It was warm and sunny all day yesterday! Grandpa Nelson went to the zoo, I got some ground eggshells worked into the soil in the vegetable garden, and Auntie Bridgett and I went for a walk in Laurelhurst Park.
All our favorite things were there.
Lovely pink magnolias were blooming right over the path, making a fine summery arbor.
A fellow was playing banjo and singing, and lots of folks were enjoying the day.
This sunny and shadowy view of the ravine never gets old.
Even the dandelions are looking good!
On the way home, we ran into this lavender bush that was absolutely alive with bees! Go, bees, go!
And, of course, it’s kitten season. This little guy was pouncing on everything from seeds to bugs to his own shadow, and finally just flumped down on the sidewalk. We are a pretty trio of shadows, aren’t we?
Well, a new year in the garden means a new garden journal.
This year, I am using a calendar book that Auntie Bridgett had laying around. After making my journal from scratch two years running, it was time for something new.
I painted the front with acrylics and have decorated the inside with acrylic color scraping (with an old credit card) and writing, using yellow, blue, sea foam green, and some metallic silver. And watercolor.
And a little collage for fun.
I wrote the first page on March 15, knowing it was too early, too cold and too wet to plant. Besides, we were heading out for our big vacation.
Two weeks later, when we returned from cold, dry, windy Denmark, we found cold, wet and windy Portland waiting for us. The dark blue page is hard to read, but really showed my mood. The cartoon is from a Dutch magazine, and asks if it is STILL raining, or raining AGAIN.
On April 20, my Spring Fever could wait no longer. I pulled out the wagon, bundled up, and slogged through some real rain to Portland Nursery.
I’ve decided to keep the receipts from things I buy for the garden, so I can see how much my “free” veggies are costing me.
And fittingly enough, Saturday was Earth Day! So after we chatted, I put the red oak leaf lettuces and dahlias in the ground.
Here’s the reality and my watercolor interpretation of the lettuce bed.
Well, I finally gave in. Even though it is still very rainy, and more than a little chilly, I took my little red wagon and walked down to Portland Nursery to get some starts for my vegetable garden.
I wore my coat, scarf, hat and gloves just as I have all winter. But I wanted to get started!
The nursery still had their tomatoes in the greenhouse, so I let them wait until later. I got a small set of red oak leaf lettuce from Planetwise. Their green oak leaf did very well for me last year. I also picked up some Early Yellow Prolific squash and Sweetie Pie pumpkin seed packets.
I saved the receipt from the nursery. I’ll try and keep a running total of what all the ‘free’ veggies cost! The seed packets got wet in my soggy pocket, so I pulled out a long plastic trough, planted them , and put them out by the side of the garage. They’ll have a week or so to sprout before going in the plot.
Once I walked back to the Blair Community Garden, I set the red lettuce in the shelter of the Camellia next door to wait for some drier weather (predicted for Sunday).
I noticed that the lady next to me, who has taken over the badly neglected plot, is already taking steps to make it perfect. I am very impressed.
Other folks are preparing in their own ways…. Some have cover crops still doing well, and others are beginning to turn back the burlap. Spring is soggy, but summer is coming!
The world has exploded with color here in Portland! We are still getting some rain, but temperatures are up and it looks like I will be able to get some things planted in my garden plot early next week.
Meanwhile, here is a song, written by dear Laurel Bloombaum years ago, about rainbows.
We all know that cats love boxes, so this past week when the first box of matzoh got emptied, we set it down for Mouse to sit in.
But Mouse was totally uninterested in the box! It sat there, empty, for nearly a week, until Bridgett decided to do some remodeling. She cut a window in the side…..
And put it back where Mouse could get to it.
Within a few minutes, Mouse’s little kitten senses were aroused, and she was at war with Auntie Bridgett’s hand.
They went at it for a while, as I tried to keep everyone in focus.
It’s amazing what a difference a window can make!
When Mouse was in solid possession of the box, the war was over. She had the box, and we had a happy cat.
Spring is really getting into gear here in Portland, even though it has been chilly and rainy. Friday was predicted to be our one sunny day between ten solid days of rain, so we headed out to see some pretty things.
Grandpa Nelson and I have walked the three miles to this lovely garden several times, but this time we needed to do grocery shopping on the way home, so Auntie Bridgett came along and we took the car.
The hellebores are still blooming all over the place, even though it is late spring and nicely warm in the sunshine. Their muted colors, which are so welcome in February, seem almost out of place in the bright sunshine.
The tulip magnolias are knocking themselves out, looking gorgeous against the bright blue sky.
Some spectacular late blooming daffodils were still around, bobbing in the breeze.
Grandpa Nelson is still recovering from jet lag and really enjoyed the peace and quiet of the garden.
Grape hyacinths and daffodils shone in the sunshine.
This was Bridgett’s first time at the garden, and she fell in love with it. Whenever we found a bench to relax on, she brought out her sketchbook and art bits and made adorable little sketches.
