~ Sunshine ~ In A Vase On Monday er…Tuesday! ~

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

My hydrangea blossoms are now in their light green/white/pale blue stage, and raspberries are ripening quickly.  Today’s vase (in my favorite heavy crystal one that holds heavy-headed stems well) is a mix of day lilies and penstemon.

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Hemerocallis ‘Always Afternoon’ & H. ‘South Sea’
Hemerocallis ‘Exotic Candy’ & H. ‘South Sea’
Hemerocallis ‘ Exotic Candy’
Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’

At nine o’clock this evening we will experience the Summer Solstice so today is the last day of spring and tomorrow, the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere. Early summer is almost always lovely in the Pacific Northwest!

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for highlighting the beauty of cut stems.

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~ Stillness Verses Action ~ WPC: Focus ~

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

One morning while Jello and I explored the beach, I noticed three Turkey Vultures Cathartes aura gleaning the carcass of a pelican.  As I approached, the buzzards were loath to leave their prize.  My goal was to get close enough to snap a clear photo of the birds.

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Later, as I looked through the shots I’d taken, I found those of the birds in action were much more interesting and exciting than the clear, clean shot I originally thought I wanted!

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 Focus

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~ Wordless Wednesday ~

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq
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Long Beach, WA ~ June 9, 2017

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~ Creating Order From Chaos ~ WPC: Order ~

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

I find it very satisfying to take something that is a chaotic mess and turning it into something beautiful, functional or just finished — like a basket of laundry or a jigsaw puzzle!

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In early spring I posted a few times about my project to make the Willow tree remnant (aka stump) into a pleasing garden.  

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As I worked on the project, pulling resources from my other gardens and spending time in the space, a vision started to take shape.

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Always ready to soak in the sun and help me out, Jello attended my efforts!

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Early morning and afternoon sunlight shines into this little nook, making it a nice place for coffee or a glass of wine!

To me, order is in the aesthetic that meets my eye. If something I’m working on isn’t visually pleasing, it nags at me until I figure out a solution!

Order

chaos order

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~ Florabunda ~ In A Vase On Monday ~

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

This past week Portland, Oregon (across the Columbia River from my home) celebrated their annual Festival of Roses.  Right on cue, roses throughout the region started their seasonal show.

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Today’s vase, a tall crystal one with heavy base, features three varieties of rose along with Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sara Bernhardt’ Peony.

 

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The above photos are of Rosa ‘Charisma’ — a short floribunda shrub with flowers that start out as lovely, tight, light-orange buds edged in red, and open out to a ruffled hot pink blossom with tangerine highlights.

 

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Rosa ‘Easy Does It’ has a layered ruffled blossom in luscious pink to orange tones.

 

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Rosa ‘Madame A. Meilland’ (aka Peace Rose) blooms all summer in a corner behind a mature hydrangea. It is now nine feet tall, and as I walk out the front door of my home (a split-level) I am greeted by Peace Roses at nose and eye level!

 

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for providing incentive to get back into the gardens and posting!

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~ In Loving Memory ~ Pantoum ~

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

~ on the first anniversary of my father’s passing ~ June 3, 2017 ~

at the edge of a continent

sun kisses ocean and sky

mist rises clouds tumble

fine as the sands of time

sun kisses ocean and sky

windswept I stand

fine as the sands of time

ashes in my hands

windswept I stand

the waves before me

ashes in my hands

always of the earth

the waves before me

mist rises clouds tumble

always of the earth

at the edge of a continent

2017©Lindy Low Le Coq

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~ Ephemeral Dune Runes + WPC: Evanescent 2 ~

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

I do not know what critter creates these ridges and riddles in the sand, but every morning I find them at the edge of the dune grass where sand is mostly dry. Whatever the source, I find the images fascinating and fun.

The very low tide had hollowed-out swales, leaving lovely feather patterns.

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More example of here today gone tomorrow — though there will be new runes in the morning, these will be covered by the winds and waves.

     Evanescent

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~ Fleeting Moments ~ WPC: Evanescence + Bird Haiku ~

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

Yesterday, as I walked the trail through the marshy dunes from the beach to our condominium (Long Beach, WA), I spotted birds I’d never seen before.

Red-necked. Phalarope mature & immature

Fortunately, I had my Panasonic with telephoto so I was able to get good enough shots to determine they are Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus). “Sexual roles are reversed in phalaropes, with smaller duller-plumaged males incubating eggs and raising the young.” *

Red-necked. Phalarope group

Today there is no sign of them, but a lone Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) called out from the meadow and was perched high enough above the dune grass to get a photo so I could identify it.

Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 2Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas

Here today, gone tomorrow — the evanescent essence of migration!

 

small flock bobs in marsh

swimming in circles pecking

at surface for grub

*****

common yellowthroat

warbles atop meadow shrub

wide open solo

 

*Birds of the Puget Sound Region; Paulson, Morse, Aversa, Opperman.

Evanescent

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~ Dune Grass Runes ~ Wordless Wednesday ~

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

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~Late Spring = Early Summer ~ In A Vase On Monday ~

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Lindy Le Coq

For the first time since September, we are experiencing a run of more than two days of sunshine. What a joy to get up in the morning and walk into the gardens with a mug of coffee and nippers in hand, to make a posy for my deck table!

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Columbine seeds freely here so I can only say this is a Aquilegia hybrid.

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The Brunera macrophylla ‘Heartleaf alkanet’ is one I added last year. All the Brunera blossoms are fading, but the lovely heart-shaped leaves and textured light of the plant will grace my shade gardens all summer through. To bring some green into the posy, I added a sprig of Mexican Orange, Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ . For lightness and lift I finished with the tiny pink blossoms of an unknown sedum.

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The vase is one I found at a thrift shop — blown glass with a lime green interior and celadon exterior.

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If you have the name of this sedum, please leave a comment. I spent over an hour searching my notebooks and on-line to no avail!

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Here’s to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for keeping this fair-weather gardener going throughout a wet winter and early spring!

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