Tag Archives: Heatherwood

Merry Christmas!

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“Early Winter Snow”
Heatherwood Winter

We are thankful for the gift of a little pre-Christmas snow that helped us get into a peaceful Christmas spirit. The natural setting here at Heather wood allows us to relax and enjoy the wonderful gifts that our Lord has given us.

As I stroll in the winter garden, I reflect on the many happy Christmases I have had throughout my life. They started up at the Ranch in Selah, WA for my early childhood years. They continued at our Hillcrest house overlooking Selah during my adolescence and college years. Karen and I enjoyed Christmases in Richland, Seattle, Bothell, Washington DC, Kent, Woodinville, and Fountainville, PA as my career took me back and forth across the country. And now Mary and I are spending our golden years in our Heatherwood garden back in Selah.

The Christmas season, even with all its hustle and bustle, is an occasion where we all need to take the time to be at peace, reflect on our lives and be thankful for what is most important to us and all that our Lord has given us.

Merry Christmas!

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Simple Pleasures

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“Walk Through the Garden”
Heatherwood Winter

The simple pleasure of walking through our Heatherwood garden is something I do almost every day. Sometimes the walk is just a few minutes, other times hours go by before I come in. The garden is in its infancy, but little vignettes like the one above, make each stroll a new experience.

During the busy Holiday season it is easy to get lost in all the hustle and bustle. I try my best to make sure I do not let the opportunities for little simple pleasures escape.

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Winter Garden Ground Cover

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“Ice Plant Sedum”
Heatherwood

To compliment the various winter interest shrubs and perennials, we have added various ground covers. The one with the most brilliant winter impact is the ice plant sedum. From its bright light green summer color, it turns into an intense orange-red color in late fall and winter. With a light dusting of snow it is particularly striking.

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Flash of Red in Winter Garden

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“Fire Power Nandina”
Heatherwood

Now let’s add a little flash of red to brighten up the winter garden. This species is a non-invasive dwarf reaching about two feet tall and wide at maturity. Here in the inland northwest it will maintain its red colored leaves during warm winters. Being a non-invasive plant, it does not have the typical white blossoms in the spring or the red berries in the fall and winter. But it is still a nice all season highlight to the garden.

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Abstract Thinking

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“Ornamental Grass Abstract”
Heatherwood Late Fall

How many ways can I look at something? They are infinite. This image is a 9-layer multiple-exposure, vertical pan of a clump of ornamental grasses in our garden. I enjoy looking at the world around us from multiple, sometimes abstract, perspectives. It helps me develop a balanced view of life that I would have never considered if I would have approached it from only one conventional angle. It also helps me come up with some creative images.

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Looking to the Future

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“Future Garden Room View”
Heatherwood Late Fall

We have designed locations for ten different viewing areas within our Heatherwood garden. Some look inward to the garden, some look outward, and some do both. Six are currently in place. We are planning on implementing two more this coming year. The one illustrated in the above image is in the southwest corner. We will create a little garden room around this spot. It will be designed to enclose the foreground lawn area and provide privacy to the sitting area. From this spot we will be able to enjoy the plants surrounding the lawn up close and still maintain the view of the north and western hills above Heatherwood. It will take several years to achieve this goal. We will patiently enjoy watching it mature.

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It Is Still Fall After All

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“Rock Garden Path”
Heatherwood Fall

Last Friday morning, I went out for what I planned as a short stroll through our garden. Three hours later I came in for lunch. Late fall sunlight is beautiful across the Heatherwood landscape. I just kept wandering through the garden waiting for the next image to appear.

Heatherwood is still full of color, even after all the leaves have fallen from the trees. As winter approaches (snow is predicted this coming week), the colors still decorate our rock garden hillside. They will remain until next spring when the ground covers will transition back to their rich greens and the conifers loose their yellowish tinge.

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A Beautiful Gift

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“Late Afternoon Sunlight”
Heatherwood Rose Garden

It was a beautiful late autumn day. The sun was just about ready to fall behind the western hills. I was out strolling through the garden enjoying the warm sun and beautiful light shining across our Heatherwood lower garden. The last rays were caressing one of the late roses. It stood up beconing me to pay attention and photograph it. I made one image, then the sun dropped below the hill and the light was gone. What a wonderful gift to end the day!

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Play and Experiment

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“Thistle”
Heatherwood Late Fall

The best way to learn is to just do it, experiment and play. I just got a new Lensbaby lens to add to my arsenal of tools for macro photography. After watching several videos on using the Lensbaby by other photographers, I came away with the bottom line tip, “Put the lens on your camera for several weeks, and just go out, play, and experiment.” This image is one of my first experiments.

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