As Summer Ends: Farmington Gardens Images, Lavender and 4th of July Whimsical Wired Characters

 Images from Farmington Gardens in Beaverton, Oregon taken in late June.
These photos capture colors and compositions of the summer garden.

Lavender was harvested from our home garden and placed in containers to dry.

A new family of Wired Characters took shape on July 4th...four in all.  Three of the four have been purchased; their new homes are in Wenatchee, WA, Portland, OR and Durban, South Africa.  They are dancers built on wood spool bases with wild hair made of fiber, button faces, fabric or knitted skirts, wire and fabric-wrapped bodies and colorful wire arms.
The three sisters in the photo below are in various stages of construction.  

After the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

 It was a lovely drive from Central Oregon to the Portland area in mid-July.

These first pictures were taken from the viewpoint between Bend and Sisters.

 The Three Sisters

The line of cars bound for Bend.

I was making the trek in the opposite directions, to the west side of the Cascades. 

Upon returning home to the west side of the Cascades after a warm week and a half, the raspberries to the left and climbing roses to the right had taken over the path to our door.

The garden was full of sweet surprises.

Hydrangeas 

 Orange cherry tomatoes.  Our first of the season.  Tasty!

 Plums

 Peas

 Beans

 Blackberries

 Blackberry blossoms

 Lavender & bees & ladybug

 Blueberries

 Currants

 Multicolored Roses

 Orange Roses

 Glads

 Roses

 Daylily

 Raspberries

Climbing Roses

Harvesting

Warm days have returned and the garden is full of goodies.

Cherry tomatoes.

 Grapes.

 Today's pickings.

... with blackberries. 

A tree, a fire and a harvest

A post after a many month hiatus!

A glimpse into our last few days...

Tall with tangled braches and many trunked, this tree towered ominously.

It was removed yesterday from its spot above and between two houses.
Goodbye, dear tree.

As I prepared for my trip over Santiam Pass on Sunday, September 9th, smoke rose from behind Black Butte - it was the Pole Creek fire.

I watched the fire's progress as I made my way across the pass.

On the west side of the cascades, our garden was full of goodies to harvest.

The tomatoes and cucumbers are delicious fresh.

The blackberries are frozen as soon as they are picked.

Beans we steam daily.

Intuitive Color and Design - Day 4

Morning snow.

White covered morning

Flakes drift lightly to the earth

As hidden birds sing 

In town

birds congregated loudly

among snow-covered branches.

Colors mingle with the snow.

At the end of the day - a few more blocks, a pincushion/paperweight, a little quilt ornament, and one small Black Butte quilt finished (the one on the bottom left) and ready for its companion framing quilt.

Possibilities

Color and design unfold

Endless Potential