Mosaic Monday #90: Vintage Homes

Do you dream of a vintage* home?  Maybe you are living in one!  In my April 1 post, I wrote about the East Side Historic District in Kalispell.  74 buildings, mostly homes, form the district and can be easily identified by the plaques with a detailed history of the building.  Back in May 2019, with some spare time on my hands, I photographed nine of these homes.  Finally, they make it to a post.  

The picture to the left and the one below are the Warren A. Conrad/Noffsinger Residence.  Described by the Flathead Herald-Journal as "an elegant mansion" in the "colonial style," this mansion's overall symmetry and small gabled front dormers are typical Colonial Revival.  However, the two-story turret, elaborate stained-glass windows, and wraparound porch (reconstructed in 2003 from historic photos) reflect the popular Queen Anne style.  Such architectural combinations were common around the turn of the century.  Rancher and businessman J.L. Cox planned and supervised construction of the two-story brick home in 1894, but he and his wife lived here only briefly.  In 1896 Warren Ashby Conrad purchased the residence for his bride, Caroline, whom he met when a nationwide railroad strike stranded her in Kalispell.  Ashby - younger brother of Charles and William Conrad - was an officer of the Conrad National Bank.  After Ashby's death in 1922, Caroline rented the home to tenants, including Lelia Brown, who used it as a base to explore Glacier.  In 1929 George Noffsinger, manager of the Glacier National Park Saddle Horse Company, purchased the residence, where members of the Noffsinger family continued to reside until 1944.

Self-styled capitalist Olaf Peterson and his wife Johanna, both Swedish immigrants, built this sturdy two-story home circa 1896 (the Peterson House).  It was the first home constructed on the block.  While other neighborhood homes are of frame construction, this residence is of brick.  Oddly, several of its former owners were in the timber business.  Timber dealer George Millet purchased the home from the Petersons in 1908.  Pacific Northwest lumberman Julius Neils of Portland was the next owner.  Neils sent his son-in-law Harry Schocknecht to Kalispell to establish lumberyards in Montana.  The Schocknects occupied the home until 1915.  Logging contractor Thomas Gardner and his family were residents during the 1920s.  Dr. Ralph Towne and his wife, Marie, made their home here from 1936 to 1967.  The home then served as parish house for the nearby Trinity Lutheran Church.  At some time in its more recent history preeminent Kalispell architect Fred Brinkman designed the newer windows but the nineteenth-century residence retains much of its historic fabric.  A complex plan and orange-red brick softened by mature landscaping make this a distinctive neighborhood landmark.

Founded in 1891 by the Great Northern Railway, Kalispell boasted 651 residents in its first year, growing to 2,500 people by 1900.  Confident of finding tenants in the booming community, bricklayer John Lundberg built a one-and-a-half story duplex on this lot in the early 1890s (now called 504 Fourth Avenue East).  Possibly the first brick residence in the city, the solid-looking structure featured patterned shingles in its gable ends and a wraparound porch. Lundberg placed the kitchens in the rear under separate roof, a common practice in the nineteenth century to minimize fire risk.  The side-gabled duplex saw five different owners between 1894 and 1920 and provided comfortable accommodations to a number of tenants, including the families of a plumber, a saloonkeeper, a carpenter and a letter carrier.  Margaret Bjorneby owned the building between 1920 and 1928, during which time she converted it into a five-bedroom, two-bathroom single-family home.  Bjorneby sold the home to Elizabeth Hilton, who lived here with her husband Earl, owner of the Glacier Dairy, into the 1940s.

  

Kalispell was only two years old when German immigrant Louise Sels and her son Ed had this cross-gabled Queen Anne style residence built in 1892, a year that saw over a hundred homes built in the new town.  Louise Sels soon sold the house to her son-in-law Arthur Burnes, but according to the 1900 census, she continued to live in the home with her extended family.  The household included her three grown children, granddaughter, son-in-law, and his mother.  Josephine Richards and Ella Bell owned the house between 1902 and 1905, renting out "nice large front rooms" to gentlemen.  The distinctive horse-shoe shaped porch was added between 1903 and 1907.  The home's longest occupant, Maude Drew, lived here between 1905 and her death in 1959 at age 89.  A year after she and her husband George bought the house in 1905 they installed a brick sidewalk.  The local newspaper lauded the improvement over the standard wood sidewalks and predicted "Other property owners will note the manner in which the walk wears with much interest." (named the George Drew Residence)

