Snohomish Bakery--Sunday Morning

Sunday was a beautiful, mid-summer day, and I found myself driving through the country to downtown historic Snohomish.  The river was placid and very blue, having settled lower on its banks after a week of warm weather.  We found our favorite location inside the bakery, which is a little cubbyhole with an old leather couch and a portrait of Teddy Roosevelt in full military regalia behind us on the wall.

The sandwiches on home-made bread were wonderful, and it was fun to relax and watch the people out on a Sunday morning.  It was a great way to celebrate summer weekend hours in this lovely rural area.

Woodinville Farmer's Market

Yesterday, I browsed through the Woodinville Farmer's Market to  look for flowers, corn on the cob, and heirloom tomatoes.  I found all three, and the flowers were varying hues of yellow.  They look beautiful  on the French dining table, and made a lovely backdrop to our grilled salmon dinner last night, complete with grilled corn on the cob.

Oregon Grape--Species Mahonia

Oregon Grape," says Botanist Underhill, "is rather like the prophet—unsung in his own country." Common in this area, it is often overlooked these days, but not so among the Indians and colonists, and it appeared in all the pharmacopoeias until the late 1880’s. The Scottish botanist David Douglas, who roamed around here in the 1830's, identified it very quickly as a fine ornamental shrub.
There are more than 100 species of Mahonia, and since there are some 500 species of Berberis, taxonomists finally decided to move it into its own genus - Mahonias. However, many seed catalogs still classify it under Berberis (Barberry).

It's difficult to mistake this striking evergreen plant. The flowers are small, bright yellow, with six petals, nine sepals, six stamens, in 1-3 inch racemes in dense clusters. Leaves are from 4 to 6 inches long. They are dark green and lustrous in spring and summer, turning to bronze, gold, crimson and purple in fall.

Here's a sample from an early morning walk today in Maltby.

Raspberry Season

The raspberries are large and sweet this year, and so far I've made two batches of raspberry freezer jam, and one batch of raspberry-peach freezer jam.  I've made Raspberry Bars, Raspberry Cake,  and have used raspberries in everything I could think of--pancakes, waffles, on cereal, and just by themselves.  What a summer treat!

Here's my latest batch of jam, sitting on the counter 'setting' until they are moved to the freezer.

July Garden--2012

Here are my four raised beds this year.  I've inserted dahlias into the mix this year, and I hope they do well.  Everything is coming up nicely, and my beer traps for the slugs work beautifully--the slugs don't even go close to the vegetables!

The Garden Shed/Cabin--Year Two

The cabin seems like a permanent fixture this year, and I'm no longer surprised when I look out over the pasture and see it tucked into the corner, filled with my favorite things. During the sunny days of July, I've had many happy hours out there already, including a full 'summer cleaning' last week.  All of my Master Gardener textbooks and research materials are neatly filed on an oak bookshelf, along with books, magazines, and Thoreau's Journal.  My desk and chairs and antiques look like I always imagined they would,  having come together in this lovely structure built in Ohio and shipped out to Washington last year.

Here's the cabin in the late afternoon light, nestled up against the raspberry patch.  Everything seems to live together harmoniously out in the "Back 40".

Vintage Quilts

My favorite vintage quilt is the large one on the bed in  my guest bedroom/home office.  My grandmother finished the quilt top, but never got around to completing the quilt.  Several years ago, I added bunting and the backing, and tied the quilt in the middle of each "flower" from the pattern here called "Grandmother's Flower Garden".  It's one of the most beautiful quilts I've ever seen.  I've added a vintage baby quilt to the bed, and just recently found the little quilted pink and white pillow that my grandmother made for my aunt's dolls in the 1920's.

Berry Season

Berry Season


Walking the roads in our semi-rural neighborhood


coming upon patches of untended forest

where offerings neighbor plants display

welcome animal neighbors such as we

and deer, rabbits, bear, coyotes, squirrels

with gifts of mutual benefit

for us the pleasures of seeing and tasting

for them seed dispersal

I overhear a mindful question:

Who is your neighbor?



