More Plant Pixs - Big Surprise, huh?

I love fuchsias they do so well in semi-shade. My chicken has "hens and chicks".

This little area has lots of frogs and turtle garden art. There are even garden art tadpoles in the small fountain. The cats use the fountain as a water bowl - it is just the right height for them to stand a get a drink.

I have a very shaded nook on the back porch off of my parents' bedroom. I decided to try some impatients to see how they might do there. That's the state of my plant-worshipping at the moment.

Stacie and Carlos and Family in Brasil

Hey my primos and sister and brothers....Here are some pic's of the beautiful beach Porto de Galinhas! It is in the state of Pernambuco....The first picture is me swimming back from the reef and Carlos was on the reef getting ready to get in the kayak. The second pic is one of the reasons Lili and Riley love Brasil sooo much...the endless picoles!The third pic is Carlos and I in the kayak.Next is Lili and Riley with their Brasilian grandmother Edite.Last, we are watching a jangada (simple sail boat)sail by....Tchau for now, Stacie

Beth's June Photos

I cannot believe how quickly June is speeding by! Despite some rain and cooler than usual temperatures, most of my plants are growing, growing, growing. I have been getting by water twice a week so far, but with warmer temperatures forecasted for the rest of the week, I will probably have to up it to three times a week. Grey's is having a sale this afternoon - need a couple of replacement plants and I am always on the look out for interesting pots - so you know where you will find me today! Below is one of my many garden helpers - Tom.

June

This June has been filled with what my Mother-in law calls 'June Gloom' . The weather will be gorgeous one minute then kind of grey and cool the next. My Garden is finally taking off a bit, I have a small plot on the south side of my yard, just enough to get excited about. My yard took a beating this past winter I lost many plants, so I have had to dig up my dead plants and that was kind of a bummer.

We went out to Sauvie Island and I got a flat and a half of strawberries. If you guys haven't tried the Hood variety go out and get some, they have a short season but man they are super good. So I made so freezer Jam.... and a nice tart. Jeff and Atticus were silent eating the tart .... that's how you know it's good. :)

So we are pretty mellow this summer plans here and there, but I just want to kick back and enjoy the season.

We went down to my folks' house this past weekend and spent some good family time with everyone. My mom watched Atticus for Jeff and me, and we went out for our fifth year anniversary. It was awesome; we went to Cafe Soriah's and shared some appetizers and drinks then went to the new Star Trek. It was fun. Hard to believe our hot beautiful wedding was that long ago....

Well Peace to all! Amazing that I have been able to type this much with out someone pulling my hand away from the keyboard!

Lexa's June

Well, it has been a few weeks since my last post. My days have pretty much been filled with work and gardening. Since gardening is a lot more fun, I will get you caught up on the action.

Since my last post, everything has now been planted in the vegetable bed by the house. The squash all tranplanted without a hitch from their peat pots and have been growing well, even with the cooler weather. The sunflowers are all up, and the beans are mostly doing their thing. They liked the warmer weather we had in early June much more than the cooler last few weeks. The tomatoes have been growing like crazy and are already at the top of their towers. It is now time for me to add the second piece on to the towers.

Now the action has all switched to the big garden down by the road. It finally dried out after the rains, and I was able to start planting. First I transplanted all the Zinnias and Cosmos that I had started from seed. Then I put in 12 more tomatoe plants that were desperate to get in the ground. They are still sulking a bit from being left in their pots for 3 weeks. And then I planted 2 rows of an heirloom dried bean from British Columbia called "Irish Creek Annie". I figure if they can grow and dry beans that far north, I should be able to do it here. Then it was on to planting dahlias. I have about 165 started in pots that are ready to go in the ground. And I have about 40 tubers that still need planted. Needless to say, I will be planting dahlias for the next few weeks!

And here is a picture of the big garden, as it slowly gets filled in. Happy first day of Summer!

Champions!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Mikaila's team the Tulips won their division championship last Saturday. Today was Quinten's division championship tournament. The Tigers won the first game easily, but had to pull out a nail-biter for the title. At the bottom of the third they were down 10-3. Two innings later they came back to win it 10-15. Quinten was played first base both games and also hit a triple! He got on base every time he was up.

We are very proud of both them. I was too busy cheering to take pics. Sorry.