This beautiful gable-front-and-wing residence, built for newlyweds John and Sophie McIntosh, captures the best of the exuberant 1890s with a wealth of Queen Anne details.  The Flathead Herald-Journal declared upon its completion in 1894 that the marvelous home rivaled Kalispell's best in "style, finish and comfort."  Set atop a natural rise dubbed "Knob Hill," the newspaper went on to comment that its owner would thus occupy "the most exalted position in Kalispell."  Finely-crafted details including fishscale shingles, wavy clapboard, a sunray pattern and elaborate stained-glass parlor transoms embellish the canted, or "beveled," front gable.  McIntosh had a varied and successful career in Kalispell, selling everything from hardware to pianos to automobiles.  His opera house, built in 1896, was the town's longtime cultural center.  Sophie died in 1920 and John McIntosh in 1947, but the home remained in the family until 1979.  (The McIntosh House is the one I featured in my April 1 post.)

Now a Tudor Revival style home, this residence was originally a brick-clad, hipped-roof foursquare.  Built before 1897, it served as the parsonage for St. Matthew's Catholic Church.  Longtime Kalispell priest Francis O'Farrell resided here between 1907 and 1925, while overseeing construction of a Catholic hospital, parochial school and grand brick church five blocks west.  In 1926, Fr. O'Farrell moved to West First Street, near the new church.  Between 1928 and 1937, Emil and Margaret Bjorneby made their home here.  Emil arrived in Kalispell in 1895, working at various occupations before founding a flour mill with his brother George.  Before the Bjornebys moved in, renovations modernized the look, and more than doubled the residence's living space.  To transform the foursquare into a fashionable Tudor, skilled contractors covered the brick with stucco and added a steeply pitched roof and matching enclosed entryway.  They also incorporated many design elements associated with the Tudor style, including a prominent brick chimney; tall, many-paned windows; and decorative half-timbering in the gable ends.  (referred to as the Catholic Parish/Bjorneby House) (Did you notice this is the second time we have heard about Margaret Bjorneby?  Seems she is always remodeling her house!)

The owner and publisher of the Inter Lake, a weekly newspaper serving the Flathead Valley, was the original owner of this prominent corner residence.  Robert M. Goshorn, his wife Alice and their two children moved into the new home in 1900.  In 1907, their son Joseph, a Stanford University student, drowned along with two other Kalispell youths in a canoeing accident near Seattle.  Robert and Alice Goshorn determined to stay busy converting their weekly publication to a daily newspaper.  They sold the business in 1912, but it remains today the Daily Inter Lake.  Goshorn subsequently served as receiver (under the Taft administration) and as register (under the Harding administration) of the U.S. Land Office at Kalispell.  The couple also maintained a ranch and fruit orchard on Flathead Lake.  Their vintage Kalispell home features bay windows, diamond-shaped window panes, two porches, decorative shinglework and partial shingle cladding, hallmarks of both the Queen Anne and Shingle styles.  A smorgasbord of  surface textures -- clapboard, rough-cut stone, and shingles -- beautifully expresses Victorian-era taste.  Inside, a handsome staircase showcases highly skilled carpentry. (named the Goshorn House)

Kalispell contractor Caesar Haverlandt built this vintage home circa 1909 for his brother Charles who owned the property.  In 1911, John H. Graves, an early settler of Flathead Valley, purchased the residence.  Graves was an avid reader and reportedly established the state's first circulating library in Diamond City.  He later served as Flathead County's first assessor and owned the Valley House Hotel.  Dean and Metta King purchased the home in 1918.  King served as a court reporter, county attorney and judge of the 11th Judicial District retiring in 1958 after seventeen years on the bench.  Metta King was prominent in community affairs, including the Montana Federation of Women's Clubs, the Keep Montana Green program, and the Century Club.  This well-preserved Craftsman-style house features exposed rafter tails, front and rear dormers, an engaged partial-width front porch supported by heavy square columns, and elaborate decorative stained-glass windows in the front.  In 1999 the interior and exterior of the residence were completely renovated to the original splendor. (named the King House)