Sweet blue elderberries Lewis and Clark found “pale, sky blue”

made whistles from their twigs hollowed;

tiny huckleberries in bush riots of small elliptical leaves

red elderberries good for a tart wine

western serviceberries blue with white sparkling-wine flowers

cherries, crabapples, plums, wild strawberries



Easier to know sometimes than human neighbors

an inter-active knowing of mutual benefit

makes proximals neighbors

Hanging Basket at Bellevue Botanical Garden

Here is a huge, beautiful basket on the pergola at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens that greets visitors to the wonderul Summer display.  It's a masterpiece of diverse annuals and vivid color.

Canoe Style Pocket Knives

Slip joint knives consist of a handle with one or more folding blades. These blades are held in position by a strong "backspring" which biases them towards the open or closed position. Contrast this with the penny knife, which has no locking mechanism other than friction, or locking knives which mechanically locks the blade in position.

The canoe knife is a slip joint knife, and has a handle shaped somewhat like a native American canoe and usually comes with two spear point blades.  For the last 20 years, I've collected canoes, and I have a very nice collection.  A smaller version of the canoe is called a 'baby butterbean'.  I have six nice examples of this pocket knife.

I listed my canoe collection on Cragi's List yesterday, and I'm already having an online conversation with an avid collector in Portland.  We'll see what he thinks of my collection.

Bellevue Botanical Gardens--Perennial Garden

Here are a couple of my favorite shots--the Red Hot Pokers were a childhood favorite of mine (Kniphofia Uvaria), also known as the Torch Lily.

Bellevue Botanical Gardens--The Ravine Experience

Our friends surprised us with a wonderful hike and a lakeside picnic on Saturday night!  Our only instructions were to show up at their home at 5 p.m., and they'd take care of the rest.  It sounded intriguing!

After a brief chat, we piled into their car, and a few minutes later, we arrived at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens.  It's the best time of year to tour the gardens, as all of the flowers and flowing shrubs were at their height.  What an experience for a Master Gardener! 

We enjoyed the plants, trees, and the hardscaping, and following winding paths through the 'forest'.  It's hard to believe that this garden is right in the middle of a large metropolitan area.  The most interesting new feature of the garden is a new suspension bridge over a ravine (hence "The Ravine Experience").

After our hike, we stopped at a great Mexican grill, got some meals to go, and headed for the Lake Hills area.  There's a small, hidden lake nearby, so we carried a cooler and our food out to a secluded dock and enjoyed a great meal and great company as the evening wound down.  We even had a red and white checkered tablecloth and a lovely rose as a backdrop to our meal.

We ended the evening back at back at our friends' house, eating home-made popsicles and talking well into the evening.  It was a most memorable evening!

Christmas Bubble Lights

A bubble light is a decorative device consisting of a liquid-filled vial that is heated and lighted by an incandescent light bulb. Because of the liquid's low boiling point, the modest heat generated by the lamp causes the liquid to boil and bubble up from the vial's base thus creating the bubble light. The light is almost always methylene chloride, but some early bubble lights used a lightweight oil. The light from the lamp illuminates the bubbles from underneath, causing them to shine. As Christmas lights, bubble lights were very popular during the 1950s through and including the 1970s, before miniature "fairy" lights became popular.

Bubble lights were being manufactured by the Telsen Electric Co.(1935) Ltd, in Manchester, England, possibly as early as the late 1920s. Bubble lights for Christmas decoration were patented in the United States by Carl W. Otis in 1944 and introduced to the US in 1946 by Noma, one of the largest American manufacturers of Christmas lights. While Noma was the largest company to make these lights, other manufacturers included Raylite (Paramount/Sterling), Royal Electric Company, and Good Lite/Peerless.


