aerial squirrels and yours are ground squirrels. LOL

Holly said...

Thank you for the photos-- they are great! You give me just a little fix of the Northwest, which I miss so much it aches. Love you kitty too!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Very pretty, even your deer (which will eat everything your plant). A young deer and one of our young cats met once. The cat was on the truck of a fallen tree that was braced up so the cat was about head level with the deer. The deer approached and they touched noses! I didn't have a camera available, it would have been a Kodak moment.

Colleen said...

What a beautiful picture of the mountains! Those deer in the yard are pretty neat too. Thanks for sharing all the great pictures with us. :)

quiltzyx said...

Even though we've been seeing pics of him all along, Smitty looks so BIG now! I do believe he's growing into that tail.
Hooray for sprouts and 3 mountain days too!

Lynne said...

Thank you (and Smitty) for the tour of the garden. Love your view, particularly on a Three Mountain Day!

Denise :) said...

That Smitty -- he's such a darling fellow -- and a nice walking companion, I'd imagine!! Your deer crack me up -- I could *almost* see the drool on the front doe's mouth!! Your landscape photos of the mountains are gorgeous! :)