Dr. Albert and Minnie Brassett built this house with money given Minnie as a wedding present by her father.  Constructed in 1911, the comfortable Craftsman-style bungalow reflects the fashions of its day.  Craftsman-style houses abound in Kalispell; this one, designed by local architect Marion Riffo, features a full-length front porch, wide eaves, a flared brick chimney, and a shed dormer.  A well-known physician, Dr. Brassett opened his practice in Kalispell in 1909 and performed the first surgery at Kalispell General Hospital.  He retired in 1954 on his eightieth birthday, having served in some cases as family physician for three generations.  Before buying one of the first automobiles in Kalispell in 1913, Dr. Brassett walked to attend his in-town patients, including those at Kalispell General; the hospital's location two and a half blocks away likely influenced the couple's choice of building site.  The Brassetts raised two children here.  Their long-term residency testifies to the home's fine design: Minnie and Albert both lived here until their deaths, hers in 1952 and his in 1956. (called the Dr. Albert Brassett Residence)

 

I should thank the Montana Historical Society - I drew the historical information from the plaques at each of the homes.  If I had thought about it earlier (in other words, not on a Saturday and not 20 hours before I am going to publish), I would have called and asked how they "name" the houses.  It appears to correlate with the longest occupants of each residence, but that is not always the case.  Interesting.  

*Just for fun, ask your family and friends how they define "vintage".  Sources on the web defined it as "something from a previous generation" and "between 25 and 100 years old", and suggested that "antique" refers to something that is over 100 years old.   That would make all of these structures antiques!  When I ask Spousal Unit, he laughs.  Being from the UK, he considers anything built in the last 150 years to be modern!!!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time). 

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog. 

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back. 

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by. 

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully. 

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday# 89: A-campin' We Did Go

Hollyhock

Some hikes get rated a lowly "ho-hum", while others enchant and electrify.  Our latest adventure to Granite Lake has secured a place in the latter category.  In fact, I would say it is in my top 5 of hikes completed in the last 3 years (and there have been 56 unrepeated hikes in that time).  Why?  The trail offered frequent (good) surprises.  For example, it would be dense as a jungle one minute, and barren under deep cedars the next.  The undulating terrain, with four creek crossings, meant an opportunity to use ALL our leg muscles!  I observed some new plants, which always makes for a winner with me.  Finally, the geography around the lake itself was also unique - Flavell Ridge to the left, a notch with a sky-high waterfall (from Blackwell Glacier) in the middle, and "A Peak" to the right.  (Yes, that is the genuine name of the mountain!)  Are you ready to go virtual camping with me?  Let's go!

Somebody really wants you to
know that there are 4!!

As we reached the end of our two-hour drive to the trailhead, we passed a bearded man on a bicycle.  He caught up with us before we departed, with a cheery "Did you see the moose?"  Apparently, back a bit on the road, a mama moose had been grazing the hillside with two calves.  Shucks - we probably were too focused on the map ...  For the next two days, we kept our eyes peeled, and saw nary an Alces alces.  Two cars were already parked at the trailhead, and later in the day we would meet a young man followed by a middle-aged man, travelling separately and both returning from the lake.  This meant a high probability that we would have the lake to ourselves!!!  But first we would have to navigate Granite Creek FOUR times ...

We left the trailhead at 10 am, and 5 hours later we had traversed 6 miles and climbed 2000 feet.  This is a snail's pace for us, and part of the delay was the first stream crossing.  We followed some helpful orange "ribbon" to a spot with an easier passage (lower water flow), but it made finding the trail on the other side more difficult.  (On our return, we stuck to  the bona fide trail and the creek crossing was perfectly manageable, saving us significant time.  Descent from the lake only took us four hours.)  In case you are not familiar with stream crossings, this involves taking off your pack, removing your boots and socks, donning your water shoes, hoisting your pack with your boots strung around your neck, striding quickly but safely through ice cold water and then rewinding the process on the other side.  I would estimate each crossing adds 15 minutes to the hike.  Do the math - four crossings - an extra hour!  We got lucky that a MASSIVE cedar had conveniently fallen across the creek right at a crossing - here I am strolling over it.

