Burford Designs

Triple Moose Treat

This morning I was awakened by the faint calling of my name. 

 

“Melissa.”

 

I wasn’t sure if I had really heard something or not so I waited.

 

“Hey, Melissa.”

 

“Yes?” I answered hesitantly still unsure whether I had heard something.

 

My father, the avid wildlife watcher replied, “You should come out here and take a look in the backyard; there are a couple of moose sitting out there”.

 

Wiping the sleep from my eyes I looked at the clock, 6:55 AM.  I hurriedly put on my bathrobe and grabbed my camera while starting towards the hallway.  As I approached the door, my father sheepishly commented “I tried to take pictures but I don’t think they will turn out”.

 

Sure enough when I got upstairs to the living room and looked out the window there was a cow out in the yard with her calf not very far away; both were just sitting there chewing their cud as if they did this daily.  Although we get a lot of regular deer in the yard it is still a rarity to get other large animals like the bear I wrote about almost a month ago.

Opening one of the windows for a better view I snapped some pictures.  Then I noticed a movement in the weeds just beyond the momma moose and saw another calf hidden back there.

 

As Mommy and I watched the magnificent site of this momma moose and her two calves Daddy busily worked away at making pancakes.  Just as we finished eating breakfast the one calf stood up and excused himself. 

 

Moose are amazing, such humongous bodies and such spindly legs; they just don’t seem to go together.  I wanted to know more about moose and after a quick search I learned that moose are the largest living species in the deer family.

 

Hopefully there will be more wildlife in the yard soon.

Foglie e Fiori or Leaves and Flowers

Baby Boy sent me these links knowing that I would like them (the first one is the post and the second is the gallery)… I decided to share them with all of you.  Being a fan of fashion (and nature) I love these pieces.  The site is in Italian so I can only make out a sentence here and there but who needs to read when you can look at these lovely fashions like this fabulous gown.

 

Or this beauty

 

It reminds me of the dress Austin Scarlett made for season one of Project Runway (the Grocery Store Challenge).

 

Of course none of it is the least bit practical but fashion isn’t always practical and I couldn’t imagine wearing it… even for a photo shoot.  However, on a wire dress form or something like that it would be fantastic… especially in the wilderness where I live.

 

This will definitely go on my list of things “to possibly do”.  It would probably also be on a list of things that if I actually did it I would hear from others that I have way too much time on my hands. 

 

For some more eye candy you should also check out the gallery on Frushi (fruit sushi) so perfect for these hot summer days.

 

Happy Monday!!

June Showers Bring Summer Flowers

Although we are now in the summer months (even by just a day) the weather is acting a heck of a lot like early spring.  It has been cool and rainy for a while… but I don’t mind… with the winter we had it pushes everything back.  I also don’t mind because it helps the flowers and gardens grow better. 

 

Here is a sampling of the flowers that are growing out front.

 

By mid-July I’m sure there will be many more flowers in bloom (since a lot seem to be finally growing from the seeds Daddy planted and a few are budding along but it will still be a while until they are in full bloom).

 

There are several containers planted with petunias and fuchsia and an assortment of other flowers (some we don’t know about because seeds were planted by Daddy without checking the packages), and the gardens are filled poppies and sunflowers.  And I can’t forget to mention all of the wildflowers.  A lady driving past the house actually stopped by and asked if she could take pictures of the yard.

 

It is a fabulous shot… that’s where I take a picture of Chewie every year because it’s a great backdrop.

 

Happy Monday!!

Flowers They Are Abloomin’

I’m so happy spring has sprung and all the flowers are blooming and making everything so beautiful around here.  I’ve been taking my camera around and snapping shots when I can.  Soon all the lilacs will come into flower and shows their beauty in all the whites, lavenders and dark purples (I’m getting the camera ready for when that happens in the next couple of weeks).

 

The pictures have been turning out pretty good to, if I do say so myself.

 

These tulips are just outside my office and are gorgeous.

