Canning season is upon us

Our local Master Food Preservers from the county extension held a Food Preservation Fair. There were different stations with information on everything from juicing and dehydration to canning jams, salsas and meats, to name a few. So you can imagine there were also lots of samples. I came away with a few yummy things I want to try: rhubarb orange jam, pizza leather, and spiced tomato lime jam.

Colorful flower box

Some cheerful colors to brighten your day.

Nikko Blue Hydrangea

The hydrangea is now blooming its vibrant shade of blue.

Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest

We went to the 50th Annual Sandcastle Contest at Cannon Beach this past Saturday.


I have never seen so many cars on a beach before. They were all gone before the tide started to come in at the end of the day. This is Haystack Rock in the background.

 Vitruvius from the Lego Movie.

 Olaf the snowman from the movie Frozen.

 We loved these balls that are perched on top of sticks.

 It's amazing how many tools were needed.

 The Great Race story of the Chinese Zodiac.

 We tried our hand at making balls of sand. Use super wet sand for the base and then coat the ball in a layer of dry sand, and keep repeating until it is the size you want.

Waiting for blueberries

A couple berries on our early variety blueberry bush have turned blue. And it looks like we will get lots of berries from the other bush, which is of a later variety.

McKenzie River excursion

We took a drive part way along the McKenzie River, east of Eugene, on Father's Day weekend. The boys had fun throwing rocks and a pair of river rafts floated past us. Hatcheries are a fun place to drop in on. We stopped at the McKenzie Fish Hatchery where there is a small interpretive center. The Leaburg Fish Hatchery is also located nearby.

Strawberry Picking

I took my youngest to pick strawberries this morning. Yesterday when I suggested this activity he was not interested. So I had to do some cheerleading and prepping him for today's trip. I also think it helped to bring a snack to munch on when he got to the point where he asks "Can we go home now?"

I froze about half of the berries. First I rinsed and then carefully towel dried a handful at a time. I put them in a single layer on parchment paper on top of a pan and placed them in the freezer until firm (about 2 hours). Then I put them in freezer bags and labeled them. 

Water in the froggy boots

They ask to borrow the camera and take it outside and this is the image they captured. Kids are so funny.

Japanese snowbell

While at Peavy Arboretum this past weekend I was walking along when I came upon this tree. The fragrance was amazing. It is a Japanese snowbell (styrax japonica).

A Surprise Tiger Lily bloom

I don't know how I missed this, but I was surprised yesterday to find this almost 4-foot tall tiger lily in bloom. I had planted it, I don't know how many years ago, and had given up on it because it looked as though it had been either damaged or eaten from the very start. And it has another bloom in waiting.

Get Outdoors Day

We headed to the Get Outdoors Day event this weekend at OSU College Forests/Peavy Arboretum. There were lots of fun activities for kids. Mine occupied most of their time netting for creatures at Randall Pond. Volunteers and teachers from the Avery House Nature Center helped the kids scoop and identify their catch.



Among their finds were water striders, a water boatman and tiny baby crawfish.

Rough-skinned newts. Wash your hands after touching. Their skin can produce a powerful toxin.

 A dragonfly nymph.

Audubon Society helped the kids string cereal for the birds at home.

Bird specimens for close viewing.

A colorful beetle.

No Ducks in Beaver country.