Early on the hike, I saw that hollyhocks and a purple-flowering plant were predominant.  At first glance, I thought it might be a larkspur, but closer examination suggested the pea family.  Wrong on both counts!  My purchase of Plants of the Rocky Mountains a couple of years ago has been a godsend for identifying flowers, shrubs and trees.  In this case, I discerned that my purple majesties are Columbian Monkshood.  You can be lured into its velvety folds, but you should be aware that all parts of the plant contain the poisonous alkaloid aconitine.  The flowers are harmless to handle, but are violently poisonous if eaten.  Just touching it can cause tingling, numbness, and in severe cases, heart problems.  Less than 20 ounces of the roots is fatal to a horse.   Beautiful but potentially deadly.

Shortly after the first stream crossing, we passed between two towering cedars, both adorned with carved signs denoting "Cabinet Mountains Wilderness/Kootenai National Forest".  Clearly, the one on the right has seen better days, and someone saw fit to add the one on the left.  Eagle eyes might also detect that Man with Hat is Man with Hat 2.  As I reported in this post, a little too much fun in the sun had taken its toll on Hat, and it has been reassigned to purely fishing duties.  So, today, we officially welcome Hat 2.

The slightly wider brim bumps into the backpack when it is full, so I
added a button that allows Man with Hat to secure the brim in
the upright and locked position

Within a half mile of the official entrance to the Cabinets, we arrived at a waterfall that has no name, but is accompanied by a fire circle, logs arranged in a seating area and several bare, flat spaces that have accommodated numerous tents.  The ideal spot for a break and a snack!  On a warmer day, this could be a superb swimming hole.  Check out the video below the picture!

Foamflower

At this point, we began to enter the deeply wooded sections of the trail.  Eons' worth of cedar needles muffled our footfalls.  Flights of fantasy imagined fairies, suspended behind the ferns, giggling at the clumsy hikers.  Aptly named foam flower floated above the forest floor on almost invisible stems.  And, lest you think nothing can grow under the limitless canopy, suddenly a grouping of orchids appears before you, prompting me to say "Hello, and what might you be?"  I am not entirely satisfied with these photos, but these orchids are so small that they are hard to photograph with my phone.  Also, I suspect they were a bit past their prime.  Nevertheless, my book once again came to the rescue and I can tell you these are Spotted Coralroot Orchids.

Before the fourth and final stream crossing, the scenery opened up enough to offer our first view of spectacular A Peak.  Near here, yellow columbines added themselves to the floral display.

Left: Yellow Columbines;  Upper Right: A Peak; Lower Right: A hand-carved sign points the way to Granite Lake

The last creek crossing is a half-mile before the lake, and our pace quickened in anticipation.  We emerged from the woods to this jaw-dropping view of A Peak, with Granite Lake below it.  A full 4000 feet below it.  You could be deceived into imagining that A Peak was leaning over the lake, its upper reaches about to crash into the water below at any instant.  After some moments of stunned admiration, we commenced the normal activities of setting up camp.  Choosing a site.  Erecting the tent.  Hanging the backpacks in a bear-safe manner.  And then Man with Hat went fishing.  (It was quite windy and he did not have much luck.)  I sat on the log jam at the outlet of the lake, doing word searches and keeping an eye out for birds.  A few dippers and a bald eagle made an appearance.  It was a delight to watch the light changing as afternoon morphed into evening.

We will buy the mac n' cheese dinner again (it was a new one for us).  All too soon it was time to retire to the tent.  As we brushed our teeth, a single mule deer approached through the woods.  She did not move off; she clearly wanted to be right there.  Strange.  After we had zipped ourselves into the tent, we heard something knock over the trekking poles, which we had left propped near the seating area of the fire circle.  Man without Hat peered into the gathering darkness, and darn if it wasn't that mule deer again.  He got out and brought the poles over to the end of the tent.  Snuggled down into our sleeping bags once again, it wasn't too long before we could hear the poles banging around right above our heads.  Yep, you guessed it - the deer.  We reckon she was after the salt on the handles from our perspiration.  The poles were moved inside the vestibule of the tent, and that finally seemed to put her off.  But my nerves were jangling and it took me quite a while to drift off to the land of Nod.

Early to bed, early to rise.  We emerged from the tent at 6 AM, witness to the sun's artwork - she had flicked her paint brush over the top of A Peak - stunning!