 

There’s a little park, grassy area, just north of the library in town (which is also by my office) and the library ladies have been working hard planting and taking care of all of the outside areas surrounding the library.

 

Here is one of the flowering plants

 

And in another bed there are some Hens and Chicks succulents

 

Mommy and Daddy have some seeds planted and are waiting for them to start, however, I’m sure Mommy won’t be able to wait for them to grow and will probably purchase some soon to bloom plants so we can have the porch covered in the same floral beauty we had last year.  When that happens I’ll take some pictures and share them as well.

Strawberry Fields Forever

After my day on the farms and with such a haul of strawberries I had to set about saving them.  Originally Mommy wanted to make strawberry preserves but is not set up to can right now so we cleaned the berries and put some up in the fridge with sugar for desserts (yummy fresh strawberries and sugar biscuits) and a strawberry jello salad.  The rest I washed, hulled and put in the freezer especially since I love fruit smoothies and strawberries with real flavor make them even better.

So these went from this

to this

(washed)

and then this

(hulled)

and finally this

They are delicious at every stage.

I can't wait to get some more and put them up for the winter.

Out on the Farm

That's where I spent my weekend.  Mommy and I went to several farms at Greenbluff, Washington.  There are several farms/businesses there and they have a growers association site that lists and maps the different farms, what's available and when, and any other special happenings.  I really love that area and going from farm to farm.  The area is jam-packed during the weekends in autumn...a lot of the larger farms have special events - live music, train rides, pumpkin picking, mazes, etc.  Last fall we went apple picking there and it was fun so we decided to go and get some "U-pick" strawberries for 99 cents a pound and see what the spring/summer harvests would be like.

Driving around we noticed the cherry trees were full of fruit and I told Mommy that it looked like another week until they would be ready to pick and probably just a bit longer for the apricot trees...the joys of having grown up around orchards is knowing when fruits are ripe for the picking.

We went to Siemers Farm first.  This is one of those places that are super busy and packed during the fall...they have a couple of mazes (corn and hay), a giant castle, pirate ship, live music and tons of things to do.  They also have a tractor, a train and drum cars to take people to the different fields for picking and the train just to give tours of the farm. 

Here's the tractor that brought us to the strawberry field and then picked us up when we were finished

We spent a while out there picking strawberries and popping some in our mouths...they have the best flavor.  This was our haul from the field.

Our last stop was High Country Orchard a great gift store, produce stand and cafe.  They have wonderful food and great prices.  We met and spoke with JoAnne who owns HCO with her husband (he was out on his truck getting the area ready for a wedding that was happening later in the day).  She is very friendly and kind, telling us about the area and her store, I could really tell she is enjoying what she's doing. 

They have U-pick cherries, apricots, peaches, raspberries and apples.  The cherries are getting really close.  Here are some Queen Anne cherries and some Rainier ones as well

(Aren't they gorgeous?!)

I would highly recommend stopping there if you are ever in the area.  All of Joe and JoAnne's employees were so friendly and helpful, each giving us a different piece of the picture of HCO and the area.  It was a very enjoyable day.

Here's hoping you can get some fresh summer produce.

Happy Tuesday!!

Big Bad VooDoo Lily

Baby Boy just sent me a link to Eight of the World's Most Unusual Plants.  While they are cool and creepy and a little gross I'm sure he really wanted me to look at the third specimen. 

The site states "3. Dracunculus vulgaris: smells like rotting flesh, and has a burgundy-colored, leaf-like flower that projects a slender, black appendage."

They are pretty and huge...we had several in the backyard at various stages during their growing period and for a few days when they are in their prime...close up all the windows and stay away... if you've ever been to a slaughter house, near a meat packing plant, or have come across something dead in the woods, you'd understand.

Our yard was prolific, just about anything grew their...we did have a producing avocado trees in northern California...100 miles north of San Francisco near the coast...and one day this plant grew and we didn't know what it was and it grew and grew...Baby Boy and I joked that it was Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors"

I'm off to see if I can find some pics from the ones in our backyard...