Connections

I've taken on a new challenge which is turning out to be so rewarding.

I have begun tutoring an ESL (English as a Second Language) student. We've been working on reading, writing, speaking, and reading comprehension.

She is so bright and willing to learn, that it feels like a privilege and an honor to help her.

We have several things in common - we are both mothers, we both have wonderful husbands and families, but today I found out that she also loves horses!

My student used to ride horses when she was a girl, in Mexico, the country where she grew up.

Of course, horse people always get excited when they find out that someone else is also a horse lover, because you know that you'll have plenty to talk about and it is a bond that you share. In this case however, the connection goes deeper.

One of my very first books, published by an educational publisher - Mondo Publishing - is called THE HORSE JAR. It's about a girl named Annie, who saves every nickel, dime, and dollar that she earns in a special jar, in order to buy a horse of her own.

This book has also been translated into Spanish, with the title LA ALCANCIA DE LOS SUENOS (which loosely means The Piggybank of Dreams.)

I am so excited about this shared love of horses that I've found with my student, and next time we meet, I'll be taking her a copy of THE HORSE JAR to read. Maybe she can even help me learn to read the Spanish version of it!

Nature - the Pause that Refreshes

What have I been up to lately? Enjoying Nature. I've been outside, taking a short hiatus from writing and refreshing the soul by immersing myself in nature.

I've found the nest of a pair of red-shouldered hawks, across the creek and 2/3 of the way up a Ponderosa Pine tree. I believe Mama Hawk is setting, so I'll be watching for babies soon.

Enjoying the ever-changing landscape of wildflowers blooming on our property, and delighting in their beauty.

Shooting Stars, Ponderosa Pine, and Incense Cedar

Found a new friend and a great wildflower hiking trail.

Spent days tackling a thicket of over-grown blackberries with a pair of pruning shears, and uncovered three kinds of native ferns, wild iris, wild rose, and native spiraea growing along a water-filled swale.

Wild Ginger and Deer Fern

Visited several nurseries in town and bought native shrubs to fill in my large collection of wild plants already growing here.

Have visions of creating a native botanical garden here on our property, but for now, will be content with planting a little at a time.

Wild Lilac (ceonothus) and Kinnikkinnick

 

Here are all the native plants found growing on our property so far (and many are just leafing out, popping up, or beginning to bloom, so I'm sure this list will grow):

 

Trees

Douglas Fir                         Pseudotsuga menziesii

Incense Cedar                   Calocedrus decurrens

Pacific Madrone               Arbutus menziesii

Ponderosa Pine                 Pinus ponderosa

California Black Oak        Quercus kelloggii

Oregon White Oak           Quercus garryana

Black Cottonwood           Populus trichocarpa

Coast Redwood                Sequoia sempervirens     

Red Alder                            Alnus Rubra

 

Shrubs

Hairy Manzanita               Arctostaphylos columbiana

Buckbrush                          Ceanothus cuneatus

Wild Lilac, Deerbrush       Cenothus integerrimus   

Snowberry                          Symphoricarpos albus

Ocean Spray                      Holodiscus discolor          

Pacific Ninebark                Physocarpus capitatus   

Clustered Wild Rose         Rosa Pisocarpa

Evergreen Huckleberry    Vaccinium ovatum           

Douglas Spiraea                Spiraea douglasii              

Wildflowers

Camas Lily           Camassia quamash

Pink Fawn Lily, Henderson’s Fawn Lily       Erythronium hendersonii

Shooting Star, Henderson’s Shooting Star               Dodecatheon hendersonii

Woodland Star   Lithophragum parviflora or affine

Oregon Saxifrage             Saxifraga oregano

Buttercups          Ranunculus

Western Spring Beauty    Claytonia lanceolata

Pacific Bleeding Heart     Dicentra Formosa

Yellow Violet

Wild Ginger         Asarum caudatum

Ferns

Lady Fern             Athyrium filix-femina

Sword Fern          Polystichum munitum

Wood Fern          Dryopteris expansa

Deer Fern            Blechnum spicant             

 

Will I get back to writing again? Yes, probably soon. But right now, I'm enjoying a refreshing break. Besides - Benson Botanical Gardens has kind of a nice ring to it, don't you think?

 

 

What refreshes your soul? Is it being out in the open, or something else?