When you arise early, it is a license for a slow start.  Some coffee.  A fire.  Navel-gazing and contemplating the wonders of the universe.  We wandered down the trail to one of the "ponds" created by Granite Creek, in the hope that we might spot a morning moose.  Not that day.  But nothing could dispel our joy to be the only two humans in this incredible slice of paradise, with nothing more than birdsong to disturb the peace.

And did I mention the birthday of a certain Man with Hat?  Yes, this day also welcomed another circle around the sun for my esteemed husband.  No cake with candles, but I did carry two cards in my backpack for him to open in the morning.  Happy Birthday again, my dear!

The previous day, Man with Hat described the far end of the lake, which he had been able to access via his inflatable pack raft.  "You think it's spectacular from here?  You should see it up close!"  And so it was that I found myself paddling away to distant shores.  And he was right.  The sheer scale of the cliffs.  The myriad of waterfalls that can only be seen when you get close.  The incessant pounding of the water on rock as it leaps downward from the glacier to the lake.  The below mosaic is the best of the pictures that I took from the boat, and the video may help you visualize some of the waterfalls.

While Man with Hat gave fishing another try (still not much luck), I resumed my word-search/bird-watching game, this time with a bit more success.  Audubon's Warbler.  Steller's Jay.  Western Tanager.  And a lovely swallowtail butterfly floated past, alighting on a nearby Cow Parsnip.

It had been a thoroughly delightful morning, but all good things must come to and end, and so we departed the camp at noon.  On a hike, I never take all the pictures that I want to on the way out - it would take too long and more importantly, I might wear out the patience of one Man with Hat.  So, I had my mental list of plants to capture on our return route. 

Upper right: Nodding Onion; Middle right: Stonecrop; Lower right: Fruit of Solomon's Seal

Left: Fading lupines; Upper right: Bead lily, ferns and moss on a rock; Lower right: Aspen Fleabane

At the outset of this post (I know, that was a LONG time ago), I mentioned the dense jungle.  Check out these pictures.

Left: if you look closely, you can see a cow parsnip that is taller than Man with Hat

I am always amazed that I miss something along the way.  As we returned, I spotted these showy white flowers.  Hmmm, what could they be?  A quick consultation of my Plants bible identified them as Mock Orange.  Really?  I have two of these in my garden and they don't look anything like this!  It is now my aspiration!

On the way down, we passed a couple with a dog, and later, a single man intent on some fishing.  We encouraged them to persist through the stream crossings, the jungle and the spooky forest.  As we experienced it, the glory of Granite Lake is something meant to be shared. 

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.  Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.  The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain Time).  Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.  Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.  As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.  Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.  Thanks for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday #88: Glory in the Garden

You knew it was only a matter of time (oops, that was last week's post!) guaranteed that I would wax lyrical about my garden again.  Can you believe it has been 8 weeks since my last garden post?  Muchos cambios, mis amigos, so let's take a look!

Overall, I have been pleased with the outcome of my seed planting (7 out of 13 have come up, and 3 of those were sown in the spring).  54%, barely better than "average", may not seem a palatable result, but, given all of the seeds were hand-collected from last year's garden and that this was my first attempt, I am satisfied.  It has already taught me a thing or two about how thickly (or not) to sow the seeds.  As you can see in some of the pictures below, I could have been a little more judicious.

I sowed Rocky Mountain Bee Plant in multiple locations, and although it came up gangbusters in every one, since then only about half of them are thriving.  Last September, I wrote about these plants, which showed up in our "prairie" on their own.  I collected a bunch of seeds, but left the rest, assuming they would sow themselves.  I have not seen a single one in the prairie.  Go figure!  (In the mosaic above, there must be 20 individual plants in that cluster.)  I am thrilled with the number of columbines that have sprouted, especially since this is a seed sown in the spring.  Given this response, I will focus on seeding columbines rather than trying to transplant little ones.  If you are paying attention (!), you may be asking why there are only six pictures in the mosaic, when I said 7 have sprouted.  Good for you!  