I had a large box of these lights that have been in the family since the 1950's, and I dropped them off today at an antique shop.  I'm hoping someone who collects these lights will add them to a large and impressive collection.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

I found a new jam this season that incorporates our love of Maltby Strawberries and our very prolific Ruby Red Rhubarb--Strawberry-Rhubarb Freezer Jam!  It's a great way to wake up on a summer morning, with a sweet-tangy taste that is unforgettable.

Soon the freezer will be filled with jars of this new jam, plus Raspberry, Peach and Cherry jams!  We enjoy the bounty of this season all Fall and Winter long.

Cherries and Berries

The raspberries and cherries are ready for picking!  The sun and warm weather has greatly accelerated the ripening of our cherries and raspberries.  I've got some raspberry jam to make from these beautiful berries, and the cherries will be made into a Cherry Galette.

More new recipes for this summer:  Raspberry Lemon Bars and Apricot/Raspberry Galette.

Lunch at the Grange Cafe in Duvall

We drove to Duvall this afternoon and had lunch/brunch at the Grange Cafe.  We've never eaten there before due to its limited hours, but it's open more hours during the summer for breakfast and lunch.  It's also open three nights a week until 9 p.m. for dinner.  We're going to try the dinner one night soon.

The Duvall Delight Scramble was filled with bacon, mushrooms, onions and cheese, and the Club Sandwich was huge!  We will have breakfast and lunch ready for tomorrow with the items we took home today!

I love this hand-painted mural on the side of the restaurant.  Mooooooooooo!

Red Huckleberries

Here is a sign identifying the Red Huckleberry, and providing information to the visitor on the place of this berry in the ecological system.  There were many red huckleberries ripening on the bushes today, and the shiny red color punctuated the overwhelmingly green environment of the forest.

Hiking in the Paradise Conservancy Area

We got up early this morning and drove the mile or two down the road to the Paradise Conservancy, a large area of hundreds of acres set aside for recreation.  There are hiking trails, bike trails and lookout points.  The trees and shrubs are well-labeled with beautiful signs, and it is an enjoyable (and easy!) hike for us and Nala.

Fourth of July Barbecue

We had our traditional hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade potato salad and cole slaw, and home-baked strawberry-rhubarb pie for the Fourth.  We had time to eat appetizers, watch sports on TV, play in the pasture, and take walks in the neighborhood.  We got caught up on all of the family news, and Nala had some time with Dave and Kaila during the day.

The Mind of a Dog

Here's a rather pensive Nala, pondering the wonder of summer, and asking silently, "When is my next meal?". She loves the summer weather, and gets out in the yard and pasture a lot more often now.

She likes to sit in the cool grass in the heat of the afternoon, enjoying the breeze while we sit back in our canvas chairs, sip iced tea, and read our favorite summer book.

A Vintage Photograph

I had this lovely, and very small, photograph from 1959, showing my whole family, plus my grandfather, camping at Lake Goodwin.  My father's red hair, and my little brother and mother can be clearly seen in the photo.  I was 9 years old, sitting next to grandpa Ernest.

I had the photo re-created on a piece of canvas 12 inches by 16 inches, and fastened it to the inside of one of my cabin doors.  When we are outside and have the cabin open, I can see the family photo, and it brings back the carefree years of childhood, and our weekend camping trips during the summer.  Lake Goodwin was one of our favorite places to camp.

Snapdragons, Colorful Perennials

These snapdragons overwintered well from last year, and are much bigger and taller than the ones I planted last June.  They make a welcoming statement at the door to my cabin, and will bloom most of the summer.

The Raspberries are Coming!

The cold, wet weather delayed the raspberries this year, but they are almost ready!  I sampled some large, red, and very sweet ones today, so by next weekend, I should be making freezer jam!

Updated Cabin Interior

I've had my shed/cabin a year now, and in the time, I've been able to get the exterior painted, and white beaded board up in part of the interior.  I've collected great antiques and garden memorabilia, and they've all found their place in and around my little outbuilding.

