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Archive for the ‘Captain Cavedweller’ Category

In our travels on our vacation, one stop took us to an heirloom garden where flowers and veggies popular a century or so ago were featured at Fort Vancouver in Vancouver, WA.

garden arch

It was quite lovely.

purple poppy

There were plants that looked familiar and then some that we’d never seen before, like this gorgeous purple poppy. I want some of these!

artichoke

The artichokes grew in spiky splendor along with staples like corn and potatoes.

hollyhocks

They had the loveliest hollyhocks, growing contained where they were supposed to. While I gazed on in admiration, I saw Captain Cavedweller shudder. One year his mom and I both planted hollyhocks… apparently about three times as many as we should have and both of our yards were quickly overtaken with the towering blooms. I’ve been banned from ever again in this lifetime planting hollyhocks (I my mother-in-law was, too) so we have to admire them from afar.

flowers bright

I fell in love with this bright flower. I just loved the color and, of course, realized later I forgot to right down the name of the plant.

flowers against sky

Anyone have any ideas? The way they bloomed against the summer sky was absolutely gorgeous!

She Who Loves Seeing New Things

 

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wheat lr

Last week, Captain Cavedweller and I took some time off and escaped to a big city where I can shop to my heart’s content and he can eat things like fall-off-the bone delicious ribs and the best french fries known to man.

Driving to our destination, we enjoyed the scenery and I may have asked (okay, more like yelled “stop the car!”) to pull over a few times to snap photos.

This is one of a beautiful wheat field set against the gorgeous summer sky.

I’ll be sharing more vacation photos and stories this week, just as soon as I get my head back on straight and our laundry done!

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What seems like a lifetime ago,  I had a very nice backyard.

tulips-1It was a green oasis, filled with colorful blooms.

cosmos and blue skyThey made my heart happy.

melon blossom

We also had a small garden space where I could grow the veggies and melons that whispered to my heart, calling out “It’s summertime, enjoy!”

Then one cold winter day, our septic system decided it had done it’s duty for enough years and completely died.

Lucky homeowners that we are, we had to put in an extensive system that encompassed our entire backyard.

That translated into nearly every inch of the backyard being dug up and destroyed.  A few rose bushes, a butterfly bush and a hydrangea survived.

Barely.

septic grass before destructionThis shows the beginning of the destruction.

septic right side done

And what it looked like once the system was installed.

What it still looks like, much to my dismay.

Captain Cavedweller and I, due to a series of unfortunate events that would make Lemony Snicket proud, have not yet restored order in the wasteland that has become our backyard.

Since we are still in a state of dirt and destruction, I thought I’d ask for any ideas and opinions on how you would landscape the area. We’ve got a completely clean slate to work with.

Would you add a dining area?

Fire pit?

Terraced flower beds?

We can’t put down anything too heavy or that will sink deep roots.

What are your thoughts?

I’d love to see your ideas. Just post a comment below.

She Who Is Tired of Seeing the Sahara out the Kitchen Window

 

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The other night Captain Cavedweller and I went for a drive.

Since I climbed behind the wheel, I handed CC my camera and told him to take photos.

We started out the trip by stopping to visit some new residents who moved in just down the road.

alpacas 1

They are cool and distant, ignore us, and on occasion stick their tongues out at us.

alpacas2

Our neighbors recently added not one, not two, but eight alpacas to their farm.

As we drive to work, we gawk at them every single morning.

They fascinate us so.

Next, we headed off to an area rich with wine grapes and wheat farms.

vineyard and wind machines

If you look really hard, you can almost see the wind turbines on the hills in the background.

The grapes right now are lush and green and so pretty against the blue sky.

Blue Mountains 2

We also admired the growing wheat with the mountains in the distance. Just a few weeks ago, the tops of the hills were still dusted with snow.

Blue Mountains

But now they provide a perfect green backdrop to the surrounding farmland.

She Who Likes Taking a Backroad

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