The fair maid who, the first of May,
Goes to the fields at break of day
& washes in dew from the hawthorn tree,
Will ever after handsome be.
- English folk rhyme

Wishing you a blessed Beltane!

We spent last weekend in Seattle. My brother and sister in-law run a lovely little B&B and urban farm in the heart of Ballard. My sister in-law is a gardener extraordinaire, a weaver, and a bee keeper. My brother is a chef, soap maker, chicken keeper and builder of fine things. They are busy people, they do all this and hold down full time jobs!

They impress and inspire me to no end.

We helped to extract honey from the hives, made soap, took walks, made and ate good food!

This is Sophie, she loves to hang out with the ladies.

We came home with an abundance of honey, soap, worms for the worm bin, and sorrel to plant.

It was a gloriously beautiful weekend!

Every morning on my way to workout I pass by this garden. It’s nestled between a night club, the Y and a parking lot.

It makes my heart sing!

We are fortunate in this town where I live to have so much green space. You are within walking distance to the beach, a park or walking trails wherever you are.

I love this town of ours!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend, wherever you are.

Seems that Mother Nature is teasing us this spring. Actually she probably does this to us every spring, but we forget, and when April rolls around again we get hopeful. We’ve had a few days of above 60 degree weather, but not many! On those lovely, sunny and warm days, we dash out into the gardens to: weed, mow what needs to be mowed, dig, plant, hop on our bikes, go for a hike or head for the beach. We try to pack as much as possible into that very short window of time, because it seems that for every warm and sunny day, we get at least two or three days of rain.

I’ve been experiencing spring vicariously through a few east coast bloggers, enjoying pictures of cherry blossoms and magnolias in full bloom. My own magnolia is just starting to bloom, and my fruit trees — well, I was starting to think they were all dead for lack of buds, but they are there. Small, but there. 

So there is hope, and I will not give up on spring. But goodness, you do know that summer is right around the corner?

Wishing you a beautiful day!

She’s so dedicated . . .

Yesterday I woke up to a beautiful spring morning and to a chorus of birds outside my window, I heard my mother in their song. I heard her say it was time to move on; a year had passed, and she needed to go.

My niece called to tell me that she heard them too!

My mother passed away during the spring equinox and the super moon. To me it seemed like the world was standing still. I was afraid — afraid to lose my mother and my best friend. You see, hardly a day in my life had gone by that I had not spoken to her. She was the keeper of my secrets, my fears and my dreams. She was the one who always told me that everything would be OK. She was my cheerleader, always telling me to go for it!

She was my rock.

For months I would find myself driving to go visit her. Wanting to call when something happened that she would like, or when I saw a bird I didn’t recognize, when I saw an old movie that I knew she would love, or just because I wanted and needed to hear her voice.

The night before she passed away, when we were alone, I climbed into bed with her and we held each other. I told her I was afraid. She stroked my hair and told me that everything would be OK.

The next day it was my turn. As she lay in the bed at hospice, I whispered into her ear that everything was going to be OK, that we would be fine, that we loved her so very much, but she could go when she was ready, she didn’t need to worry about us anymore, we would be fine.

She passed away that afternoon surrounded by nearly all of her children and grandchildren. It was peaceful and beautiful. She was surrounded by love.

Today I see her in the birds, in the gerbera daisies, in a silly song that only she knew the words to, in a dance, in my gardens, in the mountains that she loved, in my nieces and nephews, sister and brothers . . . in Chloe and in myself.

Last weekend I spent time on the island with some friends. It was a lovely time, walking on the beach,shopping in town and spending some time creating a little magic here. The weekend was filled with beauty, silliness, good food and good company.

There were signs of spring, here . . .

and here.

I love this view. This is home to me.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend.

Well, I took a little unexpected break. Technical difficulties, so to speak.

Projects were finished up and new ones were started.

We took walks in the woods and got caught in an unexpected snow storm.

It was beautiful and exhilarating.

And we spotted a bit of spring coming through . . . oh yes!

She is on her way!!!