The doll cupboard that my grandfather built for my Aunt Elsie in 1920 is the anchor for the little room, and I have all of my Master Gardener textbooks and research on my wall of bookshelves.  I have a large white wicker chair with a comfortable seat and a green afghan to make my reading time more comfortable.

It's truly my little corner of the country.

Dining al Fresco

The small bistro table is set up in the pasture, outside of the cabin, and is ready for summer lunches and dinners.  The lovely French tablecloth is a great example of the patterns and colors of southern France, and beckons us to sit for a while and relax.

Spending the Day in Downtown Snohomish

There is no better way to spend a vacation day than to drive down Springhetti Road from Maltby to historic downtown Snohomish.   It was a beautiful summer day, and the drive into town was lovely, passing by the Antique Rose Farm and the Snoqualmie River Valley.

Here is the view of the river from the west side of town.  I toured all of the antique shops and had lunch in a cozy cafe with a view of the river.

Friends at the Fireworks

Here is Kaila and a new friend, playing on the grass.  A few minutes ago, they were doing gymnastics, dancing,  and running around barefoot.

And here is what we were all waiting for....!

Getting Ready for the Fourth of July

Here's a picture of Maltby residents preparing for the Fourth of July fireworks at the church nearby.  It was a beautiful weather day, with sun and 70-degree weather.  It was fun staking out our space in the grassy meadow, and organizing our blankets, chairs, coolers and coats.  There was a beautiful sunset right before the fireworks began.

Here's a picture of Kaila, running around, meeting new friends, and waiting for the excitement to begin.

Sweet Potato Vine

I love these petunias cohabitng with  lovely tendrils of sweet potato vine!  This large planter took up residence on our picnic table a few weeks ago, joining an old antique crock filled with shells from Seabrook.  My spring garden flag took up residence on the side of the house, mirroring the tableau on the table.

The space is all ready to host our Fourth of July barbecue!

Shade Garden Progress

This is my newest garden this year, and I've had fun collecting shade plants (perennials) for this space (the space started as a repository for dirt dug up by our contractor after he built the greenhouse and two new fences!).

The white lupine and hostas provide the lush green and stark white colors I like to plant together, and various succulents dot the space.  My primroses from the front yard were re-planted here, along with several groundcovers and miscellaneous plants found at the Snohomish Garden Club plant sale a month or so ago.

Peppers from Seeds

Here are some peppers I started from seed from Baker Creek Seed Company in Ohio.  They were planted in this pot in my new greenhouse, and now they have moved outside of the shed to get 'hardened'.  Later this week, I will separate them and put them in individual pots until they are a little larger.  At that point, they will be planted directly into the garden.

Giant Dahlias

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennials native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. A member of the Asteraceae or Compositae plants, related species include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum and zinnia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2 in diameter or up to 1 ft ("dinner plate") in diameter.

At the Antique Rose Farm, they had an unusually large number of giant dahlias.  They were stunning in their colors, from yellow to purple and bright orange.

The Deck in Summer

Here is the deck this year, all ready for sun and summer fun!  I have a new child's motel chair from the 50's (yellow), and the Adirondack chairs are freshly painted, and my small kitchen herb garden is growing quickly in the new wood planter.

The Antique Rose Farm

Time to check out the latest new roses at the Antique Rose Farm in Snohomish on Springhetti Road!  Saturday was the perfect overcast but warm day to explore this fascinating property.  The owner and his wife have had this business for over 30 years, and they both admit that they first bought the property just for the lovely turn-of-the-century barn.  It's beautifully built, it's huge, and it's full of antiques from the Snohomish area.

There were huge baskets and hydrangeas, and so many roses to choose from.  We settled on a new variety called "Adobe Sunset", and it's a beautiful orange/yellow rose.  It's designed to be hardy in the Pacific Northwest, similar to the Julia Child roses.  We'll be planting it later this week.