Rocky Mountain Penstemon has also sprouted in half of the locations where it was sowed.  I so admire this hearty plant, and its deep-throated purple flowers, that I am over the moon with this result.  You may also be wondering about the little blue markers you see in the mosaic.  Inquiring minds must be answered!  Three weeks ago, I used these skewer sticks and blue painter’s tape to create little flags denoting sites with emerging plants.  This meant I didn't have to continually reference my seeding plan, and more importantly, prevented me from accidentally "weeding" something I would like to preserve!  (Sometimes, I am not sure, and the flag merits a question mark!!!  I am now pretty confident this is a Rocky Mountain Penstemon - time to update the flag.)

Rocky Mountain Penstemon when it's "all growed up" 

When we first installed our landscaping in 2018, I built a relationship with the Center for Native Plants in Whitefish.  Hailey Moore, the Nursery Manager, has been immensely helpful in a variety of ways – from identifying native and invasive grasses to connecting me with other resources.  In the two years that we have had these sand cherries, I saw significant die-off in the spring.  The first year, I thought it might be “normal”, but I decided not to make any assumptions.  Hailey let me know that Montana State University (Schutter Lab) offers up to five free lab tests per year for Montana residents.  So, per the lab’s instructions, I sent off a healthy sample and a “diseased” sample of the sand cherry.   I also emailed pictures to the lab. 

In less than a week, I had the results from Dr. Eva Grimme: "I suspect that the shrubs are affected by environmental factors like a late frost this spring.  I also found very minor browning/discoloration in the vascular system, which could indicate a fungal canker.  I recommend you check if the branches are still green underneath the bark - this means that they are still alive and may recover.  Prune out the dead branches.  Make sure to sterilize your tools between cuts.  Focus on supporting shrub vigor by providing adequate water and nutrients during the growing season."  As you can see, the pruning was dramatic, but hopefully it will improve the vigor of the shrubs (I have four of them) in the future.  I will also make a note to protect them from frost next spring!

Lower right: after pruning  Other two: "NORMAL"!

If I was self-indulgent, I might be inclined to tell you about EVERY ONE of my plants, but this post would be as long as War and Peace!  A few of them deserve to be called out (and I will, below, but for now, I will let these mosaics speak for the plants.) 

And now for the plants that deserve a special mention.  First up is aspen fleabane.  It has spawned at least 7 volunteers, one as much as 20 feet from the original plant.

 

Given my upbringing in the Midwest, the maples are near and dear to me – I already am in love with their shape and can imagine the day when they tower over the house and cast plentiful shade!

The shape of this Catmint is wonderfully symmetrical – a perfect choice on the part of our landscapers for a position next to the flagstone path that leads to the front door.

The scarlet Gilia is a fascinating flower.  When first installed, the three plants appeared as you see in the mosaic below - tall and spindly with flowers scattered along its arch.  The next year, we had many volunteers, but they never rose much above an inch tall.  And this year?  Shazam – blooms all over the place.  It turns out that this two-year cycle is normal for the plant. 

As faithful readers know, we planted wild grass/wildflower seed mix our first fall in the house.  I have been very pleased with the results – many types of grass, flax, poppies, black-eyed susans, coneflower.  And a few lupines.  One of them actually bloomed this year, which is not too bad for only its second year!

Now that my garden is really coming along, “big picture” pictures are more appealing.

Nature continues introducing her own plants to my garden as you can see in the collage below.  I have shown you arnica in the past; this month I have been able to collect seeds and hope that will be another successful experiment next year.

The circular bed around the Douglas Fir in front of the house has been growing so vigorously that my metal moose was getting lost in it.  So, I shifted it and the other decorative lawn art about 5 feet to the left.  Voila!

Doesn't it look like he is chomping on the yarrow?

After an initial slow start, the flower pots on the deck, as well as the flower baskets on the jackleg fence, are thriving.

Of course, my battle with critters is ongoing, from ground squirrels to rabbits to deer.  It was intense for a week or two, including the morning I chased a bunny around the entire house while still in my pajamas!  And then suddenly, no bunny.  Dramatically reduced numbers of ground squirrels.  Maybe the badger family is having an impact!  

The picture at left is the one and only apple blossom we had this spring - no fruit this year.  And don't ask me about the aphid infestation on our golden currants!  

But then I wake up this morning and see this.  Every gardener has her trials, but they all fade into the background when a new bloom erupts in all its glory.  

(I may be slow in commenting due to an overnight camping trip.)

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time). 

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog. 

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back. 

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by. 

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully. 

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter