Monday, May 21, 2012

Purples, New Grad & Panorama

I love purple.  We have several varieties of Rhododendron here on our little farm place, but not a purple one.  So, yesterday hubby and I were running some errands and I saw a few of these purple rhodies in bloom so asked my dear spouse if we could add one more stop - at the nursery to see if they had a purple rhodie.  They did!  We adopted it and brought it home to free it from it's pot to live out it's life in the splendor of the countryside.  :-)  Now.. where to put it?
We've had an amazing run of wonderful weather, and if you know much about Oregon, our Springtime is known for rain and coolness.  Today the run of warm sunny days came to a screeching halt and it rained all day.  Yesterday I realized that it was time to get some "farm in the spring" photos as most of the flowering shrubs were at their peak.  
Last year my sweetie bought, painted and installed two trellises for our Clematis on either side of our garden shed, this one just bloomed!  Purple!
Walking closer, you can see the flowers in bloom... 
The ruffled edged pansies are filling out.. purple...
Dayle always goes in and brings the dog out for a walk as soon as we arrive home.. there they are! 
The other ruffly pansy.. purple!
Our garden shed.. the shrub on the right end is a mock orange.. hope it blooms.  The 6 ft windmill and small water trough are an homage to my farm heritage from Oklahoma.  My grandfather farmed wheat and raised cattle on a large farm in Watonga, OK.  My dad and his 4 brothers and 1 sister were born there.  My Dad inherited 80 acres after grandpa passed away.  He eventually sold the land, but kept the mineral rights.  Recently an oil company drilled on the property and so now we get a check from them each month for the oil and natural gas they are pumping from there.  :-)
Don't you just adore pansies?  Their happy little faces bring me much joy. 
Dayle replanted the little pots in the window shelves on the shed and they're doing well.  See the old rusty milk can?   
More pansies..  more purple. 
Here is my sister Denise's youngest child, Whitney - we are so very proud of her as she graduated with a law degree from Lewis & Clark College on Saturday. 
My sister put on a celebratory graduation BBQ at her house and here is Whitney with two of her friends.  Ah, to be young again.. her whole life stretching before her and all the challenges, successes and experiences.  I'm so proud of my niece!!
Today I went swimming for an hour, then attended my monthly meeting of the board of directors for the Friends of Multnomah Falls.  I'm almost to the 2nd half of my 2nd year as president of the group.  :-)  On my way home I pulled over by the Sandy River to get a photo of the river and the beautiful clouds lit up by the setting sun.
So lush and green here.   
I love looking at the sky, don't you? 
When I was looking at cameras at Costco, the salesman told me I should get this free App for my iPhone for making panorama shots, it's called Photosynth.  Just download it and click on it and follow the easy instructions.. isn't this fun? 
I hope you have a nice week planned.  We're doing some planning for our DC trip.  We leave on June 4th and return on the 12th.  We have a house/pet sitter all set up. Thanks for visiting and you know I treasure your comments.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)  

20 comments:

  1. So glad to see your farm in bloom! And Teresa, purple is my favorite color, too(: The panarama app for your iPhone is neat! Thanks for sharing your busy days with us <3

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  2. Love those Pansies - and of course all your pics. Were they all taken with your iPhone? Will have to investigate that Photosynth app as it does look like fun. xoxox

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  3. All of your pictures are great. You live in such a beautiful part of the country. I envy your lovely flowers. They are wonderful! Here in Arizona the heat kills off most of the flowers by mid-May. It was 109 today and it isn't even June yet (sigh). Congrats on the new graduate in your family. Enjoy your trip to D.C.. That is such a fun and historic place to visit.
    Have a good week.

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  4. Congratulations to your niece! Fantastic! Love the purpl and the pansies. I love watching the clouds and so like your cloud shots. Joan

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  5. Congratulations to your niece--what an accomplishment! Yes, what a change in our weather--looks like it won't be too long before we get a bit of sunshine back though and it helps settle the dust (and pollen--cough, sneeze) and keep our PNW green:)
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  6. You are such a purple girl Teresa, all those plants are lovely and you have so much room to nurture them all. I really love those frilly pansies. You must be so proud of your neice, what a lovely celebration. Our weather has just warmed up thank goodness and we are expecting 24c by mid week...yipee! Have a lovely week and not long now until your trip.
    Jane x

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  7. Good Morning Teresa, First thank you for the wonderful advice. I will call our Audubon center and see what they recommend.
    Your farm is looking so beautiful and so "loved". You both do such a wonderful job caring for your gardens and landscaping. All the flowers are so purply, frilly and happy. Love the new clematis and the rhodie! Oh and your pansies have such personality!!!!
    Hope you have a nice Memorial Day weekend!
    xoRobin❤

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  8. Oh what a wonderful post, Teresa! You are so lucky to have all beautiful plants around you, I adore purple too! Those pansies look gorgeous!!!
    Congratulations to your beautiful neice, how proud you must be!
    Hope your new day is fab!
    Best wishes,
    LS

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  9. I do like all of your pretty purple flowers. I also really like getting that panorama shot! That's really neat :) I didn't know iPhones could do that! It showcases your beautiful little farm very nicely.
    ~Lacey

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  10. That panorama shot is so cool! I now know where to "place" everything.

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  11. Teresa....out of all the blogs I visit, and all of the people I visit via blogging, it your home, your state, your farm, your life, I most wish to visit!!!! I always adore my visits here. Your surroundings just sing to me!!!! Lovely...lovely...lovely photos. I will be getting that app...asap...thanks for sharing!!!
    Love ya,
    Kris

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  12. GREAT pictures of your house!! It's such a pretty home. Your yard looks so green and lush. The cherry on top is your sweet hubby! Thank your lucky stars, girl!

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  13. The farm looks beautiful! I love all the flowering trees. I think my favorite this time of year is the lilac though.Hope you enjoy your trip!

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  14. Gorgeous purples, and I love the pictures of your beautiful farm. Congratulations to your new graduate, well done!
    Have a wonderful week, Teresa.
    Helen x

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  15. Purple!! My very favorite color! I knew our friendship was meant to be. Lovely, lovely pictures Denise.

    Well, we're at the coast and it's been raining since we arrived. Lunch yesterday at Mo's in Florence, ( we were trying to get south of the rain. It didn't work!). Today we're going to Izzy's in Newport. Yum! And I want to try Tidal Waves in Depot Bay too. We've only had one beach walkbut maybe tomorrow will be better.

    Blessings,

    Betsy

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  16. hello Teresa and congratulations to your niece. All of our nephews and nieces ( as well as our sons and D.'sI.L. ) have all graduated now! So have to wait now for grand children and great nephews and nieces to graduate. Hope I live long enough!!!
    Your farm looks so beautiful. Love all the gorgeous plants etc in your photos. We need to get into our garden and get it ready for summer. Weather has been so awful until this week when we've had two beautiful sunny days. enjoyed your news as always. Anne x

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  17. A big congrats to your niece, what an amazing achievement. Love the beautiful flowers, it is getting hot here so ours are not looking that fantastic. Hugs to you Teresa,
    Meredith

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  18. What gorgeous post...lovely photos

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  19. Purple is the favorite color of my daughter, so we have PLENTY of it here! Beautiful shots of your flowers!

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  20. Love the purple...what a fun way to celebrate a graduation. hugs.

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