WAITSBURG, WA

I love travelling through these little towns that seem never to change or give in to "progress"... at least through the eyes of a passerby ... in the brief moments it takes to drive throught them. Remove the "pig", lawnmower and modern cars from the street and you really do feel you have stepped back in time.


One trip back on the outskirts of this little town we stopped for directions (yes directions...my husband can get lost just about anywhere and we had not at that time purchased a GPS unit - they are a godsend when it comes to navigating through these tiny villages LOL) ...anyways, across the street from where he'd stopped, just a mile or so out of town, was this gorgeous little cottage and plant nursery for sale...it looked like something out of a fairy tale... how I wanted to snap it up and finish out the rest of my days on that patch of property!


The countryside north of Waitsburg is mostly flat with rolling hills, farmland and wheat and grain crops. But within minutes it turns into the lush "green-ness" of vineyards for as far as the eye can see.

One never tires of the constantly changing scenery, I enjoy so very much these long drives "home" to the northwest from southern California.

Early morning at my sons house....

I LOVE how my granddaughter is looking up at me in total AWE...grandma is SO wise....so ALL KNOWING...LOL...where else does one get such unquestioning love and respect! Micah on the other hand, is thinking carefully about whatever I've just said...now 7 he thinks HE'S the smartest one in the room.

I have a warm feeling after playing with my grandchildren. It's the liniment working. ~Author Unknown

OREGON BLACKBERRIES! YUM! AND FREE TOO!


I googled the Oregon blackberry and this particular species, as opposed to the species found mostly along the Oregon coast, IS more or less a noxious weed, & it surely does seem to have taken over the State! But what a wonderful, delicious "weed" it is!

The Himalaya blackberry was introduced by Luther Burbank at the turn of the century. He thought it was from the Himalaya mountains in Asia. Later he learned it was actually R. procerus of Germany. This is the common blackberry in the Pacific Northwest and is found wherever humans disturbed the land. The Himalaya has become a well known weed, as well as a source of berries for pies and jams, however, it is not commercially grown.


When our boys were little we used to vacation on the Oregon Coast most summers and as a family would pick and fill containers of that species of berry, tote them home, and I would make up jars and jars of jam. The memories of those vacations, the taste, the emotional feelings, always come flooding back everytime we pass through this area. Needless to stay we stopped several times to munch our fill of these wonderful, wild "delights", laughing at each others blue-stained happy smiles.


God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. ~J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922

CALIFORNIA DROUGHT SUMMER 2009

Crossing the bridge at Shasta Lake in northern California. This Reservoir is rated at "abnormally dry", and we gasped at the obvious signs. This is the 3rd year of drought in California. This reservoir was filled in 1954 and the "Lake" water level is currently 42% of capacity.

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Stopping at one of Californias reststops at the north end of Lake Shasta. After World War II, beginning in 1944, a nationwide movement was started to pay tribute to the nation's armed forces by designating various state and national routes as "Blue Star Memorial Highways." In 1945 the National Council of State Garden Clubs adopted the program and began a Blue Star Memorial Highway system, which covers thousands of miles across the Continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. The Blue Star became an icon in World War II and was seen on flags and banners in homes for sons and daughters away at war.