Small but sweet celebrations and milestones... ripe plums and a blogiversary

Among other bigger celebrations like the U.S.'s Independence Day, this week brought with it some smaller celebrations. Every year I look forward to the day that I can pick the first ripe plum off our Santa Rosa plum tree. This year it happened this week. The sun-warmed sweet-tart juiciness of the first freshly picked plum exploding in my mouth (and running down my chin a bit) was even better than the big showy fireworks on July 4th.

Another smaller celebration happened today when I marked the 5 year anniversary of this blog. I can't believe it's been 5 years. 

In many ways, it seems like that much time cannot have passed since I first ventured into the blogosphere, timidly sharing the first photos I took as I was trying to reclaim my inner creative core after years of dormancy. 

In other ways, it seems like there's been so much that I've packed into 5 years... so much growth, discovery and learning that couldn't have happened without the benefit of so many amazing creatives that share their work and passions online and the technology that makes it all possible. I feel richly blessed to be a creative soul on the earth at this time in history... so blessed.

Much like the sweet juice of the plums bursting as I take a bite, I feel like once I decided to take a bite out of life the, sweetness came pouring out in abundance. And like the time it takes for the plums to ripen as it hangs on a branch soaking up the heat of the sun, I needed time to reach the point when I was really ready to embrace being a creative professional. I needed the heat of my trials too. It's all part of making life sweeter.

 The first plum always seems the sweetest. But then when Hubby and I have the opportunity to sit and enjoy the plums together, sharing the moment, then the fruit seems sweeter still.

Blogging is the same way. It's so much sweeter because I share the experience with others. Thank you to all of you for sharing your words, lives and friendship with me for the past 5 years. I'm looking forward to another wonderful 5 years spending them with all of you.

Leaving some plums for the scrub jays to eat

Our one Santa Rosa plum tree produced a bumper crop this year. Almost every evening last week, we went out and harvested plums filling 5-gallon buckets with them--six in all. As we harvested, I also pruned. This species of plum tree is such a fast grower that it sometimes needs a post-harvest haircut. This year it needed one desperately after having branches laden with plums.

Even though I had a long pole lopper for pruning the branches high up (Hubby called me "Cindy Lopper"), there were some plums that we just couldn't reach. So those plums get left on the tree for the birds.

The scrub jays particularly like to hop around in the branches pecking at the juicy sweet plums. They are having quite a feast this year. I'm happy to provide them with such a yummy treat.

Now the back garden has huge piles of plum branches laying about. They have to dry out so we can send them through the chipper and make them into mulch. Hopefully, those piles of branches will be fun for some other critter.

The springtime view outside my studio window today

As if by magic the blossoms appear
One by one their snow-white faces open.
Chilly February nights don't deter them.
The rain doesn't dampen their tenacity.

One by one the buds open
Until one morning,
This morning,
I look out, and...
The whole plum tree is laden with popcorn.
And Mr. Hummingbird seems to have claimed it all for himself.

First blossom

The first blossom on the plum tree... every year I anticipate it. This year, I was able to witness with my eyes and my camera the first blossom. I checked all over the tree to see if there were any others and there weren't. Just this first one.

Encapsulated in that first blossom are meanings for me... courage, bravery, hope, belief, and faith.

Someone always has to be first, even if it's hard to be the first.

Keeping up with the neighbor

From the first year it was planted along the fence, the peach tree stood watching the plum tree on the other side of the fence. Every year, the plum tree would show off her porcelain white petal-skirts long before the peach tree could open her own pink petticoats. Every year, the plum tree would make the gardener on the other side of the fence smile and say, "It's spring!"

Finally, after a wet winter and with much determination, the peach tree decided this was her year to be first.

As soon as the sun peeked its warm face out from the grey storm clouds of January, the peach tree rushed as quickly as she could to dress for spring.

Periodically, she peered over the fence to see if the plum tree was winning. But the plum tree was still sleeping, in no hurry to get dressed.

With all her springtime frills on, the peach tree had done it!

She then bent her limbs over the fence hoping she could be the first to make the gardener on the other side of the fence smile and say, "It's spring!"

And she was.

Plums blossoms with puffy white clouds to match

When I was a little girl, my siblings and I played a lot of make-believe. A favorite make-believe game I liked to play was "Candyland" where my siblings and I would pretend we had entered an all-candy world where everything was edible. We would have our adventures out in the garden. The redwood bark was really chocolate. The clouds were cotton candy. And there was always some drama with a make-believe villain we had to fight to protect our "Candyland".

To this day, when I see puffy white clouds against a blue sky I still think of "Candyland".

In the pink

I'm a huge fan of the color pink. That's why my other blog Dusting in Pearls is pink. That's why the logo for Rosehaven Cottage Inc. is pink. That's why my studio is slowly but surely getting decorated in pink. That's also why Hubby brought home a bouquet of pink roses for me on Valentine's Day (above).

Interestingly, I don't necessarily go ga-ga over every shade of pink. The shade of pink that will stop me dead in my tracks is the soft pink of ballet slippers (you know, the ones that little girls wear to ballet class). I call it "ballet slipper pink". And when I see it, I am drawn to it. Just ask Hubby what happens when we're in a store and I see something in that shade of pink. It could be a pile of garbage, but if it's "ballet slipper pink" garbage, I'll want it.


I really love the blossoms of spring because of their array of soft pinks. The ornamental plum tree at the end of the street is in bloom right now. I was hoping we'd get a break in the rain before the blossoms fell off so I could take some shots. I got my wish today. A beautiful sunny day with blue skies and white puffy clouds was just the ticket for taking shots of the ornamental plum in all its glory.


