Sky Over The “Lower 40”
Heatherwood Winter
I got up the other day and saw this early morning view out our living room window. I scrambled and grabbed my camera. I was able to only create a few images before the special light was gone. Cloudy winter mornings are very special here in Eastern Washington.
Looking Out My Office Window
Heatherwood & the Bluff Above
Warm sun rays brighten
the garden and hillside above.
A bright New Year ahead!
As I sit in my office gazing out the window, I warmly admire our garden and the hillside above covered by the early morning sunlight. The scene entices me to look into the future in a warm positive light. New knowledge, adventures, and experiences lie ahead. I wish you all a Happy New Year!
Woodland Edge
Heatherwood Autumn
Fall color abounds in Heatherwood on a beautiful autumn day. Just six years ago this was just a pasture with only the background birches. It is amazing how fast nature takes hold. We are pretty much finished with the design in this woodland area. Next year we will focus on another corner of the garden.
Dogwoods and Selah Bluff
Heatherwood Autumn
A planting bed of grasses and deciduous shrubs separate Heatherwood from our neighbor’s back yard. As we were designing the lower part of our garden area, we reviewed our concepts with our neighbors. We wanted to make sure that what we planted did not distract from their view of the bluff looking over our yards. This is their view from their back yard looking northeast up toward the surrounding hills. We both think the design has worked out!
Cherry Allee
Heatherwood Early Summer
Two weeks ago, I posted a similar image with the start of our perennial bloom. In the time that has passed since then, the whole Cherry Allee is full of summer blooms. As the summer progresses, some blooms will fade, others will take their place. The nickname for this perennial bed is “Bright and Shiny”. It fits its name.
Neighbor’s Pasture Through Cherry Allee
Heatherwood, Late Spring
I always enjoy our ‘view windows’ through the garden. It is very peaceful look down through the cherry allee perennial bed across to our neighbor’s pasture and watch the horses graze along. It is a good way to start the day.
Up Through the Garden to the Ridge
Heatherwood Late Spring
Bright blue skies, ground covers in bloom, yarrow ready to bloom … summer is right around the corner. Our Heatherwood garden is starting to burst out in bloom everywhere. Temperatures are in the 70’s approaching the 80’s. Summer seems to be coming a little early this year.
One of the driving factors when I purchased our Selah property was the surrounding ridge. It feels a little like we are in the center of a half circle amphitheater. Looking through the garden, the ridge stands above acting like a guardian. It is a wonderful backdrop leading up to the bright eastern Washington blue skies. As I gaze up at it, my mind wanders to contemplate the wonders of nature and what is good about the world around us.
Lower Yard and Meadow
Heatherwood Spring
The meadow looks bare after the spring clean-up. We were able to get the grasses and perennials cut back to make room for the new growth as the first week of spring greeted us. Our irrigation water will be turned on the first week of April. As soon as we check it out, we will start transplanting several of our existing shrubs and perennials to create the right space for this year’s new additions. Our new plants and trees will arrive the middle of April. Then the real work begins as we plant all of our new garden additions. April will be a busy month!
Kilauea Crater Edge
Kilauea National Park, Hawaii
We checked the weather forecast before we started a two hour drive to the Hilo side of the island and up to Kilauea. Everything looked good for a nice day. By the time we reached the top, it was heavily raining with dense fog and wind. We could hardly see the bottom of the crater, but decided to make the best of the day and drove down the chain of craters road down to the ocean.
Along Sage Ridge Road
Badlands National Park, SD
Colors, light, shadows, hills, ridges, and valleys … they are all here in the Badlands. The late afternoon sun pops out the colors, shapes, and textures from a rather grey-brown scene at midday. This image is not as sharp as I would like it to be, but it still captures the feeling of awe I had gazing over the vast landscape.