Woodland wedding happening soon

 Our daughter is getting Married!!!! She wanted to get married in our lower field. It  is not a huge place but it is a peaceful place.  So happy for her and her fiance.  They are hikers and avid outdoors people so this setting is perfect. It is hard to not be a bit anxious about the weather and will everyone fit along with all their vehicles.  My daughter is someone who doesn't panic and plans very well so I am sure it will all work out.   I remember my own wedding and how peaceful I felt that day.  I went down to my dad's boat climbed on board and had a quiet time with the Lord on the water.  My husband to be came down to find me and we hid his car at the park so it would  be free of decorations for our departure.  We forgot to hide his suitcase which was ransacked leaving him with one pair of underwear which said in bold Red Sharpie "I love MY  Wife!!!" It was an adventure finding a store that sold underwear out in the wilds of Quinalt. Great memories and I am sure the young couple will make their own memories on that glorious day.  We rejoice with them starting out on their new adventure of togetherness. So happy and blessed to see them happy with each other and loving Jesus! The big day is only a few months away. Hope we get everything ready in time.  At our wedding the workers were driving the last nail in the expanded deck at my folks house as we said our I do's  and were pulling away in their trucks as we came back to the house to celebrate with family and friends after the church reception.  I am sure my daughter and soon to be son in law will remember the joy they felt on their wedding day and it will all seem perfect. Hope you have great memories of your own weddings.

Klark the Crow

When I was a child we had a  crow that would come to our deck and take the sparkly things we would leave for him.  We called him Augie and he came pretty often for a long time.  Once we had more dogs and cats he stopped coming as often.  I now have a pet crow I call Klark, he is the one on the right, his friend Contessa is on the left.  I spell his name with a K because he isn't any ordinary Clark.  He comes for bread pieces when I whistle for him. I don't feed him every day for I don't want him to depend on my crumbles and get lazy.  Crows have facial recognition and some days when I walk along my road he will find me and sail above me asking for treats.  When I whistle he comes and sits in the tree near my deck and waits for me to rip up the bread and toss it down to the ground below.  I then  put a few pieces on my rail. He will take one piece then call to his buddies that the Lady has fed us.  They all swoop in and feast along with Klark.  He will wait until they leave then eat the bits on the rail.  He doesn't let me get too near. If I have been forgetful about feeding for a few days he will come to the rail at the time of day he knows I sit in my recliner to do my morning quiet time.  He is respectful and does not caw but paces back and forth looking in at me as if to say Lady are you forgetting something.  I love Klark and for now he is pet enough for me.  As a child I had tons of pets, we had a monkey named Betsy.  She loved my Dad and was very protective of him.  When one of my sisters sat to close to Dad, Betsy bit her and had to go.  We gave Betsy to the local pet store but the first night she let out all the other animals from their cages so they called to say take her back.  She lived out her life at a local zoo. We had a few memorable cats also.  Blackie was a great cat who wandered into our lives when I was 2 and stayed until I was 19.  He was a great cat who would be outside most of the day and come in at night to snuggle.  Mousie was our wild cat, she would let you pet her but she wouldn't let you catch her to be spade.  Mousie had many litters of kitties all which we had to find homes for, something that got old quick for my folks. My sister and I had a series of kitties which were ours, Their was BG who had a blue eye and a green eye, Fluffy and  Puffy  which were fluffy and puffy. You can see we were not very creative with names.  My brother had a skunk named Flower who had it's sent glad removed. We also had many dogs, We were the first house on the road of our neighborhood and back in those days people dumped off dogs if they didn't want them.  We took many a dog to the humane society.  Perkins our spaniel became king of the clubhouse near us.  The golfers would give him rides in their carts and flip him burgers off the grill. As I look back on all the dogs and cats and other animals I realize I am not ready to have a pet again except for my Klark.  I lost too many dogs to the people speeding down our road not looking for kids or dogs running out in front of them.  My children had a few pets but as each one died I cried for a few days.  I realize my heart is still too tender, I can't do loss yet.  My daughter has a wonderful kitty named Mowgli and I love on him whenever I can.  He satisfies my pet yearnings.  My friends let me borrow their dogs too which is so kind of them.  This is Gunner the faithful protector of one of my friends.  So for now I will love Klark , Mowgli and Gunner and the numerous other friends pets but Klark will have to be my only pet.