The 17th of June 1915

Since June 17th is Gram's birthday, I thought I'd share a couple of items which commemorate that event. The first is a copy of her birth announcement. It was sent to her paternal grandparents, James Monroe and Nellie Upton in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania. The most remarkable thing is the postmark. Gram's was born on the 17th and the postcard is postmarked the 17th! Her mother, Elsie Greenwell Upton, must have been the most uber-efficient new mother in Oregon that year!

The 2nd item is a photograph of three generations of the Upton family. It was taken not long after Gram's was born - she is the blurry baby in the photo. Her mother, Elsie Greenwell Upton is in the back row, as is her father, Otto D. Upton. Otto had been estranged from his family. His father was a "difficult" man, and Otto left home when he was about 15 years old. In the 1910 census Otto is found in Spokane County, WA working in a logging camp. I like to think that the birth of a new grandchild provided the impetus for family reconciliation. Anyway, the elder Uptons travelled out to Oregon to have a "look-see" at the new baby! In the front row holding Grams is Ellen Augusta (Nellie) Carter Upton. Also in the front row is Nellie's husband, James Monroe Upton. Nellie was born in 1863 on the day her father joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War! So with one photograph we span the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries for our own family history lesson.

The To Do Lists 1965

It is easy to remember someone older as they were the last few years of their life; harder, I think, to remember the many years when they were a youthful, vital, active person.

Our Grandfather is a case-in-point...at least he is for me.

So I share with you a couple of Gramp's "To Do" lists from 1965. The Wanings moved from Moss Street to Old Dillard Road in 1965. Grandfather was still actively logging. He was fixing up the "new" house, and spending dozens of hours at the Waning Farm in Dexter so that his mother could continue to live there in comfort.

On top of all that, Gramps took on much of the indoor and outdoor maintenance for Covenant Presbyterian Church. You can see which items have been completed - they are crossed out as they were accomplished. A very busy involved man!

Fishin' the McKenzie

This was about a month ago. Still a little chilly. I'm just downstream from the Finn Rock Store. My buddy I was fishing with just sent these photos. Though I'd share.

Cousin Connection - 100 Years Ago

In the spirit of this blog I thought that I'd share a Cousin Connection from 100 years ago give or take a couple of years.

In June of 1907 Matthew McAdam returned to the United States from visiting family in Scotland. On his return Matthew brought with him a nephew, Alexander Jarvie, the 5th child of his sister, Cecilia McAdam Jarvie. The two travelled on the "S.S. Victorian" sailing from Liverpool to Quebec. They then travelled down to Blooming Prairie, Minnesota where Matthew resided with several of his adult children, including our Great-grandmother, Janet McAdam Waning.
Alexander Jarvie's visit was a MOMENTOUS event in McAdam family history! It is not every day, after all, that a cousin comes from Scotland to visit. Some stories of the visit were passed down. Alexander brought his own tea with him fearing the quantity and quality of the beverage in America might leave something to be desired! He was taken aback at the "waste" of the unplanted verges along the edge of the roads before the fence lines began. In Scotland fields were planted right to the very edge of the road. And in a cultural faux pas, Alexander left his boots out to be "blacked" (shined) the first evening of his visit. His McAdam female cousins informed him that they would be glad to provide him with blacking, but if he wanted it done, he needed to do it himself!

Happily our Great-grandmother and Alexander stayed in contact after his visit though the cultural divide remained! Alexander sent this postcard in 1909 when Janet McAdam had moved out west to Billings, Montana. He comments, "Why have you gone so far away from home?...I wish you success in your new sphere and hope you will not be lonely...Are you near Matt?". (Janet's brother Matt had moved to Montana years previously - I know it is confusing she had a brother and a father both named Matthew!).
FYI Alexander Jarvie was born in 1859; he was almost 48 when he travelled to Minnesota. Our Great-grandmother, born in 1875 was 32 years old the summer of 1907 when her cousin visited. According to Janet McAdam Waning, Alexander was called Alex and the name was pronounced "Alick" with a hard "C" sound.
That is your history lesson for today - special thanks to Sandie for sharing the postcard.

What's new in my world.

