Bad Bear Campground and the gypsies

August 26—Bad Bear campground. The singing creek. Unstoppable waters rushing through rocks and river vegetation. That’s the jewel of this gypsy camp.

Weather had been changing, temperatures dropping down, the forest air was cooler and crispier, but at 3:30pm a wonderful, strong sun shone upon our gypsy camp, and thus we got our swimming suits, got our soaps and towels and down we went to the singing creek; down below our campsite, where bushes and thick vegetation had created a dreamy, private natural space. Chipmunk chirped and rock sang, as we laugh and hurried up to wash and splash. The water was so clear and bone cold and we felt so invigorated and clean. 

As the sun settled, and light dimmed and faded, we sat inside our cozy gypsy caravan reading and working on our computers; shrouded in delicious shadow and the mysteriously dark sound of the river outside. The coolness of the young night spooling around us and I found myself confident that our Heavenly Father will see us through; refreshed and surrounded in quiet, peaceful way. 

I guess this is how wildflowers must feel when the day finally breaks back upon itself and a riptide of night moves fast to the West and the bugs spread their wings and fly towards the last of the sun...

 

 

PS:  Thank you for suggesting I should use Chrome when working on my blog.  That did the trick!  No more unwanted codes!  I guess Explorer is not compatible with Blogger, or to my computer, and that was what I was using...  until now.  Thank you again friends!

Pink

I had been looking for some decorative pink pillows for our family room for a while, but none were a match for what I had envisioned.  Finally, last week, I found exactly what I was after—a pop of pink in an otherwise patterned white and gray pillows.  From Cost Plus.

I particularly love the fuzzy patterns on these pillows and how well they accommodate to the rest of patterns and pillows in the space.

The various shades of pink on the flowers (real and fake) and books add to the charm and elegance of the room… and it satisfy my soul.

...and I love the chunky pink candle with wooden lid I found the other day at one of our local stores!

I guess I’m already mentally preparing myself for the cacophony of the winter months, and thus, I've been craving for some color in our white-black-gray living room.  

I still wanted to keep my original colors in the living room, and only incorporate one lively, yet soothing color.  And pink certainly did the trick!  Of course it had to be a certain shade of pink.  I tried with other shades of pink before, but they weren't the right ones.  I didn’t want a bright pink or a baby pink or nothing pink Shabby Chic style. A modern, dusty rose look is perfect to me. It goes so well with gray! 

So, this will be my family room for the winter!

Dear Diary...

August 27—Delicious delicious weather. Today, the earth woke up under a gray blanket of rain… finally.  After months and months without a drop of precious rain.  A wretchedness of a rain it was indeed, but nonetheless rain that brought down new life and a much-needed cleansing.  And how beauty everything looked after it cleared off.  After days and days enclosed in a heavy haziness brought down to our valley from near wildfires, one almost forgot how clear and pristine everything really looks and are.  Rain dissipated all obscurity from the atmosphere, and it gave us a new pair of eyeglasses with which to see the world anew.

...rain, wonderful, all merciful delightful rain cleansing all vestige of gloominess and pollutions from the air and gifting us again the precious vision of tall mountains arising from a clear horizon.

All fog and smoke from wildfires gone, now only blue skies and tree canopies already shifting and turning into a mellow panorama of yellows and burnt oranges.  Dark greens turning into a lighter shade of greens, lime-green, and buttery greens.  And how beautiful, how lovely my little world is turning… 

Autumn seems to have arrived suddenly this year.  Or perhaps, I just had forgotten how quickly seasons turn and change around here, and how brief our summers are?  Our mornings are crisp and already turning golden as an apple. 

August 28—Today I brought in part of my potted plant collection for the winter.  All the flowering geraniums, houseplants that were out for the summer, as well as the succulents and some of my Tropical plants.  Perhaps, it is a little too early to start nursing our hearts to the coziness of the insides, but nights and mornings are getting cooler and I decided to start acclimatizing them now that it is still nice and sunny, for soon it’ll be too cold around here, and winds will be howling like wolves outside.

August 29—Joe, came with the Tatarian Maple tree and the Collette rose we bought at Edwards this past weekend, and planted them.  

How beautiful, and how lovely everything looked in the garden with the cooler weather; how clear and blue are the skies, and how healthy and green the grasses and shrubs.  It is almost like some kind of a magical place where you just sit all day long and contemplate what surround you in quiet waves of joy.  

I can hardly wait for this beautiful giant to grow so we can finally have the privacy I crave and the feel of being enclosed within the garden, without having to see or think of our neighbors all the time...

 

Larger than life to me—my garden; my sanctuary and the place where angels thread.  I love it so much… 

PS:  Are any of you having any issues with Blogger lately?  My computer, or Blogger is incorporating so many unwanted codes in my posts that it is almost disheartening to the point of giving up.  It only takes me around 3 hours every time I post, just to make it look decent.  So frustrating!

Changes

Lately, while on my daily morning jogs around our neighborhood, I have noticed that some of the trees have already starting to lose their jewels; a magical swirl of leaves dancing on the floors in a Russian roulette with the winds, and I have noticed that neighborhood cats warming up under the marvelous morning sun are cozying up in shaggier furs and that the geese have started their magical journey south, to warmer climates.  I love to hear their honking songs far away on the horizon when I’m running, only to see them pass high up above my head sooner than I had predicted, or thought they would.  So swift they are and so meticulous in their ways. Like soldiers of some armies of the sky, always so punctilious and precise.

The weather is changing too, with temperatures 20 degrees cooler than on those hot summer days of just a few weeks ago.  I am already embracing cozy moments inside and hot drinks...

 

The garden is already mellowing down too. Slowly, decay sets in.  Last Sunday, I planted two Black eye Susan plants around the big fountain, so rich in color, so evocative of summer and the turn to fall at the same time.  This time in the season is always a poignant moment of the year to me.  The end of summer… and suddenly, I want summer to stay a while and I feel the slight shiver of apprehension the fall brings with it in our northwestern climate.

The lovely giants of the pond—the Elephant Ears are doing as splendidly as expected around here. I planted those bulbs this spring, and the plants have only grown as tall as they shall be for this zone; never to reach the height they used to in my southern gardens.  For summers here are short and they won’t stand our temperatures past the beginning of September.  So sad to see them gone so soon.

Is Nature also changing in your parts of the world too?