snow

This year we have truly had a winter with many days of snow.  The deepest we had was 8 inches which to people who have snow every winter is just a dusting.  The first snow my hubby and I suited up in our snow pants and coats and played in it like children.  We made a snowman and a snow woman. I made snow angels and had fun throwing snowballs at my hubby.  He is a much better aim than I am.  We decided to have an early Valentines day get a way up to Victoria.  My hubby knowing I have always wanted to see Butchart Gardens booked us a day trip to see the garden.  When we sailed up to Victoria, they too were getting tons of snow.  We talked about how foolish we had been to book a garden trip in Feb . but decided to enjoy it no matter the weather.  When we showed up at the bus the driver asked if we really wanted to go as everything would be under the snow.  Yes it is our only day here and we will see it like no one else every has covered in snow.  It was beautiful. The fountains were still flowing and everything was magical covered in snow.  I hope you enjoy a few of the photos of a beautiful garden in snow.  They had a spring preview house open so we will return to see these beautiful flowers out in their glory in the gardens.  I also hope that spring comes quickly for I am officially freezing now.

I love my military

I love the military, those who serve and those who have served. We live where we do because my husband was in the military. When he served on a submarine deployed out of Scotland he would look at the guys standing on the shore waving them out on patrols. He made a promise to himself that someday he would be the guy on the shore looking out at the submarine and waving them on their way.  I love seeing the submarines go by and the Coast Guard as they both run drills in front of our home. I wave even if no one is topside just encase one of those guys are hoping to be us someday. We over the years have lived in many military communities and loved every one.  We have been fortunate to counsel at a Young Life outreach camp for military from the surrounding bases. It is a wonderful camp where Dads and Moms get to reconnect with their kids up in the Canadian woods and start to heal as a family.  My wish for everyone would be that you could spend some time talking with someone in the military, hear their stories and realize what a cost your freedom is daily.  I am so thankful for all who serve or have served.  I cry during the national anthem and any time I hear colors or taps.  I love my flag and all it stands for. I was so happy to find a wonderful service in town set up by our Boy Scouts.  It is a red box which looks like your ordinary mail box but it is to dispose of your flags properly.  You just fold your worn flag or one you need to dispose of and put it in.  The Boy Scouts will take care of retiring it with the proper honor.  Look around your community and see if you have one too.  Take time out of your day and look up how to honor your flag.  And most of all if you see a service man or woman or a veteran, stop and thank them for their service.

Winter and Spring meet in the garden

I love this time of year. Winter  is holding on to the hope of one last snowfall yet the flowers are popping up saying spring is on the way. Yesterday I used my wonderful new garden gloves, the ones with claw fingers to plant the last of my tulips.  I realize I should have got them in the ground in the early fall but we were on vacation.  When we returned from our month away the rain, snow and freezing temperatures had settled in for the winter. Last year I was late also and had the most beautiful tulip beds I have ever had, so hoping for the same.  As I look around my gardens I see the promise of spring.  Many of my bulbs are already poking their cute little buds up through the dirt. My chickens and hens are  glorious shades  of color. I even found a little snake sunning himself down in my outer lawn.  They say we may get another dumping of snow but I hope these pictures help you see Spring is on it's way.

Have you ever thrown a rock or a shell into the water and watched how far the ripples go? The middle of the circle has the biggest impact, As the rock hits the water it causes drops of water to shoot up and each one makes it's own impact on the water. It reminded me how acts of kindness cause the same effect.  One act of kindness has a huge impact on the person receiving the kind act, yet it reaches far beyond.  Looking someone in the eye , giving a true smile, and saying hello is the first splash of water. This person feels happy and is still happy as they pass the next person.  They smile to that person and the ripple of kindness has now spread far beyond the first single act.  Today's world is full of hurting people, We have plenty of outside forces telling us we aren't quite good enough or your thinking is a bit off. When kindness is so easy to share as sharing a smile why aren't we spreading a little kindness?  It has been my experience that with a simple smile you can open a conversation. With a smile people who are hurting feel someone noticed me and cares. My children once told me don't make eye contact mom we need to get somewhere fast. You see whenever I make eye contact it opens up a conversation where I learn about the person on many levels.  People need others to hear them in today's world.  Take time to listen to others stories, take time to give away a smile. We all need more kindness. Sharing a smile won't cost you anything but will give you so much in return.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all started talking and sharing life instead of being closed off in our own busy world.  Hope today you can go out and share a smile, a conversation or a random act of kindness.  Lets see how far we can get our drop in the water to ripple today.

welcome

Welcome, When I was a little girl my Dad would tell my sister and I green ,green, forest stories.  They were always fun and adventurous tales of the forest.He would tell us who lived in the forest and what their daily lives were about and always with a bit of humor to make us laugh.  I grew up loving the forest and the sea and hope to share that love with all of you.  I live  in the forest looking out at the water. I want to share with you just a few pictures of the beautiful area we call home.