Tag: spring I. Portland

A Little Spring Gardening

Dear Liza,

As we start to see the end of winter, gardens can need tending to. It is too early for me to start in my vegetable patch at a Blair Community Garden…. I have tried pushing the seasonal limits and been disappointed there before.

But Auntie Katie’s garden at Books with Pictures doesn’t grow vegetables. It is full of hardy perennials like rhododendrons, irises and roses. She uses this lovely spot the other three seasons for story readings, lectures and book signings, performances, and as part of her Books with Pictures Comic Con.

This is me reading to some munchkins a few summers ago.

The garden has been through its second winter now and is well established.

But our week of especially cold weather took its toll on her irises, killing off the tallest leaves and even some early buds. Old weeds have died and need to be dealt with, and the last of the fall leaves have turned to slimy muck on the ground. So I get to go over and get my hands dirty.

I love playing in the mud!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Little Birdhouse in Our Soul

Dear Liza,

I know Spring is coming, even though we are still under chilly, drippy skies, and I want to be ready. It’s way too early to start any plants in the veggie plot (as I learned last year), but I want to do SOMETHING!

But let me start from the beginning.

Last month, our dear friends Kitty and Mike came to visit with their sons Isaac and Rhys. I took care of Isaac when he was tiny and am very pleased to see him grown up and applying to colleges.

While they were here, we visited Creative Culture. This is a wonderful space where you use their tools and supplies to make your own crafts. It isn’t cheap, but it sure is fun! They also serve amazingly huge milk shakes, which Isaac enjoyed as his 18th birthday dessert.

The boys made nail and string art, which was interesting but very noisy. Bridgett made a small terrarium. I painted a birdhouse, and I am really happy with the way it turned out.

This morning, Auntie Bridgett got up on a ladder and hung it on our balcony. It looks fabulous! All I need to do is put out the “For Sale” sign and wait for some birds to move in.

Of course, we will call them Kitty and Mike.

Love,

Grandma Judy