Snowballs in May

It's my favorite time of year around the old Pomegranate homestead. After a lot of brown in winter (brown lawn, brown dirt, branches, and twigs against the brown wood siding), this is our reward: snowball trees, lilacs, crabapples. Thousands of birds. And our duck families. Come by and see it all. You can even take a snippet or two of the gorgeous blooms if you wish -- they're almost at the end of the show anyway. The snowballs don't last that long once they're in a container, but I just remembered something. I once apprenticed myself out to a great floral designer, and we were doing lots of arrangements with hydrangeas. She would dip the cut ends in alum to help them last... and these snowballs look to me like a cousin to the hydrangea. But what do I know?

Next to come are the glorious wild yellow roses. We think they're called Harrison Yellow, and several people have told us that they originally came to Oregon with the early pioneers. They absolutely explode around our shop in a profusion of tiny yellow roses. I love how wild and untamed they are. They also have wicked little thorns, which may keep the critters away, too. You are most welcome to come take a cutting of the roses, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't take. They are difficult to start, but once they're healthy and happy, there's no holding them back. We're at 120 NE River Mall Avenue in Bend, across from the north end of Macys.

Oh, and a postscript on the canal situation, which some of you have asked about. If you haven't explored our little homestead grounds, you might not know that a canal runs right behind it. It's lovely, and usually a good place to teach kids how to fish (right now the fish are really tiny, so we're not sure if the bigger ones are not getting beyond a screen, or?). As with all our canals in Bend, this one is due to be piped and covered up. But, the good news: it won't happen until next year. This may be the last summer to come and enjoy it: you can fish, paint, or picnic under the magnificent pines. Oh yeah. That's our next worry. The pine trees. We already give them deep watering in the summer, but once the canal is gone, we're going to have to really take measures to make sure they get enough water (the canal helps right now). Even though the property is not ours, we feel a total responsibility for keeping the trees healthy. Not sure if they could officially be classified as 'old growth' but they look like giants to me.

Bird note: the fauna population at Pomegranate is quite something. Robert feeds the birds and squirrels with a half and half mix of Premium Wild Bird and Wild Bird feed from Round Butte Seed. Squirrels eat the peanuts; the quail and doves like the corn; and the sparrows, finches, nuthatches, and ducks eat everything else. That's our secret formula, and all our babies love it.