We loved the garden so much that we became members, so we can go for free anytime we want. It is just a short bike ride, and bit longer bus ride, or an hour walk from our house, the perfect distance for a picnic.
And the next time you are in town, we’ll go there.
Our vacation with family to the wintry city of Copenhagen has sent me into the Time Tunnel again, where you and your cousins appear in a giggling time-lapse photography sequence.
I will explain. In 2019, when the whole family was in Portland to help me send Great Grandma Billie’s and Great Grandpa Lowell’s ashes on their way to the sea, I took this picture of you and Cousin Kestrel. You were 5 and Kes was 7.
In spite of being two years older, Kes is smaller because her parents are smaller than yours. Measuring you two against each other was not making sense. Was there a more fixed point I could use to measure your growth?
I started looking. I found Kes posing with one of the deer statues downtown in 2017.
And again in 2022.
I found little Liza sitting on the Panther at Hartnell College in 2018,
and again in 2022.
This was making more sense, though I still felt like my life was stampeding in front of my eyes. To put a satisfactory end to this mental exercise, I will show you this portrait of Girl Power from The Botanical Garden in Copenhagen, with you both posing with Athena.
Next time we all get together in Copenhagen, I will take another picture of you two, right there.
I miss you already. I miss your snuggles and your smarts and your silliness.
But we had to come home
To get back there, we had a three hour flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, a two hour layover, and then a ten hour flight to Portland, and finally slept in our own beds. Sort of.
Jet lag, for whatever reason, was worse coming west this time. I’ve been awake at 3 a.m., napping all afternoon, and brain dead most of the time, for two days now.
But this morning, I got to go work in my veggie plot in the rain. While we were in dry, cold Europe, Portland had rain, rain, and more rain. But spring is coming and eventually I’ll be able to plant. So today I weeded and raked and put up the ladder, tomato cages, and trellis.
As an inside project, I’m working on the memory book of the trip, sorting museum brochures, tickets and café receipts, then snipping and gluing them down.
It’s a good mental exercise and a way to remember our wonderful time in Utrecht, Paris and Copenhagen with you all. I know I will cherish it, once my brain is operational.
After a few days in Copenhagen, you and your folks had to head back to Horsens. But Auntie Katie and the rest of us had one last adventure: Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world.
Opened in 1843, this “pleasure garden” includes gardens, rides, restaurants and musical entertainments, and lots of wonderful things to see. Spring is a bit late coming to Copenhagen, and the windy temperature wasn’t much above freezing, but hyacinths and daffodils are up and blooming.
Early spring flowers are used as decorations all over! This wishing well with a planted roof was adorable and seasonal.
And of course, there are rides. Big scary roller coasters, of course, but they are not our speed. Auntie Katie and the cousins enjoyed the spinny teacup on the Carrousel and some small, cartoony planes.
In parts of the park, you could see how this place inspired Walt Disney as he was developing Disneyland. Rides were fun for both kids and adults, and there were lots of flowers and refreshments. Like Mickey Mouse, this little clown person was placed anywhere a message needed to be conveyed. Here he is saying “We are building something new” to obscure some construction work.
Some things were very different from Disneyland, however. Beer and wine were sold, and some of the humor was a bit racy for American tastes. After all, our Puritan forefathers came to the New World in hopes of running away from such “worldliness”. I liked it!
There are also some rides where human power was involved, including this ‘hoist yourself’ drop-zone contraption. The riders wear gloves to pull themselves up, then get a long, smooth drop back to the bottom. There is also a pedal powered rollercoaster, but we couldn’t get close enough to take a picture.
Interesting bits of Danish history are scattered about. This small fountain dedicated to Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer, tells of his interesting life and scientific discoveries.
It even showed his gold nose! Like many men of his time, Tycho had been injured in a duel, losing the tip of his nose. He had a golden nose made. Cool, huh?
We stopped for snacks and realized we were just too cold to enjoy ourselves, even with layers, gloves, hats and scarves. We texted goodbye to the family and headed for the exit. On the way, we passed this delightful swing ride that I had used as part of my Adventure Grandma story.
Once we left the park and got warm, we walked back to the hotel, fetched our luggage, and began the long haul back to Portland. This misty sunrise over Amsterdam was the last picture I took in Europe.
I know we will come back soon, but I will miss you and your new country until we do.
Whenever you and your cousins get together, it is a busy day. Our third day in Copenhagen, some of the grown-ups opted for a tour bus. But not you guys.
So your daddy David and I went along to protect the city. Orstedsparken, or Orsted’s Park, is named after the scientist who discovered uses for electromagnetism. It includes a small lake which is home for dozens of ducks, geese, coots and wood pigeons.
You discovered this willow tree right by the water’s edge. Once it greens up, it is going to be a great hiding spot.
Further along, you and the cousins found this amazingly challenging merry-go-round thing. It took all three of you, plus Auntie Katie, to make it work.
As you can see, Auntie Katie is still very much a kid at heart. I see great Adventure Grandma potential for her….. in about twenty years.
I am so grateful we all got to have this time together.
Dear Liza 