Saturday, May 18, 2024

A memorable May continues

Raise your hand if you got to see the recent, widespread display of the Northern Lights! πŸ–πŸ»πŸ–πŸ»πŸ–πŸ» I saw posts from friends in  Kentucky, Kansas, and Missouri, which is amazing; I've only seen them before during the winter we spent in northern Minnesota. SO thankful my neighbor texted me late Friday night to let me know that she was watching, or I would have missed them. I had seen something about the huge solar storm with its potential to generate aurora borealis, but didn't give it much thought. Below are the best of the photos I took with my iPhone, which did a great job in the low light conditions and intensified the colors. I love how many stars show up in the photos as well (click to biggity).







A day and a half later, I enjoyed a delightful Mothers Day. I have learned to keep my expectations low about a lot of things, which serves to keep disappointment in check. But this year Mothers Day was all gravy, especially since I didn't have the conflict I thought I had. I thought this coming Sunday is Mothers Day and another agility trial, but finally 'woke up' to reality last Saturday morning in church. So bright and early last Sunday morning Rick left to pick up his mother and step-father while Brian and I took my car, and we met at a favorite restaurant at the coast for a great breakfast. Then we drove to the beach to walk and look for treasures during low tide. In addition to the usual shells and stones, I chose some pieces of driftwood from which to hang wire-wrapped treasures. On the way home Brian and I stopped to play disc golf, but the course hadn't been mowed and we couldn't find parking so canned that idea. It was a beautiful day for a walk on the beach AND a drive!
Mothers Day selfie at the restaurant









I  don't know what this white-flowering crop is, but it is FRAGRANT

blooming mustard

crimson clover and Mt. Hood

  Rick brought me a bloom from his mom's peony

In other memorable May news, WE HAVE A GARDEN! After three years of neglect, we have reclaimed our garden spot, first by my hiring that guy to kill the surrounding blackberries and ivy, then getting it tilled twice, amended, and partially tilled again. Rick surprised me by buying a used 5' tiller for our tractor, and it did a beautiful job of working up the soil. So this week I inventoried my saved seeds, soaked green bean seeds, picked up starts, planted herbs in the leaky stock tank in the yard, and planted everything else in the garden. Well, not quite everything; Rick got strawberry starts from a client to plant which I assume he'll do tomorrow while Poppy and I are at an agility trial. (I took a bunch of pictures after planting to help me remember what I planted where, but my computer won't let me open them right now. Maybe later!)


A bit of lamb spam:
Bethany, my 'cloudy' lamb, with sister Bernice behind

Blossom, my newest BFF

All five lambs on the lam
Another beautiful baby that Poppy found but thankfully didn't harm

That's it for this week from . . .

8 comments:

A :-) said...

Oh I know how happy you must be to have your garden again!! Yay for the tiller! Sounds like you had a great Mothers Day, and I hope the agility trials go well with Poppy. And lucky you to see the Aurora Borealis. I was in the city that night with my cousins and there is so much ambient light in Chicagoland . . . well, we didn't see anything. I hoped to maybe see them the second night, but there was no joy there, either. Oh well. I hope to see them sometime in my lifetime :-)

Michelle said...

VERY happy about the garden, especially with the increase in food prices, A! The Northern Lights are definitely worth driving for, if you hear of another major solar storm. How long would it take you to drive north of Chicagoland?

Anonymous said...

The white field looks like meadowfoam.

Retired Knitter said...

What a wonderful post for me to pop in on. A great picture of you and your son, and the northern lights! Wonderful, wonderful shots all!! And your new lamb babies are just as cute as can be. I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival earlier this month and really enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of sheep. I bought very little since I have so much already but being at the fair (even though it rained both days and I got soaked) was reward enough.

Michelle said...

So glad you popped in, Elaine! I plan to go to Black Sheep Gathering at the end of next month, and like you, I am in need of nothing. But I am proxy-shopping for others, so I still get to shop!

Jeanne said...

What a wonderful Mother's Day you had! What a blessing! The picture of you and Brian is so nice.

Regarding the lambs: they're always adorable, but Bethany and Blossom are really special!

Yay for the garden! I hope it does well.

And your Aurora pictures are wonderful!!

Mokihana said...

What lovely, lovely, photos! Springtime in Oregon is amazing, and you captured so much beauty in this post. Thank you for taking the time to do that; I know it can be time consuming. I love your Northern Lights photos...I didn't get to see them and was mightily disappointed.

Love this whole post! Mother's Day was awesome for you!

Leigh said...

Great bunch of photos, and congratulations on the garden! It's getting so a garden is essential nowadays.