"I started photographing my domestic world and writing not just about what I had made,
but why I made it, examining the thoughts that accompany creativity and the act of making."
Jane Brocket from The Gentle Art of Domesticity p. 189 UK edition

Monday, March 7, 2016

Closer to Spring










How have the days in your part of the world been?

In Boring, Oregon, USA, we have been marching closer to Spring with rain showers down in the valley and a bit more snow on Mt. Hood.  I stopped by Jonsrud viewpoint in Sandy one misty day when Mt. Hood was barely visible to the east of the Sandy River to take a photo to show you.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard let me get a photo of them perched on their favorite downed tree in the front pond, but I did not see the Wood Ducks visiting them that day.

Our one Camellia bud is opened a bit more, our Daffodils are still dancing around our tree, and our Forsythia bush is a fountain of gold blossoms.
My youngest SIL cut several branches of the bush for me so that I could wind them into one of my vine wreaths in exchange for the dried prickly Holly I had put on it just before Christmas.

We planted a few more plants on Saturday: two Carnations, some Crawling Mint, a small Lilac bush, two Dianthus and two other new to me plants with long names I can't remember at the moment, but hope they are hardy enough to survive our gardening.

I found a little Shamrock plant at the grocery store and am hoping I can help it thrive indoors year round.

Two year old Rose came to me requesting me to put her hair in pony tails, the other day, and I thought you might enjoy seeing the result :)

Baby Ian, my newest friend in CA was born several months ago, and I wanted to make something for him to celebrate his birth, and found the pattern for a crocheted baseball cap HERE.

Wishing you happy marching into whatever season you are in!

xx
Gracie


19 comments:

  1. A lovely post, after one of the mildest winters we are now experiencing so rather wild weather so no gardening getting done here. Those little pony tails are so cute, she is a darling.

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  2. Hi Gracie, so lovely to see all your pics and catch up with your news :-) Looking forward to Spring here too - it's beautifully sunny today but just a little too cold for my liking still. Happy Marching to you too! Hugs xx

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  3. Oh my, Rose could not be cuter!
    Spring has really sprung for you, and looks lovely. I suspect we have one more snowfall here.

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  4. Good morning sweet Gracie! My very favorite picture of your post? Little Rose with her pigtails. She is darling! We had lots of rain here over the past week, but our temperatures aren't as warm as where you are. We still have no flowers blooming. I'm just grateful for no snow. The little shamrock plant is so cute. Maybe I'll have to look for one of those when I'm out and about. Have a wonderful week Gracie.
    Blessings, Beth

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  5. Hi Gracie, it's nice to hear about all the good things in your life lately. Rose has gotten so big! She was just a baby yesterday, right? :) Her pigtails are very cute. I love your camellia bud, it looks perfect and ready to blossom very soon. I hope you have a good week, Gracie.

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  6. I love your Spring photos! I can smell the sweetness of the flowers :-) Your little one is so very sweet - mine used to love pigtails as well!

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  7. Lovely Spring photo, we have daffodils here but the Camelia and forsythia are yet to flower
    Clare xx

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  8. Hi Gracie! I enjoyed reading your blog this morning.. seeing Rose's adorable face made me smile, what a cheeky little monkey! I loved seeing your forsythia decorated wreath, too. You did a GREAT job on the little boy hat! You will enjoy that Shamrock for many years to come. You might want to take the plastic wrap off of it so it doesn't sit in water. OK.. I better pack my swim bag.. see you soon! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  9. I love your wreath covered in forsythia, that is such a simple idea but looks so good! It will be sometime before our forsythia is in bloom! Rose's pony tails look so cute! The shamrock plant reminded me of one my Mum bought when I was 12. I haven't seen one for years and years! Sarah x

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  10. Beautiful bits of spring!...and ponytails.... and baseball cap. I surely wish spring would "spring" here!

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  11. beautiful signs of Spring Gracie. Your granddaughter is so beautiful - love her pigtails. Hope the shamrock grows well. Lots of signs of Spring here - however at the weekend we were in Yorkshire and we got stranded at a restaurant at a Vineyard - we had been for a tour as part of our son's birthday celebrations. It snowed so hard the staff came and told everyone that we would not be able to get back down the lane. However some of them went and cleared two tracks and our D.I.L. managed to get us safely down. Hugs Anne x

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  12. Love the little pony tails! She is a cutie! Ahh, beautiful to see the flowers as well, and hear about planting! Spring must be on it's way to Iowa! Actually we had most of our snow melt this weekend, and today was shirt-sleeve weather. But we know better than to get our hopes too high. Sometimes it snows in May.

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  13. What a cute hat. I love the pony tails. I bet she is so proud of them. We are a little further on in our spring. Camellias are now full of flower. I think we are all longing for summer days again! Barbara x

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  14. Greetings dear Gracie, thank you for the kind words you left on my blog. Your spring flowers are so lovely as is little Rose. She is adorable. I hope you are having a great week. Hugs, Pat

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  15. How can Rose possibly be two! She is growing so fast and her hair looks so cute. Happy Spring Gracie,
    Meredith

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  16. The very first photo, the one with the wreath on the door, is so very lovely, Gracie, I like it a lot. And I like the spring weather we're having. And, of course, that darling Rose. Time flies!
    Amalia
    xo

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  17. Dear little Rose looks so sweet with her pony tails, she has grown so fast though it only seems a moment that we saw her cute baby pictures! I love your forsythia wreath, it looks so natural and simple and speaks so completely of spring. I loved seeing the daffodils growing round the tree too, so pretty. Thank you for your kind words on my blog dear Gracie.
    Wishing you and your family happy spring days.
    Helen xox

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  18. Oh, I love forsythia! And of course where I live right now it doesn't grow. Nothing speaks spring to me more than cheery yellow forsythia.
    Where were you when you took that aerial photo of the green field and the river? It's lovely.

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    Replies
    1. Jonsrud Overlook in Sandy, OR....near the high school on Bluff Road

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