Tillamook Time! :)

Family, from WY, called to let us know they had arrived in OR, and invited us to join them for a day of fun-in-the-sun in Tillamook! We jumped at the chance to see them and to enjoy a couple of the neat things Tillamook has to offfer! We met at Tillamook Cheese Factory, a place I had never been to but had always wanted to see! :)

We enjoyed the self-guided tour of the cheese factory with cheese being assembled on one side, and ice-cream being made on the other! :) Tillamook cheese and ice-cream have long been my favorite, so it was a treat to be where they are both made! :)

It was fun to see our nephew, Timber, who's resently started to walk, taking steps! It was my first time seeing Timber in person, and he's every bit as sweet and cheerful as everyone has said! :)

It was equally fun to see Rud and his brother, Eric, enjoying being together again! :)

They were enjoying cheese curds that are sold at the factory! :)

They tried to settle down when they saw I had my camera going! :)

Timber was feeling playful too, enjoying a ride on his mommy, April's, shoulders, in the warm sun! :)

Next we headed to the Tillamook Air Museum! April's dad, and his sweet wife, were with us too, and it was enjoyable getting aquainted with them! :)

April's dad flew aircraft and knew alot about them! He ended up being a great tour guide! :)

This building was incredible in both size and design! Rud had Timber laughing as he kept sneeking up behind him and tickling him! :)

It was great to see them, and it felt sad when we had to part.

To give ourselves something to still look forward to - we took the scenic drive home, enjoying the sights of the beautiful Pacific Ocean! :) It was a great day, - one we will need to repeat again! :)

Bees, Bugs, and Blooms! :)

Lately we're enjoying spring weather, and since I was working in the yard, I couldn't help noticing that I wasn't the only one drawn out by the warmth of the sun! :) Try clicking on this photo for a better look at this honey bee covered in pollen from head to toe! :)

Look in the petal to see the bee dusted in pollen and packing it on it's hard working legs! :)

They even started collecting pollen from potted heather plants the minute I positioned them on the lawn! (I was planning an extension to an exsisting flower bed!) :)

I had no worries taking photos of the honey bees, or this bumble bee, as they were more concerned about collecting pollen than they were about me or my camera! :)

I thought the soft purple color of this bug (or is it a butterfly with it's wings closed?) complemented the purple crocus! :)

I'm familiar with, but don't know the name of, this bee-like bug resting on the crocus! It, too, was enjoying the pleasant spring-like day! :)

I hope these photos enlarge when you click on them for better enjoyment! (For those not sure how to get back to the blog once you've clicked on the photo and it enlarges, just click on the blue "back" arrow at the top left corner of your screen!) :)

The morning sun is shining brite on last night's white frost, and we've got nothing but blue sky again!! I love these sunny days and, as you can see, so do our pollenating friends!! :)

Hope you're enjoying sunshine where you are! :)

Brennan's Valentine! :)

You know you're a grandparent when you find a loving, handmade valentine in the mailbox and can't get it displayed on the 'fridge fast enough! :) When seeing the little outlined hand of that cherished one just melts your heart on the spot!

The little car magnet, at the bottom, says "Loving you is aut-omatic"! That's certainly how we feel about our little Brennan! :)

Thanks Brennan for the wonderful Valentine, and thanks to Brennan's Mommie and Daddy for their love too, in making this cherished valentine possible!! Our heart-felt love goes out to them!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :)

Sensational Seeds! :)

Now's the time of year for pouring over garden seed catalogs and planning out this year's garden! I usually mail atleast one catalog order every year, because it allows you to have seeds you can't find in the local stores! :)
Fortuantely, this year, I've been able to find most of the seeds I want locally, so I won't need to buy them all through the catalog, which can be expensive!
These are some of the flower seeds I'd displayed by height on a tv tray, so I could study them and try to visualize the best way to arrange them in the garden! Visualizing the lay out is one of the most time consuming, but benneficial, steps of gardening! :)
Every year the crops need to be rotated for healthy plants, so every year a new layout needs to be planned! By planning it all out now, I will be ready to begin planting at planting time! :)
This year I'm planning to add more flowers than I ever have before, as I noticed how many bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and helpful insects were attracted to the garden by the flowers I'd planted in with the veggies, last year! :)
I'm toying with the ideah of planting these flower seeds in one long strip, running the length of the garden, with the tallest flowers ( sunflowers ) in the middle, sizing down to the shortest flowers running along the sides of the strip! I've got time to change my mind, but right now I'm thinking this plan may be fun and attractive! :)
One never knows for sure how these ideahs are going to pan out but it looks good in my head, so it's worth a try! :) If it works well, I'll do it again next year! Time will tell! :)
I welcome any ideahs any of you may have on how you'd lay out the flowers in the veggie garden, or even in pots!? :)
Some of these sensational seeds are going to be planted in my garden for the first time ever, which adds to the mystery of how they will look if planted all together! I've got to say that it's an exciting venture!! :)

Beauty Bark! :)

As anyone who knows me knows, or follows my blog knows, I have a passion for gardening and yardwork! To me it's like breathing in and breathing out!! So Groundhog Day was especially fun for me as my truckload of bark was delivered!! I meant to add more photos from different angles but my computer was acting up this morning so you've been spared! :)
If any of you are as passionate about gardening as I am, this beauty bark holds the same fun facination for you as it does for me! I'm so anxious now for dry days so I can get out there and start getting it spread on all the flower beds!! I'm so excited!! :)
As I have all the fruit trees still needing to be pruned, as well as some other various pruning to do, the bark may have to wait it's turn. ( If I can wait that long!! ) grin :)

Groundhog's Day! :)

The groundhog saw his shadow this morning so we can expect 6 more weeks of winter! The colorful sunrise we had this morning seems to agree with the groundhog that we have more cold weather to come! :) It's almost worth having 6 more weeks of winter to have the fantastic sunshine we're having today!! Lovin' it! :)