Of course I have pink hyacinths in my front garden. Of course! When I went out to take shots of them this afternoon, they were laying down because the blossoms had caught so much rainwater that it was weighing them down. I shook the majority of the rainwater out to perk them up and then took some shots.

Yes, indeed, I am swimming in pink right now. I'm even working on pink projects. I'm surprised that I haven't grown weary of it. In fact, just the opposite has happened. I look for pink everywhere now.

Just in case any of you would like to get "in the pink" too, I've created a wallpaper/desktop that is available for anyone to download for free. Just click on the image below and it will take you to the download site where there are download instructions. Have fun and enjoy being "in the pink"!

Juicy Plums for Independence Day

A bountiful harvest has begun here at Rosehaven Cottage thanks to one Santa Rosa plum tree that is laden with so much fruit some of its boughs are bending and touching the ground. This is really exciting for me because this is the first year that the tree has actually produced more than 1 or 2 plums. I LOVE plums (Hubby doesn't like them) so I am thrilled!

Some of you may remember that I wrote about this plight earlier in the year when the tree was blossoming as I shared some photos of the lovely spring plum blossoms. Now the majority of those blossoms have become luscious plums that are ripening at varying rates all over the tree.

Because sitting under the plum tree is one of my favorite daily activities, I have been watching and gently hand-checking the fruit each time I'm out there. Early in the ripening stages when a plum that's been within my reach has been ripe enough, I've plucked it from the tree and eaten it right there. Yummy!

Well, now that the number of plums that are ripe has increased, I was able to take my harvest basket out and pick the first bunch of plums all at once. That was a real treat!

The plums came inside and went into this nifty rinsing basket that Hubby has in the kitchen (the kitchen is Hubby's domain, by the way). After a good rinse in some cool water, the plums were covered with droplets and were very photogenic (as you can see in the photos above).

Of course I've eaten the perfectly ripe ones as a wonderful sweet treat as part of my breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As the others ripen, I'm going to try my hand at making homemade fruit leather with our home dehydrator. I'll make sure and photographically document the process when I do so I can share.

Now why, you may ask, am I featuring these fresh fruits on America's Independence Day?

Well, today is also my own Independence Day. It was two years ago today that I made the life-changing decision to eat, eat well, and gain my independence from the burdens of a chronic illness as well as OCD-related anxiety and depression. Along with adopting the WeightWatchers lifestyle, I consciously chose to no longer consume any hydrogenated oils and products (trans fats) while increasing my consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of walnuts and other nuts. I also chose to eat instead of continuing the pattern of "forgetting" to eat all day--a pattern that was taking me down a very unhealthy road and had caused my metabolism to grind to a halt. July 4, 2006 was a very big milestone day for me, to say the least.

As I've traveled this interesting health-focused journey for the past 2 years, I've come to love simple and luscious foods like these plums that I'm harvesting off our tree. Grown organically (as all the other produce in our garden), these plums are more than a summer treat for me. Instead, I see each one as a small package of health and wellness ready for me to consume and gain its benefits--the most profound benefit being independence.

Happy Independence Day!

Links to my writing on the Rosehaven Cottage Health, Wellness, and Food blog:
A Delicious Way to Get My Veggies
"Cute Attacks" and Feeling Healthy
Managing Anxiety and Depression with Nutrition

Links to spiritually-based resources at Provident Living:
Helpful Information on Social and Emotional Strength
Physical Health

Click here to follow me on Twitter

While Sitting Under the Shade of the Plum Tree...

As I was doing some minor pruning of the plum tree today, I realized how big it's gotten since we planted it the spring of 2001. It was the first tree we put in after moving to Rosehaven Cottage. I remember thinking it would take sooooo long to get big enough to be anything other than the scrawny little WalMart tree that it was. Now I realize that it didn't seem to take any time at all to get to the place where I and the tree are today.

This spring, I made some changes to the landscaping under the plum tree so there is now space to accomodate a chair for me to sit in when I need a break from the sun. As I pruned today, the thought occurred to me how often this spring and summer, I've sat in that chair in the shade of the plum tree and the things I've done while sitting there.

While sitting under the shade of the plum tree...

I've fed the goldfish in the pond right in front of my chair. I've discovered the newest baby goldfish from that vantage point. I've counted how many older fish are still swimming about. I've discovered the first babies to beginning turning orange from their dull baby brown.

I've been serenaded by a goldfinch just a foot or two above my head. It was completely aware that I was there, because it would stop its song periodically to look down at me as if to see if I was still there listening.

I've had one-on-one time with Tom Tom kitty as he has joined me in the garden for his little walking patrols. He sniffs around and then joins me under the plum tree every 5-10 minutes just to check in and rub on me and the chair. I've also witnessed him get very silly and try to run his pudgy senior feline body up the trunk of the plum tree, only to make it about 6 or so inches off the ground.

I've sat quietly listening to the next door neighbor's prepare for a birthday party and play old Mexican classics on their indoor/outdoor stereo. The music takes me to a different place--a vacation in my mind far away from home.

I have surveyed the state of the garden and made mental checklists of things I need to do when it isn't so hot or I'm not so tired from the project I'm taking a break from.

More than anything else, I've taken the time to slow down my body and mind and reconnect with my serene little habitat of a garden. This is hard for me to do--particularly getting my mind to slow down. Somehow I can sitting under the plum tree. It must be the sound of the waterfall not too far away, the sight of the bees and paper wasps getting drinks from the water's edge, the occasional butterfy or dragonfly that flies through, and the sound of unseen birds in the canopy above me.

I hope in the years to come I will do much more, see many more fish born into the pond, and contemplate lots of new ideas all while sitting under the shade of the plum tree. And I hope it will continue to be there to let me.