Little House on Brush Prairie: Hens and Roses!

Yes, it's that time of year again! Spring brings beautiful flowers to the Rose City, which during the rest of the year is known as Portland, Oregon. Portland is home to three rose gardens and we took advantage of this beautiful weekend to finally make the trip up the west hills to the International Rose Test Garden. And of course, I brought my camera since I love to photograph food and flowers! The International Rose Test Garden is the oldest garden of its kind in the nation and is home to more than 10,000 roses of 500 different varieties! Who knew there were so many types of roses to choose from? The garden, which has been open since 1917, is a place to test new rose varieties and it served as a safe place for European rose varieties that were at risk of being destroyed during WWI. The garden itself is comprised of smaller gardens and includes a miniature rose garden.

If you look closely you can see Mt. Hood in the background....

One of my favorite things about the NW are the trees!

Not roses, but I can't resist a steeple against a blue sky. I love church architecture! I snapped this photo on the way home. We enjoyed the roses so much we stopped at Portland Nursery before heading home to buy another rose bush for our cutting garden!

JSM on his way to Portland Nursery

Our dark pink roses. We better take care of these - they're permanently in the garden!

Spring is also traditionally, the time for baby chicks! Although in case you didn't notice, everything is late here, including spring! We finally decided to become backyard homesteaders this year when we adopted three hens in May. They are so much fun! We were lucky enough to get three different varieties, a California White, a Buff Orpington, and a Rhode Island Red. They are wonderful ladies, but it took them a week or so to get adjusted. On their first night, they were so anxious they flew into the trees and spent the whole night sitting on the fence - all three of them! They were so angry we didn't get eggs the first couple days, be we've steadily gotten more and after the first week we had six total. We are thrilled! JSM loves them and takes such good care of them. Now, I think they finally feel at home. I must say, it is one of life's little pleasure to get a warm egg from your backyard and that says a lot considering I don't really like eggs. I hear they make wonderful cakes, but so far I can only confirm they make fabulous Ghirardelli brownies out of the box (hello 40-hour work weeks!) But it is relaxing to take a break from our hectic schedules and enjoy a glass of wine outside while taking in the view of hens and flowers!