You don’t need to grow many vegetables to realize that many are worth growing just for their flowers. Eggplants with their blue and purple flowers, squash with their spectacular orange explosions, they are as remarkable as any daisies, and their fruit make great dishes.

A few days ago, I discovered a spider hiding out in the carrot flowers, waiting to nab passing bees. Today, I found it feasting on a bee. I suppose, if you are a bee, dying on a bed of carrot flowers is as good a place to die as possible.

Living in nature’s haven, there are daily reminders that death is but a step away. This afternoon I saw a small squirrel eat a baby bird it had caught. It looked like a baby robin the squirrel had snatched out of a nest.

Living in the country, has taught me how precious life is. No matter how small or how big you are, there is something lurking to eat you.


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One of the trees is blooming, putting out tiny, spidery flowers with a hauntingly sweet fragrance. So many trees have such delicate flowers. Bashful beauties of the woods, their beauty is for the few who go looking.

Niji-hime 虹姫 (Rainbow Princess) is one of the first hens out of the chicken yard this morning. I’ve always admired her multi-colored neck.

The Stewartia is blooming for a second time this year. The bees are happy. They need to bury their heads deep into the blooms to get its nectar. Do the bees get more pleasure the deeper they have to dive into a flower?

Yesterday was market day at Bow Little Market. Many of these colorful onions ended up going to people’s homes. Thank you for all who came to the market and stopped by. Our congressman, Rick Larsen, even stopped by for a chat. It’s not every week that your congressman drops by.

We haven’t named this colorful young rooster. He’s as colorful as any of the flowers blooming. I’m curious what he will look like when he’s grown.