Friday, April 10, 2015

Camas Lily and Growing Things

My sister Denise and I volunteered at Multnomah Falls yesterday and I was happy to see that the Camas Lily was in bloom.. it's just starting but it was so pretty that on I pulled over and parked on the side of the road and walked over and snapped some photos.  The local native people used this as an important food source, they would dig the bulb and cook it in their stews.


There is this mossy hillock where they bloom every year.


I raised my iPhone (my camera battery went dead after I took some photos at the falls) up high so you could see the Columbia River and Washington state across the river.  Soon there will be way more flowers here.


I love the blue and lavender color of these flowers.


As we headed home after securing the visitor center and locking up - there is a spot where I always admire the light on the river and yesterday the sun was sparkling away on the water and there was a hint of sunset colors in the sky.  I opened my sun roof on the car and held my iPhone up high and hoped to capture the pretty image -- a bit of cropping and here you have it.


During our shift in the Visitors Center - I offered to go get some coffees for us - one of the perks (ha) of volunteering is we get our coffees for $1.  Denise gets a latte and I get a mocha.  While the barista was preparing our java I hiked up to the viewing plaza and got my shot of the falls for the day.  :-)  See how the trees are budding out and everything is greening up?


From where I take my photo - to the right is a little waterfall gurgling down the hillside.. the mosses certainly like all the moisture and mist.  


As I walked down from the plaza I noticed these tiny licorice ferns growing out of the cracks in the stone wall.


Further on I saw a Sword Fern starting to unfurl.


This morning I went on a walkabout to see what was happening in our world and snapped this photo of my orchid in the garden bay window - I've been so pleased that it re-bloomed for me as I've had a couple of orchids in the past which after their first bloomed never put out another flower.


This Lady Fern is a "volunteer" in one of our deck pots.


I've been keeping an eye out on this rose bud - it's a "Double Delight" - a very pretty and fragrant rose - if you only have room for ONE rose - this should be the one.  This is the earliest rose to bloom on our farm.. ever.  


I went to our front walkway garden to check the progress of the Lily-of-the-Valley and it's almost ready to pick for a bouquet.. I may miss my LofV bouquets while I'm gone to New Orleans.  :-(


The apple blossoms are profuse!


See what I mean?  I worry about all these early blooms as there haven't been bees to pollinate the flowers.  


I walked back near our little creek and the Japanese red maple is all leafed out and is even putting out it's little seeds with wings called a "samara".


On further down I saw a patch of Forget-Me-Nots among the Rose Campion.


Our garden is pretty wild.. we wait and see what it plans to do each year.  :-)  And you know what?  It does a pretty good job of things!  I am delivering my 10 baby hats to Taci in a few hours, then off to swim with Gracie.  This weekend I will be packing for my trip to New Orleans.. I hope everything fits in one carryon suitcase!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for the lovely photos and narrative, Teresa. The world around you is the most beautiful kind of wild :) and I appreciate your efforts to share it with us. xx

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  2. 10 hats! Great job Teresa! Just think of all those warm babies. Your world is so pretty, especially in the springtime with all of the new buds.
    I always travel with one carry on bag, but Nita tells me I need all of these clothes for the cruise and they won't fit so I have a big suitcase. Just watch. It will get lost as we only have a 28 minute connection in Salt Lake City. I've been on hold with Delta for 58 minutes now because I just got my confirmation yesterday with my name misspelled and just noticed it this morning. ACK! Tell Gracie hi for me and have a wonderful time on your trip.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  3. I love seeing the Camas in bloom too. There is a long stretch of them that I pass in the spring every time I drive into dinky little Drain to get the mail. I am also mad about the wild lupines!
    Thanks for sharing all the beauty. Have a lovely weekend.

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  4. all of your flowers are beautiful. I may have to check out the Double Delight roses. Do they come in yellow? My son has a very hard time getting orchids to rebloom after he buys them and he is a great gardener. Hmmmm. Good to know he is not the only with orchid issues!

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  5. As Meredith said in her recent post, the things we do as bloggers to get those photos! You certainly had opportunity to take lots of lovely ones. Everything is so beautiful and clean in your area. That's one thing I really miss ... nature at its best, vibrant colors and no garbage blowing around everywhere. So many people in this country just don't care about the environment or their surroundings. Very sad. Good for you getting so many hats done. I know Taci will be so pleased. Good luck packing. Best wishes, Tammy

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  6. Everything is looking beautiful in 'your neck of the woods' Teresa. Met our D.I.L. today to hand over our grandsons who have been with us since Sunday. ( My son and D.I.L. were here until Tuesday and then we had the boys to ourselves. It's very quiet here now :-( missing them so much. Hugs Anne x

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  7. Your garden is beautiful, and well done on that orchid. I love the photo of the falls, as you say, it's lovely to see everything starting to green up. I hope there are enough bees to pollinate those apple trees. We have a few bees around so far, but no blossom yet. Have a great weekend Teresa. CJ xx

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  8. Your scenery photos are always gorgeous Teresa :) The waterfall is amazing :)
    You've reminded me to do some more hats, and then I need to work out whether to send via you or direct to Taci. I presume I'm too late to send via you?
    Have a great weekend in New Orleans :) I visited there once, 25 years ago! Loved it. Bet a lot has changed since.
    Hugs
    Jillxo

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  9. I've never seen a camas lily before, so thanks for sharing. Your farm has such wonderful variety in plants and flowers, it must be really fun to see it all bloom every year. Good job on those hats!

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  10. Love that orchid of yours--so very exotic! I haven't checked the apple trees yet for babies, but I know at least one of our plums has babies on it...so I am assuming that the bees are out and about. They are calling for warmer temps later next week so maybe that'll help.
    Have an amazing time in LA! Someday I hope to make it down that way to do some ancestor hunting:)
    Blessings, Aimee

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  11. Down here in Kangaroo land the apple blossoms flower in October. My Sonofagun No.1 who'll turn 15 this year used to know when his birthday was coming as our crabapple tree would start to blossom! It always feels special when that happens. Seeing your apple blossom gave my heart a happy little skip! About THAT waterfall. Oh my gosh! I can't believe that's a real place and you get to go there! Just breathtaking!

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  12. Beautiful flowers my. Dear friend. I had fun meeting you or lunch today.

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  13. The iPhones do take pretty darn good pictures don't they? I tend to use mine lots and even in low lighting, am always quite pleased with the results. All your photos are gorgeous - the ones of the falls, spectacular. I hope you enjoy your trip to New Orleans and will look forward to seeing some great photos. xox

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  14. Such beauty in nature....gorgeous flowers, enjoy your weekend x

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  15. I'm always so impressed by the scenery near you. Just beautiful.

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  16. Fabulous photographs and the lily of the valley is just beautiful!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  17. Teresa - beautiful photos. Love the waterfall and especially those gorgeous lily of the valley. They are so sweet.

    Judy

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  18. Such gorgeous photos today Teresa, so full of depth, beauty and burst of color.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  19. Enjoyed all your beautiful photos! Never, ever tire of seeing pics of the falls! I especially enjoyed seeing the Camas lilies. I have never seen those before. :) Hope you have a good trip to New Orleans.

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