Spring Opens With Pink
Many things seem to be coming to a head right now. My Master Gardening course is complete and now I have to put in volunteer hours (if I want my certification). I did learn quite a lot in the class but I suppose I expected the class to be less about answering people's garden questions and more about answering my own. I wish that it had been less academic and more practical. Mostly the class was about using resources to find answers. (Like books, the Internet, and OSU publications.) Ah well. I did learn some botany that is not necessarily important to gardening (you could garden successfully for a hundred years without knowing exactly how the xylem works) but is never the less quite interesting.
Yesterday we finally signed our refinance papers. It is a week later than it should have been and until it funds I'm not going to discuss what's next or anything like that for fear of toppling my very fragile house of cards. Let's just say that we have been holding our breath around here.
I actually went to the gym this week for the first time in five months. And almost immediately felt my back going out. I haven't actually been laid up...but the threat is real. This ALWAYS happens. Either my back goes out or my ankle flares up (a medical mystery). Still, it felt good to go and put in some time.
The kittens seem to be improving. I say "seem" because they have lots of little bare spots (Pippa's whole chest is bare of fur- poor baby!) and Penny's stomach is still distended though they are both playful, have big appetites, and the bare parts of Penny's face have started to fill in with fur again so it seems that even if the ring worm isn't completely cleared yet, it's got it's marching orders at last. We take them in this morning to get the official word on their progress from the vet. Hopefully he'll tell us we can play with them soon because it's killing us all to not be able to interact much with them. They are terribly irresistible and the sooner we can ease into the whole dog introduction the better.
Spring is definitely here now. Officially. But I didn't need the official word to know it. When spring is officially here McMinnville turns pink. First with the ornamental (and fruiting) plum trees. Then with the pink dogwoods trees (one of the only planting trends around here that I can get on board with) and then with the ornamental cherries. It snows pink blossoms and is just gorgeous.
I have to confess that the only non-fruiting tree I am tempted to plant is a pink dogwood. Mostly because I would like to be able to cut branches of them for vases in my house. I can't go around cutting up other people's trees so it makes sense to have my own. I don't like using up precious space that could be growing things I can eat, but I may make an exception in this case. Plus, dogwoods always remind me of my mom and the things I love about her. I don't think the pink ones are necessarily what she would choose. She planted a pretty dogwood in our garden in Ashland and it had delicate whitish green flowers. Still, for me it's got to be the pink ones.
The daffodils are all out now, plastering the landscape in bright yellow points of light. Wonderful! I've never lived in a place so widely and generously planted in spring bulbs.
I'm thinking that the next time I paint a living room I want to paint it red. I've never had a red room.* We haven't had lots of success with blues. I like greens a lot. We've had a Dustpan Alley turquoise blue for a kitchen and I might repeat that one. But I like warm colors. I like yellow but have only done a bedroom in it. I do love the orange I did my studio in and might repeat that at some point. But the living room...I keep thinking of a rich color, but fresh cut flowers have to look good against it. I can always do green. But I feel like breaking out a little with something new.
This is where my thoughts are. The near future. It is near impossible to focus on the present.
Time to drink more coffee and write to a friend.
I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!
*We've had a red ceiling before.
Yesterday we finally signed our refinance papers. It is a week later than it should have been and until it funds I'm not going to discuss what's next or anything like that for fear of toppling my very fragile house of cards. Let's just say that we have been holding our breath around here.
I actually went to the gym this week for the first time in five months. And almost immediately felt my back going out. I haven't actually been laid up...but the threat is real. This ALWAYS happens. Either my back goes out or my ankle flares up (a medical mystery). Still, it felt good to go and put in some time.
The kittens seem to be improving. I say "seem" because they have lots of little bare spots (Pippa's whole chest is bare of fur- poor baby!) and Penny's stomach is still distended though they are both playful, have big appetites, and the bare parts of Penny's face have started to fill in with fur again so it seems that even if the ring worm isn't completely cleared yet, it's got it's marching orders at last. We take them in this morning to get the official word on their progress from the vet. Hopefully he'll tell us we can play with them soon because it's killing us all to not be able to interact much with them. They are terribly irresistible and the sooner we can ease into the whole dog introduction the better.
Spring is definitely here now. Officially. But I didn't need the official word to know it. When spring is officially here McMinnville turns pink. First with the ornamental (and fruiting) plum trees. Then with the pink dogwoods trees (one of the only planting trends around here that I can get on board with) and then with the ornamental cherries. It snows pink blossoms and is just gorgeous.
I have to confess that the only non-fruiting tree I am tempted to plant is a pink dogwood. Mostly because I would like to be able to cut branches of them for vases in my house. I can't go around cutting up other people's trees so it makes sense to have my own. I don't like using up precious space that could be growing things I can eat, but I may make an exception in this case. Plus, dogwoods always remind me of my mom and the things I love about her. I don't think the pink ones are necessarily what she would choose. She planted a pretty dogwood in our garden in Ashland and it had delicate whitish green flowers. Still, for me it's got to be the pink ones.
The daffodils are all out now, plastering the landscape in bright yellow points of light. Wonderful! I've never lived in a place so widely and generously planted in spring bulbs.
I'm thinking that the next time I paint a living room I want to paint it red. I've never had a red room.* We haven't had lots of success with blues. I like greens a lot. We've had a Dustpan Alley turquoise blue for a kitchen and I might repeat that one. But I like warm colors. I like yellow but have only done a bedroom in it. I do love the orange I did my studio in and might repeat that at some point. But the living room...I keep thinking of a rich color, but fresh cut flowers have to look good against it. I can always do green. But I feel like breaking out a little with something new.
This is where my thoughts are. The near future. It is near impossible to focus on the present.
Time to drink more coffee and write to a friend.
I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!
*We've had a red ceiling before.
Labels: colors, future, kitties, Master Gardener's course, spring