The biggest change is I started a new job in April. I am now working at 9 Wood. They are a wood ceiling company. The name may sound familiar because Kevin works there also. It is a really cool company to work for and am very happy to be working with wood again. They are sure keeping me busy. We're really lucky that we have this little nitch that doesn't seem to be affected by the slow economy. We set a record last month for square feet shipped. When not at work I've been trying to fish as much as possible. I went camping on Memorial Day weekend. I went up to Delta campground by Cougar Reservoir. It was nice to get away for a couple days. Just me, a big pile of firewood and a couple books. It was great. Other than that not much is new. I feel kinda lame not having any pictures in my post. Next time I'll be more prepared!

Kristi's News

As the oldest cousin, it is my right and responsibility to lead a big shout out to Cousin Kris. She has been hiding her light under a bushel and blogging about her family, rather than herself. I know that we are all SO very proud of her getting her Master's Degree on the 26th of April 2009.

Photo shows Kierstyn, Kristi, Mikaila, Quinten, and Tom on Graduation Day.

Hint: To view any photograph on blog in more detail, click on the photo and you will see an enlarged version.

Way to go Kristi! We are ALL so proud of you.

Life in Michigan

Well reading about all of the gardening going on in Oregon, I thought I'd post some pictures of what my garden and yard looks like here in Michigan (since none of my extended family has ever been out here. Hint, hint)

View from my front door.

Below are pictures of our backyard. Tom built our deck last year and we can't believe how good it turned out.



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This a view of my raised beds. Quinten, Mikaila, and Kierstyn all have a bed that they plant. We are also growing peas and potatoes. The big bed on the left is our "Oregon Garden." We planted nasturtiums, zinnias, and bachelor buttons all from memories of loved ones in Oregon.
We also have a garden plot out by the pond with popcorn, pumpkin, and watermelon.

We have also been busy with the all American past-time. Kierstyn has just finished up pitching for the JV softball team for the Allendale Falcons. It was a long season and and the ended up 14-14. She was one of 2 pitchers and we are very proud as she is only a freshman. She continues to be a straight 'A' student and is in the middle of studying for finals. School finishes up this week.







Quinten has been playing machine-pitch baseball. He loves it! Actually he loves just about any sport. His great-grandmother would have been so pleased. He is remarkably good at which ever sport he tries (hockey, baseball, soccer, etc).
Mikaila plays machine-pitch softball. Her team is not near as into it as Quinten's team, but she sure loves to slide. She has many hobbies like reading, writing stories and illustrating them. She also has been known to compose a song or two.

Lastly, I am now in limbo after graduating from my program and trying to find a teaching job. Late spring not such a good time to be doing that. Oh well, better get going. Take care all.

Lexa's May

Well, I decided to follow Beth's lead and talk about what I did in May. When I wasn't working, or at a track meet, I was gardening. The weather turned sunny and warm and suddenly it was time to do everything.

I started by planting seeds of "Sonata" Cosmos and 2 varieties of Zinnias. Then near the end of the month I started 3 varieties of winter squash "Buttercup" "Butternut" and "Delicata". With the unseasonably warm weather we have been experiencing everything has come up and is growing quickly.

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I planted my vegetable bed in the back of the house.The back is a row of sunflowers. In front of that is a row of 8 heirloom tomatoes. In front of that are the 4 hills, where my 8 squash seedling will be transplanted soon. To the far back left is the bean tower. I have planted "Good Mother Stallard" pole beans. I am going to try to harvest them as a dry bean for use in soups and stews this winter. Below is a picture of the new Vegetable bed.I have also been super busy getting my big garden ready. We have rototilled it 4 times and it is ready to go! I have started about 150 of my 200 dahlias in 1 gallon pots. Now I just need the time to make a map, lay out the stakes and get planting!

How I spent the month of May - More Photos

Front Porch, Ladybugs and Plants, Sedums.

Fuchsias and Hostas, Blue Pots and Glass Art Bugs, Hens & Chicks.

Hosta and Pansies, Ferns and Fuchsias, Sedums and Sempervivums and Hebes on Back Patio.

How I Spent the Month of May 2009

I gardened...and I gardened...and then I gardened some more! To be accurate: I went to Little Red Farm and Grey's and bought plants. I went to Down to Earth and bought plants. I went to the Book Mine and Territorial Seed Company and bought plants. I went to Johnson Brother's Greenhouses and bought plants. I returned to Grey's and Down to Earth and bought plants. I went to Lowe's and bought pots. I potted up plant, after plant, after plant, after plant. I then arranged the pots on the front porch and back deck, and edited the plants with my "Garden Art". And yes, I applied deer repellent!

The next post will show some of the results of my efforts.